Fantasy Baseball Breakouts and Resurgent Hitters - Are They For Real? (Week 17)

July 20, 2026

Joey analyzes five fantasy baseball breakouts and hitter resurgences in Week 17 of the 2026 season. These batters are off to hot starts, but are they real fantasy breakouts to stay?

Welcome back to the Week 17 edition of our Fantasy Baseball Breakouts and Resurgent Hitters. This is the column where we take a closer look at hitters who are bouncing back or breaking out. It's a good way to help stay ahead of the competition by continuing to bolster your fantasy baseball teams.

This week, we will dive into five hitters showing some resurgence at the plate. These five hitters might have struggled earlier this year or not have had a great 2025 campaign, but they are contributing in fantasy once again. This list will feature a power hitter finally launching home runs, a catcher showing signs of his All-Star self, and an outfielder turning back the clock.

Are these five hitters for real? Let's dive in and find out.

Lane Thomas, OF, Kansas City Royals

It was only a few years ago that outfielder Lane Thomas was a fantasy star. Back in 2023 with the Washington Nationals, Thomas hit .268 with 28 home runs, 86 RBI, 101 runs scored, and 20 stolen bases across 156 games. He was really a five-tool category player that season and won many fantasy managers their leagues.

Since that league-winning season, though, Thomas has not been able to reach those numbers again. He batted .237 with 15 home runs and 63 RBI across 130 games in 2024 and batted .160 with four home runs and 11 RBI across 39 games with the Cleveland Guardians in 2025. The veteran even struggled to start the 2026 season, batting .202 with one home run and nine RBI in his first 44 games.

But something has switched for the 30-year-old recently. He is slashing a strong .271/.342/.536 with eight home runs, 13 doubles, and 25 RBI over his last 40 games. Thomas has been even hotter at the plate over the last few weeks, as he has a .339 batting average, 13 extra-base hits (four home runs), 12 RBI, and one stolen base in his last 15 contests.

Lane's launching again! pic.twitter.com/Mto277zLsj

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 18, 2026

Even though his strong hitting numbers have come out of nowhere, Thomas appears to be for real. He is really showing signs of being that 2023 hitter again, and his underlying metrics suggest that. The eight-year veteran has a solid .339 xwOBA, .261 expected batting average, 38.3% launch angle sweet-spot rate, 42.8% hard-hit rate, and 12.6% walk rate. Those are all encouraging signs moving forward.

For that reason, Thomas is worth a look in 12+ team leagues.

Spencer Steer, 1B/OF, Cincinnati Reds

It has been a few years since Cincinnati Reds utility Spencer Steer was an all-around fantasy star. He posted solid numbers in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He batted .271 with 23 home runs, 74 runs scored, 86 RBI, and 15 stolen bases across 156 games in 2023 and totaled 20 home runs, 74 runs scored, 92 RBI, and 25 stolen bases across 158 games in 2024.

However, 2025 was sort of a down year for the 28-year-old. His batting average dipped below .240 for the second consecutive year, his 75 RBI and seven stolen bases were his fewest in a season, and his 66 runs scored weren't anything to be happy about. Those mediocre numbers dropped Steer outside the top-250 in fantasy drafts this past spring.

Now, Steer is putting together a resurgent season at the plate. He's on pace to finish with a career-high 27 home runs while driving in close to 70 runs and scoring 90+ runs for the first time in his career. While the stolen base numbers haven't really come back this year (three total), he is making up for it by maintaining a solid batting average (.250).

It's really hard not to be in on Steer at this point in the season. His underlying metrics have massively improved from a season ago, as his .349 xwOBA, .250 expected batting average, .466 expected slugging percentage, 13% barrel rate, 36.7% launch angle sweet-spot rate, and 26.6% squared-up rate are all up from 2025.

If you can sacrifice the lack of stolen bases for the higher batting average, he's a nice pickup for Week 17.

Eugenio Suarez, 3B, Cincinnati Reds

Third baseman Eugenio Suárez has always been known for his power. He hit at least 30 home runs in five of six full seasons from 2018 to 2024 and totaled over 90 RBI in four of those six seasons in that same time frame. Well, Suarez took his power to a whole new level during the 2025 season, as he launched 49 long balls with a career-high 118 RBI.

Unfortunately, the two-time All-Star has not had as strong a power season in 2026. He is slashing just .210/.284/.399 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles, and 36 RBI across 69 games. After just hitting 49 home runs across 159 games last year, Suarez is on pace for just 20 home runs by the end of this season.

Even though things haven't been great for Suarez this year, he's slowly starting to turn it around. He has definitely shown some resurgence at the plate over the last few weeks. The veteran slugger has eight home runs with 19 RBI over his last 29 games since June 10 and has four home runs in his last nine contests.

Eugenio Suárez goes back-to-back with Spencer Steer and gives the @Reds a 3-run lead ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/rLQwq5EqX5

— MLB (@MLB) July 18, 2026

Despite Suarez showing some offensive resurgence lately, fantasy managers shouldn't really buy into it. His xwOBA (.256), expected batting average (.190), expected slugging percentage (.327), squared-up rate (17.9%), and strikeout rate (36%) all rank in the bottom 10% of the league. He's not for real.

Tommy Edman, 2B/3B/OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

Utility specialist Tommy Edman was a solid fantasy option earlier in his career. He batted .262 with 11 home runs, 56 RBI, 91 runs scored, and 30 stolen bases across 159 games in 2021, had a .265 batting average with 13 home runs, 57 RBI, 95 runs scored, and 32 stolen bases across 153 games in 2022, and batted .248 with 13 home runs, 47 RBI, 69 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases across 137 games in 2023.

But since being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Edman hasn't been that same type of fantasy player. He hit just .237 with six home runs, 20 RBI, and six stolen bases across 37 games in 2024 and had a .225 batting average with 13 home runs, 49 RBI, and three stolen bases across 97 games last year.

This year, though, has been a completely different story. He is finally providing solid fantasy numbers after starting the season on the injured list. Edman is slashing .355/.430/.526 with two home runs, 14 RBI, 15 runs scored, and two stolen bases in his first 25 games. His batting average has been a nice boost for fantasy managers, and he's coming into his own at the plate.

Tommy Edman ties the game in the 8th! 💥 pic.twitter.com/uXjS8g0qbZ

— MLB (@MLB) July 20, 2026

Edman seems every bit for real as we head into Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season. His xwOBA (.378), expected batting average (.329), expected slugging percentage (.451), and launch angle sweet-spot rate (39.3%) all rank really well, and his current 7.1% barrel rate is the best of his career. He has a real chance to hit around .300 with double-digit home runs in 2026.

J.T. Realmuto, C, Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto was once one of the best fantasy catchers to own. Every fantasy manager wanted to draft Realmuto because of his ability to maintain a high batting average, hit 20+ home runs, and steal upward of 15 bases. He hit .276 with 22 home runs, 84 RBI, and 21 stolen bases in 2022 and batted .252 with 20 home runs, 63 RBI, and 16 stolen bases in 2023.

Since that 2023 season, Realmuto just hasn't been that same type of fantasy catcher. He hit 14 home runs with 47 RBI and two stolen bases across 99 games in 2024 and 12 home runs with 52 RBI and eight stolen bases across 134 games in 2025. The Phillies catcher even batted .196 with three home runs, 11 RBI, and two stolen bases in his first 47 games this year.

However, Realmuto is definitely turning back the clock. He has been a much better fantasy option as of late and is surging at the right time. The 13-year veteran is slashing .247/.323/.471 with four home runs, seven doubles, 22 RBI, and one stolen base over his last 24 games since June 13. Those are more like the numbers he put up just a few years ago.

While he does seem to be in a groove at the plate, it's only a matter of time until Realmuto goes back to his early-season self. He ranks in the bottom half of the league in xwOBA (.316), expected batting average (.249), expected slugging (.381), barrel rate (5%), hard-hit rate (38.3%), and launch angle sweet-spot rate (33.9%). He's not going to keep up his hot streak at the plate for much longer.

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