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Joey discusses five well-known fantasy baseball hitters and pitchers who have not performed well heading into Week 17 of the 2026 season. Is it time to drop, sell, or hold?
Welcome, RotoBallers, to our weekly article about well-known fantasy baseball players who are currently struggling and not performing well as of Week 17 (July 20 to July 26). Should fantasy baseball managers drop, hold, or sell these well-known players?
For this week, we will dive into some of the most well-known players being dropped in many Yahoo! leagues. This list will look at four hitters and one pitcher not performing up to their usual standards. Some of the names featured below include a starter-turned-reliever, a veteran in the midst of a career year, and a power hitter struggling in July.
So, what should fantasy managers do with these five well-known players? Let's find out.
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Griffin Jax, RP/SP, Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Griffin Jax has been a consistent fantasy option since moving to the rotation in late April. After struggling in Tampa Bay's bullpen to begin the year, Jax has looked like a completely different pitcher on the mound. He has a 3.55 ERA and a 25% strikeout rate across 15 starts.
However, the 31-year-old hasn't been as sharp in his last few outings. He has allowed 14 earned runs in his last 21 innings pitched (6.00 ERA) and has allowed at least three earned runs in three of his last four starts. In his most recent outing against the Red Sox, Jax gave up a season-high seven runs on eight hits across five innings pitched. That poor start has led some fantasy managers to cut bait with him.
Despite that rough outing, the Rays right-hander is still a hold in 12+ team leagues.
Jax has thrown the ball well as a starter for the most part. His FIP (4.00) is very close to his actual ERA (3.55), and his swing-and-miss stuff is why he should remain rostered. He currently owns an 81st percentile chase rate (33.7%), 88th percentile whiff rate (31.4%), and a 64th percentile strikeout rate (24.7%).
With a high whiff rate and chase rate, the strikeout numbers should slowly tick up down the stretch. That has certainly been the case recently, as Jax struck out a career-high 10 batters against the Yankees on July 6 and six more in his last start against the Red Sox. Fantasy managers shouldn't overreact to one bad outing.
Verdict: Hold in most 12+ team formats
Kyle Stowers, 1B/OF, Miami Marlins
It has been a really weird year for Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers. He started the 2026 campaign on the 15-day injured list after injuring his hamstring in a spring training game before the regular season, and got off to a really slow start at the plate once he was activated. Stowers slashed just .205/.305/.289 with one home run and three RBI in his first 23 games.
The lefty slugger then started to heat up shortly after that. He slashed .268/.439/.561 with 10 home runs, 12 doubles, and 36 RBI in his next 43 games from May 16 to July 4. He raised his OPS by 220 points, from .584 to .804 during this stretch, and was starting to show his 2025 All-Star offensive form again.
There goes that man again. Kyle Stowers has his third homer in Sacramento.
Quad seems to be fine.
100.5 mph exit velo
43-degree launch angle (45 last night)
377 feet#Marlins pic.twitter.com/3ZScSUuUyH— Christina De Nicola (@CDeNicola13) July 5, 2026
Unfortunately, Stowers has not hit the ball well since leaving Coors Field and Sutter Health Park in early July. The Marlins outfielder is batting .088 (3-for-34) with one home run, three RBI, two walks, and 15 strikeouts over his last nine games. He looks lost at the plate right now, and fantasy managers are starting to lose some patience with him.
If you have Stowers, it might not be a bad idea to sell him for cheap in Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season. While he does have the potential to be a nice source of home runs moving forward, he's unlikely to be that consistent fantasy option like he was a season ago. His .232 expected batting average, .323 xwOBA, 20.5% squared-up rate, 35.7% whiff rate, and 32.3% strikeout rate explain just that.
A low expected batting average, mixed with a high whiff rate, is why he's a sell-low candidate this week.
Verdict: Sell Low in 12+ team leagues
Brandon Marsh, OF, Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh has been one of the best waiver wire pickups in fantasy this season. The 2026 All-Star is currently batting .293 with 15 home runs, 15 doubles, two triples, 46 RBI, and eight stolen bases across 95 games. His all-around solid production has made him a fantasy superstar for most of the year.
STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND VOTE FOR BRANDON MARSH! ⭐
🗳️ https://t.co/cdVTjmanhF pic.twitter.com/vZw3zaUTie
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 5, 2026
But Marsh is in a rough slump at the plate right now. He has a .142 batting average (8-for-56) with one home run, two RBI, and 18 strikeouts over his last 15 games. The power has unexpectedly disappeared, and his numbers are slowly declining after a strong start. His batting average is now under .300 for the first time since April 30.
Although Marsh overperformed a bit in the first half, no fantasy managers should be dropping him at this point in the season. The Phillies outfielder is a clear hold in all formats. His .266 expected batting average, .433 expected slugging percentage, 45.2% hard-hit rate, and 44.4% launch angle sweet-spot rate all still rank pretty well heading into Week 17 of the fantasy baseball season.
Verdict: Hold in all formats
Christian Walker, 1B, Houston Astros
Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker has cooled off significantly at the plate. He slashed .265/.339/.540 with 15 home runs, 10 doubles, and 40 RBI in his first 55 games, but his numbers look drastically different over the last two months. Walker is slashing only .195/.275/.354 with five home runs, nine doubles, and 18 RBI over his last 43 games since May 26.
His numbers have been even worse recently, as the Astros slugger has a .170 batting average with one home run and two RBI across his last 14 games. On top of those offensive struggles, Walker is also dealing with some hip tightness. He left Saturday's contest early after injuring his hip on a swing and was not in Houston's lineup on Sunday.
Christian Walker's 30th career HR vs. the Dodgers ends up on the train tracks 🚆 pic.twitter.com/HwvGjpe6IO
— MLB (@MLB) May 6, 2026
All this makes Walker a sell-low candidate in 12+ team leagues. He hasn't been a viable fantasy option in multiple weeks, and his underlying metrics don't offer much optimism moving forward. His xwOBA (.301), expected batting average (.223), launch angle sweet-spot rate (31.4%), squared-up rate (21.3%), and expected slugging percentage (.384) all rank in the bottom half of the league.
Fantasy managers have to make some tough decisions at this point in the year. If you need his power and potential home runs in Roto formats, then it might be smart to keep him. But if you are in good standing in that category, it could be time to trade him for cheap.
Verdict: Sell Low in 12+ team leagues
Jo Adell, OF, Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell was one of the best cheap power bats in fantasy leagues last year. The 27-year-old hit a career-high 37 long balls while driving in a personal-best 98 runs. His ability to hit over 30 home runs and drive in close to 100 runs made him an appealing option in fantasy baseball drafts this past spring.
The problem is that Adell hasn't replicated that success this season. The Angels slugger is slashing just .239/.285/.387 with 13 home runs, 15 doubles, 53 RBI, and three stolen bases across 98 games. Those numbers are obviously a step down from last year, as he is on pace to hit only 21 home runs in 2026. Despite his down power season, Adell is still rostered in over 70% of Yahoo! leagues.
However, his rostership continues to drop. He is batting only .187 with three home runs and 12 RBI over his last 24 games since June 17, and is hitless in his last 24 plate appearances. That recent slump is enough reason to drop Adell in some 12+ team leagues.
Adell's underlying metrics also look much different than last year. Both his hard-hit rate (42.8%) and average exit velocity (89.4 mph) are hovering around league average, and his 8.3% barrel rate is 9% lower than in 2025 (17.3%). He's just not barreling the ball or pulling the ball in the air (15.5%) as he did a season ago.
Verdict: Drop in some 12+ team leagues
