MLB Streaks and Trends, Risers and Fallers Week 16: Kenta Maeda Racking Up Strikeouts For Minnesota Twins
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 Edouard Julien, Chas McCormick, and Kenta Maeda, who have been excellent of late for fantasy baseball managers. On the other hand, the regression monster has found Bryce Elder, and Braxton Garrett has been on a bit of a slide. Jared Triolo and Mickey Moniak currently own the longest active hit streaks in Major League Baseball, but no one may be hotter than Kyle Tucker at this juncture. 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 | .373 | 1 | Luis Arraez | .423 | 1 | Shohei Ohtani | .676 |
| 2 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .328 | T1 | Juan Soto | .423 | 2 | Matt Olson | .582 |
| 3 | Freddie Freeman | .322 | 3 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .406 | 3 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .579 |
| 4 | Yandy Diaz | .319 | 4 | Freddie Freeman | .405 | 4 | Mookie Betts | .573 |
| 5 | Masataka Yoshida | .317 | T4 | LaMonte Wade Jr. Jr. | .405 | 5 | F. Freeman/L. Robert | .565 |
| xBA | xwOBA | Hard Hit% | ||||||
| 1 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .346 | 1 | Aaron Judge | .476 | 1 | Aaron Judge | 62.6% |
| 2 | Corey Seager | .333 | 2 | Ronald Acuna Jr. | .453 | 2 | Matt Chapman | 58.9% |
| 3 | Luis Arraez | .323 | 3 | Corey Seager | .441 | 3 | Joey Gallo | 58.0% |
| 4 | Freddie Freeman | .320 | 4 | Shohei Ohtani | .435 | 4 | Corey Seager | 57.7% |
| 5 | Bo Bichette | .319 | 5 | Sean Murphy | .421 | 5 | Juan Soto | 57.5% |
| Hit Streaks | |||||||||
| Streak | Player | AB | R | Hits | HR | RBI | BB | K | AVG/OBP/SLG |
| 13 | Jared Triolo | 48 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 16 | .333/.377/.354 |
| 12 | Mickey Moniak | 50 | 8 | 20 | 3 | 13 | 2 | 16 | .400/.434/.620 |
| 11 | Gleyber Torres | 47 | 9 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | .383/.400/.553 |
| 9 | Edouard Julien | 29 | 10 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | .586/.647/1.000 |
| 8 | Chas McCormick | 27 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 8 | .481/.588/.926 |
| 8 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | 31 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 7 | .355/.394/.806 |
| 7 | Kyle Tucker | 27 | 6 | 13 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 4 | .481/.588/.926 |
| 7 | Keibert Ruiz | 25 | 55 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | .440/.500/.840 |
| 7 | Jarred Kelenic | 24 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | .333/.360/.458 |
Fantasy Baseball Risers
Edouard Julien, Minnesota Twins
Julien is not leaving this Twins batting order, at least right now. In July, across 44 plate appearances, he’s slashing .500/.568/.974 with five home runs, three doubles, 12 runs scored, seven RBI, and one stolen base. Also, he’s posted a 13.6 percent walk rate during that stretch! His contact rate has steadily increased, and it hasn’t just been quantity, but the quality has been there as well.
He’s been routinely hitting at the top of the order for the club, and here in July, his barrel rate is through the roof, and he’s sporting a 51.7 percent hard hit rate, per Statcast.
Chas McCormick, Houston Astros
Will McCormick be on your team in a month? Maybe not. I mean, if Houston makes a splash for another outfielder at the deadline, he may not even have a regular role in a couple of weeks. However, for now, ride the hot bat! He’s riding an eight-game hit streak, and he’s hit safely in 14 of his last 16 games. Since June 29, he’s slashing .379/.455/.707 with five home runs, two doubles, one triple, 13 runs scored, 14 RBI, and three stolen bases. Whether you want to believe it or not, McCormick has double-digit steals and home runs in just 228 plate appearances this season! His .486 BABIP surely won’t stick, but right now, he’s worth adding and playing. Get those counting stats, and once he cools off, or his playing time decreases, cut bait and add the newest hot bat or flavor of the week.
Kenta Maeda, Minnesota Twins
Maeda’s last start before hitting the injured list was an absolute shellacking, and it’s one of the two times all season he’s allowed more than three earned runs in a start. Since returning to the Twins rotation at the end of June, he’s been excellent, posting a 2.73 ERA (2.56 FIP), 12.30 K/9, 3.08 BB/9, and a 16.3 percent SwStr%! Since that June 23rd date, amongst qualified pitchers, he has the fourth-highest strikeout rate (35.3 K%) and ninth-best SIERA (3.10). Outside of a matchup with Atlanta, he’s been fortunate to get starts against Detroit, Oakland, and Kansas City, but he can’t control that, and the numbers have been excellent.
Honorable Mention: Kyle Bradish, Joel Payamps, Dane Dunning, Andrew Abbott, Will Benson
Fantasy Baseball Fallers
Bryce Elder, Atlanta Braves
Through his first 11 starts of the year, Elder had a 1.92 ERA, but that 3.42 FIP, 3.66 xFIP, and 3.92 SIERA made it seem like it was just too good to be true. Over his last eight starts, he’s allowed four or more earned runs in four outings, and despite still being 4-2 during this run, his ERA is up to 5.44, the FIP sits at 5.35, and his xFIP is at 4.93. The regression monster was coming for Elder, and in this day in age, a pitcher that doesn’t miss a ton of bats and pitches to a lot of contact may find himself in some trouble. His fantasy value takes a hit if he’s not elite in the ratios department, because the strikeouts are virtually nonexistent, and if he doesn’t provide a great ERA and a boatload of wins, he’s just another guy. The ERA is now up to 3.31 on the year, which is still quite good, but he’s a guy I’d be looking to trade.
Braxton Garrett, Miami Marlins
From May 20th to June 28th, Garrett was dynamic, posting a 2.00 ERA and 11.20 K/9 across eight starts in that stretch. Since then, well, we can’t say the same. Garrett only has one walk over his last 18.1 IP, which is excellent, but his strikeout rate is down to just over one batter per inning, and his ERA is up at 7.85 during that stretch! Furthermore, he’s logged more than just 15 innings just once in his last four trips to the mound. During this four-start stretch, he’s allowed a 52.5 percent hard hit rate, 14.8 percent barrel rate, and fewer ground balls. Wins will be a bit tough to come by with the Miami offense behind him, but Garrett is not pitching well at the moment. He can be dropped in shallower formats.
Honorable Mention: Alek Manoah, Harrison Bader, Mitch Keller, Brayan Bello, Scott McGough
Statistical Credits:
baseballsavant.mlb.com
fangraphs.com
baseballmusings.com
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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.
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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.