High stakes, tight races, and crucial roster decisions- welcome to this week's Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch! August fantasy baseball is defined by who can adjust on the fly, and this week’s stock movement features plenty of tactical shifts you need to act on immediately.

From midseason trade deadline acquisitions paying instant dividends with revamped pitch mixes to once-reliable fantasy anchors falling into part-time roles and blown-save territory, we’re breaking down the top four risers and four fallers you need to know about right now. Let's jump into the news and metrics driving the market this week.

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch Risers This Week

Caleb Durbin, 3B Boston Red Sox

Caleb Durbin’s fantasy stock is surging over the last 15 days, powered by an elite stretch of run production that makes him one of the hottest commodities in fantasy baseball. Just in baseball in general. Over this span, nobody in Major League Baseball has driven in more runs than Durbin, whose 16 RBIs lead the entire league. He has complemented that run production by touching home 12 times, tying him for 9th in MLB in runs scored, while slashing an impressive .345/.431/.509. 

Adding two home runs and two stolen bases over this two-week stretch, Durbin is showcasing complete multi-category versatility. Let’s not overlook that he plays at an extremely weak third base position, making him that much more of a priority.

Bryson Stott, 2B, 3B Philadelphia Phillies

There’s a major upward trajectory for Bryson Stott driven by a complete transformation in his plate discipline and an explosive second-half surge. In August alone, Stott is slashing an elite .326/.442/.500 while skyrocketing his walk rate to a staggering 23.0%. This isn't just a fluky small-sample hot streak, either; it’s the continuation of a profound post-break adjustment that has seen his walk rate leap to 17.1% in the second half after sitting at a modest 7.4% before the All-Star break. 

By drastically improving his control of the strike zone and laying off chase pitches, Stott has turned himself into an elite on-base machine. Because he is constantly finding his way to first base, he has weaponized that traffic with five stolen bases in August alone, giving fantasy managers a valuable boost in speed to go with his rising ratios and strong run production at the top of a potent Philadelphia lineup. 

Tyler Mahle, SP Atlanta Braves

The Braves acquired Tyler Mahle at the trade deadline and immediately tweaked his arsenal, and it paid dividends. In his first two starts since being acquired by the Atlanta Braves, Mahle has fired off back-to-back six-inning gems, yielding just a single earned run while compiling a 16:2 K:BB ratio. 

The catalyst behind this sudden transformation is a dramatic change in pitch usage: Atlanta immediately leaned into his splitter, as Mahle threw the pitch 33.7% and 39.8% of the time in those outings after having crossed the 30% threshold just twice across his first 18 starts of the season. Relying so heavily on his best put-away pitch has turned Mahle into an elite missed-bat machine, yielding swinging-strike rates of 16.1% and 14.1%, which are his second and third-highest single-game marks of the year. With his pitch mix revamped and a high-scoring Atlanta offense providing strong run support, Mahle has instantly transformed into a high-upside fantasy starter who needs to be rostered everywhere for the stretch run. 

Dustin May, SP Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers pitching lab just does things better than everyone else, and that’s why this was the perfect landing spot for Dustin May and his fantasy owners. The Brewers’ pitching infrastructure wastes no time making strategic adjustments, and their mandate for May was simple: spam the cutter. He has featured the pitch north of 35% in each of his first two outings in Milwaukee—a stark contrast to his usage earlier this season, when he surpassed the 30% mark just twice across his first 21 starts.

That aggressive shift in repertoire has yielded instant, big-time results. May has delivered back-to-back quality starts, permitting just three earned runs over 13.0 innings pitched against the Pirates and Padres while sporting a pristine 11:5 K:BB ratio. By leaning heavily into a hard cutter that keeps hitters off balance and minimizes hard contact, May is recapturing the front-line potential that made him an elite arm in the first place, making him a high-priority target for fantasy managers gearing up for the stretch run.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch Fallers This Week

Heliot Ramos, OF New York Yankees

In his first 25 at-bats with the New York Yankees, Heliot Ramos has just two hits and is 5-for-40 over his last 15 days, which is an abysmal .125 clip. He’s not hitting for power, he’s not hitting for average, and he’s not reaching base. The Yankees also have reinforcements right around the corner as there are reports that both Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton could be back by September 1st. Ramos has played himself into a part-time role with the Yankees now; what’s going to happen when the team is healthy?

Esmerlyn Valdez, OF Pittsburgh Pirates

For those who thought what Esmerlyn Valdez was real, cover your eyes because this is going to hurt. After belting four homers in 12 games in June and eight more in 25 July games, Valdez still hasn’t homered in August. To make matters worse, his 27.8% K-rate in June is up to 37.8% in August. If he’s not homering, there really isn’t much value outside of OBP leagues because he still has managed a .378 OBP in August because of a 26.7% BB rate.

Jared Jones, SP Pittsburgh Pirates

I’m not sure what has gotten into Jared Jones over the last two starts, but it has been a slog, and he’s been one of the worst pitchers in fantasy baseball because of it. He is a flyball pitcher, and sometimes flyballers get beat by the home run ball, and that has happened lately, allowing three bombs over his last two starts and five over his last four.

The strikeouts and lack of walks are supposed to be his bread and butter, and those two things have gone in the wrong direction of late. Jones had a season-high three walks in his last two outs and has only had seven strikeouts in his two August outings. Hasn’t been the best stretch of pitching for Jones, who was finally putting it all together post-arm surgery.

Edwin Diaz, RP Los Angeles Dodgers

We’re getting the absolute worst version of Edwin Diaz, and I’m not sure if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. He’s allowed at least one earned run in four of his five August appearances and five of the seven he’s pitched in since returning from an elbow injury that had sidelined him since April. Diaz has three blown saves in those four August appearances and now has an 11.57 ERA on the year. It’s very possible that we’re nearing the end of the road for Diaz in the ninth inning, given how well Tanner Scott pitched while Diaz was out.