Hitter Fantasy Baseball Breakouts - Risers to Watch and Waiver Wire Outlooks (Week 13)

June 19, 2026

Jarod's hitter fantasy baseball breakouts, sleepers, and risers to watch for Week 13 of 2026. His list includes waiver wire outlooks and underachieving hitters.

Welcome back to my Fantasy Baseball Breakout Hitters article for Week 13 of the 2026 MLB regular season. The focus of this column is to highlight players who could be breaking out, taking a look at current active hitting streaks along with recent leaders in batting average, isolated power (ISO), stolen bases, and more.

Last week, Gabriel Moreno and Kody Clemens were some solid callouts who kept on producing. Some of the highlights for this week include Carter Jensen, Jordan Lawlar, and Dominic Canzone. Many of the hitters discussed here are widely available in fantasy leagues, so it's a good move to give them a chance here.

Do note 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 13 of the 2026 MLB season.

Hit Streak Leaders

Data through 6/17

Zack Gelof (21 games)

Zack Gelof was highlighted in last week's article with a 15-game hitting streak, which has now been elongated to 21 games. The former second-round draft pick kept right on hitting, going 10-for-23 (.435) in six games over the past week, including a double, three home runs, six RBI, eight runs scored, and two stolen bases.

Zack Gelof extends the lead!

The @Athletics have EIGHT runs through three innings 😮 pic.twitter.com/yctjOeVGoc

— MLB (@MLB) June 9, 2026

For the season, the 6-foot-2 slugger is slashing .286/.333/.510 with a .365 wOBA and 130 wRC+. His rostership is up 35 percent week over week to around 60 percent, but he's still available in many leagues. The 26-year-old is also eligible at 2B, 3B, and OF, adding to his fantasy appeal. What are you waiting for?

Carter Jensen (nine games)

After a disappointing start to the season, Jensen may be finding his groove, now riding a nine-game hit streak. The left-handed slugger is 13-for-36 (.361) during the streak, with five doubles, two homers, nine RBI, seven runs scored, and even swiped his first bag of the season.

Interestingly, the hot stretch seems to coincide with his move to the top of the batting order, as the left-handed hitter has hit leadoff for Kansas City in 13 of his last 16 games.

The move to leadoff should afford him more at-bats per game, which in turn should be a boon to his stats. The 22-year-old backstop is still available in over 60 percent of leagues, and managers looking for help at catcher should give him a look.

Samad Taylor (nine games)

Samad Taylor was barely rostered last week, but that number has gone up to 10 percent as of this writing. The former 10th-round draft pick was called up from Triple-A at the beginning of the month after a strong start at El Paso, where he showed contact (.319 AVG), power (seven home runs), and speed (nine steals) in 51 games for the Chihuahuas.

The 27-year-old is doing much of the same in the majors, batting .343 with a home run and four steals in 10 games with the Padres. In his most recent contest, the right-handed hitter was moved all the way up to the second spot in the order after batting sixth or lower in every other game.

He hasn't done much with his previous opportunities in MLB, so maybe this won't last, but managers can plug him into season-long and DFS lineups while he's hot.

Highest Batting Average Last Seven Days

Data through 6/17

Blaze Alexander (.571 BA)

Blaze Alexander has settled in as the Orioles' third baseman, getting the start at the hot corner in the last five games for the O's, and he's made the most of it. The former 11th-round draft pick is 8-for-14 (.571) over his last four games, and for the season, he's slashing .310/.364/.424 with a .347 wOBA and 122 wRC+.

Blaze puts us up double digits! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LAhXd5UJ9B

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) May 28, 2026

Think he's due for a slowdown? The right-handed hitter's xBA and xwOBA are both higher than his actual numbers, so that may not necessarily be the case. He does have a high BABIP of .402, so perhaps some of his luck will run out, but the 27-year-old has the ability to keep producing.

The 5-foot-11 utility player has seen time all over the field, playing 2B, 3B, SS, and all three outfield spots this season, with eligibility at all of those positions in Yahoo! leagues. The drawback for season-long fantasy and DFS is that the 5-foot-11 hitter is still hitting at the bottom of the order despite the hot hitting, so the peripheral stats have not seen a meaningful boost.

Nevertheless, I pointed him out as a player who could be on the verge of a hot streak back in my Week 4 article, so there was a chance to get in on the ground floor then. Even still, Alexander is rostered in just 11 percent of leagues, so here is your second chance.

Donovan Walton (.533 BA)

Donovan Walton has filled in nicely since late May, currently riding a five-game hit streak during which time he has gone 9-for-16 (.563) with two doubles and two home runs, as well as six RBI and a pair of runs scored. But this recent stretch isn't the only hitting he's done this year, as the left-handed slugger recorded an eight-game hit streak from May 26 to June 3, and is slashing .323/.354/.500 so far this year.

Expected stats say he's playing over his head right now, but for managers in very deep leagues looking for infield help, the 32-year-old is available in most every league and is eligible at both 2B and 3B. Just know that he may sit often when the Angels face a left-handed starter.

Esteury Ruiz (.438 BA)

I mentioned Esteury Ruiz in my Week 8 article as a player to watch, because if he ever found regular at-bats, the steals could pile up. Well, the 5-foot-11 Dominican has started the last two games in left field for the Fish and has gone 5-for-9 with two doubles and a home run, which could bode well for his chances for more starts in the near future.

Despite the limited playing time up until this point, the speedster has 12 stolen bases thus far, so if more regular at-bats follow, so will more steals. The 27-year-old is available in nearly every league for the taking.

Highest ISO Last Seven Days

Data through 6/17

Colt Keith (.857 ISO)

Colt Keith had hit quite the rough patch, going 2-for-31 (.065) at the plate in the 11 games that led up to the recent bout of power that landed him at the top of this list. What has him looking like an extra-base hit machine here is really just one big game in which he hit three home runs. In fact, four of his last five hits have been home runs, which gives him how many for the year? Four.

A HAT-TRICK FOR COLT KEITH ‼️ pic.twitter.com/32drZOZk9C

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 16, 2026

The former fifth-round draft pick had zero home runs in 183 at-bats before his recent outburst. Not that he doesn't have it in him, as the 6-foot-2 slugger belted 27 homers in 2023 in the minors, and had 13 in the majors in each of the last two years.

With his recent success, the 24-year-old is batting a respectable .264 on the year (.243 is league average), and that is even with the aforementioned rough patch, so if he can continue to hit, then more power could be on the way. Keith is rostered in just 10 percent of leagues, and like many others listed here, has positional versatility, eligible at 1B, 2B, and 3B.

Most Steals Last Seven Days

Data through 6/17

Jordan Lawlar (three SB)

Lawlar was reinstated from the injured list on June 12 and promptly stole three bags in his first two games back. An 0-for-8 stretch was sandwiched in between two multi-hit games, his latest being a 2-for-4 effort in which he singled, doubled, and scored two runs.

I've long touted Lawlar as a 20/20 threat... IF he can stay healthy. The injury to his hand that kept him out for two months already this year can't be blamed on him, but regardless, the former top prospect has had a hard time staying on the field. Still, if he can avoid the IL, there is home run power in his bat and plenty of speed that could lead to more steals.

The 23-year-old is rostered in only 13 percent of leagues, but that number should be much higher. With Ryan Waldschmidt's recent demotion, Lawlar has even less competition for playing time and is eligible at 3B, MI, and OF. Give him a shot before it's too late.

xwOBA Leaders June 11 - June 17

Data through 6/17

Dominic Canzone (.459 xwOBA)

If you think Canzone's .459 xwOBA is good, then you'll really like his actual wOBA of .616 over the last week. The left-handed hitter has at least one hit in eight straight games in which he's started, and is batting a sizzling .440 (22-for-50) since May 30, with three doubles, a triple, and six home runs over that 17-game stretch. That performance has also produced 10 RBI and 10 runs scored with a 5:5 BB:K.

Canzone is seeing regular at-bats between playing outfield and designated hitter, and has even produced against left-handed pitching (139 wRC+), so he should be a mainstay in the lineup for the foreseeable future. With a Baseball Savant page that looks like it could be Yordan Alvarez's stats, the 28-year-old should be rostered in more than 24 percent of leagues.

xwOBA Laggards June 11 - June 17

Data through 6/17

Eugenio Suarez (.180 xwOBA)

Eugenio Suarez is the only player on the above list who had one or more barreled balls over the past week, both of which went for home runs. Despite that and his .312 wOBA, the two-time All-Star had a lowly xwOBA of .180. It has been a disappointing season for the 34-year-old who blasted 49 home runs a season ago, but has just seven through 47 games this year.

Not only that, his 75 wRC+ is easily the worst of his entire career, as is his 67.9 percent contact rate and his 32.8 percent strikeout rate. Perhaps we're seeing some age-related decline from the veteran, and unfortunately, the signs don't indicate anything positive on the horizon either. At 79 percent rostered, you may not want to cut him, but it may be time for the right-handed hitter to hit the bench.

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