Fantasy Baseball Hitters Trending Down of Late: James Wood, Austin Riley and More

After taking a look at some fantasy hitters trending up of late, let's now go over some hitters who are trending down.

We'll be looking at hitting stats from July 24-August 4. We'll only cover notable fantasy assets.

 Let's dive in!

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Lowest Averages

Among qualified hitters, Angel Martinez has the lowest batting average at .094. He was a popular waiver wire a couple weeks ago, but is way down to 15% owned now.

Martinez had just three hits in the timeframe we are using, and they all were singles. He also had four runs scored, no RBIs, three walks and 11 punchouts. Martinez is only worth rostering in the deepest of fantasy leagues, and he shouldn't be starting for now.

James Wood had just a .094 average, with three singles across 36 plate appearances. He had a run scored and RBI, along with four walks and 19 strikeouts. Wood has hit a wall after delivering a great fantasy season. He's now a buy-low target, but might also be worth trading away if you see him struggling more down the stretch.

Austin Riley had a .108 average, collecting a double and two homers among his four hits. He also had six RBIs, three runs scored, two walks and 15 strikeouts in that span. Riley has disappointed most of the season, and now is down to 92% owned - he's on the injured list with an abdomen injury, so you can expect his own percentage to keep falling for a while.

Michael Busch hit just .135 over the stretch we are looking at. He had four singles and a homer for his five hits, while also having three runs scored, two walks, an RBI and 13 strikeouts. Busch is trending down and is at 83% rostered now - he probably shouldn't be that high after looking at his numbers of late.

Matt Chapman has just a .139 average of late, with a triple and two homers among five total hits. He has six runs scored, four RBIs, seven walks and 13 strikeouts. Chapman has produced enough to not have terrible fantasy production of late, but he's still underperforming. He's at 96% rostered, and I'm not really sure why he hasn't dropped more after looking at his season stats.

Eugenio Suarez had a .143 average, as did J.P. Crawford and Brendan Donovan.

Suarez had two doubles among his five hits, along with two runs scored, an RBI, no walks and 12 strikeouts. Suarez has struggled a bit since being traded, but I expect him to get going soon, so he's a buy-low trade target.

Crawford had a double and two homers among his six total knocks, along with four runs scored, six RBIs, a walk and eight strikeouts. It wasn't all bad for Crawford, but he's still trending down and is rostered in just 22% of leagues now. Don't write him off for good, but he shouldn't be rostered or starting in many leagues right now.

Donovan had a homer among his five total hits, along with four runs scored and walks, three RBIs and five strikeouts. He's down to 94% rostered, which is too low for my liking - his season-long numbers are good, and he doesn't hurt himself with negative numbers because he doesn't strike out much, so I'd keep rostering him and expect better numbers going forward.

Most Strikeouts

Cal Raleigh led the league with 22 strikeouts over the stretch we are using. He had 10 hits, including three home runs, along with three walks, five runs scored, a stolen base and four RBIs, so it wasn't all bad. He's still a sell-high candidate, as he's unlikely to keep mashing homers as often, but at this point, I'd just keep rostering the top fantasy catcher, and one of the best fantasy hitters in the game.

Shohei Ohtani tied Wood at 19 strikeouts. Ohtani had two doubles and a homer among his 11 hits, along with seven walks, five runs scored, three RBIs and two stolen bases. Ohtani's fantasy value is still sky high, and these “cold” stretches don't ever make him a buy-low target.

Giancarlo Stanton struck out 18 times, but also homered five times among his 11 hits. He posted 11 RBIs, seven runs scored and two walks as well. Stanton is owned in 55% of leagues, and would be higher if he had outfield eligibility. If you aren't a fan of the strikeouts, he's a sell-high candidate in deeper leagues.

Brandon Nimmo and Taylor Ward also struck out 18 times each.

Nimmo had three doubles among his nine hits, along with six RBIs, five runs scored, two walks and a stolen base. He's still rostered in almost every league, but his value is a bit down now, so he's a buy-low target.

Ward had three homers among his 11 hits, while also having eight RBIs, three walks and runs scored and a stolen base. Ward is up to 96% rostered, but could be a buy-low target because of his strikeout totals - some might view him as a sell-high guy for the same reason.

Other Hitters Trending Down

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. didn't score a run over the timeframe we are using. He had four RBIs, a walk and stolen base and three strikeouts, while tallying a double among his nine total hits. Gurriel is down to 58% owned after the cold stretch, and isn't a good standard league asset until he heats back up.

Andy Pages scored just once. So did Drake Baldwin and Cam Smith.

Pages had a double among his seven hits, along with three RBIs, a stolen base, no walks and nine strikeouts. Pages is down to 87% rostered and continues to trend down. He's a buy-low target if you believe in him bouncing back, but another cold week of hitting could help you snatch him up for free on the waiver wire, so don't pay much for Pages.

Baldwin had two doubles among his seven total knocks. He also had no RBIs, two walks and six strikeouts. Baldwin is trending down and is at 34% rostered now. He's a buy-low target in deeper leagues, but is a better secondary option, not an everyday starter at this point.

Smith had a double among his five hits, along with four RBIs and walks and 11 strikeouts. Smith is way down to 30% rostered, after being at 75% a month ago. His trade value is way down, and he's not usable in most fantasy leagues for now. Don't write him off for good, but avoid Smith for now.

Willi Castro was among the qualified hitters with no RBIs in the timeframe we are using. He had a double and triple among his hits, along with six runs scored, a walk and stolen base and seven strikeouts. Castro has a better fantasy outlook on the Cubs, but needs to deliver more at the plate to see his own percentage go over its 51% current mark.

Junior Caminero got on base at just a .178 clip over 45 plate appearances. He had a double among his four hits and walked four times. Caminero also had four RBIs, a run scored and 11 strikeouts. He's owned in all leagues, and will be all season, but he's a bit more affordable in a trade if you are interested in adding him.

Mookie Betts had a .152 average, with a double among his five hits. He also walked four times, scored four runs, drove in three runs, stole two bases and struck out five times. Betts has underwhelmed this season, but is still rostered in every league. You could make a case to buy him low, or sell him because his trade value is still high.