With the MLB trade deadline in the rearview mirror and fantasy playoffs nearly here, every roster decision carries more weight. Whether you are hunting for high-upside category coverage to solidify a postseason berth or evaluating underperforming players whose declining metrics threaten those aspirations, navigating the final weeks requires a ruthless, data-driven approach to stock valuation. From game-changing positional versatility and pitch-mix adjustments to underlying regression and workload wall concerns, here is a look at whose fantasy stock is surging, and whose is plummeting in this week’s Stock Watch. 

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch Risers This Week

Royce Lewis, 1B, 2B, 3B Minnesota Twins

When healthy, Royce Lewis has always possessed the explosive raw talent capable of changing the trajectory of any fantasy roster he’s on. Right now, the Minnesota Twins infielder is putting together one of his most complete, dominant stretches of the season.

Over the last two weeks, Lewis has been an absolute force at the plate, hitting .326 with a staggering 1.034 OPS, three home runs, and eight RBI. What truly elevates his fantasy floor and ceiling right now, however, is the sudden spark on the basepaths. Adding four stolen bases over that span transforms him into an elite fantasy producer.

Beyond the production, Lewis offers an elite level of roster versatility as he can be slotted in at 1B, 2B, and 3B eligibility across all major fantasy platforms. 

Ezequiel Duran, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF Texas Rangers

Ezequiel Duran’s current heater is turning him into one of the most versatile weapons available. The Texas Rangers super-utility asset is putting together a high-volume stretch of production that demands immediate fantasy attention and has truthfully been great all year long.

Over the last two weeks, Duran has been locked in at the plate, hitting .333 with a .995 OPS, three home runs, 12 RBIs, eight runs scored, and two stolen bases. He isn't just posting efficient surface-level numbers; he is contributing directly across every traditional 5x5 category.

While Royce Lewis’s triple-position eligibility offers exceptional tactical value, Duran takes lineup flexibility even further. Boasting 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, and OF eligibility across major fantasy platforms, Duran is the ultimate Swiss Army knife for roster management.

Noah Cameron, SP Kansas City Royals

Over the last two weeks, Noah Cameron has been one of the league’s best pitchers in fantasy baseball formats. Any and all of them. He’s fired off three consecutive quality starts and has completed seven innings in all three, and eight in two of them.

The primary change for Noah Cameron in fantasy baseball leagues is his strikeout rate. Cameron has notched seven or more strikeouts in five of his last six games, and in those outings, he’s had a SwStr% of 12.4% or higher in each of them. If the 12.4% was Cameron’s seasonal number, he’d rank 16th amongst ALL qualified starters ahead of the likes of Bryan Woo, Drew Rasmussen, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Joe Ryan.

Cameron’s ultimate test comes against the Los Angeles Dodgers this Saturday, and if he gets through that matchup unscathed, Cameron’s stock will be higher than ever.

Ryan Weathers, SP New York Yankees

It’s been a season filled with ups and downs for Ryan Weathers, but lately, the arrow is pointing at the 12 on a clock. He’s been dominant. Over his last two outings, Weathers hasn’t allowed a run and has two quality starts. He’s only allowed more than one earned run once over his previous five starts, and that really shows you the place he’s in on the mound.

Weathers has mostly been good all year long, pitching to a 3.79 ERA while striking out 132 batters across 121 innings, but there was a time in the middle of his campaign where he was giving up a lot of home runs. 

Things turned around five starts ago, as I mentioned, when he stopped throwing his fastball. He stopped throwing his four-seam fastball. He throws it 23.9% of the time this season but that has taken a MASSIVE hit considering he hasn’t thrown it more than 12.1% of the time during this recent stretch and three of the five outings it’s been under 10%. More sliders, more sinkers, more changeups as all of those pitches rate out very highly.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch Fallers This Week

Ian Happ, OF Chicago Cubs

While fantasy managers rely on Ian Happ as a dependable, steady option in outfield slots, the Chicago Cubs switch-hitter is currently enduring an awful slump. A prolonged second-half cold spell is rapidly dragging down his fantasy value, and it makes you wonder how much longer you want to rock with him.

Over the last two weeks, Happ has been a zero at the plate, going just 6-for-48 (.125 AVG) with no home runs and a microscopic .410 OPS. The recent slide isn't just an isolated two-week blip, either; it is part of a concerning second-half trend. Since the All-Star break, Happ is hitting a meager .164 with just one home run, a .569 OPS, and a .269 wOBA.

What makes this cold stretch particularly damaging is that Happ lacks much else than middle-of-the-order run production in an above-average lineup. If you have a better option on the waiver wire, pull the trigger and drop Happ.

Jacob Wilson, SS Athletics

Jacob Wilson built his fantasy reputation on being an elite, high-contact hit machine, but the Athletics shortstop is currently enduring an extended funk that limits his fantasy use. In fantasy baseball, when a player whose entire appeal relies on a single elite metric begins to slump in that exact category, their overall stock plummets fast.

Over his last 15 days, Wilson has completely stalled at the plate, going just 7-for-45 (.156 AVG) with no home runs, three runs scored, and four RBI. What makes this recent slide particularly concerning is that even a favorable seven-game stretch at Sutter Health Park couldn't get his bat moving in the right direction.

The fundamental issue is that high-contact, low-power hitters live on a razor-thin margin for error. Wilson's primary selling point is his ability to single-handedly help the batting average category, but with his season mark dipping down to .270, he is no longer providing that category-winning floor. Because he doesn't hit for power or steal bases at a notable rate, any drop in his average renders him virtually empty across the rest of the stat sheet, evidenced by his horrendous fantasy output across the last two weeks.

Foster Griffin, SP Cleveland Guardians

We were waiting around a lot longer than we thought we would for the Foster Griffin shoe to drop, but ladies and gentlemen, the drop is much steeper than we thought. He’s pitched poorly in back-to-back starts, and the outings have really had nothing encouraging about them.

The 31-year-old’s expected numbers don’t exactly line up with his seasonal averages, and the Mets and Braves have both hit him really, really hard. He’s allowed 11 ER, four home runs, 16 hits, and has just a 9:4 K:BB ratio in these two outings, and it makes you wonder what the future holds.

Let’s not overlook the fact that Griffin is already at a career-high in innings pitched at any level. His previous career-high was 121 back in 2023 when he was pitching in the KBO. The Guardians acquired a pitcher at 133.1 IP as a 31-year-old rookie at the deadline that definitely has a workload issue. You should view the workload as an issue too.

Justin Wrobleski, SP Los Angeles Dodgers

This is another pitcher, like Foster Griffin before him, that has exceeded in every way against what the under-the-hood numbers suggest, and the regression looks like it’s hitting Justin Wrobleski in a big way. He’s allowed 12 ER over his last two starts, and what has been his biggest issue is keeping the ball in the yard, as EIGHT home runs have been hit against him.

Wrobleski’s ERA still sits at 3.31 despite his struggles, but that’s matched up with a 4.51 xERA. Although the strikeouts have been a bright spot lately, his seasonal mark of 19.3% doesn’t leave a lot to be desired.

All of that and we haven’t even mentioned what is ahead for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They traded for Tarik Skubal and have both Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow on rehab assignments. Let’s not forget to mention that Shohei Ohtani could re-enter the equation on the mound at some point in the future. What does that say about Wrobleski’s standing in the Dodgers rotation for the long term? Even if they push it to a six-man and Wrobleski’s included, that takes a few starts away from him and ultimately hurts his value.