Casey Schmitt and Alec Burleson Among Fantasy Baseball Hitters on the Rise Over Past Week

It's time for our weekly look at fantasy baseball hitters on the rise and fall.

We'll begin with hitters on the rise, using stats from June-17-23. Check back later for the story on hitters trending down.

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Most Hits

Arizona's Ketel Marte led the league with 14 hits over the timeframe we are using. He had five doubles and two homers among the hits, along with 10 runs scored, eight RBIs, two walks and three strikeouts. He's one of the premier fantasy hitters in the game, and showed exactly why over the past week - he's regained the value he lost when he was injured earlier in the season.

Milwaukee's Christian Yelich and Pittsburgh's Nick Gonzales had 13 hits each over the past week.

Yelich had four doubles and a homer among his knocks, along with 13 RBIs, four runs scored, two walks and stolen bases and seven strikeouts. A slow start to the season is well in the rearview mirror, and Yelich is looking like a daily fantasy starter again, like he has been for most of his career. If you don't believe in him staying healthy, now would be a time to sell high on Yeli.

Gonzales had three doubles and a home run among his hits last week. He added four RBIs, three runs scored, a walk and four strikeouts. Gonzales is owned in just 5% of leagues right now, but has pretty strong numbers when on the field this year - I'd expect him to become a bit more popular waiver wire pickup over the next couple days.

Tampa Bay's Yandy Diaz and Seattle's Cal Raleigh each posted 12 hits last week.

Diaz had two doubles and homers among the hits, along with five runs scored, three RBIs, a walk and two strikeouts. Diaz is up to 92% rostered, and another big week could get him to 100%. Now is a time to sell high on Diaz.

Raleigh continued his incredible season with six homers and two doubles among the 12 hits he had. He drove in 14 runs, scored 12 times, walked on three occasions, stole two bases and struck out four times. Raleigh continues to deliver, and his trade value keeps rising. I want to say to sell high, but he's so far ahead of any other fantasy catcher that it might be best just to enjoy his monster season.

Most Runs Scored

Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. tied Raleigh with 12 runs scored over the past week. Acuna had 10 total hits, including two homers and doubles. He also had eight walks, three RBIs, two stolen bases and five strikeouts. 

Acuna has gone right back to being a fantasy star since returning to the field, which should be thrilling for the fantasy owners that took a gamble on him. If you are worried about his injury history, now would be a time to sell high with Acuna.

Washington's CJ Abrams scored 10 runs last week. He had two home runs and a double among his 11 hits, and also had five walks, four RBIs, three stolen bases and two strikeouts. 

Abrams is nearly up to 100% rostered after his recent success. He's another sell-high candidate, especially if you see a little regression coming (which I do).

Most RBIs

St. Louis' Alec Burleson drove in 11 runs last week, trailing just Raleigh and Yelich. Burleson had four homers and a double among his 11 hits last week, along with five runs scored, a walk and three strikeouts.

Burleson has been a big-time waiver wire pickup over the past couple days, and rightfully so after the week he just had. He's a really underrated fantasy asset so far this season, and you might want to act now if you want to add the Cardinals' first baseman and corner outfielder.

Arizona's Eugenio Suarez, Detroit's Riley Greene and Washington's James Wood drove in 10 runs each over the past week.

Suarez had four homers and two doubles among his 11 total knocks. He also had five runs scored, no walks and six strikeouts. Suarez was hit by three pitches, and one forced him out of Monday's game, so his status is one to watch.

Greene had three homers and doubles among his 11 total knocks over the past seven days. He added seven runs scored, two walks and six strikeouts. Greene is enjoying a big season, but some injury concerns over his career make him a good sell-high candidate right now.

Wood continued his breakout season with four homers and a double during an eight-hit week. He had seven runs scored, five walks and nine strikeouts as well. Wood has been one of the better fantasy hitters all season, and hasn't slowed much, so I'd be more inclined to keep or acquire him than I would be hoping to trade him away.

Other Hitters On the Rise

Colorado's Tyler Freeman had a .542 on-base percentage across 24 plate appearances last week. He had eight hits, including a double, and two walks, while also being hit by three pitches. Freeman had three runs scored, two RBIs and stolen bases and just one strikeout. He's owned in 13% of leagues, which is up from 6% on June 20, so he's getting the attention of deep-league fantasy owners now.

Tampa Bay's Junior Caminero had a .523 OBP over 21 plate appearances over the past week. He had two homers among his nine hits, while also walking twice. Caminero also had four runs scored, five RBIs and four strikeouts last week. Caminero is emerging as a good daily fantasy asset and looks to have an incredibly bright future ahead of him - I'd be more inclined to add him than try and sell him high.

San Francisco's Casey Schmitt had a .522 OBP over the past week. He tallied 10 hits, including a double and homer, and also walked twice. Schmitt had five runs scored, an RBI and four strikeouts. He was part of today's waiver wire story, and is a deep-league option at just 19% rostered.

Byron Buxton homered six times and doubled once among his nine hits over the past week. He also had six RBIs, seven runs scored, four walks, a stolen base and five strikeouts. Buxton is up to 95% rostered after sitting at 85% on June 17.

Mike Trout had five hits and eight walks last week, while also being plunked by a pitch. He had a homer among the hits, along with five runs scored, an RBI and 11 strikeouts. Trout continues to be a big-time fantasy asset when on the field, and if you are worried about his injury woes, now is a pretty solid sell-high time.

William Contreras had seven hits and seven walks last week. He had two doubles among the hits, along with two runs scored, three RBIs and just one strikeout. Contreras hasn't really gotten going at the plate, but he's still doing enough to remain a top-end fantasy catcher.

Xavier Edwards had seven hits and three walks last week. He doubled once among the hits, scored three times, drove in a run, stole three bases and struck out three times as well. Edwards is not a major fantasy asset because he doesn't hit for power, but his well-rounded numbers make him a good fantasy asset still. He's at 58% owned and on the rise.

Spencer Steer tallied nine hits last week, including two doubles and a triple and homer. He drove in four runs, scored five runs, failed to walk, stole three bases and struck out four times. Steer is back on the rise as a fantasy asset, but is still at just 42% owned.