It’s crunch time, folks. With only a month remaining in the fantasy baseball season, we need to keep our foot on the gas and continue attacking categories. The latest edition of Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers will help with that task by highlighting the previous week’s hot and cold players from a fantasy perspective. The aim is to help you optimize your rosters and finish the season strong. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some fantasy baseball risers and fallers in Week 22.
Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Stats from 8/19 – 8/25
Risers
Jhonkensy Noel (3B/OF — CLE)
Jhonkensy Noel is bringing the power. He cranked three home runs across five games last week. He also barreled the ball at a 33.3% clip and finished with a .550 ISO.
Noel has played in 11 of the Guardians’ last 14 games, posting an impressive .308/.386/.821 slash line with six home runs. He also smoked the ball in that stretch to the tune of a 29.6% barrel rate — good for second-best among qualified hitters. Until recently, Noel’s playing time has been inconsistent since his call-up on June 26. But that hasn’t slowed him down in the power department, as Noel has racked up 12 home runs across 42 plate appearances this season. Noel is a masher who brings some thump to the middle of the order. He’s earning more playing time and should be a solid power source while he’s raking.
Geraldo Perdomo (2B/SS — ARI)
Geraldo Perdomo had a productive week. He contributed across the board, going 9-for-24 (.375) with three doubles, two homers, and two steals. He also got on base at a steady .444 clip.
Perdomo has had a fantastic August, sporting a .925 OPS and 158 wRC+ across his last 90 plate appearances. He hit all three of his home runs this month in addition to swiping four of his season’s six bags. What’s most impressive is that Perdomo has doubled his hard-hit rate since returning from the IL in June, jumping from 19.5% to 39.4% this month. Perdomo gets on base (.349) and should be a steady source of runs on a Diamondbacks team that has no problem scoring them.
Dansby Swanson (SS — CHC)
Dansby Swanson was one of the league’s leaders in steals last week, racking up four swipes in six games. He’s been quietly aggressive on the basepaths in August, stealing seven of his 14 bases this month — tied for the team lead with speedster Nico Hoerner.
Swanson has a solid .268/.329/.394 slash line in August with one home across 79 plate appearances. He also lowered his strikeout rate each month, dropping from 28% in April to a season-best 20.3% this month. Swanson’s plate gains have contributed to a higher on-base percentage and more base-stealing attempts. While Swanson isn’t considered a rabbit, his newfound aggressiveness on the basepaths could come in handy for fantasy managers chasing steals down the stretch.
Joey Loperfido (OF — TOR)
Joey Loperfido was an extra-base king last week. Five of his eight hits went for extras, including three doubles and two triples. He also popped a homer and finished the week with a shiny 1.355 OPS.
Loperfido came over from Houston at the trade deadline and has recently found his groove at the plate. He has multiple hits in five of his last seven games and a .387/.441/.806 slash line with two home runs and one stolen base across his last 10 games. Loperfido brings pop and speed to the fantasy table and is worth a shot in deep leagues while he’s swinging a hot stick.
Fallers
Isaac Paredes (1B/3B — CHC)
Isaac Paredes’ struggles continue. He went 3-for-23 (.130) last week with one double and an RBI. Paredes has yet to get things going since his July 30 trade to the Cubs. In that 23-game stretch, he has a .497 OPS with two home runs and a 42 wRC+ across 92 plate appearances. However, there is room for optimism. Paredes’ plate skills have still been solid during his cold stretch, and he’s due for some positive regression — his .152 BABIP in this span ranks as second-worst in the league. Paredes is one long ball shy from his third consecutive 20+ home run season, has an everyday role, and hits in the middle of the order. Hang tight, especially in OBP and points formats.
Jackson Holliday (2B/SS — BAL)
Jackson Holliday failed to register a hit in six starts last week and struck out at a 40.9% clip. While he managed a bases-clearing pinch-hit double, that was his only hit in his previous 19 at-bats.
Holliday came crashing out of the gates following his July 31 recall. He crushed five home runs in 10 games and showcased a .444 ISO. But he’s since struggled to get anything going at the plate. In his last 14 games, Holliday is slashing .170/.204/.234 with zero home runs and a 32.7% strikeout rate. He also has an ugly 64.5% ground-ball rate in that span. The jump from Triple-A to the major league is a big one, and Holliday is still adjusting. He’s best left riding the pine in shallow leagues until he turns things around.
David Fry (C/1B/OF — CLE)
David Fry is losing playing time. He started in only two of five games last week and has only three starts in the Guardians’ previous 10 games. Fry was red-hot and an on-base machine in the season’s first couple of months. But his August has been more of a mixed bag. While he has five dingers and a .298 ISO across 62 plate appearances, he’s only walking at a 6.5% clip — a far cry from the 16.3% and 17.1% rates he had in April and May. Additionally, Fry’s .175 batting average and .242 OBP during this span are season-low marks, not to mention category drains. The power is nice, but spotty playing time and poor ratios make Fry a headache to roster in weekly leagues.