X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Risers and Fallers - Week 3: Lamb, Latos, Ellsbury, Archer and more

Week 3 is nearing its completion and there are plenty of bats and arms to tickle your fancy. It's not all good news though, as some highly-regarded players are not getting the job done at the moment.

As is usually the case, you must strike quick in some cases and be patient in others. Without any further ado, here is the Week 3 edition of Risers and Fallers.

Editor’s Note: to read about waiver wire options, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily. Prefer using your phone? Our free waiver wire app is available for download in the Apple & Android Stores.

 

Fantasy Baseball Risers

Aledmys Diaz (2B/SS, STL) - All Diaz has done during his short time in St. Louis is hit .385 with a 1.173 OPS in 13 contests. Diaz displayed some pop in the Minors and already has six doubles for the Cards. The longer Jhonny Peralta is out with his hand injury, the longer Diaz has to show what he can do. Strike while the iron is hot.

Jake Lamb (3B, ARI) - Lamb has been racking up the hits in the Diamondbacks lineup recently and will have the chance to continue doing so hitting out of the six spot in the desert. He had a .960 OPS in 931 career Minor League at-bats, so the power potential is there. He has fared much better against right-handers thus far so continue to monitor his splits.

Yasmany Tomas (3B/OF, ARI) - Tomas has shown to be much more comfortable in his second year in the United States. He is riding a six-game hitting streak and swatted his first two home runs of the year in a game earlier this week. The 25-year-old Cuban showed his power potential last season and should only improve with more at-bats this year. The D-backs have a full slate of home games coming up for Tomas to keep the train rolling.

Matt Holliday (OF, STL) - Holliday has belted three home runs in the last week and is capable hitting over 20 home runs for the Cardinals if he can stay healthy. The 36-year-old played in just 73 games a year ago, but is only 22 dingers shy of 300 for his career. You know the motivation is there, the key will be whether his body goes along with the plan. Maybe he can prove his value and get traded to the American League where he can DH.

Byung Ho Park (1B/DH, MIN) - Park has three home runs in his last four games, and is becoming the power threat the Twins hoped they would see. Park figures to sit in National League stadiums, and with the Twins visiting the Brewers and Nationals coming up, his value will take a hit for a few days. He'll continue to be a sneaky power source in an otherwise underwhelming Minnesota attack.

Michael Conforto (OF, NYM) - Conforto was recently inserted into the three-hole in the Mets lineup, and the move has paid immediate dividends for everyone involved. Despite an 0-for-5 on Wednesday night, the sweet-swinging lefty is 7-for-23 with two home runs, five RBI and six runs scored in his last six games. In addition, the Mets lineup around him has erupted for 17 home runs in their last five games. This is only the beginning for the future All-Star.

Neil Walker (2B, NYM) - Walker will forever be spoken of as the man who replaced Daniel Murphy after the latter's historic postseason performance last fall. Walker has filled Murph's shoes admirably thus far in 2016, mashing five of his team-high six home runs in the last five contests.

Daniel Murphy (2B, WAS) - Murphy has followed his playoff heroics by leading the National League with a .429 average entering play on Thursday. He is hitting like a man possessed and has picked up right where he left off, save for all the home runs, but that was to be expected. Murphy is absolutely looking like a man on a mission after the Mets essentially let him walk, and a batting title is not out of the question.

Michael Saunders (OF, TOR) - Saunders had his third straight multi-hit game on Thursday and should be on the radar of most owners. Hitting atop the Toronto lineup has its benefits and Saunders will reap the rewards for as long as he stays there.

Mark Trumbo (1B/DH, BAL) - Trumbo extended his hitting streak to six games on Thursday and has mashed five home runs so far this month. Like any slugger, there will be ups and downs, but Trumbo appears capable of returning to the slugger he was with the Angels earlier in his career. A 30 home run season is not out of the question.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (C, DET) - Salty finally went hitless on Thursday but will remain a power threat so long as James McCann remains sidelined. He should retain everyday catching duties for at least another week, if not longer. He already has five homers and has hit over 20 in a season before, so don't be shocked to see this continue.

Mat Latos (SP, CWS) - Latos has been among the best starting pitchers in baseball so far, having allowed only one run over 18.1 innings in three starts for the Chi-Sox. He has not registered a ton of strikeouts but Latos seems to have matured since his days in Cincinnati. As is the case with many pitchers, you'll have to pick your spots with Latos at times. He has Texas and Baltimore coming up, so be careful.

Drew Pomeranz (SP, SD) - Pomeranz fanned a career-high 10 his last time out against the Pirates and has 25 strikeouts in 17.2 innings in three starts. The wins could be tough to come by, but he's in a pitcher's park in San Diego. The 27-year-old southpaw may finally be realizing his potential after being stuck in Colorado for the first few years of his career.

Hector Santiago (SP, LAA) - Santiago fanned 10 over seven shutout innings against the White Sox his last time out, and gets the Mariners at home this weekend. He has 20 strikeouts in 20.2 innings and is using his sinker to baffle hitters any which way he chooses. The 28-year-old left-hander is coming off a career-high 180.2 innings and had a 3.59 ERA a year ago. He could top both those numbers in 2016, and double-digit wins are likely to follow as well.

Jeremy Jeffress (RP, MIL) - Jeffress has notched five saves and has yet to allow a run for the Brew Crew. This is his third stint pitching for the Brewers in his career, but the first time he has had a chance to close games. He won't maintain a perfect ERA all season, but there a handful of closers who unexpectedly pop up each year to save a bunch of games, and Jeffress could very well be one of them in 2016.

 

Fantasy Baseball Fallers

Jacoby Ellsbury (OF, NYY) - Ellsbury has experienced a sharp decline in production over the last few season, largely due to lower body injuries. The now 32-year-old is hitting just .255 to start the year without a home run. He may even begin to sit occasionally against lefties. Ellsbury has never come close to repeating his magical 2011 season in Boston when he had 32 home runs and 46 doubles. The Yankees are certainly not getting much for their investment.

Lorenzo Cain (OF, KC) - Cain has not gotten off to the greatest of starts after a terrific 2015 season in which he set career-bests in games played, batting average, home runs, doubles, runs and hits. He may not reach all those numbers this season, but he will certainly perform better than his current .222 average and .667 OPS.

Byron Buxton (OF, MIN) - Buxton is hitting an atrocious .162 with 18 strikeouts and one walk to begin the season. He had a cup of coffee in 2015, hitting .209 in 129 at-bats, so he is certainly not this bad. Buxton has mega speed, but as the saying goes you cannot steal first base. The Twins are not expecting to contend this year so Buxton will have a chance to get through the growing pains.

Addison Russell (2B/SS, CHC) - Russell is struggling mightily at the moment and may begin to lose some playing time to Javier Baez in the Cubs lineup. He is hitting just .196 and has only one hit in his last 16 at-bats. Russell is still just a young pup at 22, so it would be very premature to label him a bust. Be patient and monitor him closely if he is on your league's waiver wire.

Mark Teixeira (1B, NYY) - Teixeira is having a rather poor April, with just one hit in his last 18 at-bats and a .170 average. The 36-year-old managed 31 home runs in 111 games a year ago and is just three shy of 400 in his career, so expect him to start taking advantage of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium at some point. The Bombers are home this weekend but on the road next week.

Brandon Crawford (SS, SF) - Crawford has so far not been the player who busted out last season to the tune of career-highs of 21 home runs, 33 doubles and 84 RBIs. The Giants offense has struggled a bit of late, so perhaps Crawford just needs his teammates to get going around him. He is carrying a .222 average into the weekend.

Scott Kazmir (SP, LAD) - Kazmir (1-1, 6.43) has not gotten past the fourth inning in either of his last two starts, and this won't get any easier for him in this weekend in Colorado. He has allowed 14 hits and five walks in his last eight innings and has an unsightly 6.43 ERA. The 32-year-old posted a 3.10 ERA in 31 starts between Oakland and Houston last season, and has a chance to come close to that in the National League, he just isn't getting it done at the moment.

Chris Archer (SP, TB) - Archer (0-4, 7.32) just has not been able to get any sort of consistency going in April. He has had two decent starts and two terrible ones, most recently giving up six runs over 4.1 innings against Boston. He has piled up the walks and strikeouts, so he probably just needs to induce contact earlier in the count. He should start to go deeper into games soon.

Francisco Liriano (SP, PIT) - After striking out 10 Cardinals over six shutout innings on Opening Day, Liriano (1-1, 4.11) has regressed and allowed seven runs over 9.1 innings in two starts. He has walked nine in those two games, and will have to start throwing more strikes in order to see some success. You may want to avoid him in Arizona this weekend.

Adam Wainwright (SP, STL) - Wainwright (0-2, 8.27) is simply no longer the ace he was for so long in St. Louis. After missing nearly all of last season, 'Waino' has gotten rocked out of the gate in 2016. He has walked nine and struck out only seven in 16.1 innings. The 34-year-old should still have something left in the tank, but it could take him some time to build up his arm strength and control.

Taylor Jungmann (SP, MIL) - Jungmann (0-3, 8.47) continues to get battered and will have to get some better results if he wants to hold onto his spot in the Milwaukee rotation. The 26-year-old had a 3.77 ERA in 21 starts a year ago, but has not resembled that pitcher this year. He is pitching in a tough division in a hitter's park.

Matt Harvey (SP, NYM) - Harvey (0-3, 5.71) did not pitch very much in Spring Training and seems to be treating April like a warm up act. He has been working on fixing a mechanical issue when pitching out of the stretch, and will get a chance to begin turning his season around this weekend in Atlanta.

 

MLB & Fantasy Baseball Chat Room

[iflychat_embed id="c-12" hide_user_list="yes" hide_popup_chat="no" height="400px"]




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Ja Morant

Suffers Sprained Ankle, Considered Week-to-Week
CFB

Mark Gronowski Viewed as Day-to-Day with Knee Injury
Xavier Worthy

is Fine and Expected to Play Against the Jaguars
Omarion Hampton

May Miss Some Time With an Ankle Injury
Alex Pereira

Becomes Two-Time Light-Heavyweight Champion
Magomed Ankalaev

Suffers First-Round TKO Loss
Cory Sandhagen

Gets Dominated In The UFC 320 Co-Main Event
Cory Sandhagen

Merab Dvalishvili Dominates Cory Sandhagen
Jiří Procházka

Jiri Prochazka Scores Comeback Win
Kyle Burroughs

Placed on Injured Reserve
SJ

Egor Afanasyev to Start Season on Injured Reserve
Khalil Rountree Jr.

Suffers Third-Round Knockout Loss
Mattias Janmark

to Miss 1-2 Weeks
Jake Walman

Suffers Setback
Alex Vlasic

Traveling With Blackhawks
Youssef Zalal

Gets First-Round Submission Win
Josh Emmett

Suffers First-Round Submission Loss
Abus Magomedov

Gets Submitted
Joe Pyfer

Gets Second-Round Submission Win
Breece Hall

Maximizes Efficiency in Loss to Dallas on Sunday
DeVonta Smith

Breaks Free for 114 Yards in Week 5 Loss
Calvin Ridley

Explosive in Week 5 After Rough Start to Season
David Montgomery

Gets Involved in Trickery, Totals Two Touchdowns Against Cincy
Stefon Diggs

Gets Big Revenge in Primetime Win Over Bills
Theo Johnson

on the Rise, Scores Two More Touchdowns in Week 5 Loss
Ryan Flournoy

Leads Cowboys in Receiving -- Worth a Waiver-Wire Pickup?
Jake Ferguson

Records Two Touchdown Grabs in Week 5
Rashid Shaheed

Rides 87-Yard Touchdown to Breakout Week 5
Jaylen Waddle

Records Season-High in Targets, Catches, and Receiving Yards
Rachaad White

Finds the End Zone Twice in Week 5
AJ Barner

Records Two Touchdown Catches in Week 5
Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Dominates Buccaneers Defense in Week 5
Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Breaks Out With Monster Week 5 Performance
Sam Darnold

Throws for Four Touchdowns as Seahawks Fall Short
Jonathan Kuminga

Golden State Expected to Put Jonathan Kuminga on the Trade Block Once Eligible
Ja'Marr Chase

Finally Gets Back on Track as Rapport With QB Grows
Emeka Egbuka

Continues Incredible Rookie Season With Best Game Yet
Omarion Hampton

Seen Wearing a Walking Boot After Week 5 Loss
Xavier Worthy

Expected to Play Despite Being Questionable
Alex Laferriere

Questionable for Opening Night
Jonathan Toews

Practices on Sunday
Oskar Sundqvist

Injured at Sunday's Practice
Jonathan Drouin

Returns to Practice Sunday
Cole Perfetti

Out Week-to-Week With Ankle Injury
CHI

Matt Grzelcyk Inks One-Year Deal With Blackhawks
Ryan Ellis

Sharks Acquire Ryan Ellis From Flyers
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Back at Practice
Ryan Preece

Is A Favorable DFS Option for the Charlotte Roval
Zane Smith

Might Be Worth Playing In DFS Lineups for the Charlotte Roval
Cole Custer

Is Cole Custer Playable In DFS Lineups for the Charlotte Roval?
Kyle Larson

Will Likely Go for the Win Over Stage Points
Ryan Blaney

Might Look Past Charlotte Roval to Focus on Last Two Playoff Rounds
Denny Hamlin

Could Focus on Stage Points to Clinch Round of 8 Spot
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Unlikely to Make the Round of 8
Austin Cindric

Very Unlikely to Advance to Round of 8
Alex Bowman

Reliably Consistent at Charlotte Roval
Daniel Suarez

Unlikely to Run Well at Charlotte
Carson Hocevar

Will Likely Earn a Lot of Place-Differential Points at Charlotte
Brad Keselowski

Probably Won't be Viable for DFS
Ty Dillon

Earns Best Qualifying Result at Charlotte Roval
Jackson Chourio

Exits With Hamstring Injury in Game 1 of NLDS
Jayson Tatum

to Return in March?
Justin Faulk

Misses Preseason Finale
Kirill Marchenko

Cleared for Saturday's Action
Macklin Celebrini

Makes Preseason Debut Saturday
Kaiden Guhle

Available Saturday
Noah Dobson

Rejoins Canadiens Lineup Saturday
Samuel Girard

Ready for Game Action
Filip Gustavsson

Wild Sign Filip Gustavsson to Five-Year Extension
Max Scherzer

Left Off Blue Jays ALDS Roster
Bo Bichette

Officially Out for ALDS
Cole Perfetti

Evaluated for Lower-Body Injury
Michael Kesselring

to be Re-Evaluated Next Week
Texas Rangers

Rangers Hire Skip Schumaker as New Manager
Trevor Megill

Ready for NLDS
Will Smith

Will be Available to Catch in NLDS
Clayton Kershaw

to Pitch Out of Bullpen in NLDS Against Phillies
Lawrence Butler

Undergoes Knee Surgery on Friday
Brandon Woodruff

Will Not Pitch in NLDS
Devin Booker

Likely Playing on Friday
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Won't Play This Weekend
Josh Giddey

Returns to Full Practice
Matas Buzelis

has Team Optioned Accepted
Alex Pereira

Can Become Two-Time Light-Heavyweight Champion
Magomed Ankalaev

Set For His First Title Defense
Cory Sandhagen

An Underdog At UFC 320
Merab Dvalishvili

Set For His Third Title Defense
Khalil Rountree Jr.

Returns At UFC 320
Jiří Procházka

Jiri Prochazka Returns At UFC 320
Youssef Zalal

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Josh Emmett

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Joe Pyfer

Looks To Earn Top 15 Ranking
Abus Magomedov

Set To Open Up UFC 320 Main Card
Cam Schlittler

Dazzles in 12-Strikeout Performance, Yankees Advance to ALDS
CFB

Quintrevion Wisner Expected Back vs. Florida
CFB

Emmett Mosley Probable for Longhorns vs. Florida
Giannis Antetokounmpo

to Join the Bucks in Miami
Jaden Ivey

Fully Recovered From Fractured Fibula
OG Anunoby

Was Inactive for the Knicks' Preseason Opener
Joel Embiid

Adem Bona Starts in Place of Joel Embiid on Thursday
Dominick Barlow

Grabs 10 Boards in Abu Dhabi
Miles McBride

Leads the Knicks to an Exhibition Win in Abu Dhabi
VJ Edgecombe

Drops 14 Points in Thursday's Exhibition
Josh Hart

Injured in Exhibition
Shane McClanahan

Expected to be "Fully Ready" for Spring Training
Bo Bichette

Unlikely to be Ready for ALDS
Coby White

Does Some Shooting During Wednesday's Practice
Patrick Williams

Hurts Ankle at Practice
Mark Williams

to Sit Out Preseason Opener
Noah Clowney

Healthy and Bigger Ahead of New Season
Gabe Vincent

Logs Full Practice
Bryce Eldridge

to Undergo Wrist Surgery
Atlanta Braves

Brian Snitker Will Not Return as Braves Manager
Luke List

Looking to Win Again at Sanderson Farms Championship
Tom Kim

Could Be in For Long Week in Mississippi
Max Homa

Are Things Beginning to Turn Around For Max Homa Ahead of Sanderson Farms?
Nicolai Hojgaard

an Interesting Play at Sanderson Farms
Davis Thompson

Looks to Keep Momentum Going in Mississippi
Nick Dunlap

Hoping to Turn Woes Around at Sanderson Farms Championship
PGA

Matti Schmid a Volatile Option at Sanderson Farms
Thorbjorn Olesen

a Solid Play at Sanderson Farms
Stephan Jaeger

a High-Upside Play in Mississippi
Hayden Buckley

Trying to Find Form at Sanderson Farms
Ben Martin

Struggling Mightily with Golf Game
Jacob Bridgeman

Leaning on his Putter at Sanderson Farms
Lanto Griffin

Heating Up for Sanderson Farms Championship
Quade Cummins

Trying to Make Cut at Sanderson Farms
Carson Young

Aims to Rebound from Procore Championship
Matt Kuchar

Still a Golfer to Watch This Week
Doug Ghim

Trending Up for Sanderson Farms Championship
Eric Cole

May Struggle at Sanderson Farms Championship
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Ready for Sanderson Farms Championship
Mackenzie Hughes

Eyes Another Strong Week at Sanderson Farms
Andrew Putnam

a Solid Value Play in Mississippi
Tarik Skubal

Shines in Postseason Debut, Tigers Take Game 1 Over Guardians
CFB

Behren Morton To Start Against Houston Saturday

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP