How to Evaluate Struggling Fantasy Baseball Hitters Like Andres Gimenez and Dansby Swanson

After looking at some fantasy baseball hitters trending up, it's time to look at hitters trending down.

Check back later in the week for a writeup on pitchers trending up and down.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant.

Lowest Averages

Among qualified hitters, Colorado's Ryan McMahon has a .054 average over the past 15 days, which covers 11 games and 37 at-bats.

McMahon has two hits, including a double. He also has no RBIs in that span. McMahon has walked 12 times and scored five runs, but also has 18 punchouts.

I thought McMahon was a bit of a fantasy sleeper coming into the season, but like most Colorado hitters, he's been bad to start the season. He's down to 20% rostered in fantasy leagues synced here at FantasySP, and he's not startable right now.

He's just an option in really deep fantasy setups, and again, isn't startable for the time being.

Toronto's Andres Gimenez is batting just .098 over his past 11 games and 41 at-bats. He has four hits, including one double. Gimenez has two walks, three stolen bases, two runs scored and eight strikeouts in that span.

Gimenez is still owned in 82% of fantasy leagues, but he once was rostered in 95% of leagues this season. It's not a good trend for him to be on, and it's made him unplayable in standard leagues - I'm actually surprised he hasn't been dropped in more leagues, because that's what I'd do.

Gimenez is worth a deep-league spot still, but probably should be avoided until he starts producing a bit more at the plate. He's not a good trade asset right now because of his recent struggles at the plate.

Baltimore's Ryan Mountcastle has a .105 average across his past 12 games and 38 at-bats. He has four hits, including two doubles, along with one RBI, three walks and runs scored and 12 punchouts.

He's down to 33% rostered overall after opening the season over 50% owned. Mountcastle is one of several Baltimore hitters struggling, and until he heats back up, he should probably be benched in the leagues he's rostered in.

I wouldn't write off McMahon, Gimenez or Mountcastle, as they'll have stretches where they get hot and are daily starters in deeper leagues, and maybe streamers in standard leagues too.

Lowest OBPs

Washington's Josh Bell and St. Louis' Jordan Walker are tied for the lowest on-base percentages over the past 15 days (.163).

Both players have five hits and two walks over their past 11 games and 41 at-bats. Bell has the only extra-base hits between the two, and both are homers. Bell has five RBIs, three runs scored and eight strikeouts, while Walker has an RBI, two runs scored and 12 punchouts.

I thought Bell could be a sneaky fantasy asset in deeper leagues, but he's rostered in just 8% of leagues right now. There's a chance he gets going at some point, but he's unusable at this point.

Walker is at 12% rostered, probably because he's younger and owned in some dynasty/keeper leagues. It'd be hard to justify using him in any leagues right now though.

LA Angels' Taylor Ward has just a .174 OBP across his past 12 games and 44 at-bats. He has three doubles and a homer among his six total knocks, along with two walks and RBIs, three runs scored and 11 strikeouts.

He's been an up-and-down fantasy asset all season. He opened the year around 85% rostered, fell to 67% in early April, got back up to 83% or so in mid-April and now is trending down again.

That signals a deep-league fantasy asset in my eyes - he could still be usable in standard leagues when he's producing more at the plate, but it's hard to justify utilizing him outside deeper setups right now. I'd drop Ward in standard leagues and look elsewhere until he heats up.

Texas' Adolis Garcia is getting on at just a .184 clip across his last 12 games and 48 at-bats. He has nine hits, including two doubles and homers, but hasn't walked once. Garcia has six RBIs, three runs scored, a stolen base and 17 punchouts in that timeframe.

He's owned in 87% of all fantasy leagues after being rostered in most leagues at the beginning of the season. I think fantasy owners are approaching him the right way - he'll be owned in more leagues when he heats back up a bit more.

Most Strikeouts

Let's now take a look at the players who are striking out the most. Some of these hitters might be producing enough at the plate, but negative numbers because of the punchouts could be killing some fantasy values.

Chicago Cubs' Dansby Swanson has a whopping 20 strikeouts over his past 10 games and 42 at-bats. For those who like stats, Swanson is almost striking out every other at-bat - that's bad.

Swanson has eight hits, including two doubles and a triple, over that span. He also has three RBIs, two walks and stolen bases and eight runs scored as well.

Swanson is down to 74% rostered after being around 90% earlier in the season. His season-long numbers are not great, and he really shouldn't be rostered in as many leagues as he is - his bigger name is keeping him afloat in some fantasy leagues.

There's plenty of fantasy shortstops out there, so I'd drop Swanson for another shortstop. He will remain a solid deep-league option, and could be usable in standard leagues when he's producing at the plate and not striking out so much.

LA Angels' Mike Trout is tied for the most strikeouts over the past 15 days, amassing 20 over 12 games and 44 at-bats.

He has six hits, including three homers and a triple, in that timeframe. Trout also has four RBIs and walks, five runs scored and a stolen base.

Trout is too valuable a fantasy asset to consider dropping, so the best course of action with him is to hold out hope that he'll get things turned around. He's too talented to struggle this much for long, and as long as he's healthy, he should be rostered in all fantasy leagues. 

If you are worried about his health in the long run, you could look into trading him. His trade value is down, so don't expect to get much in return. A hitter you can be confident in the rest of the season might be more appealing to your fantasy team though.

Chicago White Sox' Luis Robert Jr. has 19 punchouts over his past 12 games and 43 at-bats.

Robert has six hits, including two homers and a double, over that span of games. He has four RBIs, seven runs scored, 10 walks and four stolen bases as well.

I've never been a big fantasy fan of Robert and most fantasy owners are getting the picture finally. He's owned in 67% of leagues, suggesting he's a better deep-league option right now. 

Robert could heat up and be a standard league option eventually, but I wouldn't hold out much hope on that, unless he gets traded to a better lineup. He's struggled mightily since the 2023 season ended, and I don't see greener pastures ahead.

Tampa Bay's Brandon Lowe and Seattle's Cal Raleigh are tied at 18 strikeouts with McMahon.

Lowe has a homer among his seven total knocks in that span, along with two walks, four RBIs and three runs scored. Raleigh has five homers and three doubles among his 12 knocks in that timeframe, along with nine RBIs, eight walks, a stolen base and eight runs scored.

You can see the difference in production, despite the big strikeout numbers for both. Lowe is owned in 39% of leagues, which is down from 70% a couple weeks ago. Raleigh is still owned in all fantasy leagues.

Raleigh strikes out a lot, but he more than makes up for it with his hitting and other production at the plate. If you cannot afford the strikeouts, then look to trade Raleigh because he'll never be a drop candidate if he's healthy.

Lowe is just a deep-league option after his offensive struggles of late. I don't see a ton of improvement coming, and he's probably someone to bench until he heats back up at the plate.