It’s Thursday and you know what that means!
Every week during fantasy baseball season I’ll be doing a stock report on players who are rising or falling in value, so if there’s a particular player you’d like me to take a closer look at, feel free to tag them. twitter.
Let’s dive right in and take a look at some fantasy baseball players who are on the rise and some who are on the decline.
Fantasy Baseball Stock Report (Week 10)
Stock up
Jose Ramirez (3B, DH – CLE)
“I’m better than Barry Bonds,” Ramirez told Guardian reporter Paul Hoynes after striking out with the bases loaded against Colorado on Monday. That may be an exaggeration, but Ramirez has looked like a home run king for the past month.
In May, Ramirez was third in ISO (.408), second in wOBA (.453), second in wRC+ (199), and had the ninth-lowest strikeout rate (10.7%). He also had 32 RBIs, nine more than second-place Bryce Harper.
He may not be Bonds, but Ramirez is a player you want batting in the middle of your lineup every day.
Matt Waldron (SP – SD)
It’s nice to see Waldron find success this year, as MLB hasn’t had a true knuckleballer since Steven Wright in 2019. The 27-year-old Waldron has been impressive in his last four games, striking out 31 batters and allowing just five runs.
His strikeout rate has risen to 29.7%, 12th in the league, tied with Shota Imanaga and Sonny Gray, and his xFIP is also good at 3.15, 25th. As expected, his batted ball numbers reflect his ability to allow soft contact, with his hard contact rate sitting at just 26.5%.
Like most knuckleballers, when the ball isn’t floating on the day, it’s likely to be hit all over the field. Waldron has already had two games this year where he’s posted negative fantasy points. Waldron has shown he’s capable of putting up big numbers when his knuckleballing is up to snuff.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (First baseman, DH – TOR)
Aaron Judge was the obvious choice here, having been the best player in baseball in the month of May, but the more surprising pick is Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who bounced back this month after a poor April.
Over the past two weeks, the 25-year-old ranks 22nd in wRC+ (168) and 20th in wOBA (.407). The power numbers have been lacking so far this year, which is a bit concerning for a player known for home runs, with Brady hitting just five this season.
The entire Blue Jays roster has begun preparing for the Canadian weather, and over the past two weeks, the Blue Jays rank seventh in wRC+ (120), sixth in ISO (.177) and seventh in wOBA (.337).
Stock prices fall
JD Martinez (LF, DH – NYM)
Martinez has played in just 29 games this year, and it’s fair to wonder if time is catching up with the six-time MLB All-Star. His strikeout rate jumped to a career-high 31.1 percent last season and has risen even further this season with the Mets.
Additionally, his walk rate and ISO are the lowest they’ve been since 2013. The 36-year-old might be better this year with more at-bats, but his underlying numbers don’t inspire much confidence. It doesn’t help that the Mets are, in the words of teammate Jorge Lopez, “the worst team in the league.”
Kenta Maeda (SP – DET)
Maeda is having the worst season of his career so far, as the 36-year-old posted a 4.87 xFIP, 2.27 HR/9 and a strikeout rate of just 15.8% in his first season with Detroit.
His strikeout rate this year is more than 10% lower than his career average of 26.3%, which is very concerning. He’s allowed more home runs per nine innings this season than anyone other than Kyle Hendricks. His ground ball rate is just 32.8%, the ninth-lowest among MLB starting pitchers.
Everything seems to be going wrong for Maeda this year.
Dominic Smith (1B – BOS)
Smith signed with Boston on May 1 but has not performed well with his new team. In the month of May alone, Smith had the seventh-worst wRC+ (47), seventh-worst wOBA (.240) and 24th-worst ISO (.078).
He has a modest strikeout rate of 22.4%, but has only one home run since joining Boston, and while his RBIs are higher than others because the Red Sox have some quality hitters batting ahead of him, they are still incredibly low in fantasy.
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