We are in the third week of the MLB season and we continue to see players with white hot starts to the season while there are plenty of others that are looking totally lost.  Let’s take a look at whose stock is rising or falling over this past week.

 

Rising Stock

Christian Villanueva 3B, SD-  The Padres third basemen has homered in three straight games and now has six home runs on the season.  With those six home runs he is hitting .333 and has driven in 13 to lead the Padres.  Villanueva is owned in just 21-percent of standard leagues and it is certainly reasonable to be skeptical of his recent power surge but if we have learned anything about the MLB over the past few years it is that home runs continue to fly out of the park.

Jed Lowrie 2B, OAK- If you listened to the DFS podcast today, and I know you did, then you heard me ask James if he knew who the MLB leader in RBI’s was without looking it up.  Naturally he got it wrong because who in their right mind would guess Jed Lowrie but that is in fact who leads the league in RBI right now.  As I write this article he has already gone yard giving him five home runs and 18 RBI on the season to go with an impressive .352 batting average.  We have seen Lowrie be an impactful offensive player in prior seasons, but injury has already limited his upside. He is a switch-hitter that hits in the middle of the A’s lineup yet is only owned in 60-percent of standard league formats.

Joey Lucchesi SP, SD- The Padres rookie has dominated through his first four starts of the season, going 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP while striking out 25 over 21.2 innings.  Lucchesi has allowed just one run over his last 16 innings while striking out 24.  A look at his peripheral numbers show that his production is no fluke as he has a 1.93 FIP, 2.66 xFIP and a 2.71 SIERA.  Lucchesi was also a big-time strikeout pitcher in the minors and that has translated to the majors as he owns a 10.4 K/9.  He is currently owned in just 52-percent of standard leagues and that is something that definitely needs to change.

 

Falling Stock

Marcus Stroman SP, TOR- Stroman was hampered during the spring with a shoulder injury that limited him to just one spring training start, but he was cleared to make his season debut and start the Blue Jays fourth game of the year.  Unfortunately, the results have not been there for Stroman who is 0-1 with a 7.98 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP through three starts.  Stroman’s ownership has dropped to about 80-percent in standard leagues and with his next start coming in New York against the Yankees it seems unlikely he will be turning it around any time soon.

Kevin Kiermaier OF, TB- Injuries just continue to hinder Kiermaier who was just placed on the 60-day DL after tearing a ligament in his thumb.  Kiermaier was off to a slow start to his season but he had an average ADP of 162 coming into the year and profile to be a 20/20 player if he could ever stay healthy.  Those who own him can safely release him in all formats.

Chris Davis 1B, BAL- Some were predicting a bounce back season for the Orioles slugger after he hit just .215 last season with 26 home runs and a .732 OPS.  Davis did not perform well during the spring and his 2018 season is off to a miserable start as he is hitting just .132 with one home run and two RBI.  Davis boasts a miserable 30-percent strike out rate this season and it seems likely his playing time will be diminishing sooner rather than later.