MLB Hitters Trending Downward: Adolis Garcia, Elly De La Cruz, Bryson Stott, Jackson Merrill, Kyle Tucker and More

The MLB regular season is a long one, and players can go on several hot or cold streaks over the year. 

Today, we are looking at the best and worst hitters over the past 15 days. I already looked at the top hitters, so now it’s time to discuss the struggling players.

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Struggling Hitters

There’s plenty of sparsely-owned fantasy players who are struggling over the past 15 days, but I want to focus on some of the better fantasy options.

New York Yankees’ Anthony Rizzo is not the household name he used to be, but he had been sitting in the 60-75% own range most of the season. He’s now close to 50%.

Rizzo has a .133 average over the past 15 days, which equates to six hits in 45 at-bats. He’s got a double and five singles for his hits, along with two RBIs and three runs scored. Rizzo has walked just once, while striking out eight times.

Rizzo is now hitting closer to the marks he posted in his first two seasons with New York. He remains a solid fantasy option in deeper leagues, but unless he gets on a hot streak, his time as a standard league option seems pretty much over. He still plays nearly everyday, so he can provide some fantasy value.

Baltimore Orioles’ Colton Cowser is at a .130 average over the past 15 days. He’s got six hits in 46 at-bats, with a double and homer among his knocks. Cowser has three RBIs, but nine runs scored. He’s walked four times and struck out on 12 occasions.

Cowser was arguably the biggest waiver wire target early in the season, but has faded off big time since. He too is playing nearly everyday, so he’s still got some value, but it’s waning fast.

He’s owned in less than 50% of leagues now, after being at 70% a month ago. Because he was a waiver wire addition in many leagues, it’s unlikely he was a big trade piece - kudos to you if you scooped him up and shipped him off before his production fell off.

Cowser is a player to keep an eye on in case he gets hot again, but at this point, he’s only a fantasy option in dynasty leagues and deeper formats.

Texas Rangers’ Adolis Garcia has fallen on hard times at the plate, with a .133 average across the past 15 days. Garcia has six hits in 45 at-bats, with a double and two homers among the hits. He’s also posted five RBIs and six runs, to go along with four walks and 12 strikeouts in that span.

Garcia was absolutely dominant at the beginning of the season, but has really fallen off now. His career average is .252, so I don’t expect Garcia to stick at his current .227 mark all season. This could make Garcia a buy low target right now - he won’t be extremely cheap, but he’s probably more attainable than you think.

Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryson Stott has seven knocks over his past 51 at-bats for a .137 average. Only one hit has gone for extra bases (a double), and he’s only got three RBIs and a run scored in that span. Stott has four walks to eight strikeouts in that stretch, along with four stolen bases.

Stott has been extremely streaky this season, starting slow before getting hot and now cooling off again. He’s too talented a hitter to stay down for long, and fantasy owners recognize that, as he’s still at 94% owned. I’d simply bench Stott for the time being, but he might also be a buy low option for fantasy owners who don’t want to deal with some of his cold stretches.

Cincinnati Reds’ Elly De La Cruz is another big-time name who is struggling to hit right now. He’s got nine hits over his past 55 at-bats for a .164 average. He’s got three doubles and a homer among his knocks, along with four RBIs and runs scored. If he isn’t getting on base, you’d expect his stolen bases to be down, and they are, with just two in the past 15 days.

De La Cruz was part of my last story on players trending down, and it’s only gotten worse since. I’d still think there’d be a ton of fantasy owners interested in acquiring De La Cruz, so if you are looking to move him, you still should get a pretty decent return. If you can’t get anything that appeals to you, just hold De La Cruz and hope he gets rolling again at the plate.

Los Angeles Angels’ Jo Adell had a much clearer path to playing time after the injury to Mike Trout, but has really struggled at the plate of late. 

Adell leads the league with 22 strikeouts over the past 15 days. He’s got a .068 average as well, with three hits in 44 at-bats, although two of the knocks are homers and the other is a double. Adell has just five RBIs and four runs scored, along with one walk in that span.

Adell was owned in over 60% of leagues just a couple weeks ago, but is down to 40% now. He can be safely dropped in standard leagues, and if he continues to struggle much longer, can also be dropped in deeper leagues. Adell is still a player to keep an eye on because he’s likely to still play a bunch.

Colorado Rockies’ Ryan McMahon is starting to cool off at the plate. He was a part of my sell high trade candidate story in the middle of May, and his past 15 days at the plate are exactly what I was worried about.

McMahon has just eight hits over his past 45 at-bats. He’s walked seven times and homered three times to help offset 16 strikeouts. McMahon has nine RBIs and seven runs in that span, so it’s not like his fantasy value has completely fallen off.

If you can still swing a trade for McMahon, I’d try to do it now. He’s still owned in 89% of leagues and should at least net you a player better than what’s available on the waiver wire - which is where McMahon could be in a couple weeks if his struggles at the plate continue.

San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill has dropped off significantly after a good start to his rookie campaign. He’s collected nine hits over his past 46 at-bats, with no extra-base hits along the way. Merrill has two RBIs, four runs scored, no walks and six strikeouts over that span.

Merrill hasn’t been a big power threat to start his career, but he had a high enough average to be owned in nearly 70% of leagues. His own percentage is down to 57% now, and will continue to drop unless he can get going again.

Rookies also endure some cold stretches, and I expect Merrill to heat back up at the plate again at some point. Right now, he’s still worth stashing in all league formats, in my opinion. He’s also a fairly cheap buy low option in a trade.

Houston Astros’ Kyle Tucker has only eight hits over his past 44 at-bats for a weak .182 average. He has homered four times, drove in six, scored nine runs, walked seven times and only struck out five time to be at least an average fantasy option.

But because of his low average, his trade value is going down. He’s also dealing with an injury now, but it doesn’t appear to be too serious. I still think Tucker would cost a lot in a trade, but it’s at least worth seeing if a fantasy owner might ship him away for less after his recent struggles.