It’s Thursday. I know what that means.
Each week during fantasy baseball season, we produce a stock report examining players who are rising or falling in value.If there’s a specific player you’d like me to jump into, feel free to tag me twitter.
Now, without further ado, let’s get down to business.
Fantasy Baseball Stock Report
stock up
Jared Jones (SP – PIT)
Jared Jones has quietly put up the best numbers of any starting pitcher this year. Through his four starts, he has a strikeout rate of 36.4% and an xFIP of 2.14. Both players rank first among starting pitchers who have pitched 20 or more innings this season. His walk rate is only 2.3% of batters, tied for second with George Kirby.
He is also one of the league’s most difficult pitchers, ranking behind Hunter Green in fastball speed (97.1 mph) and behind Tyler Glasnow and Yusei Kikuchi in slider speed (130.4 mph). .
Jones is only 22 years old and was the 44th overall pick in the 2020 draft. He is a person to keep an eye on as he will help Pittsburgh advance to the National League Central Division.
out of stock
Kevin Gausman (SP – TOR)
Kevin Gausman finally bounced back yesterday against the Yankees, striking out six and allowing just one run in five innings pitched. However, he still gave up walks to three batters. It wasn’t enough for the Blue Jays to win.
He lowered his ERA from 11.57 to 8.16. His basic advanced metrics show an xFIP of 4.18, which is still higher than his career average of 3.63. One concern about Gausman’s profile is that his fastball velocity has decreased this season. He was capped at 94 miles per hour (MPH) the past three seasons. He’s averaging 93.8 mph this year.
He should improve in his first few starts. Gausman has been dominant the past few seasons, finishing third in American League Cy Young voting last year. But there are reasons to be concerned about some of the issues the 33-year-old has seen this year.
stock up
Jordan Westberg (3B – BAL)
The Orioles have a lot of young talent, but few may choose Jordan Westberg as the player for Baltimore who ranks high in many offensive metrics this year. Westberg is third on the team in wOBA (.431), he is third in ISO (.298), and he is third in wRC+ (189). He also has a strikeout rate of just 18.8%.
Colton Cowser currently leads Baltimore in all three of these metrics, but there are two red flags in his profile. For one, his strikeout rate is an impressive 30.4%, second only to Jorge Mateo’s 35%. And he is second in batting average in balls in play (BABIP) at .520, which ranks league-wide behind Jared Kelenic and Lamonte Wade Jr. BABIP indicates that Kauser is playing beyond his expectations and should experience some setbacks.
But when it comes to Westburg, his BABIP is .341. He showed that he could be an integral part of this lethal Orioles lineup despite being near or at the bottom of the batting order.
out of stock
Byron Buxton (OF – MIN)
The Twins as a whole currently have the coldest offensive line in MLB. As a team projected to win the American League Central, they currently rank 26th in wOBA (.281), 17th in ISO (.141) and 24th in wRC+ (83). Pitching is another story. Minnesota leads the entire league in overall K/9 (10.09) and ranks him fourth in xFIP (3.70).
To be fair, the attack left Royce Ruiz, Carlos Correa, and Max Kepler seriously injured. However, their top players, including Byron Buxton, are yet to be produced. He has a strikeout rate of 35.1% of his at-bats and a walk rate of just 1.8%. He’s still looking for his first home run and first stolen base.
Perhaps something will happen with Buxton once Minnesota’s key players return to the lineup. For now, please stay far away.
stock up
Jackson Merrill (OF – SD)
There are three top prospects named Jackson in the league. This is the least talked about topic. Jackson Merrill has quietly gotten off to a great start to his career in San Diego, ranking fourth on the team in wOBA (.369) and tied for first with four stolen bases.
Although he hasn’t shown much power to start the season, Merrill only posted a .171 ISO through Double-A last season. He doesn’t attract much attention as a player who can lead the Padres in home runs, but he has shown the ability to get on base at an incredible rate. He has an 11.3% walk rate, a 16.9% strikeout rate, and an OBP of .408, second only to Jurickson Profar.
Oh, he doesn’t turn 21 until tomorrow.
out of stock
Francisco Lindor (SS – NYM)
Francisco Lindor has found himself falling into the fundamentals of many of the Mets’ advanced metrics three weeks into the season. He currently ranks last in wOBA (.232) and wRC+ (47).
It’s still early in the season, and Lindor’s .150 BABIP suggests we should see some positive regression, but one wonders if the 30-year-old will continue to put up the same numbers as he has been. Of course. Again, it’s a small sample size, but Lindor’s speed on the basepaths has declined this season. His Speed ​​Score on FanGraphs is his 2.7, which is much lower than his career average of 5.5.
The Mets overall rank middling in many offensive metrics, but Lindor isn’t contributing to those numbers.
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