Fantasy Baseball Hitters Trending Down: Andy Pages, George Springer and More

The MLB All-Star break is here. It'll be a few days until we get back into fantasy baseball action, but there's still moves to be made without any games happening.

We looked at fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters and pitchers worth adding, and are now going to look at hitters trending up and down over the past several days to maybe locate some more waiver pickups, drop candidates or trade targets.

We'll go over hitters trending down in this story, then look at hitters trending up in another article. We'll be using stats from July 8-13 and only discuss notable fantasy hitters in this story.

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Fewest Hits

Among qualified hitters, San Francisco's Rafael Devers and Los Angeles Dodgers' Tommy Edman were the only ones who went hitless over the timeframe we are using.

Devers walked five times, while also having an RBI and run scored, but also struck out six times and grounded into a double play. Devers is a top-end fantasy hitter, so these kinds of down weeks rarely happen. It does give you a chance to maybe buy him low in a trade.

Edman had no walks either, so he failed to reach base over 18 plate appearances. He had an RBI and three strikeouts as well. Edman has been trending down for a while and sits at 75% rostered now. He probably doesn't deserve to even be that rostered looking at his season-long numbers, so I view him as just a deep-league asset after the break - he's still worth watching in case he bounces back.

Minnesota's Trevor Larnach had just one hit over the timeframe we are using. The hit was a homer, and he also had three RBIs and walks, two runs scored and five strikeouts. Larnach is owned in just 18% of leagues, and he's trending down of late. He's worth keeping an eye on in case his bat heats up, but for now, he's not a good fantasy asset outside the deepest of leagues.

Fewest Runs Scored

Several qualified hitters failed to score a run last week. The group is comprised of Chicago Cubs' Ian Happ, New York Mets' Mark Vientos, San Francisco's Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee, LA Dodgers' Andy Pages, Philadelphia's Bryson Stott, Kansas City's Vinnie Pasquantino, Colorado's Jordan Beck, Minnesota's Brooks Lee and Tampa Bay's Chandler Simpson.

Happ had four singles for hits over the past few days. He also had an RBI, two walks and four punchouts. Happ is down to 91% rostered, which is fair looking at his average and OBP this season. He's capable of more, so I'm not ready to write him off completely - I'd look to trade him before dropping him outright.

Vientos had seven hits last week, including two doubles and a triple. He drove in three runs, failed to walk and struck out four times. Vientos is trending up after logging all those hits, and is owned in 39% of leagues now. He's had a disappointing season, but maybe could catch fire in the second half.

Ramos had singles for all three of his hits last week. He also had a walk, no RBIs and five strikeouts. Ramos is down to 83% owned, which seems too low for a hitter with his season-long numbers. I'm not a huge fan of dropping him and would rather buy him low than anything.

Lee posted six hits, including a double and triple, over the past week. He also had three RBIs, walks and strikeouts. Lee is also trending up and is now at 68% rostered. He'd seen his own percentage plummet of late, but maybe he'll get going again after this recent stretch of solid results.

Pages singled for all five of his hits over the timeframe we are using. He added an RBI and walk and struck out seven times. Pages was a fantasy surprise in the first half of the season, but is trending down as the break hits. He's at 93% and is either a sell high or low target depending on how you view him going forward.

Stott had singles for his two hits last week, while also tallying an RBI, walk and stolen base and two strikeouts. Stott has been a fantasy bust this season, and is rostered in just 61% of leagues now. He only has trade value in deeper leagues, and might not be a standard league asset the rest of the season.

Pasquantino had two doubles among his six hits last week. He didn't drive in a run or walk, while striking out five times. Pasquantino is holding steady at 92%, and likely won't get to 100% unless his run production increases.

Beck had four singles for his hits last week. He added a walk, but failed to drive in a run, struck out six times and grounded into a double play. Beck has been a deep-league asset, but is trending down and is only rostered in 21% of leagues. He's a player to keep an eye on moving forward, but he's just a deep-league option most likely.

Lee doubled among his three hits last week, while also having an RBI, no walks and four punchouts. He's down to 13% rostered and is trending in the wrong direction. Lee could be a sneaky good fantasy asset if he heats back up, so I'm not writing him off, even if I'm dropping him now.

Simpson had a double among his six knocks last week. He had no RBIs as well, but walked once, stole two bases and struck out three times. Simpson is trending up after being re-promoted to the big leagues and is at 58% now. He's a better deep-league asset because of his lack of power, but his stolen bases and electrifying speed gives him a chance to work into standard leagues if his average and OBP remain high.

Fewest RBIs

We already discussed a few players who had no RBIs last week. Along with those guys, here are a few more who failed to drive in a run: Toronto's George Springer, Arizona's Ketel Marte, Josh Naylor and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Houston's Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith, Colorado's Tyler Freeman and Brenton Doyle, Kansas City's Maikel Garcia and Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki.

Springer had a double among his two hits, along with two runs scored and RBIs, a stolen base and four punchouts - he also grounded into a double play. Springer had been red hot before this, so he's at 96%, but slightly trending down. He's a sell-high trade candidate, but someone I'd try to keep rostering in all leagues.

Marte doubled twice among his five hits last week. He had a run scored, four walks and two punchouts as well. Marte is one of the top-end fantasy hitters in the game, so all a slow week does is make him a bit more affordable in a trade.

Naylor singled for all three of his hits, while also tallying two runs scored, six walks and three strikeouts. He's been a top-end fantasy hitter this season, and one slower week shouldn't change your views of him. Maybe look to buy a bit lower on Naylor, but I'd keep rostering him if I had him already.

Gurriel doubled twice among his four hits, while also having two runs scored and walks and four strikeouts - he grounded into two double plays. Gurriel is at 69% rostered and is trending up at the break - he's maybe a bit undervalued looking at his season numbers, but a low OBP holds him back considerably.

Paredes doubled two times among his five hits last week. He had four runs scored and walks, along with three strikeouts. Paredes is owned in 97% of leagues and is a player who really should be at 100% in my eyes. Look to buy into him, not dropping or trading him.

Smith had a double among his six hits last week. He also had two runs scored, four walks and seven strikeouts, while grounding into two double plays. Smith had been trending up, but is now going back down and is at 71% overall. That number will rise and fall depending on how he's performing.

Freeman singled for his four hits last week. He scored a run and walked once, while also grounding into a double play and striking out four times. Freeman is at 29% rostered and is a highly underrated fantasy asset at the break - we'll see if he keeps things rolling in the second half of the season.

Doyle singled for his two hits last week, while also having a run scored, two walks and eight punchouts. He's been a really disappointing fantasy hitter this season, and is down to 39% owned now - maybe he'll bounce back after the break.

Garcia doubled twice among his three hits, while also tallying three runs scored, no walks and two punchouts. Garcia has been one of the top fantasy surprises this season, and his down week might allow you to acquire him a bit easier.

Suzuki doubled twice among his six knocks. He had five runs scored, two walks and seven strikeouts as well. Suzuki has been a great fantasy asset this season, and outside RBIs last week, he really was still a solid fantasy asset. If you are worried about his injury history, or him staying this productive, now is a time to maybe sell high still.