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 17 (7/8-7/14).
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Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers: Week 17
Fantasy Baseball Risers
Have a week, Lawrence Butler. He hit safely in four out of six games for a .364 batting average with five home runs, 13 RBI and two stolen bases. He capped off the week with three home runs on Sunday against the Phillies. Butler barreled the ball 22.2% of the time last week with a 66.7% hard-hit rate and a 1.482 OPS. Butler still platoons but is on the strong side of the platoon. With his recent success, he has moved to the leadoff spot for the A’s. The 24-year-old continues to improve and may find his swing after some early struggles.
Rece Hinds was called up a week ago. He had a huge first week, hitting safely in six out of seven games. Hinds hit .423 with nine extra-base hits, including five home runs. He even stole two bases while barreling the ball 31.6% of the time with a 52.6% hard-hit rate. Hinds struck out 25% of the time, down from his 38.4% strikeout rate at AAA. Hinds hit for power and showcased speed at AAA, but this past week was a major improvement on his AAA numbers. We’ll see how things continue, but he has showcased the ability to provide excellent power in the Great American Ball Park.
The ‘Big Dumper’ showcased some massive power this past week as he hit five home runs while also hitting .360. Cal Raleigh had a .640 ISO with a 1.407 OPS while barreling the ball 31.3% of the time with a 56.3% hard-hit rate. Raleigh now has 20 home runs this season with 61 RBI. He’s working towards another 30+ home run season on his way to another great fantasy season for a catcher.
Alex Burleson’s breakout season continued this past week, hitting safely in six out of seven games. He hit .357 with four home runs and 11 RBI while only striking out 10.3% of the time. He barreled the ball 15.4% of the time and had a 50% hard-hit rate. He has 17 home runs on the season with 41 runs scored, 53 RBI and seven steals. He’s on track for a big second half to cap off a great season.
Brent Rooker was a riser last week and may have been better this week. He hit safely in five out of six games for a .476 batting average while hitting three home runs and stealing a base. Rooker was mashing with a 35.7% barrel rate and a 57.1% hard-hit rate. Even while mashing, he had a great 18.5% walk rate with a 1.603 OPS. Rooker is now hitting .488 in July with six home runs, 15 runs scored, 15 RBI and three steals. Rooker is proving 2023 was not a one-time occurrence.
Fantasy Baseball Fallers
After an excellent start to his MLB career, James Wood took a little step back this past week. He did collect five singles but hit .179 while striking out a horrible 44.8% of the time. He only barreled the ball 6.7% of the time but did have a 46.7% hard-hit rate, which is a plus. Besides striking out too much, the rest of Wood’s struggles could be linked to a 66.7% groundball rate. Wood is young and super talented. Hopefully, this is just a part of a rookie learning curve.
Brendan Rodgers was swinging a good bat for a few weeks, but things hit the skids this past week. Rodgers collected one hit, a home run, while hitting .037. He struck out 31% of the time with an 11.1% barrel rate and 38.9% hard-hit rate. The barrel rate is good, but a 61.1% groundball rate hindered Rodgers’ overall production. Rodgers is hitting .262 on the season with six home runs. We should expect Rodgers to figure things out in the coming weeks.
Taylor Ward’s underlying metrics have left hope for fantasy managers, but his struggles have been extensive lately. This past week was really bad, as Ward hit .091 without an extra-base hit or an RBI while scoring a run. He struck out 41.7% of the time without a barrel and had a 33% hard-hit rate. Ward is now hitting .228 on the season. I am losing hope he will figure things out this season.
Noelvi Marte has been back for a few weeks after missing the start of the season as he served a PED suspension. This past week, Marte hit .217 with five hits, one being a double, and striking out 30.8% of the time. Marte did not barrel the ball with a 37.5% hard-hit rate and a 47 wRC+. Marte is still going through his spring training. Hopefully, he’ll pick things up in the second half of the season.
Nick Castellanos is having a down season for fantasy managers. This past week was another frustrating one. He did hit a home run but only hit .182 with four RBI. Castellanos struck out 30.4% of the time with a 13.3% barrel rate and 40% hard-hit rate. Castellanos still hits the ball hard when he hits it, but his 39% O-Swing and 12.5% SwStr are not helping his cause. I have been benching Castellanos in 12-team leagues and is close to being droppable.
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