Fantasy Baseball Buy-Lows? Unlucky Star Players (Week 14)

July 1, 2026

Joey's fantasy baseball buy-lows, breakouts, trade candidates to target for Week 14 in 2026. These unlucky players are underperforming early for fantasy baseball.

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another edition of Buy-Low Candidates for Week 14 of the fantasy baseball season. Every week of the fantasy baseball season, we look at struggling star players who are top buy-low candidates.

This week, we'll dive into five more star players to buy low. All five players featured on this list are rostered in over 80% of Yahoo! leagues, but none of them has provided their usual fantasy numbers as of late. This list will include two pitchers and three hitters who are buy-low candidates in Week 14 of the fantasy baseball season.

Let's dive into the best buy-low candidates right now. All stats are through Tuesday's contests (June 30).

Paul Skenes, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates

Everyone expects Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes to be superhuman. He posted a 1.96 ERA in his rookie season in 2024 and a 1.97 ERA in his sophomore season. This year, Skenes' ERA looks a bit different. The hard-throwing right-hander has a 3.10 ERA across 93 innings pitched in his first 17 starts. While that's usually an elite ERA for most pitchers, that is not in Skenes' case.

Skenes just hasn't been as dominant on the mound this season as he was in his first two MLB campaigns. He has allowed multiple runs in six of his last eight starts and has a 3.91 ERA over his last four starts. In his most recent start, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner gave up four earned runs across five innings pitched against a bottom Reds offense.

Now, it is definitely not going to be easy to trade for Skenes in any of your leagues. The fantasy manager in your league likely selected him in the first round and will still be asking for ransom in return. However, if there was ever a time to buy Skenes when his fantasy value was at its lowest, it is now. The 24-year-old has not allowed zero runs in a start since May 12.

15 straight retired by Paul Skenes to begin his night 👀 pic.twitter.com/ISzldLeSdf

— MLB (@MLB) April 25, 2026

So, see what it would take to potentially acquire the Pirates right-hander. He is obviously one of the best fantasy pitchers the rest of the season, with a .199 expected batting average against, 30.6% strikeout rate, and 28.6% whiff rate.

Gavin Williams, SP, Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams did not have a great June. He finished the month with a 6.04 ERA in five starts and failed to complete six innings in all five of those outings. This poor month-long stretch comes after Williams completed at least six innings and posted a strong 3.55 ERA across five starts in May.

It was no doubt a down month for the 26-year-old. He allowed four runs (three earned runs) across five innings against the Yankees on May 9, gave up seven runs across five innings against the Brewers on June 17, and recently gave up three runs (two earned runs) across five innings against the Mariners. Those recent outings are very different from the dominant Williams we saw earlier in the season.

However, the Guardians right-hander is a clear buy-low in Week 14 of the fantasy baseball season. Both his whiff rate (30.3%) and strikeout rate (28.3%) rank in the top 15% of the league, and he also ranks in the upper half of the league in chase rate (32.3%), walk rate (8.2%), groundball rate (46.4%), and swinging strike rate (13.4%).

Although Williams is giving up some hard contact (48.2% hard-hit rate), his ability to miss bats makes him an appealing trade target in all formats. He should post better numbers in July.

Casey Schmitt, 1B/2B/3B/OF, San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants utility specialist Casey Schmitt is in a massive slump at the plate right now. He has just two hits over his last 24 plate appearances (.086 batting average), and a day off due to an illness on Sunday hasn't really helped the 27-year-old break out of this mini-slump. Schmitt has definitely looked lost offensively during this stretch.

But this recent slump from the Giants slugger gives managers the perfect opportunity to trade for a hitter who has been an all-around fantasy star this season. Schmitt is batting .283 with 16 home runs, 15 doubles, 43 RBI, and seven stolen bases across 76 games. Those solid numbers are why he is one of the best waiver wire pickups of the year.

Casey Schmitt has now tied his career-high with 40 RBI, and it's only June

🗳️ https://t.co/07vJ7cfZSS pic.twitter.com/g7JKBHvNIp

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 20, 2026

Every hitter is going to go through rough stretches at the plate. That's just a part of baseball. In Schmitt's case, though, his recent slump isn't going to last much longer.

He currently ranks in the top 20% of the league in xwOBA (.361), expected batting average (.298), expected slugging (.518), barrel rate (12.8%), and launch angle sweet-spot rate (40.3%). Schmitt also has a solid average exit velocity (89.7 mph), a hard-hit rate (43.6%), a squared-up rate (26.4%), and a pull air rate (26.7%).

All this makes Schmitt a strong buy-low target in all fantasy formats. Make sure to pounce on this small buy-low window to grab an unexpected fantasy superstar.

Drake Baldwin, C, Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin was one of the best hitters in baseball through the first two months of the season. He slashed .303/.389/.543 with 13 home runs, six doubles, 38 RBI, and one stolen base in his first 48 games. Then, Baldwin suffered an oblique strain in mid-May that sidelined him for around a month.

Since returning from that injury on June 16, Baldwin has been a completely different hitter at the plate. He has a .062 batting average (3-for-48) with one home run, one RBI, one walk, and 20 strikeouts across 12 games. His power has surprisingly disappeared, and the reigning National League Rookie of the Year has just one hit since June 18.

Despite his poor numbers since coming off the injured list, Baldwin is the best buy-low candidate in all of fantasy baseball for Week 14.

His metrics still offer plenty of optimism moving forward. His xwOBA (.375), expected batting average against (.272), expected slugging (.519), average exit velocity (91.5 mph), barrel rate (16.7%), hard-hit rate (50.6%), and launch angle sweet-spot rate (39.3%) all rank in the 75th percentile or better. Baldwin is also just 12 games back from an oblique strain that kept him out for a month.

He likely needs a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things after being on the shelf for multiple weeks. Don't miss out on trading for one of the best fantasy catchers because of this mini-slump that he is in.

Jordan Walker, OF, St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker has cooled off a bit in recent weeks. He is batting just .229 (11-for-48) with no extra-base hits, two RBI, and 15 strikeouts over his last 13 games dating back to June 14. His lack of power during this stretch has caused some concern among fantasy managers.

However, Walker is a fantastic buy-low candidate in Week 14. He is in the midst of a breakout campaign, and his power numbers will eventually return. The 24-year-old slugger currently ranks in the 88th percentile in expected slugging (.500), 96th percentile in average exit velocity (93.7 mph), 84th percentile in barrel rate (13.3%), 90th percentile in hard-hit rate (50.7%), and 100th percentile in bat speed (79 mph).

STL - Jordan Walker Solo HR (18)

📏 454 ft | 💨 116.6 mph | 📐 24°
⚾️ 80.8 mph sweeper (MIN - RHP Justin Lawrence)
🏟️ Out in 30/30 parks 💣

STL (6) @ MIN (4)
🔺 7th#STLCards pic.twitter.com/frNvLr0Krv

— MLB Home Runs (@MLBHRs_) June 13, 2026

Those metrics are simply too elite for Walker not to eventually break out of this lack-of-power stretch. For that reason, the Cardinals outfielder is a top buy-low candidate this week. Try to acquire him in all leagues right now before he goes on another hot streak at the plate. It's only a matter of time until Walker returns to fanatsy dominance.

More Fantasy Baseball Advice