Welcome to another edition of Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers. About a quarter of the season is in the books, and sample sizes are still small. But they are stabilizing with each at-bat and inning pitched, providing us with better indicators of player performances.
Each week, this series highlights some of fantasy baseball’s risers and fallers from a fantasy perspective. The goal is to help with lineup and waiver wire decisions by taking a deeper look at recent player performances, both good and bad. In general, we still want to stick with the core players we drafted, but we also want to churn and burn the bottom of our rosters to take advantage of hot starts. With that in mind, let’s look at some Week 7 fantasy baseball risers and fallers.
Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Week 7 stats from 5/5-5/11
Risers
Trent Grisham (OF — NYY)
Trent Grisham’s .176 batting average last week didn’t do much for our fantasy squads. But he added a triple and a couple of home runs to his weekly total and tallied five runs scored and five RBI across 17 at-bats. He also walked at a 19% clip and posted a .980 OPS. Grisham has been a force to be reckoned with in the Yankees’ lineup. He’s hitting .288/.373/.663 with a .422 xwOBA across 34 games this season. He also sports a team-leading .375 ISO, and his 12 dingers on the year are second on the Yankees to Aaron Judge’s 14.
Grisham doesn’t play every day due to a crowded Yankees’ outfield. But he’s picked up more playing time since he recently moved to the leadoff spot, starting in 13 of the team’s last 17 games. Grisham has a strong plate approach and makes a ton of quality contact. Despite not having an everyday role, he’s too much of an impact player right now to be sitting on waiver wires in 12+ team leagues. The Yankees will find ways to keep him in the lineup while he’s hitting, making Grisham one of the week’s biggest risers. Go grab Grisham now.
Ryan McMahon (3B — COL)
Ryan McMahon is starting to show some signs of life. He swatted three home runs last week, with eight runs scored and four RBI. He also showcased strong plate skills with a 25% walk rate and 20.8% strikeout rate and barreled the ball at a 46.2% clip.
McMahon has been slow to get things going this season. He has a .211/.338/.398 slash line with six home runs and a steal across 160 plate appearances. However, McMahon has looked good under the hood despite the sluggish start. He’s been crushing the ball, as his 14.1% barrel and 51.8% hard-hit rate on the year are career-best marks. Additionally, he’s walking at a career-high 15.6% rate, which takes some of the sting out of his 30.6% strikeout rate. McMahon brings 20-23 home run pop and a handful of steals to the fantasy table with a .240 batting average. If McMahon was dropped in your league, now is the time to pick him up.
Joc Pederson (UT — TEX)
It’s been a brutal season for Joc Pederson (.467 OPS in 115 PA). But he started to turn things around at the plate last week by hitting his first home run of the year. He also collected five hits across 15 at-bats, including two doubles, and posted a 1.167 OPS. Five hits may not seem like much, but considering Pederson only had eight hits to his name before last week, it’s a cause for celebration.
The Rangers’ offense has been anemic, but Pederson’s overall lack of production is striking. For the season, he has one home run, five runs scored and four RBI across 115 plate appearances with a 37 wRC+. Pederson’s quality of contact metrics are down a touch, but nothing that raises alarm bells. Additionally, he’s been unlucky with balls in play (.158 BABIP), so he’s due for some positive regression. Pederson is a righty-killer who is well worth picking up in 15-team leagues. He also makes for a productive power source in 12-teamers while he’s swinging a hot stick.
Addison Barger (3B/OF — TOR)
Addison Barger made some noise last week. He hit safely in all four of his starts, going 7-for-17 with one home run, three doubles, four runs scored and six RBI. He also smoked the ball to the tune of a 21.4% barrel and 78.6% hard-hit rate.
Barger was called up on April 15 but didn’t receive regular playing time until Andres Gimenez landed on the IL last week. He has a pedestrian .241/.305/.407 slash line across 59 big league plate appearances. But he’s striking out at a sub-20% clip and is tearing the cover off the ball. He has a 96.1 mph average exit velocity to go with a 13.6% barrel and 52.3% hard-hit rate. The sample size is small, but Barger has an opportunity to push for a full-time role if he continues to hit. He’s worth taking a shot on in deeper leagues to see where this goes.
Fallers
Ozzie Albies (2B — ATL)
Ozzie Albies’ down season continues. He collected a couple of hits early in the week but finished on a 0-for-21 streak to close out the week. Overall, he’s slashing .213/.270/.331 with a 68 wRC+ for the season, with five home runs and five steals across 174 plate appearances. There’s been some unluckiness, but Albies’ .218 xBA, .351 xSLG and .277 xwOBA don’t give us the warm and fuzzies.
Despite the lackluster numbers, Albies is still a hold in all league sizes. He offers a nice blend of power and speed and hits in the middle of a usually productive lineup. With much of the season remaining, it’s worth waiting to see if Albies’ bat catches fire.
Bryan Reynolds (OF — PIT)
Bryan Reynolds continues to be cold at the plate. He logged two hits across 25 plate appearances last week and struck out at a 36% clip. Elevated strikeouts have been an issue for Reynolds all season. His 28.5% strikeout rate on the year is just over six points higher than his career rate. That, combined with some bad luck, is fueling Reynolds’ .210 batting average this season (career .273 BA).
However, it’s not all bad news. Much of Reynolds’ underlying metrics are consistent with his career marks. He continues to make loud contact with an 11.5% barrel and 46.9% hard-hit rate, and has a career-best 91.3 mph average exit velocity. Additionally, his expected stats indicate fantasy goodness should be coming with a .262 xBA and .499 xSLG. Hang tight with Reynolds in all league sizes.
Cedric Mullins (OF — BAL)
Cedric Mullins had two hits last week across 21 at-bats and struck out at a 33.3% clip. He also dropped in the lineup from leadoff to batting sixth and eighth in three of his last four games.
Mullins is in the middle of a mini-slump, posting a .095/.095/.190 slash line in his last 42 plate appearances. In that 11-game stretch, Mullins has failed to walk while striking out at a 28.6% clip. Mullins’ bread and butter is his speed, as he’s racked up 30+ steals in three of the last four seasons. But if he continues to have problems getting on base, that’s gonna be a problem. It’s worth watching to see if Mullins breaks out of his slump over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.
Bryce Miller (SP — SEA)
Bryce Miller had a terrible week, coughing up a combined 11 earned runs across nine innings with a 4:2 K:BB. Miller’s strong 2024 hasn’t carried over to 2025, with free passes being the primary culprit. His 12.1% walk rate across 39.2 frames is nearly double his career rate, and his 5.22 ERA (4.78 SIERA) and 1.54 WHIP are ratio killers.
Miller has reportedly been dealing with lingering arm soreness and back issues, which could explain his underwhelming season. Still, with strikeouts down and walks up, Miller has been frustrating to roster this season. Given his upside, Miller is a hold in 15-teamers. But he’s a cut candidate in shallower leagues, especially if he puts up another dud start or two.
