8 Fantasy Baseball Risers and Fallers - JJ Bleday, Cristopher Sanchez, Tanner Bibee, More

May 18, 2026

Kipp's fantasy baseball risers, fallers, breakouts for Week 8 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 8 of the 2026 season! Today, I'll look at players like JJ Bleday, Cristopher Sanchez, Tanner Bibee,  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 makes an impact, 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

JJ Bleday, OF, Cincinnati Reds

We have a couple of lesser-known players in the risers section this week, as these kinds of players need recognition as well, and are often still available in fantasy leagues. That is the case with Belday, as he is just 44% rostered in Yahoo! leagues despite his recent success.

Over the previous two weeks, he ranks fourth overall in Yahoo! leagues and is slashing .327/.431/.694 with four HR, 16 RBI, eight R, nine BB, and one SB. Quite frankly, he has been a stat stuffer since making his Reds debut back on April 26. While he does not qualify for Statcast metrics as of yet, he would rank quite highly across a majority of categories.

He is certainly worth an addition in most formats.

Luke Raley, 1B/OF, Seattle Mariners

Luka Raley is another lesser-known player who has been hot over the past couple of weeks and ranks 12th overall in Yahoo! leagues over that span. He is also just rostered in 26% of Yahoo! leagues despite slashing .321/.412/.857 with five HR, 14 RBI, eight R, three BB, and one SB over the past two weeks.

Raley ranks in the 88th percentile or better in almost every Statcast metric imaginable, so some long-term success could be viable here, or at least within this season. He is currently posting an absurd 23.9% barrel rate, .618 xSLG, and 57.7% hard hit rate. He needs to be added in leagues where available.

Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Risers

Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies

Cristopher Sanchez was mentioned in this article a couple of weeks ago as a faller, but he has quickly turned himself around and now gets his notoriety on the risers list. This was expected, as Sanchez is just too good of a talent to be kept down for long.

Over the previous two weeks, he ranks second overall in Yahoo! leagues and has posted a 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts across 24 IP. He is also fresh off a complete game shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he struck out a whopping 13 batters. He has truly been on a roll.

The metrics also back his strong 2026 campaign, as he ranks in the 84th percentile or better in chase rate, whiff rate, K rate, and walk rate. He should be fun to watch for the remainder of this season.

Payton Tolle, Boston Red Sox

Payton Tolle has looked pretty sharp across his first five big league starts, posting a 2.05 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, and 30 strikeouts across 30 2/3 IP. He has looked even better over the previous two weeks, as he ranks 19th overall in Yahoo! leagues across that span. Crazy enough, Tolle is still rostered in just 56% of Yahoo! leagues.

The metrics are a bit up and down, but he does rank in the 84th percentile or better in xERA, xBA, and BB rate. He is not generating the strikeouts you would expect, given the numbers he posted throughout the minor leagues, but those could start to roll in once he faces lesser competition.

He has faced the Yankees, Braves, and Blue Jays in his first five starts, all of which are offenses that do not necessarily strike out a ton and are known for being rather potent. If he is still available in your league, he needs to be added ASAP.

Fantasy Baseball Hitter Fallers

Austin Riley, 3B, Atlanta Braves

Austin Riley is the second Atlanta Brave to appear in this section in as many weeks, after Michael Harris II was here last week. Riley has struggled mightily over the previous two weeks, having slashed just .239/.271/.391 with two HR, five RBI, four R, and one BB. This is bad enough to rank him 477th overall in Yahoo! leagues after beginning the season ranked 37th.

Like many of the players listed as fallers throughout the season, I would not expect Riley to stay here too long, as his pedigree is just too good. Furthermore, his power metrics are still above average.

On the season, he ranks in the 65th percentile or better in average exit velocity, barrel rate, hard hit rate, and bat speed. Expect him to pick it back up soon, especially with the weather starting to warm up around the league.

Update: Riley homered on Sunday, showing us that he can likely never be counted out for too long.

Geraldo Perdomo, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks

Geraldo Perdomo is a player I thought could really stand out this season, but he has struggled quite a bit recently. Over the previous two weeks, he has been slashing just .159/.288/.227 with zero HR, three RBI, four R, and eight BB. This has been bad enough to rank him 501st in Yahoo! leagues after beginning the season ranked 101st.

While Perdomo is never going to be a major power threat, he did show a strong ability to produce last season, posting an OBP of .389 while scoring 98 runs and driving in 100. Thus far in 2026, he is below the median in terms of xwOBA, xBA, and xSLG, so his struggles are worthy of being concerned about.

I am not positive he will turn it around completely in 2026, but he should improve from where he is currently, as he has been quite dreadful, in all honesty.

Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Fallers

Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians

As a Guardians fan, I have never been impressed with Tanner Bibee, and quite frankly, he has not shown much in 2026 to make me feel otherwise. Over the previous two weeks, he has posted a 4.32 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and just 15 strikeouts across 16 1/2 IP. He ranks 494th in Yahoo! leagues over those two weeks after starting the season ranked 148th.

Given the competition he faces in the AL Central, he should be performing at a higher level. Overall, he ranks below the 50th percentile in chase rate, K rate, walk rate, average exit velocity, and hard hit rate. While I think he can be a decent arm in your fantasy rotation, the expectations of him taking the leap and becoming more than that are long gone, I would say.

He cannot be trusted against top-tier offenses, and the strikeouts are just not coming in as expected.

Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels

Jose Soriano was absolutely rolling to begin the 2026 campaign and was a riser in this article at one point, but he has struggled a lot recently and is well on his way down the totum pole. Over the previous two weeks, he ranks 619th in Yahoo! fantasy leagues after posting an ugly 6.35 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and striking out 18 batters across 17 IP.

He has now allowed three earned runs or more in three of his previous four starts. All of that being said, the metrics still do not look too terrible overall. He still ranks in the 80th percentile or better in fastball velocity, whiff rate, and K rate. Additionally, he is above league average in hard hit rate, average exit velocity, and chase rate.

I would not expect Soriano to be either of what we saw in the first month of the season or what we have seen in his most recent few starts. Instead, I would expect him to fall somewhere in the middle and to be a solid contributor to fantasy squads this summer.

More Fantasy Baseball Advice