Every week during the fantasy baseball season we do a stock report looking at players whose value is rising or declining. If there are specific players you want me to dive into, feel free to tag me on Twitter.
Without any further ado, let’s get to it. Here are a few fantasy baseball players trending up and others on the way down.
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Fantasy Baseball Stock Report (Week 16)
Stock Up
Rowdy Tellez started the year off cold, but it was only a matter of time before the big man started hitting for power. Over the past two weeks, he is third in ISO (.444), 12th in wOBA (.480) and 12th in wRC+ (215). Of his eight homers on the year, five have come over the last two weeks. Perhaps the change of scenery in Pittsburgh this season was a reason for the slow start.
Tellez won’t get you a lot of walks and on-base opportunities in fantasy baseball, but he’s shown he can provide upside with his power bat. He’s only two years removed from a 35-homer season. His season ISO of .147 is slightly down from his career mark of .206, but I believe the 29-year-old can still be an important power bat for the Pirates.
Bailey Ober often gets overshadowed by Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan, but the number three-man for Minnesota has quietly been on a tear of late. Over his last five starts, he has compiled 41 strikeouts over 33 innings while surrendering just eight runs.
Granted he, along with the other Twins’ starters, benefitted from playing Oakland twice, Seattle, Detroit and the White Sox. Oakland and Seattle strike out at the two highest rates in the league, while Detroit and Chicago are both within the top 11.
Ober has a 9.54 K/9 and 3.76 xFIP, putting him just a notch below the two starters ahead of him on his team’s depth chart.
Brenton Doyle has been the overall hottest hitter in baseball over the last two weeks. Over that time frame, he ranks first in ISO (.650), first in wOBA (.616) and wRC+ (293). He also managed to record both a 13.7% walk rate and a 13.7% strikeout rate during that time.
He’s shown recently he doesn’t just need to be at Coors Field to put up big offensive games. He went 3-for-4 with two homers and a double in a road game against the Reds just a couple of days back. The 26-year-old is looking like the lone bright spot for what has been a forgettable season for Colorado.
Stock Down
JJ Bleday has been arguably the worst hitter over the past couple of weeks. He’s been leading off for the Athletics, who have been playing quite well on offense despite their leadoff man’s struggles.
Since June 27, Bleday has the seventh-worst ISO (.024), worst wOBA (.100) and second-worst wRC+ (-39). He’s been punching out at a 27.3% clip and has just three hits in his last 42 at-bats. He does have 11 homers and 32 RBI on the year, so perhaps there is room for optimism. Also, the fact Oakland keeps rolling him out at the top of the order shows some confidence.
However, it’s fair to wonder if there is some mechanical issue he needs to work out before continuing to be an everyday staple in this underrated A’s offense.
Carlos Rodon remains an excellent strikeout pitcher but he’s been getting destroyed by the long ball recently. Over his last four starts, he has surrendered a whopping eight homers.
He is reminding me of Brayan Bello a bit lately with his fourth-ranked K/9 (13.19) but his dead last 3.14 HR/9 over the past two weeks. He’s allowed just 13.2% soft contact during that stretch.
He’s shown his immense upside as a fantasy asset over his career with his elite swing-and-miss ability, but his Barrel % has doubled from his career average over the past two seasons. I would only be looking at him against soft-hitting teams at the moment to counteract what’s been his biggest weakness this season.
Anthony Volpe has struggled over the past two weeks, with just seven hits over his last 51 at-bats. He’s only walking 3.8% of the time and has recorded a -2 wRC+. The 23-year-old has shown inconsistency so far in his 1.5 years in the big leagues, but this is still the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft and someone the Yankees have been betting hard on.
Volpe hasn’t been making much hard contact with the bat either. His 23.1% hard contact rate ranks 23rd-worst amongst qualified hitters over the past two weeks. I like him as a long-term stash in fantasy but I’d be staying away at the present moment.
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