MLB Streaks and Trends, Risers and Fallers Week 13: Michael Kopech Struggling To Deliver For Chicago White Sox
From today until the end of the Major League Baseball season, Saturday is for looking at the various streaks and trends across the MLB, as well as those fantasy baseball players with rising or falling stock. Who should be your priority waiver wire pickups? Who deserves some of your precious FAAB? Are there any potential fantasy baseball buy low trade candidates? As always, we’ll start by talking about some fantasy baseball risers and fallers, highlighted by some notable performances from budding stars in Jordan Westburg and Emmet Sheehan. Meanwhile, Michael Kopech is trending in the wrong direction and St. Louis Cardinals’ star Jordan Walker has the longest active hit streak in Major League Baseball. Let’s take a look at some of the notable hit streaks and current trends across Major League Baseball, as well as fantasy baseball risers and fallers.
| AVG | OBP | SLG | ||||||
| 1 | Luis Arraez | .390 | 1 | Luis Arraez | .442 | 1 | Shohei Ohtani | .674 |
| 2 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .334 | 2 | Juan Soto | .426 | 2 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .595 |
| 3 | Freddie Freeman | .320 | 3 | LaMonte Wade Jr. Jr. | .416 | 3 | J.D. Martinez | .576 |
| 4 | Austin Hays | .316 | 4 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .413 | 4 | Matt Olson | .572 |
| T5 | B. Bichette/Y. Diaz | .316 | 5 | Will Smith | .404 | 5 | Luis Robert | .570 |
| xBA | xwOBA | Hard Hit% | ||||||
| 1 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .353 | 1 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .462 | 1 | Aaron Judge | 62.6% |
| 2 | Corey Seager | .339 | 2 | Shohei Ohtani | .433 | 2 | Matt Chapman | 59.2% |
| 3 | Luis Arraez | .333 | 3 | Freddie Freeman | .412 | 3 | Juan Soto | 58.9% |
| 4 | Bo Bichette | .325 | 4 | Mookie Betts | .400 | 4 | Joey Gallo | 58.2% |
| 5 | Freddie Freeman | .319 | 5 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. Jr. | .399 | 5 | Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. Jr. | 56.8% |
| Hit Streaks | |||||||||
| Streak | Player | AB | R | Hits | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG/OBP/SLG |
| 17 | Jordan Walker | 57 | 8 | 22 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 14 | .386/.470/.649 |
| 13 | Ezequiel Tovar | 53 | 10 | 19 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 10 | .358/.364/.604 |
| 11 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | 45 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 5 | .378/.481/.756 |
| 11 | Bryan De La Cruz | 46 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 11 | .348/.375/.478 |
| 11 | Patrick Bailey | 41 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 10 | .341/.349/.585 |
| 10 | Marcell Ozuna | 40 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 11 | .300/.378/.550 |
| 9 | Nico Hoerner | 39 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 4 | .333/.357/.590 |
| 8 | Shohei Ohtani | 32 | 11 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 | .469/.553/1.188 |
| 7 | Andrew McCutchen | 29 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | .483/.531/.724 |
| 7 | Kyle Tucker | 27 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 5 | .370/.452/.704 |
| 7 | Jeimer Candelario | 28 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 8 | .357/.400/.714 |
| 7 | Jose Abreu | 28 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 5 | .357/.355/.643 |
| 7 | Trea Turner | 28 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 8 | .321/.387/.464 |
Fantasy Baseball Risers
Jordan Westburg, Baltimore Orioles
I’m very intrigued by Jordan Westburg and what we have seen from him thus far. He hasn’t struck out much, has posted a very high walk rate (13.3 BB%) with a .385/.467/.462 slash line. Sure, he has a 45.5 percent ground ball rate and he hasn’t elevated the ball much yet, but it will come. He showcased good power in the minors (18 HR before the call) and it’s only a matter of time until that comes to fruition, especially if he’s going to experience high contact rates (75.9% Contact, 93.3% Z-Contact%). He’s made starts at second base and third base thus far, so if Baltimore continues moving him around the diamond, he’ll have multi-positional eligibility for fantasy managers to enjoy.
Emmet Sheehan, Los Angeles Dodgers
Through three starts, Sheehan is 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA and 12:4 K/BB ratio across 17 IP. He’s notched a quality start in two of his three outings, and he survived Coors Field in his most recent start. While I am a bit concerned about some of his peripheral numbers and underlying metrics, he’s got a great offense behind him, and I do believe there is some room for growth in the strikeout department. Sure, the 8.7% swinging strike rate isn’t ideal, but with a 36% O-Swing rate, one would think that that mark will increase. Lastly, fantasy managers should take note of the fact that he’s already thrown more this year than any past season in the majors, so they may need to start getting creative with his workload.
Honorable Mention: Jake Fraley, Ezequiel Duran, Brayan Bello, TJ Friedl, Evan Phillips, Scott McGough
Fantasy Baseball Fallers
Michael Kopech, Chicago White Sox
There was some optimism with Kopech after making an adjustment with his arm angle, and some of the early returns were positive. Amidst that adjustment, he had a four-start stretch where he had at least nine strikeouts in each outing, but since then, while his 3.12 ERA may not look too bad at the surface, the underlying metrics are a problem. He has a 5.99 FIP, 6.60 xFIP, and a 18:17 K/BB ratio over his last four starts (17.1 IP). He’s not getting swings out of the zone, his zone percentage sits at 36.9 percent over his last four starts, and the walks are a major, major problem. Albeit few and far between, he’s mixed in his curveball a bit more in recent starts, after not using it much at all in the few starts prior, but he continues to ride his four-seamer and slider primarily.
Orlando Arcia, Atlanta Braves
Arcia was outperforming expectations by quite a margin, but it seems to be catching up to him. If he’s not hitting well, he doesn’t do much for fantasy managers. Over 233 plate appearances, his .298 average is his best fantasy asset, whereas everything else is just pedestrian. Six home runs? Thirty-two runs scored? Twenty-six RBI? One stolen base? That’s it?
Arcia isn’t a guy that you can likely drop at this point, but I’m not sure you can start him either, as he’s not making hard contact whatsoever of late, and over his last eight games, he’s hitting .061 with a 27.3 percent strikeout rate.
Honorable Mention: Francisco Alvarez, Logan Allen, Julio Teheran, Jason Adam, Patrick Sandoval
Statistical Credits:
baseballsavant.mlb.com
fangraphs.com
baseballmusings.com
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Fantasy Baseball Prospect Report
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Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.