Hitter Fantasy Baseball Breakouts - Risers to Watch and Waiver Wire Outlooks (Week 8)

May 17, 2026

Jarod's hitter fantasy baseball breakouts, sleepers, and risers to watch for Week 8 of 2026. His list includes waiver wire outlooks and underachieving hitters.

Welcome back to my Fantasy Baseball Breakout Hitters article for Week 8 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.

Some of the highlights for this week include Samuel Basallo, Luke Raley, and J.P. Crawford. Most of these hitters 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 8 of the 2026 MLB season.

Hit Streak Leaders

Riley Greene (eight games)

Riley Greene was coming off a career year in 2025 with 36 home runs, 111  RBI, and a 121 wRC+, but is pacing for a potentially more productive season in 2026, currently with a .404 wOBA and 158 wRC+. The two-time All-Star has cut down his chase rate significantly and added more contact, which has resulted in improved strikeout and walk rates, while producing a .325/.419/.487 slash line.

With just four home runs, the left-handed slugger is on pace for only 15 this season, but expect that number to jump in the coming months. An unsustainable .451 BABIP could mean some regression is on the way, but it looks like he's in store for another strong fantasy campaign.

Braden Shewmake (eight games)

With both Carlos Correa (ankle) and Jeremy Pena (hamstring) on the injured list, Braden Shewmake has been making the most of his playing time and is currently riding an eight-game hit streak. The streak has included a pair of home runs as well, now with three on the year.

The streak may not have legs, though, as Pena is finishing up a minor league rehab assignment, but Pena may have his return delayed a couple of days after a collision caused him some neck soreness that prevented him from playing in his next rehab game. Nevertheless, managers could take a look at Shewmake while he's in the lineup, currently available in most leagues and eligible at 2B, 3B, and SS.

Samuel Basallo (seven games)

Basallo got off to a rough start to the season, going 8-for-57 (.140) over his first 16 games; however, since then, he's gone 25-for-62 (.403) with seven doubles, a triple, and two home runs, not to mention collecting 12 RBI and scoring nine times during that stretch. The 6-foot-4 slugger now owns a solid .277/.338/.479 slash line on the season with five home runs, a .358 wOBA, and a 128 wRC+.

Samuel Basallo rips his first career triple!

He's a home run shy of the cycle 👀 pic.twitter.com/kO1xuVBSh1

— MLB (@MLB) May 6, 2026

He's quietly just outside the top 12 at the catcher position for fantasy, but is rostered in just 36 percent of leagues, and is riding a seven-game hit streak. Having not homered in a span of 13 games and counting, with the way he's hitting, don't be surprised if he starts a home run barrage soon.

Highest Batting Average Last Seven Days

Data through 5/13

Luis Garcia Jr. (.500 BA)

Luis Garcia Jr. has upped his batting average to .272 on the year with a recent hot stretch. The left-handed hitter has gone 9-for-17 (.529) over his last four contests, including a double, a triple, and two home runs.

He's still not walking much (3.1 percent BB%), which has produced a lowly .292 OBP, but the 25-year-old continues to make a good amount of contact (86.4 percent contact rate, 15.4 percent K%), striking out just once in his last 18 at-bats.

He's hit at least 16 home runs and stolen at least 14 bases each of the last two seasons, so the power and stolen base numbers could get a boost if he continues to hit well. The 6-foot-1 slugger is still available in over half of leagues.

Alec Bohm (.429 BA)

Alec Bohm was off to a dreadful start to the year and was eventually given two reset days last week to help clear his head. When he came back to the lineup, the former third-overall draft pick smacked a double and two home runs in a three-hit game. Since then, he's collected one hit in each of the next three contests, giving the 6-foot-4 slugger a mini four-game hit streak.

Here's Alec Bohm's second homer of the night.

“Getting away from the game for a day or two, I guess just settling down and resetting for a day or two can be helpful,” he said yesterday. pic.twitter.com/7P0lFJT44O

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) May 9, 2026

He's never really struck out much, but like the aforementioned Garcia, Bohm has just one strikeout over his last 23 at-bats, potentially showing that he's getting more locked in, and a turnaround could be on the way.

With an ugly .186/.250/.279 slash line, it might be hard to trust the right-handed hitter for fantasy, but now might be the time to add him and see how it plays out. The 29-year-old is available in over 60 percent of leagues and eligible at both 1B and 3B.

Highest ISO Last Seven Days

Data through 5/13

Luke Raley (.600 ISO)

We discussed Raley back in the Week 2 Breakout Watch article as a viable source of power production, and here he is again due to yet another power surge. The left-handed hitter has four home runs in his last seven games, along with 11 RBI and six runs scored during that time.

The Luke Raley Game. pic.twitter.com/m2njbPqwmz

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 9, 2026

For the season, the 31-year-old has nine home runs and is slugging .571 with a .390 wOBA and 155 wRC+. He still doesn't get much exposure to lefties with just four plate appearances against southpaws in 2026, but he's proven plenty useful against right-handed pitching.

The 6-foot-3 slugger is still only rostered in 18 percent of leagues, but should have appeal in leagues with daily lineup changes, and is a viable DFS consideration against right-handers.

Keibert Ruiz (.563 ISO)

Keibert Ruiz has long been a vexing hitter. He makes a ton of contact, ranking in the 94th percentile or better in Whiff% and K% from 2022 through 2024, and did so again last season, although he did not garner enough at-bats to technically be considered qualified.

The switch-hitter is at it again in 2026, and even though he's also never really hit the ball hard, his barrel rate has increased year-over-year by 3.6 percent.

It may not end up translating to much, but last time he owned a barrel rate that high (2023), the Venezuelan backstop finished with 18 home runs. That may be a stretch this season, but he does have three so far this season in 27 games after hitting just two in 68 games last year, and two of his three home runs this year have come in the last week, as did three of his eight doubles.

The 27-year-old splits catching duties with Drew Millas, so a part-time catcher may not be all that appealing to roster for fantasy, but perhaps this recent hot stretch can earn him some more starts. After all, Millas is hitting just .172 with a .235 wOBA and 45 wRC+, and that's what this article is really all about -- trying to spot those breakouts before anyone else so that we can take advantage.

Ruiz is available in nearly every league, and even if you aren't ready to pounce on him yet, he's worth putting on your radar in the event he keeps this up, especially in two-catcher leagues.

Most Steals Last Seven Days

Data through 5/13

Brayan Rocchio (four SB)

Brayan Rocchio is an intriguing one here. He is batting a solid .275 with a 97th-percentile strikeout rate (9.9 percent), so he should continue to put the bat on the ball, and along with a walk rate of 8.6 percent, the switch-hitter owns a .350 OBP. So long as he continues to get on base, he could be in a position to rack up more steals.

What is intriguing is that he doesn't have a ton of speed (55th percentile sprint speed), and he stole just one base over his first 30 games this year, but has swiped an additional six bags in his last 13 contests (and was caught stealing once, too). At just 23 percent rostered, managers looking for steals should have a good chance of finding him available, and the 25-year-old is eligible at both SS and 2B.

Esteury Ruiz (four SB)

Any time you see Esteury Ruiz's name pop up its worth taking a closer look, because with his speed, he could lead the league in stolen bases if he ever got enough at-bats. The problem is that he hasn't hit enough at the major league level to garner more at-bats, and sadly, that still appears to be the case.

The speedy Dominican has shown 99th-percentile sprint speed in his limited play this season, but is hitting just .227 with zero walks and a 36.4 percent strikeout rate in 22 plate appearances. He's nearly got more steals (six) than plate appearances (seven) in the last week and a half.

Still, like the other Ruiz mentioned above, even though he may not be rosterable at the moment, he's a name worth monitoring at the very least, as the steals could start to pile up if he ever found himself in a full-time role. The 27-year-old is available in most leagues.

Batting Average Underachievers

Up until now in this section, we've looked at players who have underperformed their xwOBA, but since that list still looks largely the same this week, I figured we'd take a look at players with large discrepancies between their batting average and expected batting average (xBA) instead.

After all, before the hard hits and extra-base hits start flowing, we might want to see a batter simply hitting for a better average, then perhaps everything else will start falling into place.

Data through 5/13

J.P. Crawford (.208 vs. .263)

Crawford had a nice bounce-back campaign in 2025 after a down year in 2024, but on the surface, it looks like he's back to having another down year in 2026. However, his contact rate, chase rate, and barrel rate all stand at career-best levels, yet a .208 batting average doesn't reflect that.

A very low BABIP of .216 (career .294) and xBA of .263 suggest that maybe a turnaround could be on the horizon. Or perhaps there are already signs of turnaround, with the left-handed slugger hitting safely in 11 of his last 14 games, with four of his five home runs coming during that time as well (one home run in his first 23 games).

The 31-year-old tallied 12 home runs last year but is on pace for 20 this season, and even if he doesn't quite get there, double-digit homers with an increase in batting average over the next few months should make him a viable fantasy asset in many leagues. The veteran is available in almost 90 percent of leagues.

Batting Average Overachievers

Data through 5/13

Otto Lopez (.335 vs. .292)

I hate to rain on the parade for Otto Lopez, who is off to a terrific start to the season, but as a career .260 hitter coming into the year, his .335 batting average isn't likely to last for the whole campaign. A high .395 BABIP and .292 xBA suggest maybe some regression could be on the horizon, and while that may be the case, the right-handed hitter could still have a very productive season and career year.

The 27-year-old had a 15/15 season last year, and that looks to be well within reach again. If he can continue to hit at a decent rate, then his counting stats may end up better as well.

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