Fantasy Baseball Hitters Trending Down Over the Past Week: Brandon Nimmo, TJ Friedl and More

It's time to go over fantasy baseball hitters who are trending up and down of late.

We'll be using stats from August 5-11 and start with the guys trending down this week. We'll only discuss notable fantasy players.

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Fewest Hits

Among qualified hitters, only Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo went hitless over the past week.

Lindor had two walks among his 22 plate appearances, along with two runs scored, seven strikeouts and a stolen base. He's still owned in all leagues, but now could be a time to buy him a bit lower in a trade.

Nimmo had six walks over his 21 plate appearances. He also struck out eight times. Nimmo is rostered in 89% of fantasy leagues and is trending down of late - that makes it a time to also buy low on him if you expect him to bounce back soon.

Nick Castellanos and Caleb Durbin each posted just one hit last week.

Castellanos singled for his only hit across 21 plate appearances. He scored twice, didn't drive in a run or walk and struck out four times. Castellanos is holding steady at 88% rostered, but could start falling if he continues to struggle.

Durbin doubled for his only hit over 19 plate appearances. He walked once, scored a run, failed to drive in a run and struck out just one time. Durbin is actually slowly trending up and sits at 21% rostered now - I'd guess he's on the rise because of the team's success of late, but until he starts delivering at the plate himself, Durbin shouldn't be added in many more leagues.

Most Strikeouts

Elly De La Cruz struck out a whopping 12 times last week. He had five singles for his hits, while also tallying two runs scored and an RBI, walk and stolen base. De La Cruz is an elite fantasy asset, but does have some strikeout issues. If you can't afford the negative points, selling De La Cruz should net you an incredible return.

Ivan Herrera struck out 11 times last week. He posted three hits, including a double, while also having two walks and RBIs and one run scored. Herrera has been an underrated fantasy asset most of the season, but after weeks like that one, it's fair to see why he's stuck near 70% rostered. I still think he's doing enough to roster in more leagues though.

Eugenio Suarez, Trevor Story, TJ Friedl, Cal Raleigh, Tyler Locklear and Nick Kurtz all struck out 10 times over the past week.

Suarez had two hits, including a homer, while also posting five RBIs, three runs scored, two walks and a stolen base. Suarez has struggled in his tenure with the Mariners, but is still owned in all fantasy leagues. Now is definitely a time to try to buy low on him.

Story had five hits last week, with each being a single. He also had five runs scored, four RBIs and two walks. Story's own percentage has leveled off near 80%, and he'll only go up if he gets going at the plate, or limits his strikeouts.

Friedl had two doubles among his eight knocks last week, while also posting two RBIs and runs scored, three walks and a stolen base. He's down to 70% rostered and will continue to drop if he isn't standing out after he started the season strong. Bail on him now if you don't expect him to reach his early-season marks again.

Raleigh had three homers among his four hits, so it wasn't all bad for the star catcher. He also had 10 RBIs, five runs scored, three walks and a stolen base. Raleigh has been one of the top fantasy hitters this season, and despite massive strikeout numbers, is still a great option that you should keep enjoying if you've rostered him to this point - only sell him if you get a haul in return.

Locklear had a homer among his four hits last week. He also tallied three runs scored and walks and had an RBI. Locklear is getting a chance in the big leagues after the Mariners' trade deadline deals, but has struggled so far. He's only at 10% rostered. Don't write him off completely, but he shouldn't be rostered outside really deep leagues right now, and probably shouldn't be starting in many of those leagues. 

Kurtz still posted eight hits last week, including two doubles. He added seven runs scored, an RBI and six walks, so it was still a solid week for the youngster. Kurtz is rostered in all leagues now, and should be the rest of the season. He's a top-end fantasy power bat, so if you can't deal with the strikeouts, capitalize on his high value while you can.

Other Hitters Trending Down

Jose Ramirez had just two hits last week. He doubled for one of the hits, while also having two runs scored, no RBIs, a walk and stolen base and three strikeouts. Ramirez doesn't have many down weeks, and his value doesn't ever change too much, but he's a bit more affordable than he has been because of his down week.

Pete Crow-Armstrong had two singles for his lone hits last week. He didn't have an RBI or run scored either, and he also failed to walk - PCA struck out five times and stole a base. Crow-Armstrong has been one of the better fantasy hitters for most of the season, but is trending downward of late - if you don't believe in him turning things back to his early-season levels, now would be the time to sell, before his value drops even more.

Kyle Stowers finished with four singles over 31 plate appearances last week. He had two runs scored, no RBIs, four walks and nine strikeouts as well. Stowers is slightly trending down after getting near the 100% own mark. It's tough to make a call on how to assess Stowers, so I'll leave that one up to each fantasy owner's opinions on the outfielder. 

Ceddanne Rafaela had a double among his two hits last week. He had three runs scored and walks, but no RBIs - Rafaela stole two bases and struck out five times. He's down to 85% rostered and could continue to fall if he doesn't pick things up - Rafaela has hung near this percentage for about a month, so be ready to pick him back up if he turns things around soon.

Bryce Harper had two doubles among his three hits this past week. He didn't score a run, drove in just one and failed to walk - Harper struck out nine times. Harper is a top-end fantasy hitter, but has had a bit of a down year - if you need more from that roster spot, you could look to trade him, because on name alone, you might be able to get back a better fantasy hitter.

Mickey Moniak and Yainer Diaz each had .143 on-base percentages last week. 

Moniak had three hits, including a double, and no walks over 21 plate appearances. He scored once and drove in a run, while striking out six times. Moniak is just a deep-league asset, but is trending down and sits at 28% rostered now. He needs to pick things up to even be a worthwhile asset in deeper leagues.

Diaz had three hits and no walks over his 21 plate appearances as well. He homered among the hits and finished with three RBIs, two runs scored and five strikeouts. Diaz had been trending up before that, so we'll see if this is a blip, or if he's going to continue being dropped after some more struggles at the plate.