We’re in the final stretch of the fantasy baseball season, but the goal remains the same: attack categories and finish the season strong. The latest edition of Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers has you covered. As we’ve done throughout the season, we highlight some of the previous week’s risers and fallers from a fantasy perspective to help you with lineup decisions. Now is the time to keep the fantasy pedal to the metal, so let’s get to those Week 23 risers and fallers for fantasy baseball. Good luck down the home stretch!
Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Stats from 8/26 – 9/1
Risers
Lawrence Butler (OF — OAK)
Not only did Lawrence Butler rock an 11-game hitting streak to close out the week, but he also mashed. He hit a whopping six home runs across six games, including his second three-home run game this season. Incredible. Butler finished the week with eight runs and 10 RBI, and he even threw in a couple stolen bases for good measure. He also tore the cover off the ball with a 29.6% barrel rate and 63% hard-hit rate.
Butler has come on strong since the beginning of July. He has a .326/.364/.700 slash line with 18 home runs and nine steals across his last 206 plate appearances. He also flexed muscle in that span with a 15.4% barrel rate and .374 ISO. Improved plate skills have fueled Butler’s strong stretch. He cut his strikeout rate from 31.6% in the first three months of the season to 18% since July 1. Butler has pop, speed, and bats leadoff. He has no business sitting on waiver wires in any league size.
Josh Lowe (OF — TBR)
Josh Lowe made some noise last week. He had multiple hits in four of six games, including a couple of dingers and a stolen base. He also made loud contact with a 21.4% barrel rate and 71.4% hard-hit rate. Lowe’s 33.3% strikeout rate was par for the course, but he still finished the week with a 1.277 OPS.
Lowe had a strong August, slashing .291/.347/.535 with four home runs and seven steals across 95 plate appearances. He also sported a 144 wRC+ for the month and started in the team’s last three games against lefties. Lowe comes with a 30+% strikeout rate, but he bats in the middle of the order and is an across-the-board contributor. Lowe should be a useful bat in 12-teamers while he’s hot.
Victor Robles (OF — SEA)
Victor Robles was among the week’s leaders in steals, swiping three bags across 17 at-bats and getting on base at a .421 clip. Robles turned on the burners on the basepaths beginning in early July. He stole 16 of his 21 bases across his last 155 plate appearances while posting a solid .777 OPS in that span. Robles moved from the leadoff spot to ninth in the order with the recent return of J.P. Crawford. While that’s not an ideal situation, Robles can still be counted on if you are chasing steals down the stretch.
Jose Tena (3B/SS — WAS)
Jose Tena had a nice week. He went 7-for-23 (.304), popped a home run, and posted a 16.7% strikeout rate. He also made quality contact with a 31.6% barrel rate and 57.9% hard-hit rate.
Tena came over from Cleveland at the trade deadline and has looked good since his August 10 call-up. In that span, he’s slashing .339/.369/.468 with two home runs and one stolen base to go with an 18.4% barrel rate. Tena brings a nice mix of pop and speed to the fantasy table. In 405 Triple-A plate appearances this season, he racked up 17 homers and 14 steals while hitting .298. The sample size is small, but Tena hits in the middle of the order and should continue seeing everyday playing time. He’s worth a shot in deep leagues and could prove productive in some shallow leagues.
Fallers
Logan O’Hoppe (C– LAA)
Logan O’Hoppe had a brutal week with one hit across 17 at-bats (.059). He also struck out at an absurdly high 70.6% clip. The down week is a continuation of an abysmal August for O’Hoppe. Across the month’s 98 plate appearances, he slashed .099/.163/.176 with a -7 wRC+. O’Hoppe also managed only two home runs and struck out at a season-worst 44.9% rate. On the plus side, O’Hoppe crushed the ball when he made contact, posting a 17% barrel rate — a season-high mark. That, combined with an unlucky .152 BABIP during this stretch, should mean brighter days are ahead. But until that happens, it’s best to leave O’Hoppe on the bench in shallow leagues.
Jarred Kelenic (OF — ATL)
It’s officially time to move on from Jarred Kelenic in deep leagues. He notched two starts across seven games last week, ceding time in the outfield to Ramon Laureano.
Kelenic was hot in June, sporting a .900 OPS and 146 wRC+ for the month, and even spent some time as the Braves’ leadoff hitter. But he’s recently come crashing down to earth with a .563 OPS and 37.5% strikeout rate across 72 plate appearances in August. Kelenic has plenty of talent but he likely won’t provide much fantasy goodness down the stretch.
Sean Murphy (C — ATL)
Sean Murphy is losing playing time. He started in only two of the Braves’ seven games last week, with Travis d’Arnaud taking the bulk of the playing time behind the dish. Murphy spent the first couple of months of the season on the IL and has since put together an underwhelming season.
On the year, Murphy has a career-worst .684 OPS with eight home runs across 210 plate appearances. Additionally, his 71.2% contact rate is a five-point drop from last season, and his quality of contact metrics have taken significant hits across the board. Murphy can be dropped in one-catcher leagues.