It's Thursday. I know what that means.
Each week during fantasy baseball season, we produce a stock report examining players who are rising or falling in value.If there's a specific player you'd like me to jump into, feel free to tag me twitter.
Now, without further ado, let's get down to business.
Fantasy Baseball Stock Report: Stock Up
Jared Jones (SP – PIT)
Jared Jones has quietly put up the best numbers of any starting pitcher this year. Through his four starts, he has a strikeout rate of 36.4% and an xFIP of 2.14. Both players rank first among starting pitchers who have pitched 20 or more innings this season. His walk rate is only 2.3% of batters, tied for second with George Kirby.
He is also one of the league's most difficult pitchers, ranking behind Hunter Green in fastball speed (97.1 mph) and behind Tyler Glasnow and Yusei Kikuchi in slider speed (130.4 mph). .
Jones is only 22 years old and was the 44th overall pick in the 2020 draft. He is a person to keep an eye on as he will help Pittsburgh advance to the National League Central Division.
Jordan Westberg (3B – BAL)
The Orioles have a lot of young talent, but few may choose Jordan Westberg as the player for Baltimore who ranks high in many offensive metrics this year. Westberg is third on the team in wOBA (.431), he is third in ISO (.298), and he is third in wRC+ (189). He also has a strikeout rate of just 18.8%.
As of right now, Colton Cowser leads Baltimore in all three of these metrics, but there are two red flags in his profile. For one, his strikeout rate is an impressive 30.4%, second only to Jorge Mateo's 35%. And he is second in batting average in balls in play (BABIP) at .520, which ranks behind Jared Kelenic and Lamonte Wade Jr. league-wide. BABIP indicates that Kauser is playing beyond his expectations and should experience some setbacks.
But when it comes to Westburg, his BABIP is .341. He showed he could be an integral part of this lethal Orioles lineup despite being near or at the bottom of the batting order.
Jackson Merrill (OF – SD)
There are three top prospects named Jackson in the league. This is the least talked about topic. Jackson Merrill has quietly gotten off to a great start to his career in San Diego, ranking fourth on the team in wOBA (.369) and tied for first with four stolen bases.
Although he wasn't showing much power to start the season, Merrill only posted a .171 ISO through Double-A last season. He won't be heralded as a player who can lead the Padres in home runs, but he has shown the ability to have an incredible on-base percentage. He has an 11.3% walk rate, a 16.9% strikeout rate, and an OBP of .408, second only to Jurickson Profar.
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