Stock Watch: 6 players trending up, down in fantasy
We'll identify three players each week whose fantasy stocks are rising, and three others whose are falling.
Trending Up
Alex Rodriguez: After missing an entire season, Rodriguez's 2015 campaign has started better than anyone could have expected. A-Rod has a team-leading .286 average, .394 on-base percentage, seven RBIs and has swatted two homers. He's playing every day and, despite getting punched out at a high rate, Rodriguez appears to have plenty left to offer. He shouldn't be as readily available as he is (65 percent ownership in Yahoo leagues).
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
Travis Snider: The No. 14 overall pick of the 2006 draft failed to live up to his billing as a first-round pick and elite prospect in the minors for years, but revived his career a season ago and is raking with his new Baltimore Orioles team. Snider hit .288/.356/.524 with nine home runs in the second half last season, and has followed it up by slashing .333/.467/.500 with one bomb in eight games. He's owned in only 13 percent of Yahoo leagues.
Brandon Morrow: The hard-throwing right-hander appears poised to provide the San Diego Padres with a stellar return on their one-year, $2.5-million investment. Morrow has gone seven innings in each of his first two outings with the Padres, striking out 12 batters in 14 frames with a 1.29 ERA. Armed with a mid-90s fastball and a swing-and-miss slider, Morrow has never had trouble generating whiffs and throws in a home park that's kind to pitchers. Forget about his 5.65 ERA and 1.55 WHIP over two injury-plagued seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, the talent is there if he can stay healthy. Morrow, owned in just 15 percent of Yahoo leagues, is going to be a trendy pickup soon.
Trending down
Evan Gattis: The power potential and catcher eligibility made Gattis a popular target during draft season - he's owned in more than 90 percent of Yahoo leagues. But the late-blooming slugger has been a disaster with his new team. The Houston Astros' designated hitter has three hits and a .309 OPS, while striking out in 14 of his 33 plate appearances. His 42.4 percent strikeout rate is tied for the third highest in baseball and he's battled swing-and-miss issues throughout his career, too. Beware.
Masahiro Tanaka: The New York Yankees' Opening Day starter's stock was already down heading into the season due to a partially torn UCL that may eventually need Tommy John surgery to repair. So far, Tanaka hasn't done much over his first two starts of the season to alleviate that concern. Tanaka, who has thrown nine innings with reduced velocity and suspect control, is fooling fewer batters this year, and another rough outing versus the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday will scare owners even more.
Shin-Soo Choo: Choo played injured last season, turning in a disappointing first year with the Texas Rangers after the club inked him to a seven-year, $130-million deal. He posted a career-low .242 average and .714 OPS in 123 games, while swiping just three bases after stealing 20-plus in four of the previous five seasons. Choo's already missed time in 2015 for back spasms and is off to a slow start at the plate, hitting .182 through seven games. Outfield is a deep position with intriguing hitters owned in less than the 79 percent of leagues the Rangers' right fielder is.