Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers: Mash with Montgomery

It’s crunch time, folks. With a little less than three weeks remaining in the fantasy baseball season, we need to zero in on where we can make gains in the standings — and act decisively. Whether you’re looking to add juice to a particular category or are hunting for bench depth for the playoffs, the Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers series is here to help. Each week, we analyze recent player performances from a fantasy perspective, both good and not-so-good. The goal is to aid in lineup and waiver wire decisions as we close out the season.

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In this week’s edition of Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers, we highlight some recent call-ups who can pad our power and speed columns down the stretch. On the flip side, we examine what to do with two starting pitchers who are riding the struggle bus. With that, let’s take a look at some Week 24 fantasy baseball risers and fallers.

Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers

Week 24 stats from 9/1 – 9/7

Risers

Colson Montgomery (3B/SS — CWS)

Colson Montgomery continues to surprise on the power front. He popped three dingers last week, increasing his home run total to 18 since his call-up on July 4. Montgomery has been especially home run-heavy of late, with his 13 long balls since the beginning of August tied for second-most league-wide. He’s also flexing a .359 ISO in that stretch.

Montgomery makes below-average contact (81.5% zone-contact rate), but has been able to do most of his damage by pulling the ball at a 51.1% clip and barreling the ball at a 14.2% rate. That pull power should continue to be a successful combo for the rookie moving forward. If your team can take a batting average hit (.230), Montgomery is available in plenty of leagues and could provide needed pop down the stretch as the White Sox’s cleanup hitter.

Daylen Lile (OF — WAS)

Daylen Lile was a hitting machine last week. He racked up 11 hits over 23 at-bats (.478), including a double, four triples and a home run. Lile was also 1-for-2 on the basepaths.

Lile has been solid since his call-up earlier this year, but he’s really come on strong since the start of July. In that 49-game span, Lile is slashing .309/.349/.491 with a 131 wRC+. He also contributed across the board with three homers, 27 runs scored, 24 RBI and six stolen bases. He also flashed strong plate skills with a 90.1% zone-contact rate and a minuscule 15.8% strikeout rate. Lile hits in the heart of the Nationals’ order and is a great all-around addition to lineups as the season winds down.

Ha-Seong Kim (SS — ATL)

It’s been tough to rely on Ha-Seong Kim since he’s spent most of the year on the IL. But he’s healthy right now and recently landed with the Braves, where he’ll be their everyday shortstop. In Kim’s first five games with his new club, he went 5-for-17 at the plate (.294) with two multi-hit efforts and a home run. Kim brings pop and speed to the fantasy table while hitting in the heart of the order. He’s an appealing option in 12+ team leagues for the final weeks of the season.

Jeremiah Jackson (3B/SS/OF — BAL)

Jeremiah Jackson has thrived since recently earning an everyday role with the Orioles. Over that 17-game span, he has a .288/.325/.521 slash line with a 133 wRC+ while batting second in the lineup. Jackson has been one of the team’s top producers in this stretch, racking up five doubles, four dingers, nine runs scored and 13 RBI.

Jackson makes quality contact and offers a nice mix of power and speed that could prove helpful in the final weeks of the season. He tallied 11 home runs and nine steals over 171 plate appearances at Triple-A this year with a 1.073 OPS. Power, speed and multi-position eligibility near the top of the lineup? Sign me up. Jackson is worth scooping up in 12+ teamers.

Fallers

Ronald Acuna Jr. (OF — ATL)

Ronald Acuna has yet to record a hit in September and is in the middle of an ugly 0-for-24 slump. He also posted an elevated 37% strikeout rate during this span and dropped from the three-spot to hitting sixth and seventh in his last two games.

Acuna has struggled mightily since returning from the IL with a calf strain in mid-August. He’s hitting below the Mendoza line in his last 88 plate appearances with a 66 wRC+ and .565 OPS. Additionally, Acuna’s barrel rate plummeted from 17.9% to 8% while his production waned in this stretch (1 HR, 10 R, 5 RBI, 2 SB). Acuna should be on benches in shallow formats, if he’s not already. While he has the talent to turn things around quickly, it’s doubtful a meaningful rebound will occur in the season’s final few weeks. Acuna is an unreliable bat as fantasy teams head into the playoffs.

Joe Ryan (SP — MIN)

Joe Ryan is coming off a rough week. He lasted only two frames against the Royals after coughing up five earned runs and four walks. The high run total is a troubling trend for Ryan of late, as he’s surrendered at least five earned runs in four of his last five starts. In that 18-inning span, Ryan holds a bloated 8.00 ERA and 1.67 WHIP. Granted, Ryan’s opponents were more formidable than not, but that’s still not something we want to see from the ace. On the bright side, a 3.62 SIERA and 3.54 xFIP indicate he was unlucky, and Ryan still fanned batters at a healthy 27.1% rate.

Looking ahead, Ryan gets two home starts against the Diamondbacks and Guardians. It’s tough to recommend sitting Ryan this week. But if you have better options or need to protect your ratios, it’s not the worst idea. The Guardians should be a layup start, but Ryan’s game against Arizona this week should determine how confident we are moving forward.

Luis Castillo (SP — SEA)

Luis Castillo is another starter who has faltered recently. He’s allowed at least five earned runs in three of his last five starts (23 IP), and posted a 7.83 ERA (3.91 SIERA), 1.78 WHIP, and 22.9% strikeout rate in the process. Castillo also gave up a troubling amount of loud contact in this stretch. He registered a whopping 16.4% barrel rate and 57.5% hard-hit rate to go with a 93.8 mph average exit velocity. Yikes.

Up next, Castillo has a home matchup against the Angels. This should be a safe start, as the Angels are 28th in OPS against righties over the last 30 days. But if Castillo struggles here, I’d think twice about rolling him out against a pesky Royals team next week.