Hello Deep Leaguers, and welcome to the final installment of Deep League Risers and Fallers for 2025! I’d like to offer a hearty congratulations to anyone still playing. Things do get a little crazier toward the end of the season. We’ve had some September call-ups make big impacts already, and we also need to pay extra attention to teams that have already clinched playoff spots – they tend to rest their starters more often. But a single hot bat, or disaster start, can make the difference. Mostly though, trust your gut. You made it here somehow, act like you know what you’re doing.
Fallers
Andrew Vaughn, First Base, Milwaukee Brewers – 23% Rostered
It wasn’t that long ago that Vaughn looked like THE pickup of the second half. He did post an 1.157 OPS with five homers and 21 RBI over 61 plate appearances back in July, his first month as a Brewer. He slumped a bit after that, posting a .695 OPS in August, but that also came with four homers and 19 more runs driven in.
And he’s actually been hitting the ball extremely in September, as he’s slashing .448/.484/.552 over 31 plate appearances. And yet with the return of Rhys Hoskins, and Jake Bauers swinging a hot bat, Vaughn has found himself on the short side of a platoon. It looks strict too. Vaughn has been out of the starting lineup in the last four games in which the Brewers have faced a right handed starter.
Vaughn does have a .650 OPS vs righties and an .849 OPS vs lefties, so it’s difficult to fault the Brewers here. It’s a shame really, since Vaughn still is hitting well overall. However, he can’t help us if he isn’t starting, so we have to move on. If Bauers is available in your league, I’d absolutely consider the straight swap.
Mike Yastrzemksi, Outfield, Kansas City Royals – 7% Rostered
Yastrzemski was one of the quieter deadline acquisitions. He was slashing just .231/.330/.335 at the time of the trade, but the Royals installed him as their leadoff hitter and it worked out to the tune of a .268/.354/.622 line with seven homers and 22 runs scored over 96 plate appearances in August. That line came with a .231 BABIP too, so he wasn’t just getting lucky.
It’s been a different story so far in September. Yaz is slashing just .162/.256/.243 with no homers and just four runs scored halfway through the month. His BABIP for September is just .182 though. That’s roughly 100 points below the league average. His process chart also looks pretty good.
You can see he bottomed out in contact rate and power output right around the trade deadline and started trending upward immediately upon joining his new club. He’s continued that trend and has leveled off, but has not dropped off recently.
I don’t think Yaz will be a world beater (he’s got a career .238/.323/.447 line), but I also don’t think you should give up on him. His underlying rates look solid and he’s still batting at the top of the order. He’s clearly suffered from poor batted ball luck lately and I think he can still be helpful over the last couple weeks.
Jeff McNeil, Second Base and Outfield, New York Metropolitans – 16% Rostered
McNeil has had a bit of a roller coaster season in regards to his batting average, which, along with on base percentage tends to be his best fantasy category. He was a plus to batting average in April, June and August, but a drag in May in July. But those two down months also featured his lowest BABIPs of the season, (.222 and .245 respectively). August was probably his best overall month, as he slashed .276/.339/.459 with three homers and 28 combined runs and RBI, his highest monthly total of 2025.
He’s maintained an acceptable .250 batting average (.303 BABIP) so far in September but he’s really slipped elsewhere. McNeil has managed just one extra base hit this month (a double) and is carrying a meager .608 OPS with just three runs scored and four driven in. We don’t expect a ton of power, but if that batting average is not offering a major boost then McNeil isn’t likely to help us much.
The good news is that with McNeil’s elite on base skills, his slumps don’t usually last long. He is still in the top 25% for walk rate, top 10% in whiff rate and top 5% in overall strike out rate. His process also suggests he’s coming around.
So maybe his season is more of a kid’s ride than a real roller coaster experience. Those are some beautiful rolling hills of contact rates. But the key take away is the dip around 9/1 and the little upward slant afterward. It looks like McNeil is already trending upwards and if the two other peaks on that chart are anything to go by, (it is why I put the chart there after all), then we should see a nice couple weeks from McNeil to end the year. If you are worried about Xavier Edwards‘ wrist, and missed out on Sal Stewart, then McNeil could be a nice player to man your keystone.
Risers
Sal Stewart, First, Second and Third Base, Cincinnati Reds – 17% Rostered
Stewart got a much deserved promotion after slashing .306/.377/.473 with 20 homers and 17 stolen bases over 118 games split between AA and AAA. He’s more than held his own so far in majors, slashing .297/.297/.622 with four homers through his first 11 MLB games. He has yet to draw a walk, but had a 46:77 BB to K ratio this season in the minors, so I’m not super worried about the lack of walks yet.
In his small sample, Stewart has produced impressive power metrics. His exit velocity stands at 94.5 MPH and his barrel rate over 20%. Both of those rates would rank right near the peak of the league if he had enough at bats to qualify. His hard hit rate is lagging those stats a bit at 48.3%, which is still excellent. We’ve already established his walk rate is basically zero, but his chase rate is currently over 40% which is concerning, albeit with a K rate just over 21%, which shouldn’t scare anyone away.
The Reds are currently finishing up a series in St Louis, and then return home for a couple series against the Cubs and Pirates. A big time prospect swinging a hot bat in one the league’s friendliest hitters’ parks? Yes, please. I love Stewart for the rest of this season and he’s looking like a major offseason target as well.
Trey Yesavage, Starting Pitcher, Toronto Blue Jays – 15% Rostered
Yesavage was the Jay’s first round pick in 2024 and made his professional debut this year. He began the year dominating A-ball to the tune of a 2.43 ERA and .81 WHIP with 55 Ks and just eight BBs over 33.1 innings. He continued to overmatch minor league hitters over the next few months, compiling a 3.12 ERA, .97 WHIP and a whopping 160 strikeouts and 41 walks over 98 minor league innings.
He practically forced the AL East leading Jays to bring him up. And then he dazzled in his MLB debut. Yesavage struck out nine Rays while allowing a single run on three hits and two walks over five innings on route to a no-decision.
Trey utilized a four seamer, splitter and changeup in his first MLB outing. He went to his heater just under 50% of the time with both of his other offerings sitting just over 25%. I always like seeing a pitcher without a single pitch over 50%, so hitters are less able to just sit on one pitch type. But beyond that, Trey was very impressive. He generated 19 swinging strikes on just 69 pitches, including 11 whiffs on 19 splitters. He had a CSW of 43.8.
The Jays claim that Yesavage will have no restrictions going forward (although I doubt we see much over 80 pitches) and would lineup to make his next start in Kansas City if he starts again. KC has the 6th lowest scoring offense in the Majors, and Trey looked fantastic his first time out. I would absolutely roll him out vs the Royals in any league where I had that option. It also goes without saying he’s a prime 2026 target as well.
Brandon Marsh, Outfield, Philadelphia Phillies – 9% Rostered
After a brutal first month, Brandon Marsh has quietly put together a very strong season. Excluding his .095 batting average over 51 plate appearances in April, his .271 average in July was his lowest mark in any month this season. Similarly, after that first month, he has maintained a monthly OPS of at least .766 through the rest of the season.
He’s also scorching hot lately. Marsh has slashed .390/.444/.707 with two homers, 11 runs scored and nine RBI in just 11 games so far in September. He has a .457 BABIP this month, but managed to carry BABIPs over .400 in May and June too! Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, but it’s always nice to be both.
Marsh has strong underlying rates as well. His barrel rate is a tad below average at 8%, but his 91.1 MPH average exit velocity sits in the league’s top quartile and his 46.2% hard hit rate resides in the top third. His K rate is a little higher than we like to see at just under 25%, but for the most part anything under 30% with some pop is acceptable, especially in deeper leagues.
Last Chart Of The Year! We can see that Marsh’s contact rate slipped a bit in late August before rebounding pretty quickly near its peak for the season. But his power output has been fantastic lately as we noted above with his big recent run and RBI totals.
The Phillies head to Arizona for their next series and then return home to take on the Marlins and then Twins. All three of those teams are in the bottom third for ERA this season. Marsh looks like he should a very solid option over the home stretch.
And that’s it! Thanks as always for reading. I’ve had a ton of fun this season, and hope to see everyone back here again next year. Good Luck out there Deep Leaguers!
