Every week during fantasy baseball season, we’ll be doing a stock report on players who are rising or falling in value, so feel free to tag any players you’d like us to take a closer look at. 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 16)
Stock up
Rowdy Tellez (1B, DH – PIT)
Rowdy Tellez had a rough start to the year, but it was only a matter of time before the big man turned into a power hitter. Over the past two weeks, he’s third in ISO (.444), 12th in wOBA (.480) and 12th in wRC+ (215). Five of his eight home runs this year have come in the past two weeks. Perhaps the change in Pittsburgh’s environment this season is to blame for his slow start.
While Tellez won’t generate many walks or get on base in fantasy baseball, he has shown promise as a power hitter. He’s just coming off a 35-home run season in his second year. His season ISO is .147, slightly down from his career mark of .206, but I believe the 29-year-old can still be a key power hitter for the Pirates.
Bailey Over (SP – MIN)
Bailey Ober has often been overshadowed by Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan, but Minnesota’s third-stringer has quietly been on a roll lately, striking out 41 batters and allowing just eight runs in 33 innings over his past five starts.
Indeed, he, like the rest of the Twins’ starting rotation, benefited from facing Oakland twice and Seattle, Detroit and the White Sox. Oakland and Seattle are the two teams with the highest strikeout rates in the league, while Detroit and Chicago are both in the top 11.
The Over’s K/9 and xFIP are 9.54 and 3.76, ranking just below the two pitchers ranked above him among the team’s starting pitchers.
Brenton Doyle (Outfielder – COL)
Brenton Doyle has been the best hitter in baseball over the past two weeks. During this time, he ranks first in ISO (.650), wOBA (.616) and wRC+ (293). He also posted walk and strikeout rates of 13.7% and 13.7%, respectively, during this time.
He recently showed that playing at Coors Field isn’t all he needs to be offensively, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and a double in a road game against the Reds a few days ago, and the 26-year-old appears to be the lone bright spot in what has been a forgettable season for Colorado.
Stock prices fall
JJ Brady (OF – OAK)
JJ Brady has been arguably the worst hitter over the past few weeks as he serves as the leadoff hitter for the A’s, but the A’s have been doing pretty well offensively despite their leadoff hitter’s struggles.
Since June 27, Bleday has the seventh-worst ISO (.024), worst wOBA (.100) and second-worst wRC+ (-39). He has a 27.3% strikeout rate and just three hits in his past 42 at-bats. With 11 home runs and 32 RBIs this year, there may be some room for optimism, and the fact that Oakland continues to use him in their top lineup suggests some confidence.
But it’s also fair to wonder if he has some sort of mechanical issue he needs to work out in order to remain an everyday mainstay in an underrated Athletics offense.
Carlos Rodon (SP – NYY)
Carlos Rodon remains a good strikeout pitcher, but he’s been getting beaten by long hitters lately, giving up a whopping eight home runs in his past four starts.
He’s been a bit reminiscent of Brian Bello lately, ranking fourth in K/9 (13.19), but his HR/9 over the past two weeks is last at 3.14. He’s allowed soft contact on just 13.2% of occasions during that span.
He has shown great potential as a fantasy asset throughout his career so far due to his excellent swing-and-miss ability, but his Barrel % has been double his career average over the past two seasons. I would only look at him against soft-hitting teams at this point to help with his biggest weakness this season.
Anthony Volpe (SS – NYY)
Anthony Volpe has struggled over the past two weeks, allowing just seven hits in his last 51 at-bats, walking just 3.8% of his time and posting a -2 wRC+. The 23-year-old Volpe has been inconsistent so far in his first year and a half in the big leagues, but he remains a player the Yankees have high hopes for as the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft.
Volpe hasn’t made much hard contact with the bat either — his 23.1% hard contact rate is 23rd-worst among qualified hitters over the past two weeks — and while I like him as a long-term fantasy centerpiece, I’m staying away from him at the moment.
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