Fantasy Hitters Trending Up Since the All-Star Break: Bobby Witt Jr., Lawrence Butler, Tyler Fitzgerald, Jeff McNeil, Colton Cowser and More

Discussing some of the MLB's hottest hitters since the All-Star break.

We are now a full week into post-MLB All-Star break action, which makes it a perfect time to look at hitters trending in a positive direction.

Some of these players are waiver wire options, while others are ones you’d need to trade for. I’ll offer some thoughts on how to approach each hitter we go over.

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Surging Hitters

Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. is the MLB’s hottest hitter since the break, with 16 hits in just six games. He’s got three doubles, two homers and a triple among those knocks.

Witt also has seven RBIs, eight runs scored, two walks and strikeouts and one stolen base in that span. 

Witt won’t stay that hot forever, but he’s one of the top fantasy players in the game for a reason. He should be just about untouchable (only an overpay would sway me) in fantasy leagues and trusted to carry fantasy teams the rest of the season.

Oakland Athletics’ Lawrence Butler has continued his red hot stretch at the plate with 15 knocks over the past seven games. He had five doubles and two triples and homers among the hits.

Butler also has nine RBIs and runs scored, five walks, four strikeouts and a stolen base over the past seven days.

Butler was batting under .200 when July started and is now at a .257 mark. It’s incredible what he’s done this month, and at this point, he needs to be owned in all formats.

The Oakland outfielder can start in standard leagues until he cools off, and should probably be rostered in deeper leagues and dynasties for the rest of the season after seeing what he’s done of late. He’s been a big part of our weekly waiver wire stories and will only see his own percentage rise if he continues to stay hot at the dish.

New York Yankees’ Juan Soto has 13 hits over the past six games. He has five doubles, three homers and a triple among his knocks.

Soto also has six RBIs, eight runs scored, three walks and two strikeouts in the timeframe.

Soto is another top-end fantasy talent, and is also close to untouchable. Even when the hits aren’t coming for him, he walks so much that he remains a great fantasy option all season.

Oakland’s Miguel Andujar is also among the hit leaders, with 12 knocks over the past seven games. He has three doubles and a homer among his knocks.

Andujar has five RBIs, four runs scored, no walks and just one strikeout in that span.

Andujar isn’t the fantasy hitter any of the previous three guys we mentioned are, but he’s hitting well enough to roster and play in deeper leagues at least. He’s currently owned in 27% of all fantasy leagues, so there’s a decent chance he’s available if you are looking for one of the league’s hottest hitters - and you get him for free!

New York Mets’ Francisco Lindor has five home runs since the All-Star break, which has been seven games. He has 10 hits total since the break, including one double.

Lindor had 10 RBIs, six runs scored, four walks and strikeouts and two stolen bases in that span as well.

Lindor is definitely trending upward, but instead of trying to sell high on him, I’d suggest fantasy owners who roster him to enjoy the ride and hold him. Lindor had been underperforming a touch this season, but is back on track with some of his best seasons in the big leagues. He’s a guy who could power a fantasy team to a title by the time the season ends.

San Francisco Giants’ Tyler Fitzgerald had four homers among his nine hits over the past week, which covers six games. He also had two doubles and a triple in that time.

Fitzgerald had seven RBIs and runs scored, five walks and four strikeouts to go along with all his extra-base hits.

After being owned in basically no leagues a week ago, Fitzgerald has seen his own percentage skyrocket to 42%, and it should only rise as the weekend progresses. 

Fitzgerald should definitely be added in deeper leagues, and he’s also worth a short-term add in standard leagues if you have a roster spot to play with. The hot streak won’t last forever, so take advantage of it while you can.

Mets’ Jeff McNeil is also starting to play closer to his preseason expectations. He has four homers among his 10 hits in the past week. McNeil also has two doubles along the way.

McNeil has nine RBIs, seven runs scored, one walk and three strikeouts in the past seven games.

McNeil had been a fantasy disappointment up until the All-Star break. He’s seen his own percentage move from about 35 to 60 after his hot stretch. Because we’ve seen big things out of McNeil in the past, I’m a fan of adding him in all formats - there’s a better chance he stays fantasy relevant in standard leagues than a guy like Butler, Fitzgerald and Andujar.

Boston Red Sox’s Jarren Duran tied Lindor with the most RBIs (10) since the break. Duran has 11 hits, including three homers and doubles and two triples, in the team’s six games in the past seven days.

Duran also has scored 11 runs and walked and struck out three times each in that span.

Duran continues to improve his fantasy value, and be one of the more valuable players overall in the game. It’d be easy to try to sell high with Duran, but I think it’s smarter to hold him and enjoy his breakout season. 

He was a late-round pick, and maybe even a waiver wire option early in the season, so even if his production dips a bit as the season rolls along, he’s a lot more valuable than you originally expected. Just enjoy the ride with Duran.

Baltimore Orioles’ Colton Cowser looks like he’s possibly starting up a new hot streak. He’s got eight hits and nine RBIs over the past week, which covers six games.

Cowser has two homers and doubles among his knocks, and has scored four runs. He’s walked four times, struck out on seven occasions and also stole two bases.

Cowser was a massive waiver wire option early in the season after an extremely hot stretch at the plate. He cooled off considerably, but might be trending back toward his early-season self, so he might be worth an add again. 

He’s owned in 34% of leagues and should be rostered and started in deeper leagues again now. If he stays hot through the weekend, expect his name to be part of Monday’s waiver wire story.

San Francisco’s Matt Chapman and Jorge Soler each have five hits over the past week, but have also walked eight times, so they are worth mentioning as hitters trending up. Chapman has a .433 on-base percentage, while Soler is at a .406 mark.

Chapman has a homer and double among his five knocks. He’s drove in two runs, scored six times, stole two bases and struck out eight times.

Chapman is owned in 80% of leagues and really could be rostered in more. While some of his stats over the past week aren’t great, he’s getting on base a bunch, which is never a bad thing.

Soler has a homer among his five hits. He’s got three RBIs and runs scored, a stolen base and eight punchouts over that span.

Soler is only owned in 58% of leagues, so he’s available to a few more of you than Chapman is. Soler is worth tracking over the next few days, but he can be started for those of you that roster him.

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