2025 Fantasy Baseball: Risers & Fallers from Week 3

It’s time for our third look at risers & fallers in fantasy baseball. The year has already seen breakout performers like Tyler Soderstrom and Spencer Torkelson take control of the headlines. However, there are other first basemen who’ve been off to good starts, including Jonathan Aranda. Here’s our risers & fallers list for Week 3 of 2025.

Risers

Before getting into the bulk of the list, let me take two seconds to do some gloating.

I said at the beginning of the year Shane Baz was a potential breakout candidate. He pitched very well last season during the second half, and Baz’s stuff plays, to say the least.

Baz doesn’t have a high Chase% (27.5%) or Whiff% (26.6%) rate, which are roughly average. However, what Baz does have is good command of the strike zone, which is allowing him to pound the edges, get called strikes, and rake in the strikeouts. Baz notched 27 over his first 19 innings of the season.

One of the other potential breakout pitchers I highlighted in February was David Festa. Festa had a poor spring and subsequently didn’t make the MLB roster. But after a hamstring injury to Pablo Lopez, Festa got the call back to Minnesota and has looked solid thus far. Over the last week, Festa was tied for first with Michael King among pitchers in ERA (0.00) among those who threw nine or more frames.

He struck out 10 in that stretch.

Festa is prone to overthrowing in spurts, and the command, dating back a while, has never been truly sharp. However, Festa has power stuff, and he showed it in his first two starts back in the Majors.

As for the rest of the group, Jonathan Aranda was a great hitter in the Minors. The 26-year-old was a career .302 hitter with a knack for putting balls in play, getting on base, and putting up decent power numbers. Hence, the Rays gave him numerous opportunities in 2022-24.

But despite the defensive issues, Aranda found a home at first base in Tampa. Aranda is hitting .396 on the year with a gaudy 14.3% Barrel/PA, likely unsustainable. However, Aranda benefits from a lot of factors; the hitter-friendly environment in Steinbrenner Field which plays smaller than Tropicana, and the aforementioned tools he has offensively.

Don’t expect .396 at the end of the year. But, with his quick hands — which helps with a lot of faces with hitting — and ability to put the ball in play, Aranda could be more than just a late bloomer.

Two other hitters rising are Jacob Young and Michael Busch. Young hit .438 — fifth-best between April 8-16 (min. 15 PA) — and is always a stolen base threat. Busch, meanwhile, hit .300 with three home runs over the last week. He’s off to a good start after 21 home runs last year.

Lastly, the pitchers. Chris Bassitt is tied with Hunter Greene for fourth in the Majors in strikeouts (31). Toronto’s received very good pitching from Kevin Gausman and Bowden Francis thus far but Bassitt — with his diverse arsenal — has been the clear #1.

Tyler Mahle, meanwhile, has been throwing his cutter more, and it’s paid off. Mahle notched 21 strikeouts over 19 frames and owns a 0.92 ERA on the year.

Fallers

Marcus Semien isn’t the only Ranger in a cold spell. Platoon bat Joc Pederson went 0-18 over the last eight days. However, Semien is arguably the most notable name at the bottom of the batting average list. The Rangers’ second baseman is hitting .127 with one home run over 17 games.

Only Jeimer Candelario (.119) and LaMonte Wade Jr. (.102) have lower averages this season.

Semien’s cold spell has more than just an impact on his fantasy results. The 34-year-old has just a .200 OBP for the Rangers. And, he’s hit exclusively out of the leadoff hole this season. Corey Seager, who hits behind Semien, has just five RBI on the year.

Speaking of players with low batting averages, it’s been a slog for Riley Greene. Greene hit .206 as of April 17 after a 1-27 stretch between April 8-16. The 24-year-old is seeing more pitches out of the zone and giving in to hitters, as Greene chased at a 30.7% rate as of the 17th. Last year, his chase rate was 23.1%.

Dylan Crews, meanwhile, is rolling over on a lot of contact. He’s hitting .140 on the year and has no extra-base hits. Aside from Taylor Walls, Crews is the only hitter in the Majors (min. 50 PA) to not have an extra-base hit this year.

Cody Bellinger (.185 AVG, 1 HR) and Alec Bohm (.167 AVG, 0 HR, 4 RBI) are also seeing their fantasy prospects drop.

Lastly, Walker Buehler has yet to find a groove in Boston. The fastball velocity — which ticked down late last year — is down over one MPH, and Buehler’s been missing too much in the zone. Hence, Buehler conceded four home runs over 20.2 IP.

Check out more of our fantasy coverage, including our look at slow starters you shouldn’t worry about.