Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers (Week 15): Burning Busch

Welcome to the Week 15 edition of Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers. This series highlights some of the week’s risers and fallers from a fantasy perspective. The goal is to assist fantasy managers with lineup and waiver wire decisions by examining recent player performances, both good and not-so-good.

In this week’s edition of Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers, we identify a pair of Trevors who can help out our fantasy squads. On the flip side, we look at a couple of Braves who are clinging to roster spots in shallow formats. With that, let’s take a look at some Week 15 fantasy baseball risers and fallers.

Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers

Week 15 stats from 6/30 – 7/6

Risers

Michael Busch (1B — CHC)

Michael Busch had himself a banger of a week, logging his first career three-home run game. He also led the league with 13 hits, including four multi-hit efforts, two doubles, and four home runs. Busch added seven runs and seven RBI to his weekly line and finished with a 1.789 OPS. Encouragingly, his recent hot play kept Busch in the lineup in the Cubs’ two games against lefties last week, where he popped one of his homers against southpaw Michael Liberatore.

Busch has made significant power gains this season. He’s sporting a career-high 15% barrel rate, complementing a 45.9% hard-hit rate. Additionally, his .269 ISO is up over 70 points from last season. Busch swatted 21 home runs across 152 games in 2024, and he’s well on his way to shattering that mark with 18 dingers so far this year. He’s also thrown in four steals to go with a team-leading .297 batting average. Busch contributes across the board and hits in the middle of the Cubs’ batting order. The only nit to pick is that he sits against lefties. But that shouldn’t stop him from being rostered in 12-team leagues. Scoop up Busch where available.

Trevor Story (SS — BOS)

It was another productive week for Trevor Story. He hit safely in all six of his games, going 12-for-25 with three doubles and three dingers. He tallied seven runs, 10 RBI, and a steal for the week with a minuscule 7.7% strikeout rate.

Story has had trouble staying on the field for the past three seasons, but that hasn’t been an issue this year. Not only has Story avoided the injury bug, but he’s also improved his quality contact metrics to levels consistent with those he posted during his healthy seasons. As a result, he’s putting up vintage Story numbers in 2025. He has a 14/44/53/14/.252 line across 357 plate appearances and is one of the more productive bats in the Red Sox lineup. As long as he’s on the field, Story needs to be in fantasy lineups.

Willi Castro (2B/3B/SS/OF — MIN)

Willi Castro was the speedster of the week, swiping four bags on five attempts across six games. He also walked more than he struck out, with his 19.2% walk rate fueling a healthy .462 OBP.

Castro has been aggressive on the basepaths since he returned from the IL on June 25 — five of his eight swipes this year have come in his last nine games. He also hit second or third in the order in this stretch. Overall, Castro brings a balanced blend of pop and speed to the table with seven dingers and eight steals across 265 plate appearances. Additionally, he’s flexing a .270/.364/.426 slash line with a 125 wRC+ on the year. There’s nothing flashy about Castro. But he’s a five-category contributor who hits high in the lineup and has multi-position eligibility. He could be an asset in 12-teamers if you need speed, as Castro is running like he’s on fire right now.

Trevor Rogers (SP — BAL)

Trevor Rogers has been an excellent arm for the Orioles of late. He holds a 1.57 ERA and 0.87 WHIP across five starts (28.2 IP) with a 14.5% K-BB. Luck has been on his side with a .211 BABIP and 85.4% LOB rate, so some regression is due. Even so, Rogers’ velocity is up a tick from last season, and a career-best 2.51 BB/9 should help keep his ratios under control. Plus, Rogers’ 12.3% swinging-strike rate is his best mark since his breakout 2021 season. Rogers isn’t a game-changer for fantasy lineups. But in deeper leagues, he’s a perfectly solid addition to pitcher-needy rosters.

Fallers

Marcell Ozuna (UT — ATL)

Marcell Ozuna’s struggles continued last week. He managed only one hit across 16 at-bats and put up goose eggs in runs scored and RBI. On the bright side, Ozuna continued to display strong plate discipline, walking and striking out at a 19% clip.

Ozuna has struggled mightily since June, and his power has all but disappeared. He has a .518 OPS and .085 ISO in his last 135 plate appearances with two homers and 16 RBI. While a .217 BABIP has played a part, Ozuna’s power numbers have been lacking for the season. His .142 ISO is a near 60-point drop from his career mark, and his quality contact metrics have taken a hit. Further, his 11 dingers and 40 RBI to date are well off the 40-home run and 100-RBI pace he held for the past two seasons. Ozuna has been managing a hip injury this season, so there could be some negative spillover from that. But he’s unexpectedly turned into a fringe play in shallow leagues, something fantasy managers didn’t foresee from a top-75 draft pick.

Michael Harris II (OF — ATL)

Sticking in Atlanta, teammate Michael Harris II also had a down week. He was 4-for-22 at the plate with a triple, one run scored and a stolen base. Harris failed to record a walk during the week and sat in three of the Braves’ last five games against lefties.

Harris has fallen short of expectations this season. He has a .552 OPS and 48 wRC+ across 348 plate appearances this year with six home runs and 12 stolen bases. Most concerning is his eroding quality contact. Harris’ barrel rate has dropped for four consecutive seasons from 10.1% in 2022 to 6.5% this year. Additionally, his 39.5% hard-hit rate is a career-low mark. Combine that with a near 53% ground ball rate, and there’s not a lot to get excited about. Harris has already dropped to eighth in the order, and if the Braves continue to sit him against lefties, that feels like a nail in the coffin.

Brenton Doyle (OF — COL)

Brenton Doyle started in only two of the Rockies’ six games last week, as the team decided to give him a mental reset due to a rough June. For the month, Doyle posted a .431 OPS and 1 wRC+ with one home run, six RBI and a couple of steals across 98 plate appearances.

Overall, Doyle’s 2025 campaign has been underwhelming, and he’s struggled to repeat last year’s 23/30/.260 season. To date, he has seven homers and nine steals on the year with a .206 batting average. However, there’s room for optimism moving forward. Doyle’s seven dingers to 26 barrels indicate he’s been unlucky on the power front. Plus, Doyle’s quality contact metrics have improved across the board, including a career-best 12.1% barrel and 47.2% hard-hit rate. Sure, the Rockies’ offense is impotent. But Doyle could be a sneaky power source in the second half. Hold or add where possible.