Who is performing and who is declining this week in fantasy baseball?
We are now in week nine of the fantasy baseball season, almost a month away from the all-star break. It has been an interesting season so far for some big name players.Bryce Harper is batting only .257 after his monster MVP season last year. Is he still a fantasy stud? Absolutely, but he is not living up to his preseason draft stock (picked first overall in many drafts).
Josh Donaldson, the American League MVP, is also only batting .255. Donaldson bolstered his draft stock for 2016 after an incredible 2015 campaign. Donaldson needs to pick up his game in order not to be a first or second round bust that he has been this year.
Let’s take a look at three players on the rise and three players on the fall at this point in the season.
On the Rise: Jackie Bradley Jr., OF BOS
Jackie Bradley Jr. has been one of the biggest surprises this year in fantasy baseball.
The Beantown center fielder is batting .315 with 9 home runs, 38 RBI, 5 stolen bases and an OPS of .961. All of those numbers are turning out to be huge increases from last year for this young, hot-hitting outfielder.
A season ago, JBJ batted .249, and in 2014 (his only full season), his batting average was .198 with 1 home run and 30 RBI.
If Bradley Jr. is on your team, he could be a great sell-high candidate for some more pressing needs on your roster. If you choose to keep him, you are placing faith in him continuing this stellar season.
On the Rise: Michael Fulmer, SP DET
Michael Fulmer was the guy the Mets traded to Detroit last year for Yoenis Cespedes on the trade deadline.
The right-handed throwing fireballer has won his last four decisions and is 6-1 in 8 starts in 2016. Fulmer is averaging just over 6 strikeouts a game and his 2.83 ERA is fantastic for his fantasy owners.
Fulmer is only a rookie and doesn’t have a history to go off, but right now he is a great pickup for those teams struggling in the pitching categories. This pitcher is both a surprise in both fantasy and the Motor City.
On the Rise: Marcell Ozuna, OF MIA
Marcell Ozuna is not the outfielder fantasy owners want to talk about on the Marlins. Nonetheless, he is having himself quite a year.
Ozuna is batting .314 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI. Ozuna already has more home runs with 11 than he did all of last year with 10. This 25-year-old is having a bounce-back season following a disappointing 2015 campaign.
The righty showed fantasy owners in 2014 that he could post good numbers for an outfielder, dropping 23 home runs and knocking in 85 RBI. Mike Stanton is usually the outfielder everyone wants from Miami, but right now everyone needs to go pick up Ozuna while he is hot.
On the Fall: Michael Pineda, SP NYY
Michael Pineda has been downright awful in 2016. For a guy with so much promise, fantasy owners cannot keep on getting deceived by him anymore.
The 6’7” righty is 3-6 with a 6.14 ERA in 2016. Though his last two starts have been encouraging, Pineda has been very inconsistent. Being inconsistent has been a flaw for Big Mike in the Bronx. Last year, he was 12-10 with a 4.37 ERA.
Pineda will need quite a few impressive starts in a row before anyone should think about picking him up in their fantasy leagues. If you still have him on your roster, don’t be like the Yankees and hold on to poor performers, rather, drop him and find someone better on the waiver wire.
On the Fall: Kolten Wong, 2B STL
Kolten Wong is no longer a Major League player. Wong was optioned to Triple-A and the Cardinals activated Jhonny Peralta.
The Hawaiian native had a good last season, batting .262 with 11 home runs, 61 RBI and 15 stolen bases. This year has been a completely different season for the second baseman. Wong is batting .222 with 1 home run and 5 RBI in 2016. His poor at-bats are the reason he is no longer with the big league club.
Wong was no fantasy stud by any means but he did provide a multitude of stats in 2015. He should no longer be owned by any fantasy owner until he can once prove himself in the big show.
On the Fall: Hunter Pence, OF SF
Hunter Pence was off to a pretty decent 2016 season until he was put on the DL for a hamstring problem. Pence will undergo surgery to repair his hamstring.
Pence was batting .298 with 7 home runs and 36 RBI before his injury. Father time might be catching up to this 33-year-old outfielder though. Pence played only 52 games all of last year and has played 50 this year. The Giants are optimistic he will return before the end of the season but he will be out for an extended period.
Pence is an above-average fantasy outfielder when healthy but that’s been his Achilles Heel over the past two seasons. Drop him now if you need an outfielder and don’t have room on the disabled list, or stash him away and hope he is healthy enough to propel you in playoffs.