Second Half Breakouts for Fantasy Baseball - Thunder Dan's "My Guys"

July 13, 2026

Thunder Dan's second-half fantasy baseball breakouts for 2026. These are all MLB hitters and pitchers he's trying to get on his rosters via waiver wire or trade including

The All-Star break is here, bringing us to the unofficial halfway point of the season. In reality, teams have completed around 60% of their games, and the second half of the fantasy baseball season is significantly shorter, and the time to make meaningful additions to your teams, whether via trades or the waiver wire, is growing shorter by the day.

Most teams have four days off, but here at RotoBaller, we take ZERO days off from covering season-long fantasy baseball!

In this piece, I will highlight five hitters AND five pitchers who I think are in store for a solid second half. Many of them are already on someone's roster in your league, but some of them may still be floating around on waiver wires in shallower formats, too. Without any further ado, here are my second half breakouts!

Hitters I Want On My Rosters

Esmerlyn Valdez, 1B/OF - Pittsburgh Pirates

• Last 30 Days: .360 AVG, 8 HR, 22 RBI, 19 R, 0 SB, Yahoo Rank: 8
• 56% Rostered

What else can be said about Valdez at this point? The Pirates' rookie has taken the league by storm and is the talk of baseball. He put an exclamation point on his first half this weekend, crushing three home runs in a doubleheader on Saturday against the Brewers, and has finally crossed the 100 plate appearance threshold at which we usually start to see hitting stats begin to stabilize.

ESMERLYN VALDEZ ... AGAIN 🤯

This is his third home run today! pic.twitter.com/JbFryeAB0F

— MLB (@MLB) July 11, 2026

The strikeout rate is still a concern, but the quality of contact that Valdez is making is elite. I don't think he's likely to finish with an average over .300 by the end of the season, but the power is real, and another 15+ home runs in the second half is a real possibility. Any discussion of whether or not he'll remain in the Pittsburgh lineup when they get their injured starters back is over. Valdez is here to stay and could finish with one of the best rookie seasons in 2026 despite not being a heralded prospect like Konnor Griffin, J.J. Wetherholt, and others.

Kody Clemens, 1B/2B/OF - Minnesota Twins

• Last 30 Days: .235 AVG, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 16 R, 0 SB, Yahoo Rank: 76
• 49% Rostered 

The field is finally catching up on Clemens as he's now rostered in around half of the Yahoo leagues. It's a good bet that he's already rostered in competitive leagues of 10 teams or more, but I'm still bullish on Clemens to continue his first-half success into the dog days of summer.

He was nearly as productive as Valdez over the last month, with the batting average being the only real major difference. He continues to trim the K% and is now right around league average at 22.6%, while barreling the ball up at a borderline elite rate.

He's providing mid-round value despite being a waiver wire pickup, and I don't see him slowing down anytime soon. His role and lineup spot on this Minnesota team are secure, and his second-base eligibility is a bit of a cheat code for fantasy since he's producing an offensive stat profile of an outfielder or corner infielder.

A.J. Ewing, OF - New York Mets

• Last 30 Days: .299 AVG, 6  HR, 17 RBI, 15 R, 2 SB, Yahoo Rank: 39
• 35% Rostered

The Mets are having a rough season, but watching Ewing and Carson Benge emerge as legit five-tool players has to give Mets fans at least a little bit of hope for the future. I profiled Ewing a few weeks ago and focused mainly on his elite sprint speed and hit tool, projecting him to be an asset in batting average, runs, and steals. However, his power is also emerging as he's slugged six home runs in his last 97 at-bats after hitting just one long ball over his first 125.

Only 3 players this century age-21 or younger have accomplished the following in their first 53 games:

15+ XBH | 20+ BB | 9+ SB

Fernando Tatis Jr.
James Wood
A.J. Ewing 🍎 pic.twitter.com/w4kHQ1gZRt

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 9, 2026

He's now led off the last seven straight games for the Mets and should be a fixture in their lineup the rest of the way. Like Clemens, he has that desirable second base eligibility, though he offers more upside in batting average and runs scored, while Clemens is the guy I'd want more for home runs and RBI.

Ewing is still likely floating around out there in some 10-team leagues, but even if he's already rostered in your league, I would be floating out some trade offers for the young stud and seeing if I could still buy in on him before he breaks out even further in the second half.

Kyle Karros, 3B - Colorado Rockies

• Last 30 Days: .333 AVG, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 20 R, 1 SB, Yahoo Rank: 12
• 29% Rostered

Karros was just 5% rostered a few weeks ago when I wrote about him in my waiver wire hitters piece. Now he's one of the most added players in fantasy baseball after putting together just an insane run of offensive production over the last month. I mean, just look at the names on this list!

Since June 1st, only 4 players have at least a .400 OBP and a 1.000 OPS:

Pete Crow-Armstrong
Yordan Alvarez
Shohei Ohtani
KYLE KARROS 💪

Colorado’s 3B is quietly mashing! pic.twitter.com/9uRcxos64U

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 12, 2026

I'm really impressed with the plate discipline, as he's striking out just 21% of the time, while sporting a 12.4% BB%. With his power now emerging, he looks like he's easily one of the best young bats available who may still be available on your waiver wire. Run, don't walk, to grab Karros, who is part of an exciting young core of hitters in Colorado.

Dominic Canzone, OF - Seattle Mariners

• Last 30 Days: .225 AVG, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 8 R, 0 SB, Yahoo Rank: 334
• 17% Rostered

Let's cover at least one "buy low" guy here and a player who I know is far more widely available in leagues. Canzone's numbers over the last month pale in comparison to the other four guys; however, I am still in on him going forward.

Can Statcast sliders be misleading sometimes? Sure, but they are still a useful snapshot of a hitter or pitcher's potential in many ways. These sliders certainly don't look like they are from a player who is only rostered in 17% of leagues and who has 15 home runs (while playing in a pitcher's park) at the break.

Canzone sat out yesterday's game with lefty Ian Seymour on the hill for the Rays, but he had been earning more at-bats against lefties lately, and the word from the Mariners was that they view him as an everyday player going forward, not just a platoon player.

That remains to be seen, but what we do know is that Canzone hits in the middle of the lineup when he's in there and can provide some serious pop. He has a sweet, smooth uppercut swing that has resulted in an elite barrel rate this season. He's hitting the ball hard and squaring it up often. With the price of investment being so low (he's free on the wire in many leagues), I'm inclined to buy in on Canzone continuing his breakout into the second half.

Pitchers I Want On My Rosters

Sean Burke, SP - Chicago White Sox

• Last 30 Days: 3 W, 2.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 48 K, Yahoo Rank: 80
• 68% Rostered

The Sean Burke secret is out. This kid has been simply awesome lately, piling up strikeouts in bunches while drastically cutting down on the walks.

Sean Burke's last 5 starts:

7.1 IP | 1 ER | 8 K
6.1 IP | 1 ER | 6 K
5.1 IP | 2 ER | 8 K
6 IP | 1 ER | 11 K
7 IP | 1 ER | 9 K

He leads MLB in strikeouts in that span! 💪 pic.twitter.com/8z5bdQavvR

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 11, 2026

He's seen a velocity increase on his four-seamer of 2.2 MPH over the course of the season, and has been flirting with triple digits on his heater when he dials it all the way up.

His four-seamer had a 30% Whiff% and a 36% Whiff in July, as he's elevating it in the zone where hitters simply can't catch up to it. When you pair that added velocity with a solid slider and curveball, and factor in the improved control, Burke looks like a potential league-winner down the stretch as he's been pitching at an ace-level for the last six weeks.

If you snagged him already, you have to feel great about his potential to close out the year with a bang, and if you can still manage to acquire him somehow in a trade, I'd do it.

Payton Tolle, SP - Boston Red Sox

• Last 30 Days: 2 W, 3.82 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 33 K, Yahoo Rank: 232
• 66% Rostered

Tolle had a short outing yesterday by design, as the Red Sox had him on a fixed pitch count. He still managed to strike out seven Mets in three and two-thirds innings.

He has had a few stray bad starts in the first half of his rookie campaign, but far more really good outings.

Payton Tolle's 2Ks in the 6th. pic.twitter.com/bRYZNHEP3a

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 8, 2026

I'm not sure I need to break him down too much. I've profiled him before, and his mix of solid velocity from a lefty with a tough cutter and curveball makes him a tough matchup for hitters from both sides of the plate. We can't quantify his competitive gene, but the kid is clearly a winner who cares deeply about his performance and is a ton of fun to watch out there. It's hard not to root for him, and I think we are likely seeing the beginning of what should be a really solid MLB career from Tolle.

Jake Bennett, SP - Boston Red Sox

• Last 30 Days: 3 W, 1.39 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 27 K, Yahoo Rank: 13
• 50% Rostered

Yes, you read that correctly: Bennett is the 13th-ranked player over the last month! He's doing that without being a strikeout pitcher, too, since he carries just a 19.2% K% on the season.

What he has done, though, is get groundballs at an elite rate (50.7%) and show some of the best control of any starting pitcher in baseball. He's walked just three hitters over his last five starts, and since he does pitch to contact so often, he's been able to keep his pitch count low and eat innings, too. He's gone six or more innings in four straight starts, racking up a quality start in each.

There is value in pitchers who can maintain very good ratios with command and by inducing weak contact. I'd love to see more strikeouts, too, and I think there's potential for some as Bennett's breaking balls can miss bats. But he'll have to throw more of them and be a bit more aggressive in two-strike counts.

We have enough of a sample size now (47.2 IP) that I think we can say that this kid is pretty special. His only two "bad" starts (4 ER each) came against a tough Tampa team; otherwise, he's been darn good against everyone else.

Gage Jump, SP - Athletics

• Last 30 Days: 1 W, 3.91 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 29 K, Yahoo Rank: 566
• 31% Rostered

The rookie lefty (seeing a theme here?) hit a bumpy stretch with a couple of bad outings against the Dodgers and Marlins (aka the hottest offense in MLB), but bounced back in a big way with a strong outing against the first-place White Sox his last time out.

Gage Jump's 2Ks in the 5th.

7Ks thru 5 pic.twitter.com/6HzsUAH8ZB

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 11, 2026

We haven't seen dominant strikeout numbers from Gage, but his stuff is really good (109 Stuff+ rating), and he has three quality pitches in his arsenal. He sits in the mid to upper 90s with his four-seamer and has both a quality slider and curveball to complement it. His changeup has been hit pretty hard, but he even has a third breaking ball (a sweeper) that he can mix in against lefties.

He's not getting much run support and faces the challenge of pitching in a hitters' park for home games, but I am pretty enamored with his talent. He's still out there on a lot of waiver wires, but is far too good for that. Snag him if he's available in your league.

Luke Weaver, RP - New York Mets

• Last 30 Days: 1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.44 WHIP, 16 K, Yahoo Rank: 132
• 13% Rostered

Why are more people not stashing Luke Weaver? He's been better than the Mets' current closer, Devin Williams, and is drawing a ton of interest from contenders who need bullpen help!

Luke Weaver's 2Ks in the 8th pic.twitter.com/EcGweRVD96

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 5, 2026

There are teams out there like the Pirates who still don't have a full-time closer who have been linked to Weaver, and the Mets would be wise to move him for prospects in what has become a lost season.

Weaver has some closing experience, too, from his days with the Yankees. I am snagging him in every league and holding him through the trade deadline. He's only going to help your ratios in the meantime, as he's been absolutely lights out recently, and I think there's a solid chance that he gets a chance to close somewhere before the season is over.

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