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
Trevor Bauer: The hard-throwing 24-year-old is rewarding owners who pegged the Cleveland Indians right-hander as the next big sleeper this season. Bauer has allowed one earned run in each of his last three outings, and more importantly, issued just nine walks in five May starts. The time to buy low on Bauer has long passed, but to those who resisted a knee-jerk reaction to a poor start to the month, continue to enjoy the ride.
Kyle Seager: The Seattle Mariners third baseman is heating up after a slow start to the season, nearly quadrupling his April home run total with seven long balls and 17 RBIs this month. Also encouraging: Seager's performing well against same-side pitching this year, with four of his nine homers coming against lefties, in addition to a .926 OPS.
Prince Fielder: Prince is healthy and hitting, and that's music to the ears of every owner who took a low-risk gamble on Fielder outside of the early rounds this year. The Texas Rangers' slugger has five homers and 15 RBIs this week alone, lifting his resurgent slash line to an eye-popping .368/.418/.1008 for the season.
Trending Down
Robinson Cano: The All-Star second baseman can't be this bad, can he? Cano finds himself in a deep slump at the second quarter mark of the season, posting career-worst numbers in virtually every offensive category, using the opposite field less frequently than ever before and without a home run since April 14. Things can only go up from here, but if you're one of those owners who spent a first-round pick on Cano, it's probably time to start panicking.
Matt Garza: Nineteen. That's how many runs the Milwaukee Brewers right-hander has allowed over his last three starts. Garza (2-7) sports an unsightly 6.00 ERA and 1.58 WHIP, making him an even less desirable streaming option considering his exceptionally low 2.70 run support (seventh-worst in the majors). His FIP doesn't leave much room for optimism, and neither does his diminishing strikeout rate and elevated walk ratio.
Pablo Sandoval: Boston's prized free-agent pickup is performing to typically inconsistent results, but it's especially worrisome this year given his contract, age, and presumably high draft position. Sandoval's OBP is still a respectable .331 – aided by a .398 in April – by that won't help owners in 5x5 leagues. The Red Sox third baseman has just six runs batted in this month, 13 strikeouts to two walks, and a meager .179 batting average over the last two weeks.