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 19)
Stock Up
Tyler Fitzgerald (2B, SS, OF – SF)
Tyler Fitzgerald has been one of the hottest players in baseball over the past few weeks. The 26-year-old played 10 games last season and recorded just a .219 batting average, but this year through 52 games he has a .317 average with 12 homers.
Since July 15, Fitzgerald has ranked first in ISO (.545), third in wOBA (.544) and third in wRC+ (263). He’s been exceptionally hot with the power bat recently, recording four homers over his last 10 games. He recorded 71 homers over his five seasons in the minors and he’s finally been able to showcase his stuff this season after Brandon Crawford‘s departure after 13 seasons in the Bay Area.
I thought it would be difficult for Blake Snell to follow up a 15-strikeout, zero-earned run outing against the Rockies, but in his next start, he pitched an 11-strikeout no-hitter against the Reds.
Among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched, Snell is ranked fourth in K/9 (11.44) but 28th in xFIP (3.52). His poor outings before going on the injured list (IL) with a groin strain have inflated some of his numbers, but since July 15 he has the fourth-best xFIP at 2.67.
The two-time Cy Young award winner has had some cupcake matchups recently, but he’s back to being one of the most dominant pitchers in the league now that he’s healthy.
I usually incorporate a second hitter into this section, but there have been two incredibly hot pitchers who both threw a no-hitter in July. Dylan Cease no-hit the Nationals while throwing nine strikeouts on the 25th. It was revenge on his almost no-no of 2022 where he gave up a hit to Luis Arraez with two outs in the ninth.
Since July 15, Cease has ranked third in xFIP (2.64) and ninth in K/9 (10.72). In his two outings before the no-hitter, he pitched a combined 13 innings and struck out 21. He also had a one-hitter with nine punchouts against the Nationals almost exactly one month before he no-hit them. His most recent start got cut short due to a rain delay in Pittsburgh, but I have no doubt he was on track to continue his dominant ways.
Stock Down
Will Smith has just four hits over his last 42 plate appearances, including zero extra base hits. His wOBA since July 15 is just .175, his wRC+ is 10 and his ISO is zero. His average of .246 on the year is just a tick below what he has shown for his career, but the 29-year-old’s recent slump can’t go unnoticed.
His 20.3% strikeout percentage this season is the highest it’s been since his rookie season in 2019. The Dodgers have been fine despite Smith’s recent slump, however, one could argue they are underperforming even for their standards. Their 66 wins is the fifth-highest mark in baseball.
Kutter Crawford (SP, RP – BOS)
Crawford had been one of the most consistent starters in the game not long ago but has recently taken a turn for the worse. He has allowed at least five runs over his last four starts in starts against Kansas City, Texas, the Yankees and the Dodgers. These are some tough matchups, however, Crawford put up two quality outings in his two starts against the Yankees before his five-run outing against them on July 27.
The biggest problem Crawford has going for him now is with homers. He allowed a whopping five of them in the aforementioned start against the Dodgers, and he has a league-leading 27 homers allowed. His HR/9 is the worst in the league at 1.83, which is 0.11 higher than Jose Berrios in second. I’d be staying away from him in fantasy lineups for the time being.
Ke’Bryan Hayes has never been a high-upside fantasy play with his lack of power. The 27-year-old has just 36 homers in a career that dates back to the 2020 shortened season. Over his last 10 games, Hayes has recorded 11 hits, which doesn’t sound too bad, but all 11 of those were base hits.
He can be a quality bat in real life, though, as he’s lowered his strikeout rate just about every year and even had a .271 average last season. But in fantasy baseball, there are far too many options available at a powerful position like third base.
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