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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6 Fantasy Baseball Players Trending Up & Down (Week 26)
Stock Up
Luisangel Acuna (2B, SS – NYM)
If we couldn’t have Ronald Acuna this season, at least it’s been fun having his younger brother Luisangel. While it would be unfair to compare the 22-year-old to his MVP-caliber brother, the former has been hot at the dish in September and is someone I’d be looking to buy next season in fantasy baseball.
Luisangel Acuna has played just 10 games this month, but he’s third in wRC+ (224), third in wOBA (.491) and third in ISO (.406) amongst players with at least 30 plate appearances. His K% is just 12.1% in that span, slightly lower than the 16.4% he had last season in AAA with the Mets. He hasn’t stolen a bag this season, but he swiped 40 of them last year.
We don’t have a super large sample size of playing time for Acuna at the big league level, but I’d be buying both Acuna brothers for next season and beyond.
Hunter Brown has impressed me this season. All Houston pitching has been hot in September, but Brown ranks a very impressive ninth in xFIP (2.98), and he’s 23rd in K/9 (9.39). He is someone I want for a projected Astros World Series run, but also someone I’d be drafting ahead of 2025.
He just turned 26 last month and took a huge leap forward in 2024. For someone who was a fifth-round pick, his leap is particularly notable. His xFIP on the season (3.47) trails only Framber Valdez for the Astros, and he’s delivered a favorable 0.95 HR/9 on the year. He’s carried a high floor in fantasy ever since getting notably tagged by the Royals for nine runs in April. I’ll be looking his way for the postseason and 2025.
Francisco Alvarez is just 22. He’s only about five months older than his teammate Luisangel Acuna. He’s also been a hot bat at a tough position to fill in fantasy baseball and someone I want for the future.
In September, the Mets catcher has the 10th-highest ISO (.320) among players with at least 50 plate appearances. He’s walked at an impressive 12.1% rate and has 14 RBI in just 18 at-bats this month. When looking for catchers to draft for next season, I recommend looking Alvarez’s way.
Stock Down
Giancarlo Stanton (OF, DH – NYY)
Yes, the Yankees are going to consistently be a good team for the next few years. Yes, Stanton has the most homers amongst active MLB players, but the five-time All-Star has been on the decline for quite some time now.
He’s always had an issue with striking out at a high rate. This season, however, he’s sitting at 31.2%, the highest mark of his career, not counting his shortened season in 2019. Over the last three seasons, he hasn’t topped a .233 average and his walk rate has declined just about every year for the past five years. He’s still getting around 25-30 homers a season, but the trajectory for the 34-year-old has me concerned to roster him in the future.
Kevin Gausman is still a solid pitcher. My issue is how his stats have been trending lately, specifically this season. His K/9 (8.06) was the lowest since 2018. His ground ball percentage (38.3%) was the second-lowest of his career.
Most notably, his 4.21 xFIP was his highest since 2017 and the second-highest mark of his 12-year career. He used to have a home run issue with Baltimore, but he’s been able to hold that in check still. His walk rate is also on par with what we have seen from him over the years.
Overall, the 33-year-old pitcher is playing for a mostly rebuilding team, and all his stats show a player on the decline. I’d pass on him for several other starters next season.
Rhys Hoskins didn’t bounce back like we wanted him to after missing all of last season. The 31-year-old has a .338 wOBA and a .190 ISO this season. He also leads all Brewers bats with a 34.3% strikeout rate. He’s always had a solid walk rate and even led MLB in walks in 2019 with 116. His 14.3% mark ranks just behind William Contreras amongst Milwaukee bats this season.
Moving from Philly to Milwaukee was a slight lineup downgrade, but he still had a solid roster to bat around. I thought the first baseman would get hot at some point this year, but it never really manifested. The Brewers are still a playoff team, however, and they’ll need his bat in October. Perhaps it’s a matter of age or a matter of being on a new team, but I’d be out on Hoskins for 2025.
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