Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers: Crush It With Collins

Welcome to the Week 20 edition of Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers. As the weeks fall off the fantasy baseball calendar, it’s essential to zero in on the skillsets you need from players to close out the season successfully. But don’t sweat it — the Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers series is here to help. Each week, we identify some of the week’s noteworthy player performances, both good and bad. The aim is to assist with lineup and waiver wire decisions by assessing players’ fantasy values down the stretch.

In this week’s edition of Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers, we highlight players who can pad our power and speed columns, in addition to a catcher who should be more widely rostered. On the flip side, we examine what to do with Giancarlo Stanton and Sandy Alcantara — both players who have fallen on hard times, albeit for different reasons. With that, let’s take a look at some Week 20 fantasy baseball risers and fallers.

Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers

Week 20 stats from 8/4 – 8/10

Risers

Isaac Collins (OF — MIL)

Isaac Collins is on a tear. He piled up 10 hits across 21 at-bats last week, including two doubles, a triple, and a couple of dingers. He also snagged a stolen base and moved from the middle of the order to the 2-hole over his last three games.

Collins’ playing time picked up in June, and he’s been killing it ever since. Over his last 45 games, he’s slashing .342/.431/.535 with six home runs, 31 runs scored, 29 RBI, and six steals. Collins is also sporting a solid plate approach in that span with a 12.1% walk rate and 22% strikeout rate. A five-category contributor hitting near the top of a white-hot Brewers team?! Sign me up. Collins could prove to be one of the more productive bats as the season winds down and should be rostered in all 12-teamers.

Jakob Marsee (OF — MIA)

Jakob Marsee showed off his wheels last week with a league-leading five steals. He also performed well at the plate, going 9-for-23 with one long ball and five RBI while walking at a healthy 14.8% clip.

Marsee has a little bit of pop to go with some big speed. He hit 14 dingers and stole 47 bags across 98 games (429 PA) in Triple-A this year. Encouragingly, Marsee hasn’t skipped a beat since moving to the big leagues. Since his call-up on August 1, Marsee is hitting .419/.538/.742 with one home run and five steals across 11 games (39 PA). Additionally, he’s both walking and striking out at a 20.5% rate and flexing a 250 wRC+. The sample size is small, and some regression is expected. Even so, Marsee is a contact hitter whose strong plate skills should buoy a solid batting average. Plus, he’s an everyday hitter who gets on base at a hefty clip and could work his way up the lineup. Marsee is worth taking a shot on if you need a boost in steals.

Drake Baldwin (C — ATL)

Drake Baldwin had quite a productive week. He went 9-for-25 at the plate wth four multi-hit efforts, a couple of homers, and a whopping 10 RBI. Baldwin also smoked the ball, showcasing a 15% barrel rate and 55% hard-hit rate.

Baldwin is having a fantastic season. The rookie is slashing .289/.357/.477 across 294 plate appearances this year to go with 13 long balls and 51 RBI. It’s tough to find much to complain about with the backstop. He makes a steady amount of quality contact with his 91.4 mph average exit velocity and 49.3% hard-hit rate in the top-20th percentile of the league. Additionally, his sub-18% strikeout rate feeds an elite batting average — a significant advantage at the catcher position. Surprisingly, Baldwin is widely available across Fantrax, Yahoo, and CBS, which is criminal given his skillset and the fact that he picks up extra at-bats at the DH position. Baldwin is a valuable asset in one-catcher leagues and should be scooped up if he’s available in your league.

Luke Keaschall (2B — MIN)

Luke Keaschall returned from the IL last week with a vengeance. He reached base safely in all five games and racked up 10 hits, including four multi-hit performances, three doubles, and two home runs. He also piled up 10 RBI. Keaschall didn’t draw a walk across his 22 plate appearances, but he also only struck out at just a 4.5% rate.

Keaschall has been shelved for most of the season with a fractured forearm. But the rookie has looked sharp in his limited time at the big leagues. He has a 1.130 OPS across 51 plate appearances this year with two homers and five steals. He also logged more walks than strikeouts while making contact in the zone at an elite 93.4% rate. Fortunately, Keaschall returned at an opportune time, as the Twins overhauled their roster at the trade deadline. With secured playing time, Keaschall could settle in as a productive player in deeper formats, especially on the basepaths.

Fallers

Giancarlo Stanton (UT — NYY)

Giancarlo Stanton took a hit in playing time last week following the return of Aaron Judge. He started in only two of the team’s six games and picked up some at-bats as a pinch hitter. However, Stanton made the most of his limited playing time, posting a 1.365 OPS with one home run and four RBI across 13 plate appearances. He also flashed strong plate skills with a 38.5% walk rate and 23.1% strikeout rate.

Stanton will return to regular at-bats once Judge moves from the DH spot to the outfield. Skipper Aaron Boone indicated that it will be sooner rather than later, but the exact timing is unclear. In the meantime, fantasy managers should hold Stanton. Since his debut this season, Stanton has racked up 10 dingers and 30 RBI across 40 games while sporting an .885 OPS and 144 wRC+. Plus, he’s been tearing the cover off the ball with a 14.5% barrel rate and 54.2% hard-hit rate. Stanton should get some looks in the outfield with Judge DH-ing, and he has shown he can maximize his limited at-bats. Stay the course with Stanton, as he could be a game-changing power source moving forward.

Ronny Mauricio (2B/3B — NYM)

Playing time continues to be a problem for Ronny Mauricio. He started in only three of the Mets’ six games last week and hasn’t played in back-to-back games since July 29.

The appeal of Mauricio lies in his tantalizing power and speed. However, the Mets haven’t played Mauricio consistently since his call-up, and when he has been on the field, he’s been average at best. Mauricio has six homers and three steals across his 150 plate appearances, while slashing .234/.300/.409. Additionally, his plate skills leave something to be desired. Mauricio has elevated strikeout and chase rates and makes contact in the zone at a below league-average 79% clip. Mauricio should remain on rosters in dynasty and keeper formats. But it’s a tall order to stash him in 12+ team redraft leagues with the hopes of a breakout, especially given his paltry playing time.

Sandy Alcantara (SP — MIA)

Sandy Alcantara had a poor two-start week, coughing up a combined 11 earned runs across 12 frames with a 9:5 K:BB. There was some optimism heading into the week, as Alcantara was fresh off back-to-back shutout starts. But strong starts may be few and far between down the stretch.

Alcantara hasn’t fared well in his return from Tommy John surgery this season and has looked especially bad since the end of June. In his last eight starts (47 IP), he has a bloated 6.32 ERA and 1.45 WHIP with an underwhelming 8.7% K-BB rate. Some unluckiness was at play, and Alcantara’s estimators suggest his ERA should be in the mid-4.00 range during this stretch. But that doesn’t exactly move the needle, given Alcantara’s elevated WHIP and meager 15% strikeout rate. At this point in the season, it’s looking futile to hang onto Alcantara, even in 15-teamers. You’re better off rolling the dice on streamers who can at least bring some strikeouts to the table.