Fantasy Baseball Hitting Risers and Fallers: Rutschman is Raking

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 their current rank to their rank from ten days ago.

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.

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Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers

Over the last 10 days, these five hitters have become the biggest risers. Five have become the biggest fallers.

Risers

Adley Rutschman (C, BAL) – Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman is surging in Fantrax rankings following a spectacular 10-day stretch. Over his last seven games, Rutschman has torched opposing pitching for a .333/.387/.593 slash line. He has a home run and two doubles in that stretch, elevating his season average to .267 with 36 RBIs.

Rutschman lowered his average launch angle from a steep 19 degrees down to an optimal 12 degrees. This also cut his infield fly-ball rate by 8 percentage points. His  w his line-drive rate rose to 28.5%. He has elevated his hard-hit rate (95+ mph exit velocity) to 46.0% and is pushing his zone contact rate (Z-Contact%) to a phenomenal 92.1%.

Sustainability: The dynamic backstop’s ranking spike represents a highly sustainable return to elite form.

Current Rank:   227         Prior Rank:   358          Rostered: 98%

Willy Adames (SS, SFG) – Adames has provided a sudden jolt to fantasy managers by slashing .343/.410/.657 with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs over his last 10 games. His rise is purely a product of elite plate discipline and passive selectivity. Adames cut his chase rate (O-Swing%) from 29% down to 21% over this span, forcing pitchers back into the zone. His walk-to-strikeout (BB/K) ratio climbed from 0.35 to a stellar 0.80. When targeting in-zone pitches, his Z-Contact% ticked up by 5 percentage points.

Sustainability: Sustainable, but don’t expect that .343 BA to hold. His on-base percentage (OBP) and counting stats should continue to rise.

Current Rank:   157         Prior Rank:   326          Rostered: 95%

Isaac Paredes (3B, HOU) – Paredes crossed the 100-career home run milestone during a 10-day stretch where he mashed 3 home runs and drove in 7 runs. His season totals are up to 9 home runs, 33 RBIs, and a .241 average. Paredes increased his pull rate from 44% to 56% over the last 10 days, turning on inside pitches. His barrel rate over this short time jumped from 6.2% to 13.5%.

Sustainability: For a while. He is streaky, so ride it out while you can.

Current Rank:   267         Prior Rank:   423          Rostered: 91%

Marcus Semien, (2B, NYM) – Semien’s sluggish season (.226 average, 8 home runs) has received a massive boost over the last 10 days, highlighted by a .314/.385/.543 slash line with 2 home runs and 6 runs scored. Behind this turnaround is a dramatic reduction in swing-and-miss. Semien’s strikeout rate over the last 10 days plummeted from 16.5% to 8.5%. Adding a superb 91.5% Z-Contact% that eliminated whiffs on in-zone fastballs. His ground ball-to-fly ball ratio shifted from a balanced 1.1 to a fly-ball-heavy 0.7. He is back to his 90.2 mph average exit velocity to generate immediate extra-base production.

Sustainability: Sustainable, given Semien’s elite track record of durability and contact rate, this should hold.

Current Rank:   254         Prior Rank:   409          Rostered: 65%

Carson Benge (OF, NYM) – Carson Benge is surging in Fantrax rankings following a massive 5-for-5 performance on June 7. Over his last seven games, Benge has torched opposing pitching for a .345/.387/.828 slash line with 4 home runs, lifting his season average to .265 alongside 10 stolen bases. His average launch angle jumped 5 degrees, an optimization that unlocked a 42.7% sweet-spot percentage and dropped his ground ball rate to 34%.

Sustainability: This is hard to measure only because he is a rookie. Let’s leave this at cautiously optimistic.

Current Rank:   131         Prior Rank:   278          Rostered: 90%

FALLERS

T.J. Rumfield (1B, COL) – The initial excitement surrounding the rookie’s playing time at Coors Field has cooled significantly. Over his last seven games, Rumfield is mired in a .174/.259/.217 slump with zero home runs and just two RBIs, dropping his season average to .268. Over this 10-day window, his groundball-to-flyball ratio ballooned to an unsustainable 2.45, while his average launch angle dipped from a modest 9.2 degrees down to 3.1 degrees. Rumfield’s hard-hit rate also cratered by 11 percentage points during this stretch, meaning he is driving balls directly into the dirt.

Current Rank:   354         Prior Rank:   270          Rostered: 63%

Chandler Simpson (OF, TBR) – Chandler Simpson’s standard league ranking is dropping rapidly because of a brutal 1-for-21 (.048) slump over his last six games, which dragged his season average down to .276. Stolen bases are his principal asset. His plummeting zone contact rate has neutralized his ability to get on base. The drop is compounded by a day-to-day left thumb injury that currently sidelines him.

Current Rank:   276         Prior Rank:   199          Rostered: 95%

Chase DeLauter (OF, CLE) – DeLauter’s drop in rank combines a physical setback with hitting mechanics that were already spinning out of control. After fouling a pitch off his left foot on June 2, he has tried to play through visible discomfort. Over his last seven games, the dynamic rookie has limped to a .148 average with a staggering 10 strikeouts in 27 at-bats. DeLauter’s zone contact rate (Z-Contact%) dropped from 84.1% to 71.3% during this 10-day period, as his lower-half instability has compromised his timing. His pull rate also spiked to 55%, showing he is lunging at pitches and rolling over on outside breaking balls. He is a prime candidate for a bench stint or an IL trip.

Current Rank:   302         Prior Rank:   249          Rostered: 97%

Manny Machado (3B, SDP) – Machado’s 2026 season has hit a low point, dragging his overall slash line down to an abysmal .166/.254/.342. Over the past 10 days, the underlying metrics reveal an alarming lack of bat speed. Machado’s hard-hit percentage (95+ mph exit velocity) dropped from his career norm of ~45% to a sluggish 33.3% over this span, while his average exit velocity fell by 2.6 mph. Pitchers are feeding him breaking balls, and Machado is biting; his chase rate climbed to 36.8%, leading to an increased strikeout rate. With a batted-ball profile skewed heavily toward weak pop-ups (a 48% fly ball rate with very low exit velocities), Machado is no longer making the dangerous impact fantasy managers drafted him for.

Current Rank:   286         Prior Rank:   234          Rostered: 99%

Dansby Swanson (SS, CHC) – Swanson’s ranking is free-falling as his season average bottoms out at .180. The shortstop’s main issue is an inability to make contact within the strike zone. Over the last 10 days, Swanson’s Z-Contact% eroded by 9 percentage points to a career-low 73.5%. He is swinging through hittable fastballs, leading to a massive 33.1% strikeout rate over his last 35 plate appearances. When he makes contact, his line-drive percentage has vanished, dropping from 22.3% to a tiny 11.5%, while his infield pop-up rate doubled. Without the counting stats to rescue his value, Swanson is rapidly becoming an active liability in shallow mixed leagues.

Current Rank:   248         Prior Rank:   196          Rostered: 90%