Stock Watch Risers

  • Trey Mancini 1B/OF, BAL- The Baltimore offense has been relatively disappointing this season but not because Mancini isn’t doing his part.  The Orioles first baseman is hitting .426 with 13 runs, five home runs and 13 RBI over the last two weeks.  On the year he is hitting .321 with 28 runs, 14 home runs and 43 RBI.

  • Keon Broxton OF, MIL-  Broxton was a popular sleeper pick heading into the season given his home run and stolen base ability and he has not disappointed to this point in the year.  Over the past two weeks especially, Broxton is hitting .364 with 11 runs, six home runs, 15 RBI and three stolen bases.

  • Mike Fiers SP, HOU- Fiers got off to a real slow start to the season but the month of June has shown a real turnaround for the Houston pitcher.  In June Fiers has gone 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA with 21 strikeouts over 25.1 innings.  It was just two seasons ago that Fiers owned a 3.69 ERA while striking out 180 over 180.1 innings for Houston and he is looking like that pitcher once again this month.

 

Stock Watch Fallers

  • Zack Wheeler SP, NYM- Wheeler got off to a strong start to his season but his last two starts saw him allow 15 earned runs over 3.2 innings.  Wheeler then landed on the disabled list due to biceps tendinitis.  The Mets claim Wheeler will only miss one start but given his history of arm troubles they could be inclined to take a more cautious approach with him.

  • Kyle Seager 3B, SEA- Seager is borderline droppable at this point in the season.  Hitting just .254 with 30 runs, eight home runs, 43 RBI and one stolen base he currently ranks outside the top 15 among fantasy third basemen in standard leagues which is a major disappointment given his 3-4th round ADP heading into the season.

  • Carlos Gonzalez OF, COL -Make it two weeks in a row for CarGo making this list as the Rockies outfielder hit the DL with a shoulder strain.  CarGo is hitting just .221 with 36 runs, six home runs and 20 RBI this season which are numbers that should be in the free-agency pool and not many fantasy rosters anyhow.

 

Buy or Sell?

Buy

Yasiel Puig OF, LAD

Things couldn’t have gone more wrong for Puig in 2016 as the turbulent outfielder was demoted to the minors after numerous reports that he was a malcontent in the clubhouse and constantly battling with the manager.  Puig was just a few years removed from being a borderline first round pick yet he entered the 2017 with no certainty of a starting job and thus his ADP in standard leagues saw him going around pick 212.  73 games into the season and Puig is actually performing above expectations, sure his .251 batting average is meh, but he has scored 36 runs with 14 home runs, 41 RBI and nine stolen bases.  The nine stolen bases is just two shy of his career high mark and the 14 home runs is just five shy of his personal best.  Puig is hitting a lowly .180 against left handed pitching this season despite being a career .269 hitting against LHP so there is some hope for a raise in batting average if he can get that mark up in the second half of the season.  Puig can likely be had on the trade market despite being on pace to hit around 25 home runs and steal 20 bags this season.

Sell

Chase Anderson SP, MIL

The Brewers currently sit atop the N.L. Central and while Eric Thames has been the story on the offensive side of things Chase Anderson has lead the pitching staff by going 6-2 with a 2.92 ERA this season.  Unfortunately I think this is about as good as it will get for Anderson and now is a good time to dump him.  Anderson owns a career 4.02 ERA, 4.26 xFIP and 4.26 SIERA.  This season Anderson has a 2.92 ERA with a 4.34xFIP and 4.17 SIERA.  As you can see there the biggest outlier comes by way of the ERA this season.  Anderson has a bit of luck on his side this season thanks to a career low .274 BABIP, .222 BAA and 7.9-percent HR/FB rate.  Anderson also owns an impressive 2.15 ERA at home this season but Miller Park ranks as the fourth best hitters park this season in terms of runs scored and ranks among the top 10 in home runs and hits allowed so some regression when pitching at home should be on it’s way in the second half as well.  Look to move on from Anderson if you own him as it is unlikely his ERA stays below 3.00 for much longer.