Hitter Fantasy Baseball Breakouts - Risers to Watch and Waiver Wire Outlooks (Week 6)

May 2, 2025

Jarod's hitter fantasy baseball breakouts, sleepers, and risers to watch for Week 6 of 2025. His list includes waiver wire outlooks and underachieving hitters so far.

Welcome back to my Fantasy Baseball Breakout Hitters article for Week 6 of the 2025 MLB season. The focus of this article is to highlight players who could be on the verge of a breakout, citing current active hitting streaks along with leaders in batting average and isolated power (ISO). You will also find expected batting average (xBA) underachievers and overachievers.

In this week's edition, we'll dive into players like Bobby Witt Jr., J.P. Crawford, and Javier Baez. You'll not only find out who is hot at the plate, but also which hitters deserve better results due to their quality of contact, or who might be on the verge of a cold spell.

So, let's take a closer look at our breakout watch to help your fantasy baseball teams heading into Week 6. You might find a potential waiver wire target or some worthy DFS plays!

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Hit Streak Leaders

Data through 4/30

Bobby Witt Jr. (21 games)

With a 21-game hit streak, Bobby Witt Jr. was on this list last week as well. That's all well and good, but fantasy managers are still wondering where the power is with just two home runs on the season, not having hit one since April 15, a period of 14 games.

(Update: Witt Jr. extended the streak to 22 games on Thursday with his third home run of the season)

Zach McKinstry (10 games)

I highlighted Zach McKinstry in my Week 3 Breakout Watch and Week 5 Breakout Watch articles for having one of the highest batting averages over the previous seven-day period, so it's no surprise to see him on here now for having one of the longest hit streaks in the majors.

The left-handed hitter is 16-for-38 (.421) during this streak, and it hasn't all been singles, as he collected five doubles and a triple over this stretch, along with five RBI, four runs scored, and two stolen bases.

If there's something that might indicate that this streak could soon come to an end, it is that he's striking out at a 31.8 percent rate during this hit streak.

Nevertheless, his 25.0 percent K% on the season is somewhat offset by his strong 14.3 percent BB%. With a .387 wOBA and a 156 wRC+, the 30-year-old is off to a great start, and with his positional versatility, the Tigers should be able to continue to find him at-bats.

The former 33rd-round draft pick is eligible at 2B, 3B, SS, and OF on Yahoo!, making him all the more appealing, and is still available in almost half of leagues.

(Update: McKinstry went 1-for-5 on Thursday, extending his streak to 11 games)

J.P. Crawford (9 games)

J.P. Crawford was limited to just 105 games last season due to a pair of IL stints, but finally healthy, the 30-year-old is back to hitting well again for the Mariners. In his last full season of 2023, the left-handed hitter slashed .266/.380/.438 with 19 home runs, a .359 wOBA, and a 136 wRC+.

Compared to the rest of his career, that season looks a bit like an outlier, but it shows he can be productive, and lately he has been. The former first-rounder is riding a nine-game hit streak, during which time he's gone 14-for-33 (.424) with two home runs, 10 RBI, eight runs scored, and a 7:6 K:BB.

Looking back further than the streak, though, he's hit safely in 15 of the last 17 games. Importantly for fantasy, the veteran has hit in the sixth spot and leadoff over the last three games after batting ninth in the 26 games prior, which should be a boon to his counting stats.

He's still widely available in most leagues and could help out at a middle-infield spot.

Highest Batting Average Last Seven Days

Data through 4/30, minimum 13 at-bats

I'll skip over Andy Pages as I talked about him in my Players To Watch article this past Friday, but a few days have gone by since then, and he's still hitting, currently on an eight-game hit streak. I'll talk about Jorge Polanco in the next section, and Leody Taveras is more of a platoon guy, so let's start with...

Kyle Stowers (.500 BA)

We'll cruise right past Aaron Judge and Freddie Freeman as well, as they're always on this list, but not Kyle Stowers. A career contact rate of 67.2 percent has always limited his ability to hit for average, and even though it's at that level in 2025, he's been able to stay productive, slashing .323/.396/.510 in 2025.

While he's still striking out much higher than league average, the left-handed hitter has improved his own rate considerably, from 35.4 percent last season in 192 AB to 27.9 percent this season in 96 AB.

Regression is probably on the horizon, especially with a .429 BABIP, but even so, his xBA stands at .295, so there may not be as much regression as you think. The 27-year-old is chasing less and walking much more compared to career norms, and a barrel rate of 17.9 percent portends more homers, even if the batting average takes a dip.

The 6-foot-2 slugger has even stolen two bases this season, which is already two more than he ever stole in any season before. The Stanford product is available in almost 90 percent of leagues for those seeking outfield help.

Javier Baez (.467 BA)

I know, the name makes me cringe, too. But he's been hitting! Especially since the team decided to make him their starting center fielder.

Since then, he's gone 9-for-25 (.360) with three doubles, a home run, seven RBI, four runs scored, and a stolen base, now slashing .296/.337/.407 for the season with a .331 wOBA and 116 wRC+.

Even though he's been around a long time and we know what kind of hitter he is, there are reasons to be optimistic that maybe this time it is different. His chase rate is way down compared to career rates (38.3 percent vs. 44.8 percent), and his contact rate is as high as it has ever been at 74.8 percent.

Like Stowers, his BABIP of .397 will probably come down along with his average, perhaps more so as his xBA is .232. Still, if you're looking for someone swinging the bat well right now, Baez could fit the bill, and now that he's roaming center field, the former All-Star is eligible at 3B, SS, and OF on Yahoo!.

(Update: Baez went 1-for-5 on Thursday with his second home run of 2025)

Highest ISO Last Seven Days

Data through 4/30, minimum 13 at-bats

Jorge Polanco (1.000 ISO)

Man, what a heater he's been on. Putting aside a 0-for-1 at the plate on April 30, over the previous six games, Jorge Polanco went 10-for-20 (.500), with eight of those hits going for extra bases (two doubles, six home runs).

But really, he's been hitting all year so far, now the author of a smoking .384/.418/.808 slash line with nine home runs, which is just one homer behind the league leaders.

The veteran doesn't have an abnormally high BABIP (.339), and actually has an xBA (.390) that is higher than his actual batting average (.384), so this is for real and has staying power.

The 2019 All-Star is crushing balls to the tune of a 19.7% barrel rate and a 56.1% hard-hit rate, far better numbers than in his 33-homer season back in 2021, so expect the extra-base hits to keep on coming.

Like the others discussed here, he does have some multi-positional eligibility ( 2B, 3B), but you won't find him on many waiver wires. However, the Dominican has been and should continue to be a strong DFS option for the foreseeable future.

Most Steals Last Seven Days

Data through 4/30

Andy Pages (three SBs)

As mentioned earlier, I've already covered Pages recently, so I won't say much here, but I do want to point out that he's got three stolen bases over the past week. He had zero steals coming into the week, so it's something to watch.

Zach Neto (three SBs)

This is a Public Service announcement that Zach Neto has returned from the IL. In the 11 games since, he's had seven extra-base hits (four doubles, three home runs) and stolen three bases.

This multi-category contributor is still available in 30 percent of leagues. He is coming off a 23-homer, 30-steal season. Go get him if he is available in your league.

(Update: Neto went 1-for-4 on Thursday and stole another base)

xBA Underachiever

Data through 4/30

Brandon Lowe (.215 vs. .282)

If you've been forced to use Brandon Lowe, hang in there. According to his xBA, things should turn around, although some other numbers don't really support that.

Strikeout, chase, barrel, and hard-hit rates are pretty much on par with career averages, as is BABIP. What stands out is that he is swinging and missing a ton. A 62.9% contact rate is bad, and easily a career low, as is his 20.6% swinging-strike rate.

As a fantasy manager, you can deal with the low batting average if you get the 20-ish home runs you were expecting to get out of him, but he's currently on a 14-home run pace, which cannot be tolerated.

Assuming this is just an early-season struggle and also somewhat due to a limited sample size, look for the veteran to warm up with the weather unless it turns out he's injured, which has been an issue throughout his career.

Keep an eye out for a multi-hit game, as it could mean he's about to turn it around. If he does, the former third-round draft pick is available in almost half of leagues, also with added flexibility (1B, 2B).

(Update: Lowe remained cold Thursday, going 0-for-3 at the plate)

xBA Overachiever

Data through 4/30

I'm just going to pretend I don't see Andy Pages on that list above...

Joey Bart (.297 vs. .217)

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