Navigating down the final stretch of the fantasy baseball season requires cold, calculated roster moves, knowing when to ride a flaming-hot wave and when to cut bait on underperforming big-name talent. This week’s Stock Watch highlights the extreme ends of the spectrum, led by blistering hot stretches from surging bats like Josh Bell and Alejandro Kirk, alongside historically dominant rotation work from dark-horse aces Cade Cavalli and Noah Cameron. On the flip side, persistent injury hangovers, severe second-half slumps, and impending innings caps are threatening to tank the fantasy value of established stars like Ozzie Albies, Byron Buxton, Bryce Miller, and Jake Bennett. Let's break down who to buy into and who to dump before it's too late. 

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch Risers This Week

Josh Bell, 1B Minnesota Twins

Over the last 15 games, Josh Bell has been one of the league’s best hitters as much as we like to hear that or not. He’s driven in 13 runs over that span and is now tied for 15th in ALL of major league baseball in RBI.

In August overall, he slashed .361/.435/.607 with a .246 ISO with .448 wOBA, and 193 wRC+. Bell’s been good all year as he had a 104 wRC+ in the first half but has taken that up three notches up to a 130 wRC+ after the break.

Alejandro Kirk, C Toronto Blue Jays

August has taken Alejandro Kirk into new fantasy baseball territory this season as he’s instantly become a top-10 catcher for the remainder of the season. Kirk has a .393 AVG with four home runs, 15 runs driven in, and five more scored in 16 games.

This is a catcher who’s always been a plus hitter and is surging in the power department. Kirk’s been a real standout and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Cade Cavalli, SP Washington Nationals

This statement I’m about to make is 100% factual; Cade Cavalli has been the best pitcher on the planet this month. He’s the highest-rated pitcher in fantasy over the last 15 days, in which he has struck out 29 batters across 20 innings and has allowed just three earned runs. Nobody has higher stock than Cavalli right now as he’s fired off eight consecutive quality starts and has notched a QS in 10-of-11 outings.

Because of how well he’s pitched, he’s now 14th amongst ALL pitchers on Yahoo! Fantasy platforms in points scored (513).

Noah Cameron, SP Kansas City Royals

THREE times over his last four starts, Noah Cameron has fired at least eight innings while allowing one run or less, and four times over his last five he’s fired off a start in which he’s allowed one run or fewer. 

In August, Cameron has pitched to a 1.99 ERA while allowing a .132 AVG, .172 wOBA, and a 23.5% K-rate, which is the second-highest mark of any month this year. Cameron has turned into a must-roster in fantasy. His 4.16 ERA has come down, and his 3.58 FIP and 3.98 xFIP leave room for even more.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch Fallers This Week

Ozzie Albies, 2B Atlanta Braves

Over the last 15 days, Ozzie Albies has had a brutal time at the dish, posting a 7-for-46 stretch (.152 AVG) with just one home run, two runs driven in, and one run scored. It’s really been a tale of two halves for Albies after posting really good first-half numbers and hasn’t figured out the whole hitting thing since the break.

He’s been especially bad in August as he’s hitting .167 through his first 18 games. He has essentially no counting stats this month, and a .561 OPS and 57 wRC+ are dreadful. He’s been one of the least valuable players in fantasy baseball leagues and is trending towards unplayable if this extends for the rest of the month.

Byron Buxton, OF Minnesota Twins

Byron Buxton has always had injuries plaguing his major league tenure, and this year has been no different. He’s suffered and fought through multiple hip injuries this season, and since returning from his latest IL stint, he’s struggled. He’s hitting just .150 in August with three runs scored and one run batted in.

Buxton’s struggles predate the second hip injury because he hasn’t hit a home run since June 22nd. June 22nd! It’s almost two months since then, and since June 23rd, when his homerless streak started, Buxton has just seven runs, five RBI, and hasn’t stolen a base. His fantasy value really can’t get worse than this.

Bryce Miller, SP Seattle Mariners

Over his last three starts, which span two weeks, Bryce Miller is getting absolutely demolished and hasn’t missed any bats either. He’s allowed 20 hits in 15.2 IP along with 14 ER and just a 13:5 K: BB ratio.

In August, Miller has allowed a .313/.357/.578, 1.72 HR/9, and just 18.6% K. After a 30.2% K-rate before the All-Star break, Miller’s down to 15.8% since the All-Star game, and anytime your strikeouts have been cut in HALF, there’s something going on.

There has been a noticeable change from the first half to the second half, and it’s the lack of swings and misses. He had a robust 13.8% SwStr rate before the break, and that’s down to 9.6% after. That’s going from an ELITE number to a very subpar mark, and more batted balls is bad.

Jake Bennett, SP Boston Red Sox

Things have soured on Jake Bennett recently, and we should absolutely be worried about it as the season progresses. He’s only topped 5.2 innings once over his last five starts and hasn’t allowed fewer than three earned runs in any of those outings. Bennett’s never been a big strikeout arm either, as he’s only had four or more punchouts once over his last seven outings.

The innings should be alarming too. Bennett, between the majors and minors this year, has already thrown 120 innings, and his previous high at ANY level was 75.1 (last year), and Boston could choose to start limiting him or piggybacking him with other pitchers on their staff.