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.

 

Top Risers

Max Muncy 1B, LAD- Muncy is maybe the hottest hitting player in baseball right now.  Over the last two weeks he is hitting .325 with nine runs, seven home runs, 12 RBI and an OPS of 1.325.  He has come out of nowhere to lead the Dodgers in home runs.  Muncy’s 13 home runs in 130 at bats far and away eclipse his previous seasons in which he hit two home runs over 113 at bats in 2016 and three home runs over 102 at bats in 2015.  If this power surge is legit than he needs to be added in all formats.

Ian Kinsler 2B, LAL- Kinsler got off to a brutally slow start to his Angels career but things are starting to heat up for the veteran infielder as he is hitting .288 with 11 runs, five home runs, eight RBI and one stolen base over the last 15 days.  What I like even more about Kinsler is that he has eight home runs and seven stolen bases on the year.  Kinsler has maxed out at 14 stolen bases in each of the last two seasons but seeing as he is already halfway there over just 55 games he may have an outside chance at reaching 20 stolen bases for the first time since 2012.

Evan Gattis C, HOU- Gattis is hitting .277 with seven runs, six home runs and 18 RBI over the last two weeks.  He offers the power upside at the catcher position that only a handful of catchers in the league provide. He also has the added benefit of not actually having to catch for the Astros which helps limit the wear and tear on his body.  The Astros score a lot of runs and men are usually on base in front of Gattis so when he is putting balls in the stands he can really rack up some numbers.

Anibal Sánchez SP, ATL-  So I don’t really want to believe here but it is hard to ignore the fact that Sanchez has allowed just two earned runs on nine hits while striking out 16 over 19.1 innings since coming off the disabled list.  He is putting up numbers that we haven’t seen from him since 2014 when he posted a 3.43 ERA over 21 starts for the Tigers.  He has the benefit of playing in the National League East where the only real threatening offense is the Washington Nationals.  He should draw more than a handful of favorable matchups against the Mets, Marlins and Phillies as long as he remains in the rotation moving forward.

 

Top Fallers

Miguel Sano 3B, MIN- Some shocking news today out of Minnesota following their loss to Detroit as the club decided to demote Sano all the way down to Single-A in an effort for him to go through a “full reset”.  It has been an ugly season for Sano which has seen him on the disabled list and then hit just .162 during the month of June.  Of course Sano will be back with the club at some point this season but there really is no time line for when that will occur.  I think he is safe to drop in all mixed league formats.

Daniel Mengden SP, OAK- It was just a few weeks ago that Mengden seemed unhittable but he has since been shelled over his last two starts, allowing 12 runs on 13 hits while walking seven and striking out just four over 8.2 innings.  Mengden will next take the mound against the Angels on Sunday but if I am an owner I would suggest leaving him on the bench in case he is still ineffective.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 3B, TOR- I know that Vald Jr. is still in the minors but many have rostered him on their fantasy teams waiting for the Blue Jays to eventually call up the young phenom, but it may be time to cut bait as Guerrero suffered a knee injury that will have him shut down for the next four weeks.  Even once those four weeks are up it may still take time for him to get back on track which just lowers the likelihood that Toronto would rush his call-up, especially seeing as the Blue Jays are already practically out of the playoff race.

Michael Conforto OF, NYM- The Mets are in shambles once again and recent reports are suggesting that management is toying with the idea of demoting the struggling Conforto to Triple-A.  I don’t really blame them as he is hitting just .105 over his last 38 at bats and the Mets have a log jam in the outfield, especially when Yoenis Céspedes returns from the DL.  Conforto is owned in just under 50-percent of standard leagues but that rate is rapidly dropping and a demotion would make him droppable in all formats.