Hitter Fantasy Baseball Breakouts - Risers to Watch and Waiver Wire Outlooks (Week 20)

August 7, 2026

Jarod's hitter fantasy baseball breakouts, sleepers, and risers to watch for Week 20 of 2026. His list includes waiver wire outlooks and underachieving hitters.

Welcome back to my Fantasy Baseball Breakout Hitters article for Week 20 of the 2026 MLB regular season. The goal of this article is to highlight players who could be getting hot, review current active hitting streaks, and look at recent leaders in batting average, isolated power (ISO), stolen bases, and more.

This week we'll take a look at players like Royce Lewis, Ryan Waldschmidt, and Bryson Stott. The focus in this column is on players who have a chance to be available on your waiver wire.

Remember 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 20 of the 2026 MLB season.

Hit Streak Leaders

Data through 8/5

Age-related decline? Not for Freddie Freeman, who currently owns the league's longest hit streak at 15 games, which has pushed his season-long slash line to .310/.385/.485 with 15 home runs, a .378 wOBA, and 141 wRC+. Unfortunately, you won't find him available on the waiver wire in any leagues.

Royce Lewis (10 games)

Fool me once, shame on me; Fool me twice... anyway, don't look now, but Royce Lewis is riding a 10-game hit streak. Sure, he's one sprint down the first baseline away from pulling a hammy and being sidelined the rest of the year, but when healthy, he's capable of some remarkable stretches of offense (at both ends of the spectrum).

Royce Lewis is the #walkoff hero for the Twins! pic.twitter.com/7V9Z03jFEy

— MLB (@MLB) July 29, 2026

But fantasy managers might as well ride him while he's hot. During this productive streak, the former first-overall draft pick is 14-for-37 (.378) with three doubles, a triple, three home runs, seven RBI, five runs scored, and a stolen base. His average exit velocity over that span was 95.8 (89.1 before the hit streak), and for reference on how hard he's hitting the ball, that would rank just behind Oneil Cruz (96.0), who is this season's league leader in that statistic.

Despite the ever-present health concerns, picking the 27-year-old up is worth the risk in most leagues. He's available in over 50 percent of leagues, and is eligible at 1B, 2B, and 3B, adding to his appeal.

Highest Batting Average Last Seven Days

Data through 8/5

Ryan Waldschmidt (.500 BA)

Ryan Waldschmidt held his own in his initial taste of the majors earlier this year, hitting .259 with nine doubles and five steals in his first 33 major league games, but ultimately, he was sent back to Reno for more seasoning. He was recalled July 10, and since he became a regular in the lineup, the former first-rounder has hit .422 (19-for-45) over his last 14 games, including his first MLB homer.

The strikeout rate remains elevated at 27.7 percent over that stretch, and he did not draw a single walk over that span, so he's bound for regression, but that doesn't mean he can't still be a productive player down the stretch. Though he's stolen just one bag since his return, that is a part of his game, too, so the more he settles in, the more steals should come.

The 23-year-old is currently hitting at the bottom of the D-backs' order, but should this hot streak push him higher, more RBI opportunities could follow, making him all the more appealing.

The right-handed hitter is rostered in just four percent of leagues, but he could be a sneaky multi-category producer down the stretch, and should be considered in deeper leagues, though he could become viable in shallower leagues with a move higher in the lineup.

Henry Bolte (.438 BA)

Henry Bolte caught my eye here because if he is hitting well, then steals will surely follow. The former second-rounder has a pair of three-hit games over the last week, which included a double and a home run. He swiped just one bag over the past week, but has 13 in 71 games so far, along with seven times caught stealing, so he likes to run.

Henry Bolte goes deep to pull the #Athletics to within 3, at 8-5 Detroit!

🎙️ @KenKorachRadio #MLB #Baseball #HenryBolte #Sacramento #HomeRun pic.twitter.com/YkUgIKA7Tb

— A's Cast (@athleticscast24) August 2, 2026

As well he should, as the 23-year-old owns the fastest spring speed in the majors. The 6-foot-3 slugger is worth a look in deeper leagues or for managers searching for steals, and he is available nearly everywhere.

Highest ISO Last Seven Days

Data through 8/5

Andrew Benintendi (.538 ISO)

By no means is Andrew Benintendi a prototypical power hitter, but he does have 20 home runs in each of the prior two seasons before 2026 despite averaging just 448 at-bats and 125 games per season.  The former seventh-overall draft pick has seen a bit of a power surge over the last week, too, including a double and a pair of home runs, giving him 12 homers on the year.

Andrew Benintendi doubles the lead for the @WhiteSox 💥 pic.twitter.com/Vs2Ld1SzAP

— MLB (@MLB) July 31, 2026

So far, the veteran has missed only nine games, so he could surpass his two-year average of 125 games pretty easily, which could put him on track for another 20-homer season. If that comes to fruition, that means another eight home runs between now and the end of the year, which makes him an appealing asset, at the very least in deeper leagues.

While his .247 batting average doesn't look great at first glance, you also must remember that league average is .244, so he's actually doing slightly better than the average major league hitter. If he can maintain his presence in the five-hole on a surprisingly competent White Sox team (eighth in runs per game at 4.72), then fantasy-worthy productivity should follow. The 32-year-old is available in most every league.

Most Steals Last Seven Days

Data through 8/5

Garrett Mitchell (four SB)

Well, this one is not for the faint of heart, perhaps only for managers scouring the wire for steals, as Garrett Mitchell is mired in a putrid 3-for-41 (.073) slump over his last 13 games, including a 0-for-15 stretch over his last five. Yet, despite the futility at the plate, he's managed to swipe four bags over the last week.

There are plenty of things to like that could point to a rebound at the plate, such as a hard-hit rate, barrel rate, average EV, chase rate, and bat speed that all register in the 89th percentile or better, but there is also a 32.2 percent strikeout rate (fifth percentile) and a 37.5 percent whiff rate (worst in MLB), so it will probably be more like a roller coaster than a gradual movement upward.

Still, in this section, we're here for stolen bases, and with a 98th percentile sprint speed, there should be more of those on the way, especially if he can pick it up at the plate. The former first-rounder has only 11 steals on the year, but one more will give him a new career high. This could be a buy-low opportunity for the 27-year-old who is just 13 percent rostered.

xwOBA Leaders Last Seven Days

Data through 8/5

Bryson Stott (.485 xwOBA)

Most of the guys on this list are pretty heavily-rostered, but Bryson Stott is still available in almost half of leagues. The former first-rounder is hitting just .257 on the year, but he's been hot as of late, going 21-for-65 (.323) since July 11, a period of 20 games.

He's not going to provide a ton of home runs, with a career high of 15 and only eight so far this season, but with low strikeout and high contact rates, this surge could have room to run, especially if you buy into the fact that his xwOBA is 63 points higher than his actual wOBA over the past week.

Make that SEVEN doubles on the night! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GRdnnVtS2S

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 6, 2026

Barrel (6.8 percent) and hard-hit rate (40.1 percent) currently sit at career highs, and so long as he can keep getting on base, a positive offshoot of that is the potential for steals. The 28-year-old has swiped 20 so far this year, and with a career high of 32, you know he can run.

xwOBA Laggards Last Seven Days

Data through 8/5

Cedric Mullins (.153 xwOBA)

Cedric Mullins popped up here for having seven hard-hit balls over the past week. If that caught your eye and then you saw that the left-handed hitter had double-digit home runs (13) and 17 steals so far this year, and you thought about maybe picking him up, well, maybe pump the brakes.

The 31-year-old's xwOBA over the past week shows a very large discrepancy, .335 versus .153. The veteran slugger could be due for a slowdown here, and caution is warranted.

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