Another week has flown by, and we are in the final stretch of the fantasy baseball season. With limited weeks remaining, it’s important not to fall asleep at the fantasy baseball wheel, as we can still make impactful roster moves to better our fantasy teams. This series will help you optimize your fantasy rosters by highlighting last week’s hot and cold players from a fantasy perspective. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some Week 20 risers and fallers for fantasy baseball.
Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Stats from 8/5 – 8/11
Risers
Jake McCarthy (OF — ARI)
Jake McCarthy is on a heater. He totaled ten hits in 24 at-bats last week (.417), including three homers and a triple. He also led the league with 11 RBI and hit the ball with authority, barreling at a 15.8% clip.
McCarthy has hit the ground running since seeing regular playing time in the past two weeks. Over his last 15 games, McCarthy is hitting .444 with three home runs and three steals (four attempts). He’s also sporting a 1.205 OPS and 234 wRC+ in that stretch. McCarthy makes a ton of contact (93.7% zone-contact rate), with most of his fantasy value stemming from his legs. He has 16 swipes across 100 games this year and is looking for his third consecutive 20+ steal season. McCarthy hasn’t hit lower than sixth in the order and should be a solid source of run production and steals, especially since the Diamondbacks’ offense is on fire right now. If you have the need for speed, McCarthy is your man.
Zach Neto (SS — LAA)
Zach Neto logged 10 hits across 27 at-bats last week (.370), including three doubles. He also contributed across the board, popping three homers and going 1-for-2 on the basepaths while tallying five runs and 10 RBI. Neto also made loud contact, posting an 18.2% barrel rate and 63.6% hard-hit rate for the week.
Neto has turned on the power burners in August, hitting four of his 17 home runs this month. He also has a .447 ISO and 1.246 OPS across his last 46 plate appearances while walking at a 13% clip. Neto brings a nice blend of pop and speed to the fantasy table, with 17 dingers, 21 steals, and a .264 batting average across 115 games this season. Plus, he moved from the bottom third of the order to batting second in his last eight games. Neto should be rostered in most leagues at this point.
Andrew Benintendi (OF — CWS)
Andrew Benintendi was 6-for-20 last week (.300), with one double, four long balls, and a .650 ISO. Benintendi has cranked five dingers in his last six games and has quietly been a productive bat in the past few weeks.
In his last 14 games, Benintendi is 15-for-51 (.294), with five home runs and five doubles. He also has a 1.020 OPS with nine runs and 12 RBI. Benintendi is smoking the ball at career-best rates during this stretch — his 12.2% barrel rate and 53.7% hard-hit rate are well above his career marks of 5.8% and 34.5%, respectively. Similarly, his 92.2 mph exit velocity is a four-point increase from his career norm. Benintendi isn’t flashy but is locked in and squeezing solid production out of an anemic offense. He’s worth riding in deeper leagues while he’s swinging a hot stick.
Jake Burger (1B/3B — MIA)
I usually don’t write about the same player in back-to-back weeks, but I’m making an exception with Jake Burger. Quite simply, Smash Burger has been a beast. He crushed another five home runs last week, racking up ten long balls in his past 16 games. Burger also destroyed the ball with a 25% barrel rate and 70% hard-hit rate and finished the week with a 1.369 OPS.
Burger has been a home run machine since the All-Star break, smacking 12 of his 22 dingers with 18 runs and 18 RBI in his last 99 plate appearances. His .460 ISO and 1.197 OPS during that 23-game stretch ranked third- and sixth-best in the league, respectively. Don’t overthink this one, folks. Burger is bringing power and production out of the two-hole. He’s rostered in just under 80% of Yahoo and CBS leagues. Go pick up Burger now!
Fallers
Lane Thomas (OF — CLE)
Lane Thomas collected only two hits in 22 at-bats and struck out at a 39.1% clip. He also sat in two of the Guardians’ final three games of the week.
Outside of Thomas’ first two games with his new team, he’s struggled to get anything going at the plate. Since coming over from the Nationals, Thomas is slashing .119/.196/.167 with a 7 wRC+ across his last 46 plate appearances. He also has a 39.1% strikeout rate in that stretch, with goose eggs in home runs and stolen base attempts. The concern is that Thomas’ fantasy value is reliant upon steals — he’s racked up 28 swipes on 40 attempts so far this season. Not only will his fantasy value take a significant hit if he continues having trouble getting on base, but he could also start to lose more playing time.
Tommy Pham (OF — STL)
Tommy Pham went 4-for-19 (.211), including one home run and one double, and sat in two of the Cardinals’ six games last week. Production-wise, it wasn’t the worst week on record. However, the inconsistent starts since returning to St. Louis are concerning — and worth watching moving forward.
Pham went from an everyday leadoff role with the White Sox to a player starting around 75% of the time and hitting all over the lineup with the Cardinals. Production-wise, Pham has been solid with his new team, slashing .300/.317/.575 with two home runs and four extra-base hits across 41 plate appearances. Hopefully, his productive play will help cement a more consistent role. But in the meantime, Pham is a headache in weekly formats.
Patrick Bailey (C — SFG)
It continues to be rough sledding for Patrick Bailey. He logged one hit across 22 at-bats last week and has only three hits in his previous 47 at-bats. Additionally, he dropped from the middle to the bottom third of the order in four of his last six starts.
Bailey has been a solid option in two-catcher leagues for most of the season, mainly due to his on-base prowess and a plus batting average. However, he’s recently struggled. Since the beginning of July, Bailey has a .168/.226/.221 slash line and a 30 wRC+ across 124 plate appearances. His .214 BABIP during that period indicates Bailey has been somewhat unlucky, but it might be worth streaming the position until his numbers turn around.