When determining who to add to this list of risers and fallers, I look at a standard 5×5 league ranking. The list is based on where the player ranks today, using their production from the start of the season. We then compare this rank to their rank from ten days ago.
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To ensure this list applies to most fantasy managers, either the current ranking or the prior ranking must be in the top 300. I have also tried to avoid any players who have risen or fallen because of a stay on the IL.
Also, check out our top Pitching Risers and Fallers.
Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Hitting Risers
Dansby Swanson (SS, CHC)
It’s odd to see someone make the list this week who is still hitting under .200. This just shows that when you start out with an overall ranking over 250 and have a great week, then you can climb back up. Over the last week, he has a .429 batting average, 2 home runs, and 3 stolen bases. His hard-hit rate spiked from 36.1% to 47.2%, while his barrel rate doubled from 6.0% to 12.0%. During the last ten-day span, he ranked 17th in SLUG, and his ISO ranked 14th. He is also in the top 25 for wRC+ during that period. Swanson’s contact rate is finally matching his expected metrics.
Current Rank: 165 Previous Rank: 254 Rostered: 82%
Carter Jensen (C, KCR)
Carter Jensen has hit .314/.415/.571 with 2 home runs over the last 10 days. He now has a 12-game hitting streak. Over his last 10 days, he has the 10th-highest OPS and the ninth-best wRC+. During this period, he had a 1:1 strikeout to walk ratio. “I think it all starts with just swinging at my pitches,” Jensen said of his recent success. The numbers confirm his feelings. His whiff rate has fallen from 32.6% to 18.4%. During the 10-day window, he is tied for fourth in runs scored, and as long as he doesn’t fall back into bad habits, that should continue.
Current Rank: 175 Previous Rank: 264 Rostered: 90%
Bryson Stott (2B/SS, PHI)
Over the last 10 days, Stott hit .324 with a home run and 3 stolen bases. His average exit velocity reached 89.6 mph. Stott’s ground ball-to-fly ball ratio shifted heavily toward line drives, cutting his ground ball rate by 9 percentage points. He is also tied for fifth in the last ten days in stolen bases. His OPS for the month of June is .848. Stott is fourth in runs during this stretch, adding to his multi-category worth.
Current Rank: 137 Previous Rank: 220 Rostered: 81%
Jung Hoo Lee (CF, SFG)
Lee is delivering on his high-contact promise, batting .382 with a .440 OBP and 6 runs scored over the past 10 days. The mechanical change here is a deliberate effort to lift the baseball. What really jumps out is Lee’s average launch angle increased from a ground ball-heavy 4.2 degrees to 11.5 degrees over this stretch. His elite plate discipline is unchanged; he holds a microscopic 6.2% chase rate and a 94.1% Z-Contact% during this run. He ranks 20th in average and has twice the number of walks as strikeouts.
Current Rank: 216 Previous Rank: 297 Rostered: 89%
Nasim Nuñez (SS, WAS)
Nunez has one thing he does better than almost any other player in the league, and that is to steal bases. To do that, though, you have to get on base. During this 10-day period, he is doing just that. He ranked first in BABIP and fourth in wOBA. The most amazing stat is his OBP. For the year, it’s .320. It is that high now because over the last ten days his OBP was .528. Nuñez slashed his chase rate by 11 percentage points, boosting his walk rate to 14.3% over this span.
Current Rank: 181 Previous Rank: 256 Rostered: 55%
Hitting Fallers
Chase Meidroth (SS/2B, CWS)
Meidroth’s early-season appeal was tethered entirely to elite contact rates and reliable on-base skills. However, pitchers have completely adjusted over the last 10 days. Meidroth is lunging at breaking balls outside the zone. His batting average over the last seven days is a frightening .174. His strikeout rate during this 10-day period is 46.2%. Only Drake Baldwin has been worse. Put that together with zero walks and only one home run, and these are the reasons this player has fallen 54 spots in 5×5 rankings.
Current Rank: 259 Previous Rank: 205 Rostered: 71%
Michael Busch (1B, CHC)
Just when you think things are about to turn around for Busch, they don’t. His average over the last seven days is only .143. He has one run scored, two RBIs, and zero home runs, which contribute nothing to a 5×5 fantasy team. He is not hitting anywhere near his expected numbers. Over this period, his expected batting average was only .197, 54 points above his .143. His SLUG is worse with an expected percentage of .402 and an actual of .235. His xwOBA is .347, but his actual is .279, 68 points lower.
Current Rank: 221 Previous Rank: 170 Rostered: 96%
Matt Chapman (3B, SFG)
Chapman made the list last week, but as a riser. He was one of the hottest hitters in the league. I wrote, “This is a classic Chapman hot streak. His historical profile shows deep peaks and valleys. Enjoy the elite production, but prepare for the inevitable cooling-off period.” I did not know it would come this quickly or this much. In the last ten days, he has hit only .069 and has just one home run. His wOBA during this period is .185 ranking him 170 out of 183 players. His average exit velocity, which usually sits near the top of the league, fell by 4 mph over this stretch, and his barrel rate plummeted from a reliable 12% to a nearly invisible 4%
Current Rank: 240 Previous Rank: 173 Rostered: 91%
Jacob Young (CF, WSH)
Young has only five hits in the last 10 days. He has zero home runs, one RBI, and only two runs scored. He has nine strikeouts and only one walk during the period. His principal contribution to a fantasy roster is his speed. If he is not getting to first base, that eliminates any fantasy relevance. Add this to his complete lack of production in the other categories, and you find a player dropping 43 spots in the rankings.
Current Rank: 296 Previous Rank: 253 Rostered: 29%
Austin Riley (3B, ATL)
Over the last 10 days, Riley has hit zero home runs and has zero stolen bases. He totaled two RBIs and scored only one run during this period. His wRC+ at the beginning of the year was projected to be twenty points above league average. For the season, he is now twenty points below average. Riley’s chase rate has spiked by 8 percentage points. Riley has looked completely lost at the plate, as indicated by his four walks and eleven strikeouts. He is too good a player for this to continue, but since this list is based purely on production, he has fallen in the rankings 35 spots.
Current Rank: 260 Previous Rank: 225 Rostered: 96%
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