Fantasy Baseball Pitching Risers and Fallers: Sasaki Surges

Our Pitching Risers and fallers are determined by looking at standard 5×5 league rankings and looking at each player’s current rankings and comparing it to where they were when the season started.

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Fantasy Baseball: Pitching Risers and Fallers

To ensure this list is relevant for most fantasy baseball 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 injury.

You can find our weekly pitcher rankings here.

The fantasy baseball landscape shifts rapidly, and it’s important to know who is rising and falling, and why. Over the last 10 days, five pitchers have become the biggest risers; five have become the biggest fallers.

Risers

Noah Cameron (SP, KCR) – Kansas City rookie Noah Cameron has pitched 13.0 combined innings over his last two starts while allowing just one earned run. Over this 10-day window, Cameron lowered his season ERA to 3.84 and posted a pristine 15:0 K:BB ratio. He now has three quality starts over his last four. Cameron decreased his four-seam fastball usage by 8% in favor of his plus changeup, which has generated a whopping 16.5% swinging-strike rate (SwStr%) since late May. Statcast confirms the shift is mitigating hard contact, dropping his average exit velocity allowed from 91.2 mph to 88.5 mph.

Sustainability: Highly sustainable. His elite command limits free passes and provides a stable floor.

Current Rank:  173         Previous Rank:  291          Rostered: 83%

Roki Sasaki (SP, LAD) – Roki Sasaki is shaking off an uneven start to his MLB career, and just delivered a masterful 7.0-inning, 10-strikeout scoreless gem against the Angels on June 5. Over his last two turns, Sasaki has trimmed his WHIP to 0.99 while throwing 6.5 innings per game. He’s been on a roll lately, allowing just five runs (four earned) with a 29:5 K:BB over 24.1 innings across his last four starts.

Sasaki’s four-seamer averaged 98.7 mph in his latest outing, up a full 1.8 mph from mid-May. Simultaneously, his splitter has recovered, pushing his overall SwStr% to 15.2% over the last 10 days. Opponents managing contact have failed to barrel the ball; his hard-hit rate dropped from 42% down to 31.5% during this stretch.

Sustainability: Sustainable. It took a while, but it looks like he has finally figured out the MLB.

Current Rank:  243         Previous Rank:  299          Rostered: 91%

Bryce Miller (SP, SEA) – Bryce Miller has put together back-to-back scoreless outings over the last 10 days, highlighted by a dominant 9-strikeout performance against Detroit on June 6. Miller’s recent 11.0-inning stretch features a 0.00 ERA and a 0.55 WHIP. Previously reliant almost entirely on his high-spin four-seamer, Miller has increased his splitter and sweeper usage by a combined 12%. In his last four outings, he has pitched 22.2 innings and given up only two earned runs.

Sustainability: Sustainable. He now has reliable secondaries to supplement his elite fastball.

Current Rank:  124         Previous Rank:  181          Rostered: 90%

Sandy Alcantara (SP, MIA) – Sandy Alcantara looks entirely back to his ace of teh rotation form, capping off a stellar 10-day block with back-to-back 7.0 inning starts. He is registering a 1.29 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. His sinker gained 1.1 mph over this span. The extra velocity has raised his SwStr% to 11.8% and is driving a heavy 56.5% ground ball rate. His hard-hit percentage plummeted to 26.0% over these two outings. He now has nine quality starts, which is tied for third behind Bryce Elder and Cristopher Sancehez.

Sustainability: Highly sustainable. His rising velocity implies he has fully rediscovered his mechanics.

Current Rank:  174         Previous Rank:  213          Rostered: 98%

Jacob deGrom (SP, TEX) – Jacob deGrom continues his resurgence, logging 11.0 scoreless innings over his last two starts, including a dominant 6-inning victory against Cleveland on June 7 to lower his season ERA to 3.18. The veteran right-hander has posted a 0.73 WHIP and a 14:3 K:BB ratio over the last 10 days. Statcast shows that deGrom’s four-seam fastball velocity ticked up from 96.8 mph to 97.9 mph, paired with a dominant slider that generated a 38.5% chase rate. Opponents have completely failed to square him up. He served up 13 long balls through his first 11 starts. He has now kept the ball in the yard in consecutive outings.

Sustainability: Mixed. His historical durability issues make this peak performance something to capitalize on before inevitable workload management begins.

Current Rank:  32         Previous Rank:  54          Rostered: 100%

Fallers

Mike Burrows (SP, HOU) – Mike Burrows’ fantasy value has plummeted following a rough five-inning outing against Oakland, ballooning his season metrics to an underwhelming 5.77 ERA and 1.57 WHIP. A 1.7 mph drop on his four-seamer down to 92.8 mph caused his swinging-strike rate to tank to 7.1%. Prone to the long ball—surrendering multiple homers in over half his starts—and yielding a 48% hard-hit rate, Burrows faces a highly risky matchup next week in Kansas City.

Current Rank:  533         Previous Rank:  293          Rostered: 55%

Merrill Kelly (SP, ARI) – Merrill Kelly’s strong May vanished on June 5 against Washington, surrendering seven runs—including three homers—over five innings to suffer his first loss since May 3. Returning from a back injury, Kelly’s sinker lost 1.5 mph, dropping his swinging-strike rate to 8.2%. Increased, flat cutter usage led to a 14.5% barrel rate, ballooning his season metrics to a 5.71 ERA and 1.49 WHIP.

Current Rank:  531         Previous Rank:  298          Rostered: 78%

Patrick Corbin (SP, TOR) – Patrick Corbin continues to test the patience of fantasy managers, with his latest 10-day stretch reinforcing his continuous decline. Corbin failed to pitch past the fifth inning in either of his last two outings, posting an aggregate 7.82 ERA. The left-hander tried to pivot by elevating his slider usage to 45%, but the pitch failed to register depth. His O-Swing% dropped to 23.8%. Statcast painted a dark picture: Corbin’s average exit velocity allowed vaulted to 93.1 mph, while his hard-hit rate peaked at 52.2%. With an empty 5.5% SwStr%, he has become completely reliant on batted-ball luck.

Current Rank:  487         Previous Rank:  270          Rostered: 22%

Jeffrey Springs (SP, ATH) – Jeffrey Springs has hit a turbulent patch for Oakland, capped off by a brief 3.2-inning start against the Cubs on June 3, where he allowed 4 earned runs on 7 hits. His season ERA is 4.37. The left-hander’s primary issue is an alarming regression in his secondary command. His signature changeup, which normally neutralizes righties, lost its horizontal fading action, causing his overall SwStr% to drop to 9.4%. Statcast metrics show that when hitters connected, they hammered the ball, raising his hard-hit percentage to 44.5%.

Current Rank:  289         Previous Rank:  110          Rostered: 74%

Anthony Kay (SP, CHW) – Anthony Kay’s brief fantasy intrigue has dissolved over the last 10 days. His regression culminated on June 5 against Philadelphia, who hammered him for 6 earned runs on 7 hits and 2 walks across just 4.0 innings, dragging his season ERA up to 4.40 and his WHIP to 1.45. Kay’s underlying metrics reveal a pitcher losing his margin for error. Without premium velocity, his O-Swing% collapsed to 22.1% as hitters sat back on his looping breaking pitches. His barrel rate skyrocketed to 13.5% over this 10-day span.

Current Rank:  391         Previous Rank:  221          Rostered: 49%