Fantasy Baseball Drop Candidates: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Noah Cameron and More

After looking at some fantasy baseball waiver wire options already, let's now go over some drop candidates.

We won't cover anyone who appeared in the drop story from Monday.

More droppable player data can be located on the waiver wire trends most dropped tab, which can be found on any fantasy baseball page here at FantasySP. 

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.

Should You Drop Justin Martinez?

A pitcher-heavy drop story begins with Martinez, who is down to 40% rostered. He was at 60% on June 9.

Martinez is being dropped rapidly after hitting the injured list with an elbow injury. He has a UCL sprain and is seeking a second opinion before deciding whether or not to get Tommy John surgery.

He's appeared in 17 games this season, and he has a 1-2 record, five saves, one blown save and four holds. Martinez has worked 15 1/3 innings, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits and 12 walks - he's also struck out 22 batters.

Martinez missed time earlier this season and now might be out much, much longer. Hopefully, he doesn't need to get Tommy John surgery, but it's possible the 23-year-old goes that route.

With Martinez and A.J. Puk out with injuries, Shelby Miller is the likely closer for the time being in Arizona. He's worth adding in more fantasy leagues, and is someone we'll discuss more in length in the next closer update story.

Should You Drop Christian Encarnacion-Strand?

Encarnacion-Strand was a major waiver wire pickup over the past few days, but is now starting to be dropped. He's down 2.1% today and sits at 45% overall now.

He's gone hitless over his past two games, with four strikeouts over eight plate appearances. Encarnacion-Strand reached base just once in that span, doing so after being hit by a pitch.

Encarnacion-Strand is down to a .210 average and .241 on-base percentage across 21 games and 87 plate appearances. He's spent a large chunk of the season on the injured list.

He was never going to remain as hot as he was fresh off the IL, and was likely to top out as a deep-league option. That's coming true now, and fantasy owners are reacting accordingly.

Encarnacion-Strand needs to up his average and OBP if he wants to be owned in all deeper redraft leagues. Until then, I have no issues dropping him in some deeper leagues.

He's still worth tracking all season, and he's worth streaming in more leagues when he's hot at the plate. I don't think this is the last we've heard of Encarnacion-Strand in 2025.

Should You Drop Mick Abel?

Abel is down to 54% rostered after a 5.1% dropoff today.

His third big league start was his worst one. Abel lasted just four innings against a tough Cubs' lineup, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks, while also striking out three. It took the rookie hurler 89 pitches to get that deep into the game.

Abel didn't end up taking the loss in that contest, so he's still 1-0 on the season. He's covered 15 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on 14 hits and three walks, while striking out 14 batters. 

After a worse showing against a tough lineup, and his better starts being against poor offenses, fantasy owners are now wondering about Abel's fantasy outlook.

The positive news is that his next big league start could come against the Marlins. If Abel makes that start, I'd be willing to stream him in all formats, so I'm actually not a huge fan of dropping him. At the very least, add him a couple days before that favorable start.

A game against the Mets after that is a bigger challenge for the rookie. Depending on how Abel looks in his start between now and then will determine how likely I'd be to stream him against New York.

Should You Drop Jackson Jobe?

Jobe is down 4.2% and sits at 32% overall. He was above 50% in late May.

He's being dropped rapidly after it was announced that he'll have Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the season.

Jobe was in his second big league season and was faring pretty well in 2025. Across 10 starts, Detroit went 9-1 in those contests. Jobe was 4-1 with a 4.22 ERA over 49 innings. He allowed 24 runs (23 earned) on 46 hits and 27 walks, while striking out 39 batters.

Now Jobe will miss at least a full year of play, then we have to hope he can regain his old form after that. There's higher hopes for that happening being that he's just 22 years old.

It's a bummer that we lose out on watching another highly-regarded pitching prospect though. It's a big blow to his fantasy owners, and the Tigers' chances of making a postseason run.

He's droppable in all redraft leagues. Jobe should be held in dynasty/keeper leagues, so hopefully you have an IR spot to stash him in. Now could also be a buy-low time on the young pitcher.

Should You Drop Noah Cameron?

Cameron was let go in 2.9% of leagues, bringing his overall mark down to 70%.

He finally struggled in a start, giving up six runs on seven hits and a walk over 5 2/3 innings against the Yankees on Tuesday. Cameron struck out six in that contest.

Cameron is 2-2 and still has a 2.17 ERA even after the blowup start. He's allowed nine runs on 22 hits and 11 walks over 37 1/3 innings, while striking out 25 batters.

Cameron had been stellar in his first five starts, but ran into a great New York offense and struggled in that matchup. I'm not pushing the panic button yet, and think Cameron is still a great fantasy asset moving forward.

His next probable start is against the Athletics, which is a much more favorable test for the rookie. Cameron is a good starting option in all leagues for that test, so as long as he makes that start, I'm not a big fan of dropping him now. Add him and start him against the Athletics if you can.

Should You Drop Ryan Pepiot?

Pepiot is down to 81% rostered right now.

He made his 14th start of the season on Tuesday against the Red Sox. Pepiot took the loss after allowing three runs on five hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings. That's not a great start by any means, but he did strike out nine batters along the way and has 17 combined Ks over the past two games.

The Rays are just 5-9 in his starts, but Pepiot has a strong 3.31 ERA over 81 2/3 innings. He's 3-6 and has allowed 31 runs (30 earned) on 69 hits and 24 walks, while also striking out 73 batters.

Pepiot could face the Orioles next, which is a solid matchup to utilize him in. He has not faced Baltimore yet in 2025.

I'm not a huge fan of dropping Pepiot either, as I think he's higher than a streaming option right now - that's how he's being treated by a lot of people too.

He's got solid numbers on the season and has been above average in most of his past 10 starts. Pepiot is worth adding if he gets dropped in your league.