Welcome to the Week 10 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 help fantasy managers with lineup and waiver wire decisions by examining recent player performances, both good and bad.
In this week’s write-up, we look at a couple of veterans and a recent call-up who could prove useful to our fantasy squads. On the flip side, it might be time to part ways with an accomplished hot corner in shallow leagues. With that, let’s look at some Week 10 fantasy baseball risers and fallers.
Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Week 10 stats from 5/26-6/1
Risers
Max Muncy (3B — LAD)
Max Muncy stuffed the stat sheet last week, swatting four home runs and tallying six runs scored and 12 RBI across 22 plate appearances. He also swiped a bag for good measure.
Muncy got off to a slow start at the plate but has recently turned things around, especially in the power department. He popped six of his seven home runs since the beginning of May while upping his ISO from .108 to .253 over his past 104 plate appearances. Additionally, Muncy’s 27 RBI in that stretch tied for fourth-most among batters — despite primarily sitting against lefties. Overall, Muncy continues to smoke the ball. His 51.9% hard-hit rate this year is a career-best mark and pairs well with a 12.4% barrel rate. Muncy is a nice power source in a productive lineup and should be scooped up in all league sizes if he was dropped.
Addison Barger (3B/OF — TOR)
Addison Barger continues to impress. He hit safely in six of seven games last week and collected nine hits across 24 at-bats, including three multi-hit efforts. He also homered in three consecutive games while walking and striking out at an 11% clip.
Barger was called up in the middle of April but didn’t start seeing regular playing time until May 8. Since then, he’s slashing .313/.380/.590 with five home runs and one steal with a 172 wRC+ across 92 plate appearances. He also made a ton of contact in the zone (90.2%) while tearing the cover off the ball (15.9% barrel and 63.5% hard-hit rate). Barger should continue to get at-bats while he’s swinging a hot stick and is a solid play in 12+ team leagues.
Josh Bell (1B — WAS)
Josh Bell is starting to heat up at the plate. He reached base safely in five of six games last week, with three multi-hit efforts. He also popped three homers across 23 at-bats and posted a 23.8% barrel rate.
Bell was ice cold to start the season. He posted a .503 OPS with four home runs and a 43 wRC+ across 114 plate appearances through April. But Bell has since found his rhythm. He swatted five home runs in May with an .860 OPS across his last 79 plate appearances. He’s also making quality contact in that span with a 15.7% barrel rate and 47.1% hard-hit rate. Bell is a streaky hitter whose bat you want to target when he’s running hot. He primarily sits against lefties but brings 20-25 home run pop and a .240ish batting average to the table. The Nationals have been on a tear lately, scoring the ninth-most runs in May. Be sure to get in on Bell’s hot streak in deeper leagues while you can.
Ryan Yarbrough (RP — NYY)
Ryan Yarbrough is coming off a nice week. He picked up two wins and allowed a combined two earned runs with 12 punchouts and one walk across 12 frames.
Yarbrough has been more than solid since he transitioned to the rotation. He’s sporting a 2.08 ERA (3.41 SIERA) and 0.81 WHIP across his five starts, with a 19.6% K-BB. He also picked up the Ks in his last three outings, flexing a 33.3% strikeout rate in that 17-inning stretch. Yarbrough has given up a home run in all but one of his starts, which could bite him at some point. But that shouldn’t stop you from rolling with Yarbrough in shallower formats while he’s hot, especially with all the pitcher injuries starting to add up.
Fallers
Nolan Arenado (3B — STL)
Nolan Arenado closed out May on a downturn, as he went 3-for-18 last week with one home run and two RBI. He also moved down the batting order from the cleanup spot to the six-hole in recent weeks. It’s been a mixed May for Arenado. He’s put up decent-ish production numbers with three home runs, 11 runs scored and 14 RBI across 104 plate appearances. However, that’s accompanied by an underwhelming .614 OPS and .221 batting average — low marks that aren’t that far off from his season’s .674 OPS and .228 batting average.
A dropoff in power this season isn’t surprising. Arenado hit 16 dingers in 152 games in 2024, and his power metrics have been on the downswing since the second half of 2023. But a sub-.230 batting average (.244 xBA) wasn’t expected, given Arenado’s career .283 mark. Arenado’s quality contact metrics are down for the second year in a row, so fantasy managers should expect a repeat of 2024 (16 HR, 141 R+RBI, 2SB, .272 BA) with a lower batting average. A decline in power combined with a batting average drain makes Arenado tough to roster in shallow leagues. It’s worth looking to see if better options are hanging around on the waiver wire.
Kyle Stowers (OF — MIA)
Kyle Stowers is coming off a bad week. He logged only one hit across 21 at-bats and struck out at a 39.1% clip. The down week was Stowers’ first stumble of the season, and there’s no need to panic. But it’s a reminder that his swing-and-miss ways could present headaches at times for fantasy managers moving forward.
Stowers’ bread and butter is his power. For the season, he’s sporting 10 home runs with a 20.3% barrel and 52.9% hard-hit rate across 227 plate appearances. However, that power comes with an elevated 17.2% swinging-strike rate and a terrible 76.7% zone-contact rate. Given his poor plate discipline metrics, Stowers could struggle as pitchers force him to make adjustments at the plate. And while Stowers should still be rostered in 12+ team leagues, just be aware there could be more down stretches coming.
Mike Yastrzemski (OF — SFG)
Mike Yastrzemski managed only two hits across 24 at-bats last week. He also dropped from the leadoff spot to the middle of the order versus righties. Following a hot start to the season, Yastrzemski cooled off significantly in May, especially on the power front. Yastrzemski failed to hit a long ball last month, and his ISO dropped from .231 in April to .054 in May.
Overall, Yastrzemski is slashing .237/.335/.374 with five home runs and five steals across 218 plate appearances. The five swipes match a career-high mark, and he should be able to push for double-digits this year. Combine that with 15-18 home runs and a solid plate approach, and Yastrzemski is a nice play in 15+ team leagues and OBP formats. Look to hold where possible.
