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. Here are some fantasy baseball players on the rise and some on the decline.
Fantasy Baseball Stock Report (Week 6)
Here are some fantasy baseball players who are trending upward based on their recent performance.
stock up
Riley Green (OF – DET)
Riley Greene and the Tigers have been on the rise lately. The former No. 5 overall pick ranks 10th in ISO (.267) and 20th in wOBA (.395) over the past two weeks.
Since making his major league debut in 2022, Green has increased his walk rate from 8.5% to 17.3% and decreased his strikeout rate from 28% to 24.8%.
At just 23 years old, he's a player I'd buy and keep in fantasy baseball.
Jack Flaherty (SP – DET)
Jack Flaherty has been the biggest surprise at the pitching position this season. The 28-year-old currently ranks second in K% (34%), fourth in BB% (3.4%) and first overall in xFIP (2.18). xFIP was a significant improvement over his career mark of 3.81. He's arguably the best pitcher in the league to this point in the season.
He finished his historic game against St. Louis by becoming the fifth pitcher in MLB history to strike out 14 batters and pitch no runs in fewer than seven innings.
As far as his pitching profile goes, he throws slightly less fastballs (43.7%) and significantly more sliders (33.5%). Other than that, his speed hasn't changed much.
The only thing Flaherty has this season is an incredibly soft schedule. He has played twice against the White Sox, Athletics, Cardinals, Rays and Twins. Both of these teams rank at the bottom in strikeout rate. Flaherty's advanced numbers don't lie, but I'm interested to see how he handles with some tough matches under his belt.
CJ Abrams (SS – WAS)
CJ Abrams is one of the most underrated players in baseball right now. He doesn't get much love because he plays for the Nationals, but his numbers so far this season may shock people.
He ranks just behind Gunnar Henderson and just above Mike Trout on the ISO leaderboard at .324. He also ranks tied for eighth in the league with Kyle Tucker in wOBA (.420) and ranks 10th in the league in wRC+ (171).
He's only 23 years old and was traded to Washington as part of the Juan Soto package a while ago. He's someone you want to keep hidden for the next few years.
out of stock
On the contrary, here are some players on the decline that have been a disappointment to fantasy baseball managers.
Randy Arozarena (OF – TB)
We all know “Playoff Randy” will be better in the postseason, but he's been one of the coldest hitters so far this year. Among eligible hitters, Randy Arozarena has the third-worst wOBA (.213) and fourth-worst wRC+ (39).
His ball-in-play batting average (BABIP) is very low at .173, so perhaps his lackluster performance is the result of bad luck. It's still alarming to see his WAR at -0.6 for a guy who bats every day in the center of the Rays' lineup.
Michael Soroka (SP – CWS)
Conversely, Michael Soroka was arguably the worst starter to qualify this season. His xFIP rank is lowest at 5.69 and his strikeout rate is noticeably lower at just 10.6%. His walk rate is also his third highest (12.6%) and his HR/9 is his sixth highest (1.89).
There's not much to get excited about in Soroka's profile. The only thing to look out for when he goes into a game is that opposing batters are putting up numbers.
Beau Bichette (SS – TOR)
If that happens, another shortstop will be introduced, but this shortstop hasn't been very active this season. Bo Bichette has had a high wOBA batting average over his six-year career, but he is hitting just .252 so far this season, well below his career average of .348.
The 26-year-old has a strikeout rate of just 14.8% this season, a marked drop from his average of 20.5%, but he hasn't improved his on-base percentage.
The Blue Jays' entire offense is underperforming at this point. Perhaps May's warm weather may cause some of these bats to heat up.
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