We have made it through another week of the MLB season, and there were some awe-inspiring performances. As usual, there were some great showings and some rough ones to dig into. This weekly fantasy baseball column will help highlight some hot and cold players, risers, and fallers. Some players are already rostered in many places, so that trades may be in order. Other players may be widely available in fantasy baseball leagues, making a potential waiver wire claim in the cards.
This week I will highlight some known and lesser-known players. So let’s see some of the risers and fallers for fantasy baseball Week 13 (6/10-6/16).
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- Fantasy Baseball Start/Sit Lineup Advice
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers: Week 13
Fantasy Baseball Risers
Carlos Correa has been on quite the heater since returning from the injured list (IL). This past week, he hit safely in all seven games. Correa hit .548 with five multi-hit games and three home runs. Correa was locked in with 100% Z-contact and 92% contact on all swings. With all that contact and success, it would make sense that his contact quality was great, with a 14.8% barrel rate and 51.9% hard-hit rate. Correa’s plate discipline was also outstanding, with a 12% strikeout rate. Correa can’t stay this hot all season, but the success was great to see, and hopefully, it will lead to a nice second half of the season.
Jackson Merrill has been a steady producer this season, but he may have had his rookie coming-out party this past week. Merrill hit safely in five of his six games for a .381 batting average. More impressive was the power Merrill showcased with four home runs and an insane .619 ISO. He barreled the ball 22.2% of the time with a 38.9% hard-hit rate. It was more than power for Merrill, as he only stuck out 13.6% of the time. Merrill is now hitting .278 this season with seven home runs. He may have some new fantasy appeal, or this was the peak of his rookie season.
Tyler Soderstrom (C, 1B – OAK)
Tyler Soderstrom had a rough debut in 2023, but his time in 2024 appears to be much better. This last week was great as Soderstrom hit safely in all seven games, hitting .370. He’s known for his power, and this past week, Soderstrom hit four home runs to go with a 23.8% barrel rate and 71.4% hard-hit rate. He struck out 20% of the time, an improvement for Soderstrom, showcasing better plate discipline with improved power. Soderstom is now the regular first baseman for the A’s, becoming very fantasy-relevant with his recent performance.
Andrew Vaughn has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the past month, and this past week was no exception. He hit safely in five of his seven games with multi-hit games in all five while hitting .367. Vaughn has showcased the ability to hit for average in the past, but power was not a significant factor. That has changed over the past month. This past week, Vaughn hit three home runs with a .333 ISO. He barreled the ball 18.5% of the time with a 59.3% hard-hit rate, which is excellent as he lowered his groundball rate to 40.7% of the time this past week. Vaughn is finally showcasing some consistent production at the plate. He’s a must-roster player in all fantasy formats.
Lane Thomas has been swinging it well since returning from the IL; this past week was a monster week. He hit safely in all six games, ending the week with home runs in the final three. Thomas scored six runs and drove in seven while stealing a base. Thomas has been hitting .299 since he returned from the IL on May 27, with five home runs and five stolen bases. Thomas appears healthy and is once again a fantasy stud, paying off for those who held on while he was injured.
Fantasy Baseball Fallers
Nick Castellanos continues to struggle this season. This past week, he collected three hits while hitting .111. He struck out 32.1% of the time with a 51.1% O-swing and a 21.6% SwStr. Castellanos is showcasing a Javier Baez-type plate approach, which will not translate well in the long term. Castellanos is now hitting .209 this season with nine home runs. He’s becoming very difficult to roster weekly for fantasy.
Michael Conforto returned from the IL a few weeks ago and has struggled. This past week, he collected two hits over five games for a .105 batting average. He struck out 30% of the time with a 30.8% hard-hit rate. Conforto has been hitting .098 since returning from the IL on June 3, with a 31.8% strikeout rate. Conforto may still be hurt. Until we see some better improvements on the plate, he cannot be started with confidence.
After a productive week that had Julks added to many fantasy teams, he had a dud of a follow-up week. This past week, Julks collected two hits for a .091 batting average. He struck out 47.8% of the time, which is horrible and correlated with a 31% O-swing, 63.4% contact rate and 15.8% SwStr. Julks returned to the lackluster fantasy producer we should expect, and he’s now losing playing time with Andrew Benintendi and Tommy Pham back with the White Sox.
Jo Adell did have five hits, including a home run last week, but the hot streak appears to be behind Adell. He only hit .217 with a 38.5% strikeout rate. When Adell was producing, he was not striking out much, so the strikeout rate increased to 29.3% O-swing and 17.3% SwStr. If Adell reverts to this free-swinging way his fantasy upside will quickly disappear.
Luke Raley was on quite a heater for a few weeks, but that is slowing down. This past week, he hit .227 with a home run but also struck out 34.8% of the time. The strikeout rate was backed by a huge 35.4% O-swing and 25.6% SwStr, which will not play well long term. Raley did barrel the ball 14.3% of the time with a 64.3% SwStr, which is great, but the overall production disappeared, as did regular playing time, as Raley appears to be moving to a platoon.
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