Hitter Fantasy Baseball Breakouts - Risers to Watch and Waiver Wire Outlooks (Week 23)

August 28, 2026

Jarod's hitter fantasy baseball breakouts, sleepers, and risers to watch for Week 23 of 2026. His list includes waiver wire outlooks and underachieving hitters.

Welcome back to my Fantasy Baseball Breakout Hitters article for Week 23 of the 2026 MLB regular season. The goal of this article is to highlight players who could be getting hot, review current active hitting streaks, and look at recent leaders in batting average, isolated power (ISO), stolen bases, and more.

This week, we'll take a look at players like Connor Norby, Mauricio Dubon, and Hector Rodriguez. The focus in this column is on players who have a good chance to be available on your waiver wire.

Remember that any time we talk about rostered percentages or positional eligibility, we're referring to Yahoo! leagues. With that in mind, let's dive into potential hitter breakouts for Week 23 of the 2026 MLB season.

Hit Streak Leaders

Data through 8/26

Connor Norby (11 games) 

Connor Norby was highlighted in this article last week, and his then-five-game hit streak was discussed. Now here he is, sitting with a streak of 11 games, during which time he's gone 13-for-35 (.371) with five doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, eight runs scored, and a stolen base.

Connor Norby hits a GRAND SLAM! pic.twitter.com/34iwWIm77m

— MLB (@MLB) August 27, 2026

Once a promising prospect in the Baltimore organization with a 29-homer campaign in the minors, perhaps the 26-year-old is starting to live up to the promise that made him a 41st overall draft pick back in 2021. Add in the fact that he's playing home games at Coors Field, and he becomes all the more intriguing.

The right-handed hitter is available in around 90 percent of leagues and is eligible at 1B, 2B, and 3B, adding to his fantasy appeal.

Andrew Vaughn (nine games)

Andrew Vaughn's nine-game hit streak is a little less exciting, but worth pointing out nonetheless. Vaughn's streak includes 11 hits, none of which have gone for extra bases, though.

Even so, with an average exit velocity (EV) of 92.9 during this stretch compared to an average EV of 89.6 beforehand, it could be a forebearer of some power production to come, especially given that one of the hits was his hardest all season (111.6 mph).

Even if some home run production doesn't come to pass, the former third-overall draft pick is hitting for high average (.307) and getting on base (.396), thanks to career-best chase and contact rates, which have in turn resulted in career-best strikeout and walk rates.

After a resurgent 2025 with Milwaukee in which he slashed .308/.375/.493 with nine home runs in 64 games, there is good reason to believe the 28-year-old can continue to produce for the rest of the season. He's available in around 75 percent of leagues and is eligible at both 1B and 3B.

Highest Batting Average Last Seven Days

Data through 8/26

Mauricio Dubon (.458 BA)

Mauricio Dubon is having the best season of his career as he gets regular playing time at shortstop for Atlanta while continuing to play the role of a Swiss Army knife, also logging time in left field, center field, third base, second base, and designated hitter so far this season.

The right-handed hitter is currently riding a seven-game hit streak, during which time he's gone 12-for-26 (.462). The drawback is that it has only produced two RBI, three runs scored, and one stolen base over that stretch, but that can partly be attributed to Atlanta's lack of offense as a whole recently, averaging just 2.7 runs per game over their last nine contests (4.49 for the season).

The 32-year-old has five strikeouts in his last 120 plate appearances (4.2 percent K%), so fantasy managers should expect him to keep putting the bat on the ball. If Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, and company can pick up the pace offensively, Dubon's production could stand to benefit, especially now that he's hitting cleanup the last two games.

He's available in over 60 percent of leagues and is eligible at 2B, 3B, SS, and OF.

Highest ISO Last Seven Days

Data through 8/26

Tristan Peters (.739 ISO)

Tristan Peters was an All-Star for the first time in 2026, slashing .301/.354/.478 with six home runs, a .362 wOBA, and a 133 wRC+ in the first half. The batting average has dipped to .239 through 36 games in the second half, but he's still sporting a .346 wOBA and 122 wRC+ over that time, thanks in part to his recent power surge.

Tristan Peters has homered in FIVE straight games! pic.twitter.com/CVJ0vPRRLL

— MLB (@MLB) August 27, 2026

The left-handed slugger has hit a home run in five consecutive games, going 10-for-18 (.556) during that five-game stretch. Could it last? Well, based on an average EV of 87.5 mph, one might not think so, but he also registered a 46.7 percent hard-hit rate and 20.0 percent barrel rate over that span, which seems to contradict the exit velocity stat; but all can be true.

Which probably means he'll land somewhere in the middle, continuing to hit for a decent average while contributing a few more home runs down the stretch. It should be enough to make him roster-worthy in deeper formats, yet he's still available in around 75 percent of leagues (he was available in most leagues a week ago).

Hector Rodriguez (.526 ISO)

Through his first 31 at-bats in the majors, Hector Rodriguez was just 3-for-31 (.097), but he's now recorded at least one hit in five straight games, going 8-for-19 (.421) with a double and three home runs. Two of those home runs came out of the leadoff spot in the order on Wednesday, and if he can continue to hit there or near the top of the order, counting stats should see a boost.

Héctor Rodriguez recorded his fifth multi-HR game of 2026 yesterday, except this time it was in the Majors!

He’s starting to swing it well over his last five games:

8-for-21
3 HR
1 Double
19% K%#ATOBTTR pic.twitter.com/wa3bAj9bk6

— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) August 27, 2026

The Reds' fourth-ranked prospect was having a stellar year at Triple-A prior to his call-up, hitting .274 with 27 home runs through 104 games with Louisville, so the power is legit. The 22-year-old could be a sneaky source of power heading into the fantasy playoffs, and he's still available in most leagues. Keep an eye on where in the order he's batting on Friday when the team opens a series with the Cubs.

Most Steals Last Seven Days

Data through 8/26

A.J. Ewing (four SB)

For those scouring the wire for steals, A.J. Ewing is still unrostered in over 80 percent of leagues, but with four steals this past week and 21 on the season, he could be worth another look. The downside is that he's hitting .129 in 16 games since a three-hit performance in early August, so it could come at the cost of batting average.

Still, for the season, the left-handed hitter is batting .243, which is just a hair below league average (.244), so it isn't quite as bad as it sounds, and with hits in four straight, perhaps he's on the verge of getting out of his slump. For what it's worth, his xBA during the 16-game slowdown was .222, almost 100 points higher than his actual batting average, so the results didn't match what the metrics thought would happen based on those batted balls.

Javier Sanoja (three SB)

Javier Sanoja's three steals this past week all came in the same game. Those three steals represent 33 percent of his stolen base output for the year, now with nine in total.

The kid has some speed, though, with an 84th percentile sprint speed and recording as many as 37 steals in the 2023 season while in the minors. If he can continue to hit, then more steals could follow. The 5-foot-7 Venezuelan is hitting .280 for the season with a 99th percentile strikeout rate of 8.3 percent, and is 13-for-35 (.371) over his last nine games, so the hits should continue.

The 23-year-old is available in over 80 percent of leagues and is eligible at 2B, 3B, SS, and OF.

wOBA vs. xwOBA Leaders Last Seven Days

Data through 8/26

Max Clark (.370 xwOBA)

Though he's 2-for-18 (.111) over his last six games, an average exit velocity of 92.5 over his last four contests could indicate he's about to break out of his mini slump, especially given an average EV of 85.1 through his first 20 games.

Max Clark hits his first home run in Detroit! pic.twitter.com/0BSxRh4y7x

— MLB (@MLB) August 26, 2026

The Tigers' top-ranked prospect cracked his first MLB home run on Tuesday, and even though he's struggled to collect hits as of late, the former third-overall draft pick is striking out at just an 11.3 percent rate since August 8, a period of 17 games. It's an indicator that he's not overmatched up in the big leagues, and expect him to soon get into a groove.

If that comes to fruition, there is a lot of speed in his profile, having swiped 21 bags in 90 games earlier this year with Toledo, so more steals could follow, making him an under-the-radar multiple category contributor for the stretch run. The 21-year-old can probably be avoided in shallower formats, but is worth a look in deeper leagues. The left-handed hitter can be had in almost 80 percent of leagues.

wOBA vs. xwOBA Laggards Last Seven Days

Data through 8/26

Brett Bateman (.248 xwOBA)

Brett Bateman has seen an uptick in fantasy relevance since his debut in early August, now batting .324 with eight multi-hit games in his first 16 major league games, producing a .331 wOBA and 113 wRC+.  The former eighth-rounder was having a breakout season at Triple-A in the Cubs organization, slashing .312/.430/.421 before being dealt to Toronto in the Kevin Gausman trade.

While he has some speed which could translate to steals (91st percentile sprint speed, 20 SB in 84 games at Triple-A in '26), there isn't much power, never having hit more than three in a season in the minors. His xwOBA over the past week was almost 200 points lower than his actual wOBA, and an average EV of 83.0 since joining the Jays points to little or no home run production.

More Fantasy Baseball Advice