8 Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers - Drake Baldwin, Shane Bieber, Aaron Nola, More

July 27, 2026

Kipp's fantasy baseball risers, fallers, breakouts for Week 18 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 18 of the 2026 season! Today, I'll check in on players like Drake Baldwin, Shane Bieber, Aaron Nola, 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

Drake Baldwin, C, Atlanta Braves

Drake Baldwin has been on an absolute tear for the Braves, slashing .410/.511/.795 with five HR, 11 RBI, nine R, and eight BB over the previous two weeks. This stretch ranks him number one overall in Yahoo! fantasy leagues, which is quite impressive, especially for the catcher position.

Baldwin's season-long metrics look superb as well. Overall, he ranks above the 90th percentile in xwOBA, xSLG, barrel rate, and hard-hit rate. Additionally, he ranks above the 70th percentile in xBA, average exit velocity, and bat speed.

While I would not expect Baldwin to continue to sit atop the Yahoo! ranks, he will continue to be an upper-echelon catcher and fantasy stud for the remainder of the season in this Braves' lineup.

Drake Baldwin ties the game with homer No. 20!

He's already eclipsed his home run total from his ROY season 👀 pic.twitter.com/xYtg099eaE

— MLB (@MLB) July 25, 2026

Ty France, 1B, San Diego Padres

Ty France is another hitter who has been performing very well recently. Over the previous two weeks, he is slashing .375/.409/.850 with five HR, 14 RBI, eight R, and two BB. This has been good enough to rank him fourth overall in Yahoo! leagues.

France has actually had a strong season in general, and after looking at his metrics, it is not all that surprising. Overall, he ranks in the 76th percentile with a .455 xSLG, and also is hitting the ball very hard, as noted by his 92.4 mph average exit velocity and 50.3% hard-hit rate.

The power metrics have translated into 16 total home runs this season, which puts him on a strong pace to break his career high mark of 20 back in 2022. He should remain a valuable commodity in your lineup.

Ty France cracks a grand slam and the @Padres are up big in KC 😳 pic.twitter.com/yQQIMCaqiJ

— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2026

Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Risers

Shane Bieber, Toronto Blue Jays 

Shane Bieber had a rough start to the season, coming off the IL late last month, but he has rebounded recently over his previous three starts. Over the previous two weeks, encompassing two starts, Bieber has posted a 0.69 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, and nine Ks across 13 IP. He has also collected two wins and ranks 14th overall in Yahoo! leagues over that span.

While I am still not a fan of Bieber for the remainder of the season, I do like his long-term viability. 2026 will likely continue to see many ups and downs, given the recent injury history and the metrics.

Overall, he ranks below league average in several Statcast metrics; most notable are his 16.7% K rate and 7.21 xERA, both of which rank below the 15th percentile. I would temper expectations for the remainder of the season, but this two-week stretch has been encouraging.

Cade Cavalli, Washington Nationals

Cade Cavalli is another arm that has been very productive recently, having posted a 2.00 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 22 Ks across 18 IP. He also has two wins over this span and ranks 17th overall in Yahoo! leagues. Unlike Bieber above, I do like the long-term viability of Cavalli, given the underlying metrics.

Overall, he ranks above the 70th percentile in both K rate and BB rate. Additionally, he is generating a 48.9% groundball rate, which ranks in the 82nd percentile. Being able to rack up strikeouts while keeping the ball on the ground when it is put in play is a rare trait.

Cavalli also has the benefit of pitching behind a stellar offensive lineup, so he should continue to garner run support, which will only increase his chances of racking up wins. If your leaguemates are not keen on his abilities yet, it is worth making an offer for him or adding him off the wire, as he is still just 53% rostered.

Fantasy Baseball Hitter Fallers

Jonathan Aranda, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays

Our first faller of the week is Rays' first baseman Jonathan Aranda, who has been slashing .167/.239/.238 with just one HR, three RBI, three R, and three BB over the previous two weeks. This stretch has been bad enough to rank him 561st overall in Yahoo! leagues.

I would not be too concerned with this stretch from Aranda, however, as he has otherwise been steady for fantasy managers this season. Overall, he ranks in the 83rd percentile with a .357 xwOBA, and also ranks in the 79th percentile with a 91 mph average exit velocity.

On the season, Aranda has hit 14 home runs while posting a .377 OBP, so he should continue to provide immense value to fantasy managers for the remainder of the season when pairing these overall lines with his metrics.

Brandon Marsh, OF, Philadelphia Phillies 

Brandon Marsh was a nice story while he lasted, but he has been struggling immensely recently. Over the previous two weeks, he is slashing just .100/.156/.200 with one HR, one RBI, three R, and two BB. This ranks him 671st overall in Yahoo! leagues.

To be fair, the whole Phillies lineup has struggled recently, making it difficult for Marsh to provide the type of production he has been providing all season, but he has been achieving a bit over his head if we are being honest. He already has 16 home runs, which ties his career high, and he is posting the second-highest OPS of his career.

I do not think Marsh's performance is sustainable. He has a ton of swing and miss in his game, as noted by his 37.7% chase rate, 26.2% whiff rate, and 26.9% K rate, all of which rank well below league average. Additionally, his xwOBA of .317 is a bit lower than I would like to see.

Marsh is a guy that I would continue to deploy only against right-handed pitching, as he has produced an .838 OPS against them.

Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Fallers

Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays 

Shane McClanahan has performed about as expected coming back from injury, but the previous two weeks have been absolutely horrendous and are nowhere close to what we expect from him. Over that span, he has posted a 5.40 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and just six Ks across 10 IP, ranking him 525th in Yahoo! leagues.

In all honesty, a start in Boston on July 19th really sank his line, as he allowed five earned runs across five IP. That being said, the strikeouts we are accustomed to from McClanahan have not been there. He has failed to strike out six or more batters in each of his previous six starts.

The whiff rate and chase rate sit at 27% and 32%, respectively, which are below what we are used to with McClanahan. That being said, he should be a formidable pitcher in terms of ERA and WHIP down the stretch, but he will need to get the strikeout numbers up for us to consider him the stud we have previously known.

Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies 

Aaron Nola is getting up there in age, and while he is still somewhat of a serviceable pitcher for the Phillies, he has not been very kind to fantasy managers this season. Over the previous two weeks, he has been even worse, posting an ugly 6.35 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and 10 Ks across 11 1/3 IP, ranking him 819th overall in Yahoo! leagues.

I know some of you are still holding onto Nola for his name value, but he should be on waivers in almost all formats. While he is still generating swings and misses, he is allowing a ton of hard contact, as noted by his 10.4% barrel rate allowed and 40.5% hard-hit rate, both of which rank well below league average.

I think it's time to let him go, and honestly, that time should have come long ago for most of us, as he now sits with an overall ERA of 5.82 and has paired that with an abysmal 1.45 WHIP.

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