Two months of the baseball season are in the books, folks. While some players are playing unexpectedly well to start the season, others who we had high hopes for have been struggling. For fantasy purposes, you may be wondering what to do. But don’t sweat it! This weekly write-up will highlight the week’s hot and cold performances in order to help with lineup and waiver wire decisions. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some Week 9 risers and fallers for 2023 fantasy baseball!
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Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers
Week 9 stats from 5/22 – 5/28
Risers
Jorge Soler (OF – MIA)
Jorge Soler powered his way through the week, clubbing five home runs with seven runs scored and eight RBI across seven games. He took advantage of Coors Field and left-handed pitching, finishing with a 1.159 OPS and .516 ISO.
Overall, Soler is having a fantastic season. The slugger is hitting .254/.329/.563 with 17 homers, 31 runs scored and 35 RBI across 219 plate appearances. He’s also sporting a 138 wRC+ and sterling .310 ISO during that span. Soler’s contact is up this season, which pairs nicely with his 19% barrel rate and 47.2% hard-hit rate on the year. He’s been feasting off southpaws in particular, to the tune of a 1.453 OPS. He’s a must-roster in all leagues, and gets a bump in daily leagues.
Matt McLain (SS – CIN)
Matt McLain is a hitting machine. He led the league with 15 hits last week, including five multi-hit performances in seven games. McLain also added two homers to go along with nine runs scored and seven RBI. He also threw in a stolen base for good measure.
McLain was called up in mid-May and hasn’t disappointed. He hit safely in 10 of his 12 games, with a .380/.456/.600 slash line across 57 big league plate appearances. McLain is in a prime position to produce runs while batting second in the Reds’ order. His elevated 28.1% strikeout rate isn’t ideal, but his 10.5% walk rate helps balance things out – and is consistent with his double-digit walk rates throughout the minors. McLain gets on base, has 93rd percentile sprint speed, and should pile up runs while from the top of the order. Sign me up.
Zach McKinstry (2B/3B/OF – DET)
Zach McKinstry was one of the steals leaders last week with four swipes in his 23 at-bats. He also popped a home run and walked at a 24.2% clip. McKinstry is quietly having a solid season. He has four home runs on the year, with 23 runs scored, 10 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. He also has a hefty .296/.412/.448 slash line with a 146 wRC+ across 154 plate appearances.
McKinstry has thrived since moving to the leadoff spot at the end of April. He scored 17 of his 23 runs from the top of the order, as well as stole seven of his 10 bases. He also posted a shiny .458 OBP and .897 OPS during that 29-game span. McKinstry is a contact hitter who hits a ton of line drives (27.6% LD rate) and gets on base. He is quickly shaping up to be a legitimate source of runs scored and steals, despite Detroit’s anemic offense.
Fallers
Anthony Volpe (SS – NYY)
Anthony Volpe went 2-for-22 last week with two runs scored and two RBI. He also posted a meager .125 OBP for the week. Overall, it’s been a mixed bag for the rookie this season. While he has a more than respectable seven homers and 13 steals in 55 games, Volpe has struggled at the plate. His elevated 30.2% strikeout rate has contributed to a sub-.200 batting average, and he’s only getting on base at a .279 clip. Additionally, Volpe was dropped from the leadoff spot, and has been confined to the bottom third of the order for the past couple of weeks. Volpe certainly has the talent to turn things around, but his fantasy value remains limited at the moment.
Kris Bryant (OF – COL)
Kris Bryant has been riding the struggle bus. He logged two hits in 19 at-bats last week, totaling four runs scored and an RBI. His three walks were good for a 13.6% walk rate, but Bryant continues to come up short in the power department.
Bryant has five homers and a .113 ISO and .376 SLG across 210 plate appearances this season. Yuck. His .263 BA and .348 OBP are nice, but fantasy managers were likely expecting more power, courtesy of Coors Field. While Bryant is making a solid amount of contact and hitting a bunch of line drives, his underwhelming 31.8% hard-hit rate and 5.4% barrel rate will suppress the long balls. Additionally, the Rockies have been load-managing Bryant, making him meh overall and best-suited for leagues with five outfielders.
Jarren Duran (OF – BOS)
Following a red-hot start to the season, Jarren Duran has gone ice cold. He managed only two hits in his last 27 at-bats and registered a .148 OPS during that span. Additionally, Duran has looked lost at the plate. He failed to draw a walk and struck out at a brutal 51.9% rate across his last seven games.
Outside of his cold spell, Duran has had a strong start to the season. He’s slashing .297/.348/.469 with a 120 wRC+ across 141 plate appearances. He also hit 13 doubles in that span, in addition to logging three homers and seven stolen bases. However, the concern is that Duran could be the odd man out once Adam Duvall returns from the IL. While Duran has shown that he can hang in the majors, his current play isn’t doing him any favors. Duran’s fantasy stock could quickly drop.