Rising Stock

Rhys Hoskins OF, PHI- Talk about making a statement when you arrive on the scene.  Hoskins is hitting .309 with 18 runs, 11 home runs and 25 RBI over his first 19 career games.  Prior to Mondays pedestrian 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI he had homered in eight straight contests. His ownership is slightly below 80-percent in standard leagues but that number figures to rise quickly over the course of the week, especially if he continues to mash.

Byron Buxton OF, MIN- Buxton had impressive Sunday afternoon which saw him go 4-for-5 with four runs, three home runs, five RBI and one stolen base.  Buxton was once the No.1 prospect in baseball but was beginning to look like a bust after struggling over his first few stints but he going to approach a 20-homer/30-stolen base season in 2017 which bodes well for his fantasy outlook going forward.

Starling Marte OF, PIT- Marte certainly killed his fantasy owners when he was suspended for 80-games do to a failed PED test but he has started to come on since returning to the Pirates lineup.  Over the last two weeks he is hitting .316 with 10 runs, two home runs, seven RBI and five stolen bases.  All will be forgiven by fantasy owners if Marte can help lead their teams to the fantasy playoffs.

Patrick Corbin SP, ARI- Corbin has dazzled over his last five starts, going 4-1 with a 0.99 ERA while striking out 39 over 36.1 innings.  Of course we have seen Corbin be dominant for stretches previously in his career and his impressive rookie season shows the upside his talent can bring to fantasy owners.  Corbin’s ability to limit the free-passes has really helped during this successful stretch and fantasy owners should look to snag the Arizona lefty for the playoff push.

Falling Stock

Yoenis Cespedes OF, NYM-  It has been a disappointing season for Cespedes as hamstring injuries have landed him on the disabled list multiple times.  This most recent injury is likely going cost him the rest of the Mets regular season though no exact time table has been announced.  Should this be the end of the year Cespedes will finish the season hitting .292 with 46 runs, 17 home runs and 42 RBI.  

Ryan Braun OF, MIL- Somebody on the Brewers may want to remind Braun to take a bat up to the plate with him as the slugger is just 4-for-35 over the last 15 days with zero runs, zero home runs and three RBI.  His ownership levels in standard league formats have dipped to around 90-percent as he continues to have a down year.

Eric Thames 1B, MIL- If you thought Braun’s struggles were bad take a look at Eric Thames who is hitting just .178 with nine runs, three home runs and seven RBI during the month of August.  Over the last two weeks things have been worse as he is hitting just .129 with four runs, zero home runs and one RBI while striking out 11 times in 31 at bats. His struggles have lowered his season average to .238 to go with 73 runs, 27 home runs and 52 RBI.

Michael Wacha SP, STL- On a whole it has been solid season for Wacha but he has been rocked over his last three starts, allowing 14 earned runs on 24 hits over 12.1 innings. His ERA during this stretch is 10.22 and opponents have a .414 average and an OPS of 1.143.

Stock to Watch

Justin Bour 1B, MIA

Bour has been on the disabled list since getting injured in late July but prior to the injury he was having a career year, hitting .289 with 39 runs, 21 home runs and 63 RBI.  The Marlins first basemen is nearing a return to the team with a short rehab stint expected to make sure he has no setbacks with his oblique strain.  He is currently owned in under 30-percent of standard leagues but was producing at a Top-10 positional level before the injury occurred.  Fantasy owners looking for some power heading into the playoffs should look to snag Bour as he would join a Marlins offense that boasts Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna who are both enjoying career seasons.