8 Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers - Ben Rice, Jake Bennett, Cal Raleigh, More

July 20, 2026

Kipp's fantasy baseball risers, fallers, breakouts for Week 17 of 2026. He analyzes hitters and pitchers performing well and poorly to determine future values.

Welcome, everyone, to another edition of RotoBaller’s Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers article series for Week 17 of the 2026 season! Today, I'll check in on players like Ben Rice, Jake Bennett, Cal Raleigh, and more.

Keeping up with the latest hitter and pitcher trends is a key component of a successful season, and RotoBaller is here to help fantasy managers! Each week, I will select a few players who have performed well recently and a few who have not, and I will analyze their performances to determine how their future outcomes may be affected.

Following along here every week will give you an edge over your league mates and keep you up to date on who is firing on all cylinders and who is struggling to make ends meet. Every game matters, and there is no time to wait for regression. Let's get into some fantasy risers and fallers who may force some tough decisions.

Fantasy Baseball Hitter Risers

Lane Thomas, OF, Kansas City Royals 

Lane Thomas has been red hot over the previous two weeks, slashing .395/.465/.868 with four HR and 11 RBI, eight R, and five BB. This stretch has been good enough to rank him third overall in Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

While I do not expect Lane to continue this type of production throughout the remainder of the season, he does have a high potential of being traded to a contender, which would certainly increase his value in fantasy leagues.

As it currently stands, Thomas is a guy you want to deploy in a platoon against left-handed pitching. On the season, he is posting a .792 OPS against southpaws compared to a .743 versus righties.

Lane Thomas launches the first pitch of the game for a leadoff homer 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Z07WNpkLEu

— MLB (@MLB) July 9, 2026

Ben Rice, 1B, New York Yankees 

While many Yankees have been struggling since Aaron Judge went on the IL, Rice has not. Over the previous two weeks, he has been slashing .412/.474/.941 with five HR, 12 RBI, six R, and four BB. This line is good enough to rank him fourth overall in Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

Rice's overall metrics are also absolutely superb. He ranks in the 80th percentile in almost every meaningful category. His 15.5% barrel rate and .536 xSLG really stand out and rank him above the 90th percentile in each. These should come as no surprise, given that Rice has already mashed 29 homers this season.

I would anticipate Rice continuing to produce at this level for the remainder of the season, and the fact that he is eligible at catcher in addition to first base in Yahoo! leagues makes him all the more valuable.

Ben Rice keeps mashing home runs 😮

He has 7 homers in his last 10 games! pic.twitter.com/vGSj5jqx35

— MLB (@MLB) July 11, 2026

Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Risers

Jared Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates 

Jones started slowly coming off the IL, but he has quickly turned it around and is a guy that should be rostered in all formats, yet is still rostered in fewer than 50% of leagues. Over the previous two weeks, Jones has posted a 0.82 ERA, 0.36 WHIP, and struck out 17 hitters across 11 IP. This ranks him 17th overall in Yahoo! leagues.

His metrics are also very strong. Overall, he ranks above the 80th percentile in whiff rate, K rate, and fastball velocity. Additionally, he ranks above the 60th percentile in xERA, xBA, BB rate, and barrel rate. Jones is a must-add in all formats, and I would expect him to be an anchor for rotations down the stretch.

Jake Bennett, Boston Red Sox 

Bennett is another under-the-radar arm who has been spectacular recently. Over the previous two weeks, he has posted a 0.00 ERA, 0.54 WHIP, and seven Ks across 13 IP. This has been good enough to rank him 18th overall in Yahoo! fantasy leagues, and he is still just rostered in 55% of leagues.

The fact that he is still available in almost half of Yahoo! leagues is rather surprising given his metrics. Overall, he ranks above the 80th percentile in xERA, average exit velocity, chase rate, and BB rate. Additionally, he ranks above the 70th percentile in most other categories aside from whiff rate and K rate.

While we would like to see more strikeouts, this is Bennett's first season in the big leagues, so some grace can be allowed here, especially considering he has posted a 2.35 ERA across his first nine starts. This is a player you need to add down the stretch if he is still available in your league.

Fantasy Baseball Hitter Fallers

Gunnar Henderson, SS, Baltimore Orioles 

Gunnar Henderson has not been the player we expected in 2026, and has been slashing just .158/.175/.237 with one HR, four RBI, five R, and zero BB over the previous two weeks. This ranks him 598th overall in Yahoo! leagues.

While it is nice that Henderson has produced 17 HR, 43 RBI, and 56 R this season, his average and OBP are nowhere close to what we expected heading into 2026. Overall, he ranks below league average in xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, barrel rate, chase rate, K rate, and BB rate.

I do not love this Orioles offense overall in 2026, either. So, if you can move Henderson now for a solid return, I would look to make that move to better position your squad for the playoffs.

Cal Raleigh, C, Seattle Mariners 

Raleigh is another player I would move if you can still get value for him. I traded him last month for Michael Harris and am very happy I did, as Raleigh is slashing an ugly .194/.316/.258 with just one HR, eight RBI, four R, and nine BB over the previous two weeks, ranking him 636th overall in Yahoo! leagues.

Additionally, Raleigh's strikeout rate over that span is a whopping 33.8%. He ranks below league average in every meaningful Statcast category aside from BB rate, which currently sits at 12.7%. While the walks are nice and do help his OBP, he is posting just a 32.5% hard-hit rate, which is nowhere close to expectations.

Catcher has actually been better this season than in most years, so if you can make a move with Raleigh and add a decent catcher off the wire, I would recommend making that move now, rather than having him drag your lineup down for the remainder of the season.

Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Fallers

Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants 

I was not high on Logan Webb coming into 2026, and he has not shown much to make me think otherwise. Over the previous two weeks, he has posted a 5.73 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, and just seven Ks across 13 2/3 IP. This ranks him 526th overall in Yahoo! leagues.

Overall, he ranks below league average in xBA, average exit velocity, whiff rate, K rate, and hard-hit rate. While his BB rate is strong, sitting at 6.3%, he is not getting a ton of swing and miss and has allowed 15 earned runs over his previous three starts.

Webb pitches in a solid park for pitchers, so he is going to have success there, as noted by his 3.74 home ERA, but I would not trust him on the road against stronger offenses for the remainder of the season.

Dustin May, St. Louis Cardinals 

Dustin May had a nice stretch in the middle of the season, but he has come back to earth rather quickly. Over the previous two weeks, he has posted a 4.61 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, and 17 Ks across 13 2/3 IP. This has been bad enough to rank him 675th in Yahoo! leagues.

What really stands out when looking at May's metrics is the hard contact he is allowing. Overall, he has allowed a 46% hard-hit rate, which ranks in the seventh percentile. Surprisingly, he has only allowed seven homers thus far. I would not trust May down the stretch.

That being said, there are not a ton of moves to be made with him, as he does not carry a ton of cache in a trade. He has been good at home, posting a 3.65 ERA and 1.16 WHIP, so perhaps the actionable advice would be to deploy him in home starts moving forward.

More Fantasy Baseball Advice