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

Brett Gardner: The New York Yankees speedster continues to fly under the radar as one of the best outfielders in the American League. Since Jacoby Ellsbury landed on the disabled list in late May, Gardner has helped pace the offence by hitting .292/.363/.531 with six home runs, nine doubles, five stolen bases, and 22 RBIs across 32 games. The 31-year-old has been especially hot as of late, going 16-for-32 (.500) with four home runs in his last seven games and recording multiple hits in five of them.

Jason Heyward: The St. Louis Cardinals are finally starting to receive the production they expected when they acquired Heyward from the Atlanta Braves in the offseason. Following a slow start that saw him hit just two home runs in his first 34 games, the 25-year-old has four over the last week and is slashing .391/.417/.739 with eight extra-base hits and 10 RBIs since June 10.

Maikel Franco: The Philadelphia Phillies rank dead last in the league in offense, but that's no fault of their rookie third baseman. Franco has caught fire recently, slashing .370/.420/.696 over the past two weeks. The 22-year-old clubbed a pair of home runs while driving in a career-high five RBIs Monday at Yankee Stadium. As an encore, he drove in another five runs the following day for his fifth straight multi-hit game.

Trending Down

Andrew Cashner: The San Diego Padres right-hander has already tied his career high with nine losses - and there are over three months left in the season. During one of the self-proclaimed toughest stretches of his career, Cashner has allowed 29 runs (22 earned) over 26 innings this month, while allowing opponents to hit .315. After issuing 29 walks and seven home runs in 123 1/3 innings a season ago, Cashner has already allowed as many walks in 2015, along with 13 home runs in 89 innings.

Kyle Seager: It's been an up-and-down season for the Seattle Mariners third baseman, who finds himself slumping with the rest of the team's offense. Seager has driven in just a pair of runs over his past 13 games while hitting a dismal .196/.240/.261 with six strikeouts and three walks. Coming off a season in which he blasted a career-high 25 home runs, the 27-year-old has 11 on the season, but only two over his last 97 at-bats.

Kolten Wong: The Cardinals second baseman has seen his average drop 30 points during his June swoon. Wong has slashed .218/.271/.410 with three home runs and 11 strikeouts this month and enters Thursday on a 5-for-32 (.156) streak. June has typically been unkind to the 24-year-old: he's a career .179 June hitter, though hope seems to be coming with the turn of the calendar, as July's historically one of his strongest months.