As the baseball season continues to heat up, plenty of unexpected players continue to surprise with their productive play. On the flip side, some players we were high on have been struggling. Fantasy managers in redraft leagues may be wondering what to do. 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 9 risers and fallers for fantasy baseball.
Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Stats from 5/20 – 5/26
Risers
David Fry (C/OF — CLE)
David Fry continues to be a force at the plate. He collected six hits in five games last week, with two home runs, five runs scored, five RBI, and a steal. He was also an on-base machine, posting a .632 OBP for the week.
Fry doesn’t play every day, but his playing time has ticked over the last few weeks. He’s seen at-bats in 14 of the Guardians’ last 17 games, including 11 starts. He’s slashing .378/.540/.811 during that span, with an impressive 22% walk rate and 18% strikeout rate. Fry should be scooped up in all league sizes. He’s ranked as the fifth-best catcher according to the FanGraphs Player Rater, hits in the heart of the order, and is an even better play in OBP leagues. Plus, Fry has multi-position eligibility, including 1B eligibility in Yahoo leagues.
Brenton Doyle (OF — COL)
Brenton Doyle was the speedster of the week, successfully swiping five bases on five attempts. He leads the Rockies with 14 stolen bases on the year, with 10 of those steals coming in May.
While Doyle has some pop, his 96th-percentile sprint speed carries most of his fantasy value. He stole 22 bases across 431 plate appearances in 2023, and he should be able to push for 30-35 steals this season, given an improved plate discipline in 2024. Doyle is walking more and striking out less, with significant gains in May. For the month, he’s walking at a 12.8% clip (career 6.3%) and striking out 24.5% of the time (career 32.7%). Assuming that sticks, a 15 HR/30+ SB season is in the cards for Doyle.
Ian Happ (OF — CHC)
Ian Happ logged six hits last week, including three doubles and two home runs. He also smoked the ball, registering a whopping 80% hard-hit rate and 40% barrel rate, to go with a 1.417 OPS for the week.
Happ has had a rough start to the season, with four home runs and two steals across 203 plate appearances. His .224/.335/.362 slash line and .323 xwOBA on the year are also underwhelming. However, Happ has been heating up in May. He’s been making loud contact this month with a 52.3% hard-hit rate while barreling the ball at a 15.9% clip. He’s also been flexing more power, upping his ISO from .100 ISO in April to .194 in May. Now, let’s hope those steals start to pick up.
Masyn Winn (SS — STL)
The hits keep coming for Masyn Winn. He had multiple hits in three of five games last week and totaled eight hits, including four doubles. He also popped a home run and didn’t strike out in his 18 at-bats. Winn has been cruising in May and is in the middle of a 15-game hitting streak, with two home runs, two steals, and a .972 OPS in that span. His hot hitting also moved him to the leadoff spot in the Cardinals’ last three games against lefties.
Winn is off to a solid year, slashing .301/.356/.438 with a 125 wRC+ across 169 plate appearances. He’s been a productive bat and leads the team with seven steals despite hitting near the bottom of the order. Winn is a contact hitter who gets on base and brings a little bit of pop and speed to the fantasy table (think 10 HR/20 SB). He’s worth grabbing in 12-team leagues, especially if he gets more opportunities at the top of the lineup.
Fallers
Edouard Julien (2B — MIN)
Edouard Julien managed only one hit last week and is in the middle of a 1-for-25 slump over the past nine games. He also struck out nearly 39% during that span and dropped from the leadoff spot to eighth in his last two games. Julien has been awful in May, posting a .435 OPS and a 35 wRC+ across 70 plate appearances. He sits against lefties and is hitting near the bottom of the order, which isn’t what you want for fantasy. Julien could start riding the pine if he can’t hit his way off the struggle bus.
Justin Turner (3B — TOR)
Justin Turner had a week to forget, going 3-for-19 and sitting in three of his last five games. After a promising start to the season, Turner has been ice cold in May, slashing .102/.172/.144 with a -12 wRC+ across his last 64 plate appearances. He also dropped from fourth to fifth in the order. While the drop isn’t a big one volume-wise, it’s not a positive sign.
Overall, Turner’s plate discipline is still intact this season. But he isn’t striking the ball as well as he usually does — his 32.3% hard-hit rate is a career-low, and he only has five barrels on the year (3.9%). The age cracks may be starting to show for Turner, and unless he turns things around, he could continue to lose playing time.
Nolan Arenado (3B — STL)
Nolan Arenado went 3-for-20 (.150) last week and failed to register a walk. The slow week is an extension of a sluggish season, especially power-wise for Arenado. He has three home runs across 213 plate appearances and a career-worst .098 ISO (career .236). His quality contact has plummeted, with a 29% hard-hit rate and a 1.9% barrel rate on the year. Also, his 85.7 mph average exit velocity is down three ticks from 2023. While Arenado hasn’t been a drain in the batting average department (.263), the lack of power is pretty concerning.
Jo Adell (OF — LAA)
What a difference a month makes. Following a red-hot April, Jo Adell has cooled off. Last week, he went 2-for-25 (.080) and was caught stealing a base. Adell still hit for power (.240 ISO, two homers), but he failed to draw a walk and posted a 40% strikeout rate.
Adell excelled in April mainly because he struck out at a reduced 20.7% rate (career 33.7%). However, his plate gains haven’t carried over to May, as Adell is striking out just north of 30% for the month. He’s still barreling the ball at a robust 14.8% clip. But the strikeouts are fueling an ugly .152/.227/.392 slash line across 22 games in May, making Adell tough to roster in shallow leagues.