Fantasy Baseball Hitters Trending Up of Late: Michael Harris II, Lenyn Sosa and More

We usually look at fantasy baseball hitters who are trending up and down every week.

Last week, we skipped the story because of the trade deadline, and with the end of the month happening. So today, we are diving back into the series, but using a bit longer stretch of play than usual.

We'll be looking at hitting stats from July 24-August 4. We'll begin with hitters trending up in this article. Let's dive in!

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Best Averages

Among qualified hitters, Nick Kurtz had the best average over the timeframe we are using. He's hitting .457.

Kurtz had four homers and three doubles among his 16 total hits. He also had 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored, five walks and seven strikeouts in that stretch. Kurtz has been red hot of late, and is owned in all fantasy leagues now. He's no longer a player to acquire for fairly cheap, and if I owned him, I'd nearly have him as untouchable because he can power a fantasy team to greatness.

Lenyn Sosa is a surprise name in the No. 2 average spot, hitting .452. He's got two homers and a double among the hits, along with nine RBIs, six runs scored, three walks and one strikeout. Sosa's fantasy ceiling is capped because of the team he's on, but he's delivering at the plate enough to have deep-league upside - he's currently rostered in 38% of leagues, and that's still on the rise today.

Bo Bichette is at a .444 average of late, with four doubles and two home runs among his 24 hits. He also has 15 RBIs, seven runs scored, four walks and three strikeouts over this stretch. Bichette is owned in all leagues now and is a sell-high candidate with how hot he's been of late.

Michael Harris II had a .439 average over the timeframe we are using, and so does Joey Loperfido.

Harris had three doubles and triples and two homers among his 18 hits, along with tallying nine runs scored, four RBIs, two walks and five strikeouts. Harris has struggled most of the season, but is finally producing a bit at the plate - he's at 88% rostered now and could be a late-season hitter who helps out fantasy squads.

Loperfido had two homers and a double among his 18 hits. He also had eight runs scored, four RBIs, two walks, a stolen base and 13 strikeouts. Loperfido is only rostered in 11% of leagues synced here, so he's overlooked right now - add him in some deeper leagues if you are looking for some outfield help.

Andrew Vaughn had a .436 average over the timeframe we are using. Manny Machado is hitting .422, while Warming Bernabel is at a .417 average.

Vaughn had four homers and two doubles among his 17 hits in that stretch. He also had 12 RBIs, nine runs scored, three walks and six strikeouts. Vaughn has been a waiver wire add for a week-plus now and isn't showing signs of slowing down. I just wrote about him today in a waiver story, so you can read my thoughts on him there.

Machado is one of the better fantasy hitters in the game and is a sell-high candidate after his recent hot hitting - most will continue to roster him and just enjoy his top-end performances though. Machado had four doubles and two homers among his 19 hits in that span, along with 11 RBIs, six runs scored, a walk, two stolen bases and 10 strikeouts.

Bernabel is another waiver wire star of late - he's at 57% now, and is still rising in a hurry. Bernabel had four doubles, a triple and three homers among his 15 hits in that stretch of play. He also had eight RBIs, six runs scored, a walk and four strikeouts. You might need to add him soon in standard leagues, because his rising own percentage isn't slowing.

Most Home Runs

Kyle Schwarber and Julio Rodriguez each had six homers over the timeframe we are using.

Schwarber had 13 hits in that stretch, with three doubles in there. He had 16 RBIs, seven runs scored, a stolen base and 12 strikeouts. Schwarber is one of the top fantasy hitters in the game, so I'd enjoy his fantasy success instead of looking to sell him - unless I got a great return.

Rodriguez had two doubles among his 12 total hits in that span. He also had eight RBIs, six runs scored, two stolen bases and 12 strikeouts. Rodriguez has been a fantasy disappointment most of the season, so now would be a time to sell high on him. He could also be heating up, and stay this hot, so you need to assess your team and figure out what the best move for your team is.

Giancarlo Stanton, Shea Langeliers and Colson Montgomery all popped five home runs.

Stanton had 11 hits over the timeframe we are using, with the other six knocks being singles. He also had 11 RBIs, seven runs scored, two walks and 18 strikeouts in that span. Stanton is starting to get rolling at the plate, and is up to 55% rostered now. If he picks up outfield eligibility, then his own percentage will improve in a big way, so keep tabs on that.

Langeliers added three doubles among his 15 hits of late. He also had 10 runs scored, eight RBIs, two walks, a stolen base and four strikeouts. Langeliers is up to 90% rostered now and is a good fantasy catcher to roster in all leagues.

Montgomery has been a hot waiver wire name and is way up to 53% owned now. He had eight total hits in that stretch, with the other three being singles. Montgomery also had 11 RBIs, five runs scored and 10 strikeouts. He needs to produce a bit more than just homers and RBIs to get into standard leagues.

Most Runs

Jordan Westburg had scored a league-leading 13 runs over the timeframe we are using. He had two doubles and three homers among his 16 hits, along with seven RBIs, two walks and eight strikeouts. Westburg is up to 94% rostered and could get to 100% with more strong hitting.

William Contreras and Gunnar Henderson are each at 12 runs scored.

Contreras had three homers and two doubles among his 14 hits, along with five RBIs, four walks and three strikeouts of late. He's getting going at the plate after underperforming a bit to this point - he has been a top-end fantasy catcher in the past, and could be that guy down the stretch, so he's one to keep rostering or worth trading for if the price isn't too high.

Henderson had three doubles and two homers among his 16 hits. He also had 12 RBIs, six walks, a stolen base and eight strikeouts. Henderson has underperformed when on the field this season, but he's trending up and could be another great fantasy asset down the stretch. With Baltimore selling at the deadline, his fantasy ceiling is probably a bit down, so I'd also understand selling Henderson high now.

Other Hitters Trending Up

Jackson Merrill had a .304 average, 13 RBIs, three runs scored, two walks and 10 strikeouts over the timeframe we are using. He had two triples and a double and a homer among his 14 total hits. Merrill is nearly owned in all leagues again, and should be because he's shown to be a top-end fantasy hitter in the past - he could erupt down the stretch.

Kyle Tucker had nine hits, including two doubles, and 10 walks over the span we are using. He added four RBIs and runs scored and struck out six times. Tucker is an elite fantasy hitter and showed he can still get on base a ton, even if he isn't racking up hits. He could actually be a buy-low target though, so that's worth looking into.

Josh Naylor and CJ Abrams each stole six bases in the timeframe we are using.

Naylor had eight hits, including a homer and a double. He also had two RBIs, four runs scored, three walks and 12 strikeouts. Naylor has had a great fantasy season, and should continue to deliver with the Mariners down the stretch.

Abrams had nine hits, including three doubles and a homer. He also posted five RBIs and runs scored, four walks and eight strikeouts. Abrams is nearly owned in all leagues, and has delivered enough this season to keep rostering, instead of ever looking to sell high on him.

Roman Anthony had a .512 on-base percentage over 41 plate appearances, trailing only the .537 mark Kurtz posted. Anthony had 12 hits, including three doubles and a triple, and seven walks. He also had seven runs scored, five RBIs and seven strikeouts. Anthony is dealing with a back injury, but probably deserves to be rostered in more than 75% of leagues like he is now.