Fantasy Baseball Pitching Risers and Fallers: Wacha Rising

First, a bit of housekeeping. This is risers and fallers. This is not added and dropped. What it is, instead, is a list of players who have climbed the ranks the most over the last 10 days. This is a list of players who have risen in the ranks or fallen because of their production over that period, not just the hot new prospect that was just called up, or the pitcher that just came off an injury.

Also, I have made these numbers fit a standard 5×5 scoring system. So, if your league has settings for hit batsmen or pickoffs or any of the other 70+ categories Fantrax allows, then your ranking may be different.

More great Fantasy Baseball Analysis: Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire | Weekly SP Rankings | Pitching Streamers | Two-Start Pitchers | Lineup Analysis | MLB Injury Report | Rookie Report | Advanced Stats | Under the Radar | Overvalued & Undervalued | Bullpen Report

Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers

This list includes only players ranked in the top 300.

Also, make sure to check out our latest starting pitcher rankings.

PITCHING RISERS

Michael Wacha (SP – KC)

Wacha has made the largest rise in the rankings with two excellent starts in the last 10 days. He pitched 15 innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits with 16 strikeouts and one walk. That works out to a 0.60 ERA (4th best during this period), 0.80 WHIP and 16:1 K ratio, with two quality starts. Wacha now leads the American League with 18 quality starts. Over the last 10 days he ranked 6th in K-BB%, 8th in batting average against, and his WHIP is second. He is pitching so well right now his hard-hit percentage is only 19.4, ranking seventh.

Current Rank: 63     Previous Rank: 144     Rostered: 95%

Jake Bennett (SP – BOS)

In starts against San Francisco and the Yankees on Aug. 23 and Aug. 29, he totaled 13 innings, allowed three earned runs, struck out 13 and walked one. That K-BB ratio was 12th best. It was his fourth scoreless outing of six-plus innings in what has been an excellent rookie campaign. For the year, he now has eight quality starts. He has given up only 2 home runs over his last five starts. What is most impressive is that in August, he pitched 28 innings, had 28 strikeouts, and only walked 3 batters.

Current Rank: 108     Previous Rank: 179     Rostered: 74%

Will Warren (SP – NYY)

A 2.25 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP over his last 10 days isn’t great. He is rising through the rankings strictly because it’s so much better than when the 10-day period started. He had a 4.43 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP on 8/20. During the last ten days, his ERA was 2.25, and the WHIP was 1.33. One thing that jumps out is that before this period started, he had a FIP of 4.26 and during this period it was down to 3.08. His barrel rate prior was 7.9%, and with an improvement of his sweeper, it was only 2.7 over his last two starts.

Current Rank: 221     Previous Rank: 283     Rostered: 84%

Cal Quantrill (SP, TEX)

Quantrill’s rise is because the 10-day window is better than the preceding stretch in every category. From Aug. 23-29, he produced a 2.25 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over 12 innings, striking out 14 without issuing a walk. Both starts were quality starts. His K% went from 16.7% prior to this stretch to 31% for those two starts. He was second in K/BB%. Those two quality starts make it three in a row for the veteran. Something to monitor, though, is that his hard-hit rate and the barrel rate both went up over those ten days.

Current Rank: 172     Previous Rank: 250     Rostered: 52%

Randy Vásquez (SP, SDP)

Vásquez’s ranking move is based on better control. His Aug. 21 and Aug. 26 starts produced 12 innings, two earned runs, five strikeouts and two walks. That is a 1.50 ERA, 0.42 WHIP, and 2.5 K ratio. He also recorded two wins and worked six innings per start on average. He now has four wins in his last five starts. Most impressive is that he hasn’t given up a home run in his last three starts, and only one in his last ten. His batting average against (.071) during the last ten ranks second, and his WHIP ranks first.

Current Rank: 231     Previous Rank: 291     Rostered: 53%

PITCHING FALLERS

Kyle Bradish (SP, BAL)

Bradish’s ranking has dipped because the command simply hasn’t been there in his last two outings. In the last two games, he has been bad. Very bad. In 10 innings, he has given up 10 earned runs. He has a 9.00 ERA and an unsustainable  2.538 WHIP. His FIP for the year prior to this was 3.87. For the 10-day period, it nearly doubled to 6.3. Statcast shows that his hard-hit rate prior was 37.4, but for the 10-day period it jumped to 48.6. It won’t be much better. His next start is in Colorado.

Current Rank: 260     Previous Rank: 213     Rostered: 96%

Christian Scott (SP, NYM)

He made two starts in this window and allowed seven earned runs in 10 innings, producing a 6.30 ERA and roughly a 1.50 WHIP. He walked nine and struck out only eight. During this 10-day stretch, he has the fifth worst K-BB%. Prior to this window, he had a 3.51 ERA. His ERA for the year is now 3.80. His Statcast contact profile is actually better than league average—87.1 mph exit velocity, 34.2% hard-hit rate and 7.4% barrel rate—so the immediate issue is clearly command. Scott has allowed at least three earned runs in each of his last five outings

Current Rank: 286     Previous Rank: 263     Rostered: 66%

Michael McGreevy (SP, STL)

McGreevy’s ranking decline is a case where the ERA can be misleading. He entered the 10-day window with a 3.54 ERA, but his Aug. 26 start against Baltimore was a disaster: five innings, 10 hits, seven earned runs, two walks and three strikeouts. His season ERA rose to 3.86 and his WHIP to 1.25. His fastball was only 92.9 mph in the Baltimore outing, while his sinker ranged from 91.2 to 92.5 mph. He has given up at least one home run in all but three of his last 10 games.

Current Rank: 261    Previous Rank: 224     Rostered: 77%

Jacob deGrom (SP, TEX) 

Texas has one of the fastest risers, and that is offset by one of the league’s biggest fallers. DeGrom’s ranking has taken a significant hit because his Aug. 25 start was one of the worst outings of his career. He surrendered eight runs on six hits and five walks in only 3 2/3 innings against the White Sox, striking out two. In his last ten games, he has only made it through six innings twice and only has three wins to show for it.

Current Rank: 98     Previous Rank: 64     Rostered: 99%

Ranger Suarez (SP, BOS)

Boston also has a riser and a faller. Suarez made two starts in the 10-day window. On Aug. 24 against Miami, he allowed one run over five innings but walked four and hit two batters, requiring 93 pitches. Five days later, the matchup with the Yankees turned ugly: six runs, nine hits, and two walks in 5 1/3 innings with only two strikeouts. That gives him a 5.40 ERA over the two starts with only 10 1/3 innings and a 6:6 K ratio. With fewer innings, weaker ratios, and reduced strikeout value, Suárez has slipped in standard leagues.

Current Rank: 200     Previous Rank: 165     Rostered: 98%