Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch: Early High Risers and Biggest Disappointments
· Yahoo Sports
The MLB season is about two weeks deep, and quickly, we find high risers and low fallers. As fantasy baseball managers, many of you likely have grown content with certain players and frustrated with others. Luckily for us, the season is young, and there are many opportunities to turn it around. Nonetheless, early results do telegraph the ultimate value of what players shall become. These are your high risers and low fallers as of Week 2.
Fantasy Baseball Risers
Yordan Alvarez
The Astros star was drafted in the top 30 of all fantasy baseball hitters. Currently, he is the No. 1 hitter in the entire game. Alvarez is showcasing with 4 home runs, 10 RBI, .317 batting average, and 1.183 OPS. He can very easily maintain his high ranking, thus obviously not being a sell-high candidate.
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Drake Baldwin
Amid a Braves' busy lineup, Baldwin has risen to the top as the No. 2 hitter in fantasy baseball. The 2025 Rookie of the Year has 5 home runs, 15 RBI, a .321 batting average, and 1.023 OPS. The Braves' offense may become one of the best in the MLB, so Baldwin is going nowhere as MLB's top-hitting Braves' Braves' catcher.
Christian Walker
The Astros have 3 bats in the top 15 of fantasy baseball hitters. Walker is the No. 2 of those, fielding a .340 batting average, 1.240 OPS, on top of 3 home runs and 13 RBI. Not too shabby for a player outside the top-100 drafted hitters. He is likely to regress, but a good start indeed.
Sandy Alcantara
A comeback season was telegraphed for the previously injured Alcantara. He is now proving that the comeback is real. Alcantara has no less than 7.0 IP in his 3 starts with 2 wins, 18 strikeouts, a sub-1.00 ERA, and 0.58 WHIP. If Alcantara stays hot, he can enter Cy Young consideration and, unfortunately for Marlins fans, the trade block.
Jose Soriano
Soriano has allowed 1 earned run in 3 starts; 20.0 IP. The Angels could have a star ace in the making, something long overdue for the struggling franchise. He has 21 strikeouts, 3 wins, a 0.45 ERA, and 0.65 WHIP. The Angels' lack of bats could limit Soriano's wins, but that is not the case as of now.
Fantasy Baseball Fallers
Cal Raleigh
It was wondered whether Raleigh could build on his breakout 2025 season. He is struggling so far with a .143 batting average and only 1 home run through 2 weeks. Raleigh should bounce back, but the bad start may telegraph the likely regressed 2026 season.
Pete Alonso
Orioles fans are annoyed early with the new addition, Pete Alonso. He has only 1 home run and 3 RBIs with his sub-200 batting average and sub-.600 OPS. Alonso should improve as he gets more in tune with his new team, so I would not yet panic.
Nick Kurtz
It is neither the time to panic about Kurtz. He is fielding poorly to start his season, but that will happen to many stars. The cold start is projected to get hot very soon. Kurtz has a .189 batting average with just 2 RBIs and zero home runs.
Nathan Eovaldi
Eovaldi is truly hit-or-miss right now. He had 19 strikeouts in 14.2 IP. That accompanies a 7.98 ERA and 1.84 WHIP. Logically, Eovaldi has better days ahead, but this is worth keeping an eye on in his next couple of starts. If struggles continue, then it may be time to panic.
Cole Ragans
Ragans entered 2026 as a top-5 AL Cy Young candidate. He is now injured with a left thumb contusion. Ragans left his prior start and is likely to return next week. However, the start is poor with a 5.91 ERA. The good news is that Ragans has 15 strikeouts over 10.2 IP. If the thumb is a non-issue, big things should be ahead. Ragans may even be a buy-low candidate.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch: Early High Risers and Biggest Disappointments.