Another fantasy week is in the books which means it is time for another addition of the Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch Report.  Let’s look at which players have their values rising and falling since last week.

Rising Stock

Juan Soto OF, WAS- The Nationals promoted prospect Juan Soto over the weekend and on Monday he made his major league start.  In Soto’s first at bat, on the very first pitch, he hit an opposite field three-run home run.  He went on to finish the game 2-for-4 with two runs, one home run and three RBI.  He made his second start on Tuesday and impressively went 1-for-1 with three walks and one run scored.  This kid is just 19 years old and already is showing the plate discipline to collect three walks in a game.  He is going to be a stud and should play almost everyday for the Nationals moving forward.  He is owned in just 50-percent of standard leagues right now but that will be quickly on the rise over the next few days.

Aaron Hicks OF, NYY- Hicks is really starting to heat up right now, hitting .421 (8-19) with six runs, two home runs and four RBI over the last seven days.  On the year Hicks is hitting .250 with 20 runs, five home runs, 19 RBI and five stolen bases.  He hits up and down the Yankees lineup depending on the starter which should give him equal chances at scoring runs and driving them in.  Last season Hicks hit .266 with 15 home runs and 10 stolen bases over 88 games.  If he can stay healthy he should exceed that number of games played this season and still provide fantasy owners with home run and stolen base production.

Nick Pivetta SP, PHI- Phillies starter Nick Pivetta was on some sleeper lists heading into the year after he posted a 9.5 K/9 with a 4.26 xFIP and 4.32 SIERA over 26 starts during his rookie season.  I reference his xFIP and SIERA because I feel they are better indicators of his performance than his ERA which was an ugly 6.02 but that was largely due to a very unlucky .331 BABIP against and 18.2% HR/FB rate.  This season Pivetta has been very solid, aside from two starts, going 4-2 with a 3.31 xFIP and 3.21 SIERA while upping his K/9 to 10.2 and dropping his BB/9 from 3.86 to 2.04.  So, Pivetta is striking out more batters and walking less while cutting his HR/FB rate in half to 9.3%.  Pivetta is owned in just 40-percent of standard leagues but that needs to change ASAP as he is the real deal.

Falling Stock

Jarlin Garcia SP, MIA- The was a ship destined to sink if you looked into his peripheral numbers and to his credit Garcia was able to stay above water for much longer than I ever gave him credit for but his string of luck has now run out.  Garcia has allowed 15 earned runs on 17 hits over his last 12 innings and the Marlins have said that he will be moving into the bullpen which kills any fantasy value he may have still possessed.   Garcia, through nine games (six starts) is 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA but also has a 4.90 xFIP and a 5.02 SIERA which is not good.

Jason Kipnis 2B, CLE- Yet another poster boy for spring training stats mean nothing, Kipnis hit .346 with six home runs in 19 games during the spring. Here we are however, 45 games into the regular season and Kipnis is hitting just .178 with one home run and zero stolen bases.  Those looking for a bounce back season from Kipnis after last year’s injury plagued here should just give up on that if you haven’t already.  Kipnis is still owned in 20-percent of standard leagues but that should continue to decline unless he really catches fire.

David Dahl OF, COL- Dahl is in the midst of a tough stretch right now, hitting .200 (6-for-30) with one home run and two RBI over the last 15 days.  Fantasy owners should remember that Dahl had an unsustainable .404 BABIP during his 63-game stint back in 2016 while striking out 25-percent of the time so it is not too shocking that he is going through some tough stretches as his peripheral numbers come back down to something more reasonable.  Currently, Dahl is hitting .257 on the year but with a .364 BABIP and a 32-percent strikeout rate.  His spot in the Rockies lineup will always draw fantasy owners to Dahl but I don’t find him to be anything special.