8 Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers - Jeremy Pena, Hunter Brown, Robbie Ray, More

July 30, 2026

Frank analyzes 8 fantasy baseball risers, fallers, breakouts for hitters and pitchers in Week 18 of 2026. He discusses buy/sell candidates for fantasy baseball.

Welcome to another midweek edition of Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers for Week 18 of the 2026 season! In this piece, I’ll take a look at Jeremy Pena, Hunter Brown, Robbie Ray, and more!

We're approaching the trade deadline, so that's a theme in this article. We'll consider players who have a chance at being dealt at the deadline, perhaps even to a more favorable situation. Projecting new landing spots for trade candidates can help you stay ahead of the competition.

In this article, we'll look at four risers and four fallers for hitters and pitchers. Each of the players in this week's column is universally rostered, so the focus here is to consider trading for these players in your league.

Fantasy Baseball Hitter Risers

Jeremy Pena, SS, Houston Astros

Jeremy Pena came into Wednesday's action with a .314/.367/.496 slash with 11 home runs and eight stolen bases in 259 plate appearances. He's been scorching hot in July, slashing .377/.404/.679 with five homers in 57 plate appearances. This comes after a productive June, where he slashed .319/.392/.473 with three homers and five steals in 102 plate appearances. It's been two consecutive months of excellent production from Pena.

Jeremy Peña leads things off for the @Astros with a homer! pic.twitter.com/vpsnrlRdIj

— MLB (@MLB) July 22, 2026

In the last seven days, Pena has a 264 wRC+, which ranks 3rd in MLB. There has been speculation about whether the Astros will trade Pena at the deadline, with the Red Sox emerging as potential suitors. However, after Boston acquired Curtis Mead, it's unlikely they trade for another infielder, even though Mead got hurt. On top of that, the Astros are only two games back of the Rangers for 1st in the AL West, so they're unlikely to sell. But that's not a big deal, as it's still a favorable situation for Pena in Houston.

Jackson Merrill, OF, San Diego Padres

Jackson Merrill has been a major disappointment for the Padres this season, slashing .235/.287/.394 with 15 homers and 21 steals in 438 plate appearances. While the combination of power and speed has been nice, Merrill has surprisingly been a drain on your batting average. However, he's starting to right the ship, slashing .315/.347/.573 with seven homers and three steals in 95 plate appearances in July.

Congratulations if you were able to buy low on Merrill. It's likely going to be wheels up for him for the rest of the season. Remember, last year, Merrill had a strong finish in the second half as well. This is what's probably going to happen again. He's too talented to be hitting this poorly for such a long time.

Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Risers

Hunter Brown, SP, Houston Astros

Hunter Brown had been struggling with control since returning from injury. Heading into his start against the White Sox on July 25th, Brown had a 5.22 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP with a 19.4% strikeout rate and a 16.4% walk rate in six starts since getting back on the mound. This was a stretch of 29.1 innings.

However, Brown got back on track in a big way on that July 25th outing, pitching seven scoreless innings with two hits, zero walks, and seven strikeouts. The improved command was the major story here. Brown looked like his regular self. If you were able to buy low, give yourself a pat on the back. Expect strong production for the rest of the season.

Robbie Ray, SP, San Francisco Giants

Robbie Ray has been rather underwhelming for the Giants this season, putting up a 3.16 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP with a 20.6% strikeout rate and an 11.4% walk rate. However, he's been quite effective in his last six starts, posting a 1.04 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP with a 19.9% strikeout rate and an 11.4% walk rate. While Ray has definitely gotten lucky in this stretch, he's showing that he can still be a quality innings-eater.

Tony Vitello said Robbie Ray will make his scheduled start tomorrow in San Diego. Matt Chapman will also return at some point during the Padres series.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) July 29, 2026

The veteran lefty is one of the most likely pitchers to be dealt at the deadline, since the Giants are out of contention. The White Sox are looking to upgrade their starting rotation. Ray would be an excellent fit there as an innings-eater. Perhaps a change of scenery could unlock more upside in Ray for the rest of the season.

Fantasy Baseball Hitter Fallers

Byron Buxton, OF, Minnesota Twins

Byron Buxton is currently slashing .263/.320/.544 with 25 homers and seven steals in 362 plate appearances. However, the Twins got some awful news on Wednesday, as Buxton was placed on the IL with a right hip impingement. With a lengthy injury history lIke Buxton, you always have to be a bit concerned when he's forced to miss time.

The Twins are recalling Tristan Gray and placing Byron Buxton on the IL

Gray was replaced by Kyler Fedko in today’s Saints game

— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) July 29, 2026

The Twins are only two games back of 1st in the AL Central, so they're unlikely to sell. Still, I was holding out hope that perhaps Buxton could get moved to a contender, where he'd play in a much better lineup. But with this injury, we can forget about that.

Brandon Marsh, OF, Philadelphia Phillies

Brandon Marsh was having a career year, but it's all come crashing down in July, where he's slashing .141/.221/.218 with two home runs and one stolen base in 86 plate appearances. This is the classic case of a hitter who was performing way above expectation, now regressing back to career norms.

Phillies All-Star outfielder Brandon Marsh is out of the lineup again versus a lefty.

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly was asked about that before the middle game of their series against the Yankees.

When later asked about being in the lineup less frequently, Marsh had… pic.twitter.com/EBAGr3atuU

— Dave Uram (@MrUram) July 25, 2026

The problem is that we're starting to see Marsh sit against lefties more often. That decrease in volume makes him hard to roster going forward, unless he's on a hot streak. We can consider Marsh as a streamer instead of a fixture going forward.

Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Fallers

Justin Wrobleski, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

Justin Wrobleski has surprisingly turned into a valuable innings-eater for the Dodgers this season, putting up a 2.88 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP with a 19.4% strikeout rate and a 4.7% walk rate in 112.2 innings. He's coming off a five-run outing against the Mariners, which is a sign that regression could be finally hitting the Dodgers' lefty. Wrobleski has a 4.33 xERA, which is much higher than his 2.88 ERA, so more rough outings could be in store.

That seems to be the end of the line for Justin Wrobleski:

6 IP | 7 H | 5 ER | 0 BB | 7 K
102 pitches

The Mariners tacked on a career high 4 home runs off Wrobleski.

— Adrian Medina (@AdrianMedina_16) July 29, 2026

That doesn't mean I think you should drop him, just be mindful of this fact when you're considering whether to start him in a tough matchup.

Michael McGreevy, SP, St. Louis Cardinals

Michael McGreevy is similar to Wrobleski in that he provided strong ratios with limited strikeouts, but was ripe for regression. His 5.68 xERA is much higher than his 3.57 ERA. We saw that come to fruition in Tuesday's start against the Cubs, where he allowed seven earned runs in only 1.2 innings. It's hard to trust McGreevy going forward.

two bags for ian means two runs for the cubs. 😁 pic.twitter.com/oWjmrLSVMQ

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 29, 2026

As with Wrobleski, I wouldn't drop McGreevy, although I'm less optimistic that he'll continue to provide consistent value going forward. Use him only in home starts or clear-cut easy matchups.

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