With two weeks of baseball done, Elite Sports NY has six more players that have seen their Fantasy Baseball stocks rise or fall.
By Dustin Shull
We aren’t going to list every single one of those players, but instead are going to narrow it down to six guys.
It is still very early in the season so there is no reason for concern if any of your players end up on the stock down, and it also does not mean that they are done for.
With week 2 of Elite Sports NY’s ‘Fantasy Baseball Stock Up, Stock Down’ now out, let’s take a look at who is impressing us at the moment and who is letting us down.
Stock Up: Bryce Harper
No team is hotter than the Washington Nationals right now, and no player is more white-hot than Bryce Harper.
Harper’s last 10 games have done everything and then some to prove that he was more than worth it to trust as a keeper or first round pick. He has six home runs (five in consecutive games), 15 RBI, and hitting .389.
Bryce also hit his 100th home run in grand fashion. He promptly unloaded the bases with an absolute no-doubter, which was also his first career grand slam, the only player to do so on his 100th blast. He is now also the eighth youngest player to reach the 100 homer milestone.
Dusty Baker and Harper seem to have an incredible relationship, so keeping him happy could also be a huge plus in building on a solid year for the 23-year-old stud.
With all the talent in the world, Harper should continue to see his stock rise, which means that he would probably be an obvious choice each week, but it was impossible to not include him this week with everything that he has been able to accomplish.
Stock Up: Mark Trumbo
Of all the great hitters to don an Orioles uniform, who is the only one to hit two home runs in one inning? Did you guess Eddie Murray, Brady Anderson, Raphael Palmeiro, Cal Ripken Jr., Adam Jones, or Chris Davis? Makes sense to guess those names and possibly some of the other stars of Baltimore, but it is the guy who has played only 11 games with the team, Mark Trumbo.
A two-run “Trumbomb” came first in the Orioles huge seventh inning off of the Texas Rangers starter Martin Perez, and later in the seventh a three-run shot served up by reliever Andrew Faulkner.
After being a solid power contributor for the Angels for years, Trumbo has bounced around from Arizona, to Seattle, and now found himself in Baltimore. He has settled in quite nicely with the Orioles and if he continues this torrid pace he is on, the fans will undoubtedly have no problem with him sticking around.
In Trumbo’s last seven games he has hit five bombs, driven in 11, and has an on-base percentage of .367.
Batting fifth in this insanely loaded O’s lineup bodes very well for Trumbo, and there will never be a lack of RBI opportunities for him. Expect a big season from him, the Orioles have a tendency to bring in power hitters to find their resurgence, i.e. Nelson Cruz.
Stock Up: Marcus Semien
After an up and down 2015 season, and a slow start to the 2016 so far, Marcus Semien has quickly picked up his play.
Although not the greatest average hitter, Semien has some pop in his bat and can make a pitcher pay for missing his location.
In the past week Semien has four pokes, six RBIs, and getting on base at an eye-popping .435 average.
If he could cut down on his high strikeout rate (10 in 35 official at-bats) he would probably see those home run numbers increase, and would see more extra-base hits instead of just singles.
It is hard to look past how good Semien has looked with the bat in his hands the past seven games, whether he can keep it up is something we will just have to wait and see though. He is still a good option regardless in case of an injury or a spot start, but don’t jump to hard and think that he can be an everyday starter.
Stock Down: Adam Wainwright
Not many top pitchers have fallen harder than Adam Wainwright has this season. Coming back from a torn achilles and losing some key players on the Cardinals roster, everyone expected at least a slight decline in performance, but I don’t think anyone saw what he has done so far happening.
Given a 4-0 lead against the Reds on Saturday, Waino imploded and earned the loss by giving up 10 hits and seven earned runs. He also only managed to strike out a measly two batters.
Winless in three starts (0-2) with 16.1 innings pitched, Wainwright has surrendered 15 earned runs and 22 hits. A great strikeout pitcher he has only managed a disappointing seven so far and has a dismal ERA of 8.27.
Anyone that “wasted” a high pick on Wainwright has to be kicking themselves hard and driving themselves crazy wondering whether or not to drop him or try to find a trade partner. I would say, as hard as it is because of his start to the season, give him a little more time and see if he can right the ship.
If he returns to form then you have the top pitcher that he is capable of being. Be a lot easier to deal with him on your team turning it around than letting him hurt you later in the season on someone else’s team.
Stock Down: Brock Holt
After notching two home runs, eight RBIs, and hitting to the tune of a .500 average through the first three games, Holt has slowed down considerably.
In his last six games he is 2 for 18 with five K’s and has watched his average drop to .267.
Holt, a poor man’s Ben Zobrist, has been a solid piece to the Red Sox roster and was a tremendous every position player before he was named the teams starting left fielder against right-handed batters, while Chris Young mans left against lefties.
Definitely not considered a big power hitter or superstar, Holt isn’t expected to put up huge numbers, but Sox fans and fantasy owners are definitely hoping that this is just a quick slump.
I expect Holt to come out of this hole and find his stroke again, but the past week has been one to forget for him.
Stock Down: Buster Posey
Posey, another player that started the season off on a high note, has found himself wondering how exactly to hit it where they aren’t.
Blasting a homer in the season opener, Posey picked up where he left off from his great 2015 season where he hit 19 homers, drove in 95 runs, hit .318, and struck out only 52 times in 623 plate appearances.
Fantasy owners did not have a good week with Posey as in his latest seven games, he is 2 for 17, with one home run, one RBI, and a sickening .167 on-base percentage.
It is a shame to see Buster end up on the stock down list, but there is no doubt that he will figure things out and get his numbers back to where they belong. He is far too good of a hitter and his ability to avoid striking out (never struck out more than 96 times in five full seasons) means that he is always putting the ball in play.