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

Rafael Devers 3B, BOS- Devers had a miserable month of May which saw him hit .212 with a .672 OPS.  He struck out in 26-percent of his at bats and saw his average dip to .234 on the season.  Around that time it was noted that he started working with J.D. Martínez on his approach at the plate and since June 6th Devers is hitting .327 with an OPS over .847 while seeing his strikeout rate drop to 22-percent.  Devers has homered three times since that date which gives him 12 on the season as he looks well on his way to meeting that mid-20s home run projection at the beginning of the season.  His batting average is up to .243 and should continue to climb now that he looks locked in at the plate.

Rhys Hoskins OF, PHI- Like with Devers, the month May was a disaster for Hoskins as he hit .161 with an OPS of .552 while striking out in 37-percent of his at bats.  Hoskins found himself on the DL at the end of May and the time off apparently did him some good as he has been on fire since returning as he is hitting .324 with four home runs 11 RBI and an OPS of 1.135 in the month of June.  This young slugger put the league on notice last year with his home run power and now that he is locked in at the dish I expect him to start hitting them in bunches.

Lance Lynn SP, MIN- I am not the biggest Lance Lynn fan but it is hard to ignore how good he has been over the last month-plus.  Since the start of May, a stretch the spans eight starts, Lynn has gone 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA while striking out 45 over 45 innings.  Over his last five starts Lynn has been even more dominant, going 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA while striking out 30 over 31.1 innings.  He has held opposing hitters to a .193 average and a .257 wOBA during this stretch while owning a 3.03 FIP. Lynn had himself some good seasons with the Cardinals and though last year he benefited from a bit of luck it appears as though he has started to figure it out which makes him a viable add in all fantasy formats.

Falling Stock

Luke Weaver SP, STL- Weaver entered this season with big expectations after his impressive 2017 which saw him go 7-2 with a 3.88 ERA and a 10.7 K/9.  Unfortunately, things have not gone as planned for him in 2018 as he is just 3-6 with a 4.52 ERA and that solid K/9 has dropped to just 7.8. Weaver isn’t getting unlucky either as opposing hitters have a relatively average .301 BABIP and he has just a 9.3-percent HR/FB rate.  Weaver has a 4.11 xFIP and 4.30 SIERA so maybe there is some room for improvement if he can increase that strikeout rate but other than that I don’t find him to be a must owned in mixed league formats any longer.

Justin Smoak 1B, TOR- Many wondered if the power we saw from Smoak in 2017 was a fluke and unfortunately for those fantasy owners who believed in the former top prospect of many moons ago it turns out the answer to that question is a yes.  Smoak is hitting just .229 with nine home runs so far this season after hitting .270 with a career best 38 home runs last season.  Prior to the 38 homers, Smoak’s previous home run high was 20 set back in 2013.  Of course we are now in an age of launch angles and exit velocity and it appeared that Smoak had adopted that philosophy which lead to his home run surge.  2018 has not turned out the same results and I would not blame owners for cutting bait.

Bryce Harper OF, WAS- This one may come with a little push back but seeing as Harper was drafted at the end of the first round to early second round of most fantasy drafts this season then it is a major disappointment to see him outside the top 20 among fantasy outfielders in standard league formats.  Harper may have 19 home runs on the season but he is hitting a career worst .212 with a 23-percent strike out rate which is the second worst mark of his career.  Now sure, Harper is getting pretty unlucky with a .208 BABIP so things should eventually turn around for him but for now his value is definitely at a low point.