Welcome to the 2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 10 Stock Up-Stock Down article!
It's June! We are officially through two months of the season, and league hierarchies are starting to take shape. By now, you should have a good idea of where your team needs help, and what your strengths are. Or, if you're anything like me, you're entirely perplexed. Studs are all slumping at once, retreads rule the day, and rookie pitchers are rookie pitchers. Let's see if we can't make heads or tails of this.
Now, without further ado, let's hop into the 2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 10 Stock Up/Stock Down list!
2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 10 Stock Up-Stock Down
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Stock Up
Elly De La Cruz, SS/3B, Cincinnati Reds
It's happening! Finally, the most anticipated prospect east of the Mississippi finally made his MLB debut. Last week, Matt McLain was the belle of our ball, but now it's time for the big dance. De La Cruz is an absolute specimen whose power and speed have set Triple-A ablaze. It seems like every year there is a new 6'4"+ freak of nature who absolutely busts baseballs, and De La Cruz is it baby.
Elly De La Cruz's highest-ranked tool? His speed!
The No. 1 @Reds prospect ZOOMS around to third for the @LouisvilleBats in just 10.97 seconds, which would tie for the fastest time in the Majors this season: pic.twitter.com/gUBVAFv1Vy
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 2, 2023
The 21-year-old has scorched Triple-A to the tune of .297/.398/.633, along with 12 home runs and 11 steals. Sure those stats are impressive, but it's how De La Cruz does it that is so impressive. He has three of the top five hardest hit balls in the minors this year, and he absolutely flies around the bases. He just hits the ball so damn hard.
Get ready, Cincinnati 🍿@MLBPipeline's No. 4 prospect Elly De La Cruz is set to make his @Reds debut tonight, hitting cleanup against the Dodgers. #ATOBTTR pic.twitter.com/1eED6EqdIB
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 6, 2023
Like any prospect, De La Cruz is not without his warts. He has an infamous strikeout problem, and could very easily struggle in the majors. However, there is a very good chance that every time he doesn't strike out, he makes SportsCenter. Elly De La Cruz is a unicorn in every sense, and you should roster him immediately if you can. Now, enjoy some clips of a speedy giant playing a child's game.
Elly De La Cruz hits a 112mph double for his first career big league hit. 💪
He’s +1100 to win NL Rookie of the Year.pic.twitter.com/xrGsE9QGSm
— Covers (@Covers) June 7, 2023
We've run out of words to describe Elly De La Cruz 🤯@Reds | @LouisvilleBats pic.twitter.com/xZNB9mnbjO
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 4, 2023
Andrew Abbott, SP, Cincinnati Reds
There is something in the Ohio River, and it is mutating the Reds into an exciting young team! This weekend, the Reds called up their top pitching prospect, Andrew Abbott. In his debut Monday night, he allowed just one run over six innings. He had a 3/2 K/BB ratio, so there were some warts, but he was distinctly hard to hit.
That's one way to start your Major League career.
6 IP
1 H
0 R
4 BB
6 KNo. 6 @Reds prospect Andrew Abbott dazzled in his big league debut: pic.twitter.com/AcvS9bAqnK
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 6, 2023
The left-hander has a four-pitch arsenal but leans heavily on a fastball/curveball combination to get batters out. He threw over 100 pitches in his debut outing as well, which bodes well for his longevity and value in Quality Start leagues.
Abbott is unlikely to answer your pitching problems, and pitching in Cincinnati is somewhat of a ticking timebomb in and of itself. However, he could also be a finished product that can fill out the middle to back end of your rotation. In the current fantasy landscape, that can be valuable. Pick up Abbott and ride him until something breaks.
Josh Naylor, 1B/OF, Cleveland Guardians
Josh Naylor had some weird hype coming into the year and quite frankly I didn't get it. Yes, Naylor has good underlying statistics, he has only had a strikeout rate over 20% once in a five-year career, but it's also been a five-year career. we know what this guy is by now, right?
I'm not so sure we do. before 2022 Naylor seemed a painfully below-average batter. His career line was something like .250/.310/.360 and he never had a WRC+ over 90. Naylor has always had good raw power but has never really been able to channel it.
So uh, Josh Naylor has been seeing the ball pretty well lately.
His exit velocity logs against righties last couple weeks:https://t.co/2yxChwUTRF pic.twitter.com/rRrcmINLVz
— Eli (@degenEli) June 3, 2023
In 2022 he started to lift the ball and had his first-ever 20-home-run season. He finished the year with a 117 WRC+ over 122 games. That is not a bad season by any stretch, but it's not great and not what I want to see in year four of a career.
So far in 2023, Naylor is barreling the ball better than he ever has and seems more attuned to his power than ever before. He already has 8 home runs in just over a third of the season. The 25-year-old is a streaky player, but if you are experiencing a drought at first base, he could be an excellent stopgap.
Stock Down
Bryce Miller, SP, Seattle Mariners
Oh, how the mighty stumble. In a season where it seems like a new pitcher debuts and falls on their face every week, Bryce Miller was a breath of fresh air. After a sudden call-up that saw him skip Triple-A entirely, Miller dazzled in his first five starts. He posted five quality starts in a row and struck out ten batters in his first outing.
Not sure anybody told him, but on May 29th, Miller Time ended. After sufficiently handling Oakland in his previous start, Miller got lit up to the tune of eight runs by the Yankees. He didn't make it out of the 5th inning for the first time in his major league career and only struck out three. But it's one start, right? It was bound to happen eventually, now he just has to bounce back.
Bryce Miller giving up a HR to Jake Bauers was even more obvious than the Judge HR pic.twitter.com/8CLimEv7qW
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 30, 2023
About that. In his follow-up redemption start against Texas, Miller got handed seven earned runs in just 2.1 innings. He struck out two. Miller has a good fastball that he should be able to fall back on, but he just doesn't generate a lot of whiffs. He has been living in the zone, and feasting on the fact that he doesn't throw a ball when he's expected to. It was two dangerous offenses, but it looks like the book may be written on Miller for now. See if he recaptures the magic against the Angels, but don't be afraid to let him go if he falters. This is just the way of rookie pitchers, as soon as you get attached, you get burned.
Alek Manoah, SP, Toronto Blue Jays
Pressure is what Alek Manoah put in his tires before he drove down to Florida rookie ball this week. That's right, rookie ball! Manoah has been so unfathomably bad that the Jays didn't just demote him, they busted his ass all the way down. I mean, rookie ball? Manoah is going to be throwing against children, but that may be what he needs.
Alek Manoah's entire outing today:
single
bunt single he tried to blow foul 👇
single
flyout
single
walk
grand slam
single
singleCrazy.pic.twitter.com/maCoAyVaxN
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 5, 2023
It doesn't take 20/20 vision to see that something is really off with Alek Manoah in 2023. There is speculation that it is the pitch clock, his conditioning, or something in between, but nobody really knows. All that we know for certain is that this is not the same caliber player who almost won a Cy Young a year ago.
What is causing the issue will be debated alongside the moon landing and JFK for the next 50 years. What is inarguable is that Manoah is sucking in every way imaginable. Hard contact? He isn't limiting it; he only has a 13% soft contact rate. Command? Nonexistent; Manoah has a 48/42 K/BB ratio. Home-runs? He's allowing them, at almost a 2 per nine inning clip.
I'm not sure what's wrong with Manoah or if he can be fixed, but I know his stock cannot go lower. If you own Manoah, I'm so very sorry. If you don't own him, there will likely never be a time to buy lower, but don't do it unless you can afford to take the bumps.
Thanks for reading the 2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 10 Stock Up-Stock Down. Be sure to check out more Fantasy Baseball content from the F6P team!
