Fantasy Baseball Risers: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Oswaldo Cabrera, Michael Conforto (2024)

We have made it to the second week of the MLB season. There were some awe-inspiring performances. As usual, there were some great and rough performances to dig into. This weekly column will help highlight hot and cold players/risers and fallers for fantasy purposes.

Some players are already rostered in many places so trades may be in order. Other players may be widely available, making a potential waiver wire claim in the cards. I will highlight some known and lesser-known players this week. So let’s see some of the risers for fantasy baseball Week 2.

Fantasy Baseball Risers

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (OF – ARI)

It was a great start to the season for Lourdes Gurriel, who racked up eight in the first four games, including two doubles and three home runs. Gurriel drove in 10 runs and tossed in a stolen base. Gurriel and the Diamondbacks faced the Rockies, which should have helped everyone’s fantasy stats, but Gurriel still got it done. He barreled the ball 28.6% of the time over the four games, with a hard-hit rate of over 71%. Gurriel can’t be this good all year but he showcased the skills that made him a tremendous late-round value in drafts. He’s in store for a big 2024.

Oswaldo Cabrera (2B, 3B, SS, OF – NYY)

With DJ LeMahieu out, there were questions about who would benefit most from playing time at third base. Oswaldo Cabrera got the first crack at it and does not appear likely to give it up anytime soon. In the opening weekend of the season, Cabrera picked up seven hits, including a double and two home runs. He drove in six runs with a 10% barrel rate and a 50% hard-hit rate. There will be some regression as Cabrera struck out nearly 36% of the time, but the start is excellent, and regular at-bats should be in store for Cabrera while LeMahieu is out.

Michael Conforto (OF – SF)

A healthy Michael Conforto is a fantasy producer. So far, he is healthy to start the season. Over the four games to open the season in San Diego, Conforto collected six hits, including two doubles and two home runs. He was locked in with a 40% barrel rate and a 50% hard-hit rate. Conforto should be locked into regular playing time and be rostered in 12-team and deeper leagues while healthy.