The Cut List - Time To Let Go? Who To Consider Dropping For Fantasy Baseball (Week 15)

July 5, 2026

The fantasy baseball Cut List for Week 15 of 2026. Jamie analyzes potential fantasy baseball busts, overvalued players, and injured players to consider dropping.

Welcome back to The Cut List as we head into Week 15 of the 2026 fantasy baseball season. For those who are not familiar, this is our weekly article looking at players whom fantasy managers might be considering cutting from their teams and struggling players who need a closer look.

We'll look at players who are worth monitoring for replacing and someone on the hot seat who should be held on to... for now. Experienced Cut List readers will know I'm a strong advocate for not making knee-jerk reactions. A bad week or two shouldn't be a reason to push the panic button and dump someone.

If there's ever someone you want me to take a look at, drop their name in the Reddit comments, the RotoBaller Discord chat rooms, or reach out to me on X (@Baseball_Jimbo). Maybe you'll see them included next week. All stats and rostered rates (taken from Yahoo!) reflect when this piece was written.

Pitchers

Kevin Gausman - SP, Toronto Blue Jays - 95% rostered

Gausman had a nice bounce-back performance on Tuesday. He took the loss for a third straight game but only allowed one run over six innings. That was in stark contrast to his previous two starts, which saw Gausman tagged for 13 runs over eight innings. It was a similar story at the start of June.

Gausman had consecutive four-run outings to begin the month. That was followed by a one-run outing over seven innings. Across his six starts last month, Gausman had a 6.47 ERA (32 innings) and failed to record a win. He's now got a 4.19 ERA this season, but his numbers are very similar to last year.

This is not to say there aren't some concerns with Gausman. His 5.40 ERA on the road is a little worrisome, albeit a small sample (36 2/3 innings). Gausman's 4.19 xFIP and 3.99 SIERA in June also suggest his struggles last month weren't all bad luck. There's enough to keep an eye on this month.

Verdict: 

Despite his recent performances, we're not dropping Gausman. The immediate concern is how Gausman has followed a very good outing with two poor ones. He's set to go into the All-Star Break after road starts against the Giants and Padres. Two more poor outings and we may need to have a rethink.

Framber Valdez - SP, Detroit Tigers - 92% rostered

Inconsistency, thy name is Valdez. In his last nine starts, the Tigers pitcher has had four outings allowing one or no runs (completing six innings in three of them). Valdez's other five starts saw him give up four or five runs. In that span, the strikeouts have ranged between one and eight each outing.

The only consistent part of Valdez's recent performances has been the workload. He's completed at least five innings in ten consecutive starts. Collectively, they've just been very mediocre. Valdez has a 4.08 ERA in those 10 starts, with only 43 strikeouts (57 1/3 innings).

With a 4.29 ERA, 4.34 xFIP, and 4.44 SIERA on the year, it's fair to say that what we're seeing is the actual Valdez. And it's difficult to see anything changing over the second half of the season.

Verdict: 

It's tough to roster a pitcher who is so inconsistent from start to start. The lack of strikeouts also hurts Valdez's fantasy value. His good starts are enough to keep Valdez rostered. Despite the frustrations, I'd only be looking at moving on from Valdez in the shallowest leagues.

Spencer Arrighetti - SP, Houston Astros - 45% rostered

Like Gausman and Valdez, Arrighetti was having a tough go of things. Then, on Friday, he had his best start since May. After putting up a 9.00 ERA in June (25 innings), Arrighetti held the Rays to one run over six innings. He only struck out four batters, but limited Tampa Bay to two hits and one walk.

Following such an impressive start to the season, fantasy managers were concerned that June was more the norm than May (0.93 ERA). After Friday's start, Arrighetti said he had been “getting a little hunched over” in his delivery (according to MLB.com). The change in his delivery could account for the improved results.

If we look at Arrighetti's ERA and xFIP throughout the season, we can see that regression was always coming. And he's still outperforming his underlying numbers. Even if a mechanical tweak has helped Arrighetti to get his season back on track, we can expect his ERA to increase slightly.

Verdict: 

We won't see another month like May. But if you persevered with Arrighetti throughout his June struggles, Friday may have been the start of your patience being rewarded. He's still someone I'm only rostering in deeper leagues. But if you've held Arrighetti to now, I'd be giving him a few more starts to see if the tweak can sustain success.

Hitters

Brent Rooker - OF, Athletics - 85% rostered

It's been a season to forget for Rooker. If healthy, Rooker would be on pace for a fourth consecutive 30+ home run season. Unfortunately, his .200/.281/.389 slash line hurt his fantasy value. And he won't get a chance to improve it. It was confirmed earlier this week that Rooker is done for the year.

Brent Rooker to Have Season-Ending Knee Surgery https://t.co/OvIzyUdYRt

— RotoBaller MLB (@RotoBallerMLB) July 1, 2026

A quick reminder to download the free RotoBaller app to get all the latest news, updates, and articles.

Although Rooker will undergo major knee surgery, his long-term outlook is fairly positive. He'll be 32 years old on Opening Day, 2027. Still enough years ahead of him to contribute effectively. Given Rooker has primarily been a designated hitter in recent times, his legs aren't a major factor in his fantasy value.

Before this season, Rooker had largely remained healthy. He played 162 games in 2025 and averaged 148 games a season over the last three years. Rooker will likely get to play in hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park next season, before moving to what should be the hitter-friendly Las Vegas ballpark in 2028.

Verdict: 

Obviously, Rooker is a drop in all redraft leagues. In dynasty leagues, he's a perfect 'buy-low' candidate. I certainly wouldn't be dropping him in dynasty leagues and would expect to see ~30 home runs from Rooker in 2027. Just monitor news for any updates on his recovery.

Willi Castro - 1B/2B/3B/SS/OF, Colorado Rockies - 49% rostered

Castro's fantasy value has largely been down to his positional versatility. It also helps playing your home games at Coors Field. The problem is, Castro is sitting more than he's playing. Friday was the fifth time this week that the Rockies faced a right-handed starting pitcher, with Castro starting just two of those games.

Given the switch hitter has a .239/.322/.375 slash line against right-handed pitchers (RHP) this year and a .319/.367/.396 slash line against LHP, a platoon would make sense. However, the Rockies have routinely reminded fantasy managers that you can't trust what they do with their lineups.

Just look at Troy Johnston. He's hitting .340/.417/.470 against RHP yet has also sat against them twice this week. Castro has only been a modest fantasy provider. Hopes of a career year, aided by being in Colorado, are fading. This is a reminder that a player's situation can heavily impact their fantasy value.

Verdict: 

Castro has only been a deeper league option. His positional versatility makes up for the modest production. However, if he's not going to play more than half of the Rockies' games moving forward, his value diminishes further. If this week is a sign of things to come, Castro is a drop in all league sizes.

JJ Bleday - OF, Cincinnati Reds - 38% rostered

Bleday emerged from relative obscurity to become one of the hottest hitters in baseball. That was until the last fortnight. Since June 21st, Bleday is hitting .146/.286/.146 (13 games). After homering 13 times in his first 43 games of the season, Bleday has now gone 17 games without going deep.

The struggles haven't really dented Bleday's playing time. He's still a regular fixture in the Reds' lineup, including Friday when they faced lefty Trevor Rogers. Bleday is hitting .200/.300/.367 against LHP this year (70 plate appearances) and has a career 84 wRC+ against lefties. A platoon seems like a good idea.

We're looking at small samples with Bleday. He didn't make his season debut until April 26, and most of what we've focused on is based on limited game time throughout most of his career. Bleday has only played 100 games in a season once (159 games in 2024), so much of what we know about Bleday is from smaller samples.

Verdict: 

As long as Bleday's playing time doesn't begin to disappear, he's someone worth holding in deep leagues. In most other formats, considering the limited success he's had throughout his career and how most of his production this year came in a few weeks, it's difficult to make a case that Bleday is worth rostering.

On the Hot Seat

Cal Raleigh - C, Seattle Mariners - 97% rostered

Few players have had such contrasting seasons. After an historic 2025 season which resulted in being pipped to the AL MVP Award, Raleigh's 2026 has been nothing short of disastrous. We can see how different Raleigh's 2025 and 2026 seasons have been by looking at his Statcast Profiles.

After being one of the most resilient catchers in recent years (averaging 152 games a season since 2023), health has left Raleigh down this year. An oblique injury saw Raleigh spend just over a month on the IL (injured list). Raleigh was dealing with the issue before being placed on the IL and was struggling before being sidelined.

Raleigh hasn't improved since his return, as shown in the table below.

Raleigh has been walking more since returning. A byproduct of finding his feet again and a small sample. It's also a sign that he's still being pitched to carefully. If Raleigh can remain patient and selective at the plate, it should yield better results. Something we are yet to see.

When drafting Raleigh, fantasy managers weren't expecting another 60-home-run season. And given he had a career .218 batting average before hitting .247 last year, a drop in batting average was likely. However, no one was expecting a sub-.200 batting average.

Regular readers will know that I preach patience with players when they return from injury. We've seen players like Mookie Betts struggle after being activated from the IL. Betts hit .200/.250/.400 in the three weeks after his IL stint. Since then, Betts has hit .287/.339/.470 with a 121 wRC+.

I'm not suggesting Raleigh hits .280 in July. But I do expect his batting average to creep up gradually. Last year, Raleigh hit .221 from July 7 to the end of the season. If he does the same, he'll end 2026 with a ~.195 batting average. Maybe he can get it over .200.

Raleigh will need to hit for power if he is to warrant being rostered. A .220 batting average over the second half of the season won't be enough. Now that he's nearly three weeks removed from his IL stint, we should start getting a better impression of what Raleigh will do moving forward.

Verdict: 

His home run yesterday is encouraging, but fantasy managers need more. A lot more. The healthier Raleigh gets, the better the chance that he does just that. Fantasy managers don't need a 2025 repeat. But a continuation of the 2026 version of Raleigh might see him on more waivers than rosters.

Reader Requests

As always, we're keen to hear who you want us to analyze. If there is anyone you want to include on next week's Cut List, drop their names on the Reddit thread or in the RotoBaller Discord chat rooms. Alternatively, you can reach out to me on X, and we'll endeavor to cover some requests each week.

Gunnar Henderson - SS, Baltimore Orioles - 99% rostered

Given that Henderson was largely taken in the second round of fantasy drafts and was the third shortstop taken, he's proven to be a bit of a dud. Although Henderson has not come close to providing value on his ADP (average draft position), he's still ranked 15th among shortstops on Yahoo! (standard 5x5 rotisserie scoring).

The biggest knock on Henderson this year has been his .226 batting average. When it comes to counting stats, he's been solid. At the position, Henderson ranks tied-fourth in homers, 13th in RBI, tied-eighth in runs, and tied-28th in steals. Not what he was drafted for, but still enough to keep him rostered.

Verdict: 

Henderson has a .235 xBA (expected batting average) and .392 xSLG (expected slugging percentage). So we shouldn't expect much improvement with his slash line. Even performing below the level he is capable of, Henderson has been worth rostering, so isn't someone to drop. His name alone should get something back in a trade.

Christian Yelich - OF, Milwaukee Brewers - 91% rostered

Yelich's 29 home runs last year were the most he hit in a season since 2019 (44). Last year was also just the second time since 2017 that Yelich played 150 games. That left fantasy managers optimistic that he could stay healthy and productive in 2026. Neither has happened.

Yelich has only played 54 of the Brewers' 87 games. And he's hitting .246/.331/.389 with six home runs, 28 RBI, 40 runs, and six stolen bases. Yelich's Statcast Profile is worrying, and so are the recent trends.

Yelich has sat against the last two LHP Milwaukee has faced. Even after last night's home run, Yelich is hitting .125/.255/.225 over the last two weeks. The one positive is that Yelich continues to feature atop the Brewers lineup when he starts. That might change if yesterday wasn't a breakout of his slump.

Verdict: 

Yelich spent much of last year nursing a back injury. He still had a good year. That's not to say his lingering back issue or some other ailment isn't troubling him. Whether we find out about that remains to be seen. For now, we're holding Yelich, but be prepared to make a move if we reach the end of July without improvement.

Josh Naylor - 1B, Seattle Mariners - 91% rostered

Coming into this year, the one thing I didn't expect from Naylor was to steal so many bases. Naylor had 25 stolen bases in 598 games going into 2025. Last year, Naylor had 30 steals in 147 games, with 19 coming in 54 games for the Mariners following his midseason trade.

Yet this year, the stolen bases have been Naylor's main asset. His 162-game pace is for 16 homers, 68 RBI, 64 runs, and 30 steals with a .251/.313/.358 slash line. The low counting stats are partly down to Naylor's worst OPS since 2020. And partly down to the Mariners offense, which ranks 22nd in runs scored.

Verdict: 

Naylor has a .274 xBA and .405 xSLG. There's enough reason to believe his slash line will improve and a few extra counting stats will follow. The fact he's on his way to another 30-stolen-base season has provided a nice floor, and Naylor is still someone worth rostering in all leagues.

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