Another week of baseball games is officially in the books, folks. While some players are playing unexpectedly well to start the season, others who we had high hopes for have been struggling. For fantasy purposes, you may be wondering what to do. But don’t sweat it! This weekly write-up will highlight the week’s hot and cold performances in order to help with lineup and waiver wire decisions. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some Week 4 risers and fallers for 2023 fantasy baseball!
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Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Week 4 stats from 4/17 – 4/23
Risers
Jack Suwinski (OF – PIT)
Jack Suwinski had a fantastic week, hitting four home runs with five runs scored and eight RBIs. He also threw in a couple of steals while posting an incredible .353/.520/1.176 slash line. Suwinski’s hot week is a continuation of his strong season. Through 16 games, the lefty has been crushing the ball, barreling at a 25% clip while registering a 56.3% hard-hit rate.
Suwinski’s 28.3% strikeout rate is concerning, but it’s down from last season (30.6%) and is balanced out by a hefty 18.3% walk rate. Suwinski bats in the middle of the order for the surprising NL Central-leading Pirates. If his plate skills stick, he should be a nice power source who can also chip in some steals.
Nico Hoerner (2B/SS – CHC)
Nico Hoerner continues to have a sizzling start to the season. He collected 13 hits last week, including four multi-hit games. He also added two home runs, seven runs scored, eight RBI, and one steal to the week’s total while striking out at an absurdly low 2.9% of the time.
Hoerner has been locked in at the plate all season. He has a hit in all but four of his 21 games played, posting 11 multi-hit games across that span. Hoerner doesn’t have a lot of pop to his game, but he makes an elite amount of contact and his sprint speed is in the 86th percentile. Hoerner bats leadoff for the hot-hitting Cubs and should continue to be a fantasy stud.
James Outman (OF – LAD)
James Outman has been one of the league’s biggest risers to start the season. Last week, he hit safely in six of seven games, going 11-for-28 with a .393/.393/.893 slash line. He also popped four homers, with five runs scored and nine RBI while barreling the ball at a 20% clip.
Overall, Outman has been a five-category contributor with a 7/14/19/2/.311 stat line across 85 plate appearances. His 28.2% strikeout rate isn’t ideal, but he doesn’t chase and his 11.8% walk rate contributes to a strong .400 OBP. Outman’s hot bat has led to an everyday role, and he even worked himself into the leadoff spot three times last week. Outman should continue to provide solid across-the-board production in a strong Dodger lineup.
Jonah Heim (C – TEX)
It isn’t often that a catcher stuffs the stat sheet during a given week, but that’s exactly what Jonah Heim did in Week 4. He hit safely in all five games, and clubbed two home runs with four runs scored and eight RBI. Additionally, Heim’s four walks and one strikeout during the week were good for an incredible 19% walk rate and 4.8% strikeout rate.
Heim has had a strong start to the season. Through 17 games, the Texas backstop is slashing .309/.400/.582 with a 172 wRC+. He’s also been making a ton of quality contact. Across 65 plate appearances, Heim has a 50% hard-hit rate and 13.6% barrel rate – skills that pair well with his career 87.7% zone contact rate. Heim should remain the Texans’ primary backstop for at least a month while Mitch Garver is out with a knee issue. But if he continues to rake, he’ll likely run away with the job.
Fallers
George Springer (OF – TOR)
George Springer was ice-cold last week. He went 2-for-25 (.080), totaling only one run scored in six games. However, Springer should be able to shake the icicles off. He’s been fairly unlucky to start the season, posting a .217 BABIP across 100 plate appearances. Additionally, Springer’s expected stats indicate he’s underperforming:
| BA | xBA | SLG | xSLG | wOBA | xwOBA |
| 0.196 | 0.254 | 0.304 | 0.459 | 0.255 | 0.335 |
There’s a whopping 155-point difference between Springer’s SLG and xSLG, meaning the power should be coming. Springer is barreling the ball at a 12.5% clip and he’s sporting a career-best 92.7% zone contact rate. If a fantasy manager in your league is spooked by Springer’s cold week and underwhelming surface stats, take advantage.
Wil Myers (1B/OF – CIN)
Wil Myers had a brutal six-game week. He failed to register a walk, struck out in 50% of his at-bats, and slashed .125/.125/.125. Given his everyday role and playing in the cozy confines of Great American Ballpark, there was some optimism surrounding Myers this offseason. But that has yet to translate so far this season. Across 85 plate appearances, the veteran is hitting a paltry .218/.282/.321 with two home runs, eight runs scored, nine RBI,s and one stolen base.
Strikeouts are the biggest concern for Myers right now. His strikeout rate has been trending in the wrong direction for the past couple of seasons and currently sits at a bloated 34.8%. Additionally, he has a career-worst 35.7% chase rate and 16.2% swinging-strike rate. Myers is becoming tough to roster, even in deeper leagues.
Manny Machado (3B – SDP)
Juan Soto has been getting most of the slump coverage in San Diego, but Manny Machado has also been riding the struggle bus. Last week, Machado went 3-for-24 (.125) with one run scored and a .125 OBP. Overall, his production for the season isn’t much better. Across 96 plate appearances, Machado has one home run with seven runs scored, seven RBI, and one stolen base. He also has an underwhelming .220/.250/.286 slash line and a 49 wRC+.
Machado is one of the most consistent players in the league, so it’s tough to put much stock in his slow start. However, it’s worth keeping an eye on his production over the next couple of weeks. He’s only barreling the ball at a 5.7% clip (career 9.5%) and his 88.6 mph average exit velocity is a career low. Additionally, Machado is striking out more while walking less, and he’s chasing pitches at a career-worst 36.4%. This could easily be a non-issue in short order, but it’s worth flagging at the moment.
Brandon Drury (1B/2B/3B – LAA)
The move to Anaheim hasn’t gone smoothly for Brandon Drury, and last week was no different. Drury collected three hits with two runs scored and one RBI in 21 at-bats. He also slashed .143/.136/.143 and struck out 31.8% of the time. Drury is coming off a breakout season where he slashed .263/.320/.492 to go along with 28 home runs, 87 runs scored, and 87 RBI across 568 plate appearances.
While it’s still early in the season, putting up similar numbers could be a tall order for Drury in 2023. His 29.9% strikeout rate is up nearly eight points from last season, and he’s chasing at a 40% clip. Additionally, his zone contact rate dropped 11 points to 77.9%. Drury can still be a valuable asset to fantasy teams, especially given his multi-position eligibility. Just temper expectations if he can’t improve his plate discipline metrics.