Rising Stock

Rafael Devers 3B, BOS- Well it sure looks like the scouts were right on this kid huh?  The 20-year old Devers showed no fear of the spotlight during Sunday night’s game against the Yankees as he took Aroldis Chapman deep in the 9th inning to send the game into extra innings.  Devers then went and hit two more home runs on Monday against the Indians as the Sox returned home to Fenway Park.  Through 16 games at the major league level Devers is hitting .339 with 11 runs, three doubles, six home runs and 12 RBI.  Overall this season, between Double-A, Triple-A and the MLB, Devers has scored 65 runs with 26 home runs and 72 RBI over 94 games.

Josh Donaldson 3B, TOR- This has been quite the disappointing season for both Josh Donaldson and his fantasy owners that used a first round pick on him but he is starting to come around thanks to a recent hot stretch.  During the last seven days Donaldson is hitting .417 (10/24) with five runs, four home runs and 11 RBI.  If healthy Donaldson can still be among the most feared American League hitters and with fantasy playoffs coming around I am sure owners would love to see him start to take off.

Eddie Rosario OF, MIN- The Twins outfielder is enjoying one of the best stretches of his career in the month of August as he is hitting .356 with 11 runs, five home runs and 12 RBI over his last 12 games.  On the season Rosario is hitting .296 with 53 runs, 16 home runs, 46 RBI and five stolen bases for Minnesota.

Trevor Bauer SP, CLE- Everybody is talking about the Indians rotation with Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar all pitching well but Bauer has been on top of his game for for nearly a month now.  Over his last five starts Bauer is 4-0 with a 2.41 ERA while having struck out 39 over 33.2 innings.  Control has long been an issue with Bauer but his strikeout ability should not be questioned and if he can harness his talent the Indians rotation really could be four deep heading into the playoffs.

Falling Stock

Bryce Harper OF, WAS- By now we all saw the play of Harper slipping on the first base bag and hyper-extending his knee.  It certainly looked worse than a bone bruise but fortunately for the Nationals it was just that.  Unfortunately for fantasy owners however Harper has landed on the 10-day disabled list and is without a return date.  With fantasy playoffs just a few weeks away for most standard formats this injury could not come at a worse time.

Sean Manaea SP, OAK- August has been a month to forget for the A’s young southpaw as he has allowed 13 earned runs over his last 6.2 innings.  Those 6.2 innings stretch over three starts which have lasted 3.0 innings, 3.1 innings and 0.1 innings.  The 0.1 inning outing came thanks to a shelling by the Orioles which tagged Manaea for six earned runs on six hits.

Bradley Zimmer OF, CLE- Zimmer really had a strong month of July which saw him hit .277 with 15 runs, four home runs, 15 RBI and six stolen bases.  Unfortunately for the rookie he has since gone 0-for-29 in the month of August with 14 strikeouts. While Zimmer certainly boasts the power/speed potential that fantasy owners covet, his struggles right now are hard to swallow with the fantasy playoffs on the horizon for most owners.

A.J. Pollock OF, ARI- A lengthy stint on the DL has certainly hurt Pollock’s overall numbers this season but the month of August is doing him zero favors as well as the Diamondbacks outfielder is hitting just .146 with eight runs, zero home runs, one RBI and one stolen base over the 13 games played this month.  While we know that Pollock is a much better player than his recent numbers he has picked a rough time to slump with fantasy playoffs nearing.

Stock to Watch

Tyler Glasnow SP, PIT

Tyler Glasnow. Does this name sound at all familiar to you? If you were a fantasy owner of his this season you may have blocked him from your memory after the Pirates young righty went 2-6 with a 7.45 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP over 12 starts to begin the season.  Glasnow had zero control of the strike zone, having walked 29 over 54.1 innings.  His command issues forced the Pirates to send him back down to the minors and boy has he dominated Triple-A hitters.  In 11 starts at Triple-A this Glasnow is 8-0 with a 1.57 ERA and a minuscule 0.99 WHIP.  He has walked just 26 over 68.2 innings while having struck out a ridiculous 103 hitters.  The Pirates have credited a change in mechanics which has Glasnow pitching exclusively from the stretch to his success and increased command. September call-ups are looming and Glasnow certainly figures to be a name that will be put on the MLB roster but given his success and the fact that Pittsburgh is only 4.5 games out of the N.L. Central division lead the call for Glasnow could be coming sooner.  Owned in just 3-percent of standard leagues Glasnow is a player worth watching.