The baseball season continues to chug along, and there are lots of player performances to keep track of. Some players are playing unexpectedly well, while others have struggled to get going. This weekly write-up helps you navigate tricky lineup and waiver wire decisions by covering the week’s hot and cold players from a fantasy perspective. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some Week 7 risers and fallers for fantasy baseball!
Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Stats from 5/6 – 5/12
Risers
Brent Rooker (OF — OAK)
Brent Rooker has been a hitting machine of late. He totaled 11 hits across 28 at-bats last week, including four multi-hit games. He also tacked on two home runs, seven runs scored, seven RBI, and a steal.
Rooker is off to a powerful start to the season. He has 10 dingers on the year and his .340 ISO leads the league among hitters with at least 120 plate appearances. Additionally, his 50.7% hard-hit rate and 16.7% barrel rate are in line with his career totals, and he’s improved his zone contact rate by 10 percentage points from last season to 88.6%. Rooker should push for another 30-home run season and is a must-roster in all leagues. Just keep in mind he comes with a strikeout rate north of 30%.
Eddie Rosario (OF — WAS)
Eddie Rosario stuffed the stat sheet last week. He went 7-for-15 with three home runs, seven runs scored, and five RBI. He also added three stolen bags to his weekly total. Rosario’s been swinging a hot bat since the beginning of May, slashing .417/.533/.958 with four homers and four steals across his last 31 plate appearances. He’s also been crushing the ball in that span with an impressive 57.9% hard-hit rate. Rosario sits against lefties but is a solid power/speed play while he’s running hot.
Leody Taveras (OF — TEX)
Leody Taveras collected a hit in all but one of his seven games last week. He went 9-for-25 with two homers, nine runs scored, and five RBI. He also stole a couple of bases for good measure. Taveras is having a strong May. Despite batting ninth, he’s leading the Rangers in runs scored this month (13) while sporting a healthy .973 OPS across 46 plate appearances. He’s also had excellent plate discipline, walking 15.2% of the time while striking out at a 17.4% clip. Taveras is a useful option in 15-team leagues, especially if you need a boost in runs scored.
Paul DeJong (SS — DET)
Paul DeJong quietly had one of the more productive weeks in baseball. He went 8-for-24 and popped three home runs. He also contributed across the board with seven runs scored, five RBI, and one stolen base. DeJong has looked good in May with a .316/.350/.605 slash line across 40 plate appearances. He’s also been making loud contact with a 48% hard-hit rate and 12% barrel rate in that span. You take production where you can find it in fantasy baseball, and DeJong is dealing right now. Ride the hot streak until it fizzles out.
Fallers
Paul Goldschmidt (1B — STL)
We’re nearing capital P panic time for Paul Goldschmidt. Last week, he tallied three hits (one home run) across 22 at-bats, with two runs scored and two RBI. The homer was encouraging, but Goldschmidt also struck out at a 39.1% clip.
Strikeouts have plagued Goldschmidt all season. His 31.9% strikeout rate on the year — a career-worst mark — is feeding an underwhelming .197/.280/.279 slash line to go with a 66 wRC+ across 166 plate appearances. Goldschmidt is making less contact, and his 5.2% barrel rate is a far cry from his 11.3% career mark. He’s had some bad luck (.287 BABIP), and given his track record, Goldschmidt deserves a long leash. But it may be time to move on from the veteran if he can’t get things going in the next couple of weeks.
Gleyber Torres (2B — NYY)
Gleyber Torres continued to ride the struggle bus last week, logging only two hits across 19 at-bats. On the plus side, one of the hits was a home run, and Torres walked at a 17.4% clip. However, that’s where the good news ends.
Nothing is going right for Torres this season. On the year, he’s slashing .208/.289/.273 with two home runs and three steals across 174 plate appearances. He also has a lowly .275 xwOBA and 69 wRC+. Looking under the hood, it’s hard to be optimistic about Torres moving forward. The strikeouts are up, the contact is down, and his quality contact metrics have taken a significant hit — his 30.4% hard-hit rate is a career-low mark and he only has five barrels on the year. There are likely better options on the waiver wire in shallow leagues.
Justin Turner (1B — TOR)
Justin Turner managed only one hit in 22 at-bats last week. The lack of production is a continuation of a cold May in which Turner has registered three hits across 31 plate appearances. He also has an unsightly .229 OPS and -36 wRC+ in that span. Fortunately, there should be brighter days ahead for Turner. His .273 BABIP is partly fueling a .250 batting average (.280 xBA), and his underlying metrics are consistent with his career numbers. However, if you have better options, Turner should be benched until he hits his way out of his slump.
Andres Gimenez (2B — CLE)
Andres Gimenez had a solid start to the season but has since cooled off in May. He went 2-for-23 last week with one home run, two runs scored, two RBI, and a stolen base.
Gimenez has a .462 OPS across 45 plate appearances this month and has sat out in three of the last four games against lefties. It’s worth watching to see if Gimenez falls into a strong-side platoon role moving forward. The bulk of his fantasy value stems from his speed, and a decrease in playing time would likely limit Gimenez’s stolen base opportunities. Stay tuned.