Fantasy Baseball Rising Stars of Week 23: Lawrence Belter

We're in the home stretch of the fantasy baseball season, but the goal remains the same: attack categories and finish the season strong. The latest edition of Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers has everything you need. As we have throughout the season, we're highlighting some of the previous week's risers and fallers from a fantasy perspective to help you make lineup decisions. Now it's time to push the fantasy pedal to the metal, so let's get to Week 23's risers and fallers for fantasy baseball. Good luck in the home stretch!

Promoted and relegated teams in Fantasy Baseball

Statistics from August 26th – September 1st

Carrying straps

Lawrence Butler (OAK)

Lawrence Butler not only finished the week with an 11-game hitting streak, but he also hit hard. He hit a whopping six home runs in six games, including his second three-home run game of the season. Incredible. Butler finished the week with eight runs and ten RBIs, and threw in a couple of stolen bases for good measure. He also ripped the ball off the ground with a barrel rate of 29.6% and a hard hit rate of 63%.

Butler has come on strong since the start of July. He has a slash line of .326/.364/.700 with 18 home runs and nine steals in his last 206 at-bats. He also flexed his muscles during that time with a barrel rate of 15.4% and an ISO of .374. Improved skills at the plate have fueled Butler's strong stretch. He has been able to lower his strikeout rate from 31.6% in the first three months of the season to 18% since July 1. Butler has swing, speed and bats first. He has no business being on the waiver list in any major league.

Josh Lowe (BY — TBR)

Josh Lowe made a splash last week. In four of six games, he had multiple hits, including a couple of home runs and a stolen base. He also had a lot of contact, with a barrel rate of 21.4% and a hard hit rate of 71.4%. Lowe's strikeout rate of 33.3% was normal, but he still finished the week with an OPS of 1.277.

Lowe had a strong August, hitting .291/.347/.535 with four home runs and seven steals in 95 at-bats. He also had a wRC+ of 144 that month and started the team's last three games against left-handers. Lowe has a strikeout rate of over 30% but bats in the middle of the batting order and contributes across the board. Lowe should be a useful hitter on 12-teams as long as he's in top form.

Victor Robles (OF — SEA)

Victor Robles was one of the week's leaders in steals, stealing three bases in 17 at-bats and getting on base at a .421 rate. Robles really hit the ground running in early July, stealing 16 of his 21 bases in his last 155 plate appearances while posting a solid .777 OPS. Robles moved up to ninth in the order with the recent return of JP Crawford from the first batter. While it's not an ideal situation, Robles can still be relied upon to get steals down the stretch.

José Tena (3B/SS — WAS)

Jose Tena had a good week, batting 7-for-23 (.304), hitting one home run and posting a 16.7% strikeout rate. He also made good contact with a 31.6% barrel rate and a 57.9% hard hit rate.

Tena came over from Cleveland at the trade deadline and has looked good since being called up on August 10. In that time, he's hit .339/.369/.468 with two home runs and a stolen base, along with an 18.4% barrel rate. Tena brings a good mix of power and speed to the fantasy slate. In 405 Triple-A plate appearances this season, he's hit 17 home runs and 14 steals for a .298 batting average. The sample size is small, but Tena hits center field and should continue to get playing time every day. He's worth a shot in the big leagues and could prove productive in some of the minor leagues.

Faller

Logan O'Hoppe (C– LAA)

Logan O'Hoppe had a brutal week, hitting one in 17 at-bats (.059). He also struck out at an absurdly high 70.6%. The bad week is a continuation of a miserable August for O'Hoppe. In 98 batting appearances during the month, he hit .099/.163/.176 with a wRC+ of -7. O'Hoppe also managed just two home runs and struck out at a season-worst 44.9%. On the plus side, O'Hoppe smashed the ball when he hit it, posting a 17% barrel rate—a season-best. That, coupled with an unfortunate .152 BABIP during that stretch, should mean better days are ahead. But until that happens, it's best to keep O'Hoppe on the bench in weak leagues.

Jarred Kelenic (OF – ATL)

It's officially time for Jarred Kelenic to leave the big leagues. He started twice in seven games last week, making way for Ramon Laureano in the outfield.

Kelenic was great in June, with a .900 OPS and a 146 wRC+, and was even the Braves' first hitter for a while. But he's recently come back down to earth, and in August he has a .563 OPS and a 37.5% strikeout rate in 72 at-bats. Kelenic has plenty of talent, but he's unlikely to provide much fantasy quality down the stretch.

Sean Murphy (C – ATL)

Sean Murphy is losing playing time. He started just two of the Braves' seven games last week, while Travis d'Arnaud took up most of the playing time behind the plate. Murphy spent the first few months of the season on the injured list and has had a disappointing season since then.

This year, Murphy has a career-low .684 OPS with eight home runs in 210 at-bats. Additionally, his 71.2% contact rate is a five-point drop from last season, and his quality of contact metrics have taken significant drops across the board. Murphy may be dropped in single-catcher leagues.