Fantasy Hitters Trending Down Since the All-Star Break: Brandon Nimmo, Kyle Schwarber, Will Smith, Gunnar Henderson, Luis Robert Jr.and More

After covering some of the hottest hitters in the MLB since the All-Star break, it’s only fair to also talk about some of the coldest hitters too.

We’ll focus on players who are fantasy assets, not sparsely-owned guys. Let’s dive right in.

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Cold Hitters

Oakland Athletics’ Zack Gelof and New York Mets’ Brandon Nimmo have just one hit across 21 at-bats since the All-Star break. That’s a .048 average.

Gelof’s hit was a home run. He also walked once, scored a second run, stole a base and struck out seven times.

Gelof is a deep league fantasy option and is owned in 38% of fantasy leagues right now. That number hasn’t moved much since the break. While Gelof isn’t going to provide a ton of fantasy value, he’s playing frequently, which is at least enough to roster him in deeper formats - let’s just hope you have some other hitters to turn to instead of having to start Gelof every day.

Nimmo’s lone hit was a single. He has four walks, a stolen base and 11 strikeouts since the break.

Nimmo is definitely a big-time fantasy asset and owned in nearly every league out there. He’s not close to being a drop candidate, but he should be relegated to your fantasy bench until he can get things going offensively.

Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber and Los Angeles Dodgers’ Will Smith also have just one hit each since the break.

Schwarber is 1-for-19, with his lone hit being a single. He has two RBIs, one run scored, three walks and eight strikeouts over that span. Schwarber’s average is .053.

Schwarber is another big-time fantasy asset, but certainly is struggling right now. It’s hard to bench a hitter with that much power, but if it continues much longer, a lot of fantasy owners will do just that. He’s a fairly streaky hitter, and hopefully he can break out of his funk soon.

Smith is one of the best fantasy catchers in the game, which makes his slump that much more annoying to fantasy owners. He’s 1-for-16 since the break, with a single being his lone knock.

Smith has one RBI, one run scored, two walks and four strikeouts in four games played.

Being he’s a catcher, you probably can’t afford to bench Smith, so you’ll just have to remain patient and hope he gets going soon. At least he isn’t striking out a bunch, so he’s not posting big negatives.

San Diego Padres’ Jake Cronenworth and Baltimore Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson are each 2-for-20 since the All-Star break.

Cronenworth has a homer among his hits, along with five RBIs, two runs scored, two walks and eight punchouts.

Even with limited hits, Cronenworth hasn’t been totally a fantasy liability because of the RBIs. He’s owned in nearly every fantasy league, but can be easily put on the bench because he’s not a “fantasy star.” He’s not close to being a drop candidate, so don’t think about making that move.

Henderson has been one of the top fantasy hitters all season, so his struggles over the last week are maybe just a bit concerning for his fantasy owners.

Henderson has a double among his hits, while not having driven in a run or scored a run yet since the break. He has three walks and six strikeouts as well.

Based on what we’ve seen from Henderson this season, I’m not even really close to benching him yet. Trust your fantasy star that he’ll get things turned around. We’ll revisit things if the struggles continue another week, but that just seems unlikely.

Chicago White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. has a league-high 14 strikeouts since the break. He’s posted four hits in 25 at-bats. Robert has two doubles and a homer among the hits, along with one RBI and run scored. He also hasn’t walked in the six games since the break.

I think Robert is one of the most overrated fantasy hitters in the game today. For the season, he has a .222 average, 12 home runs, 24 RBIs and runs scored and 12 stolen bases. I get he’s on a bad Chicago team that saps up a ton of fantasy value, but he’s definitely not producing enough to warrant the numbers our charts show.

He’s not only owned in 95% of leagues, but starting in over 85% of leagues most days. That’s just far too many people trusting an average fantasy player. I get you spent a high pick on him, and while I’d hold on to him to see if he gets traded to a better situation, I would not start Robert in a standard league right now. A deeper league sure, but even that isn’t a sure thing.

St. Louis Cardinals’ Paul Goldschmidt has 11 punchouts since the break. He has four hits, including a double and homer, and one RBI, run scored and walk.

Goldschmidt has had a really rough season, and the fantasy owners who were holding out hope for a second half turnaround can’t be pleased with the first week back from the break. Like Robert, Goldy was a high draft pick, so I get holding out hope on him, but he shouldn’t be starting in standard leagues unless you are truly desperate.

Our charts show him starting in nearly 80% of leagues most days, and that’s just too many for the production he’s provided this season. See if you can use Goldschmidt’s big name to get a playable fantasy asset in a trade, because he doesn’t look to be trending in a positive direction.

St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan has also struggled since the break, going just 3-for-24. He’s got a homer among the hits, and three RBIs and one run scored. Donovan has walked and struck out once.

Donovan was a trendy waiver wire pickup a few weeks ago, but has cooled a bit. He’s still rostered in 83% of leagues and started in about 75% most days. 

He’s a good fantasy asset because he has position versatility, but if he isn’t hitting, it doesn’t matter where he slots into your lineup. He’s too valuable to consider dropping right now, so I’d just bench him for a few games and hope he turns things around soon.

Chicago Cubs’ Michael Busch was another popular waiver wire option right before the All-Star break, but he’s among the worst hitters in the league since. Busch is 3-for-17, with seven punchouts.

Busch has a double among his hits, along with one RBI, no runs scored, a stolen base and two walks.

Busch has proven to be a very streaky hitter this season, and he’s in a little funk right now. After seeing his own percentage jump 20% a couple weeks ago, his own percentage is going down the past couple days. 

Looking at Busch’s season numbers overall (.265 average, 12 homers, 37 RBIs, 47 runs scored), I’d do what I could to keep Busch on my team. At worst, he’s an above-average backup option. He can start at an extra infield spot when he’s going well at the plate - when he’s cold, simply bench him and look elsewhere for production. I think his highs are just too productive to consider dropping him anymore.