Fantasy Baseball Stock Watch: Hitters Trending Up and Down Over the Past Week

We look at fantasy baseball waiver wire and drop candidates several times over the course of the work week. Those players are trending up or down based on their production of late.

Here, I wanted to actually look at hitting stats from the past week to determine the hitters trending up or down. Consider this another waiver wire/drop story, with some of these guys only being trade options as they are already owned in most leagues.

Let's dive into things!

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Hitters Trending Up

Max Muncy - Athletics

Max Muncy, not the Dodgers' Max Muncy, leads the MLB with 11 hits over the past week. He has two doubles, one triple and a homer among the hits, plus seven runs scored, three RBIs, no walks and six strikeouts.

He's a rising fantasy asset, and has been a waiver wire target for several days now. With some position versatility, Muncy is really a nice fantasy asset.

Look into adding him if you need some help in the infield. He'd be a trade target just in deeper leagues, for the time being.

Taylor Ward - Baltimore Orioles

Ward is among the players with 10 hits over the timeframe we are using. He has seven doubles among the hits, plus four RBIs, five walks and six strikeouts.

He's excelling with his new club, and is in the best fantasy situation he's ever been in. Ward is an outfielder, but despite that being a loaded fantasy position, he deserves to be rostered in all leagues.

Depending on how you see him faring the rest of the season, and your fantasy outfield depth otherwise, Ward could be a sell-high trade candidate. His stats are bound to regress a bit eventually, so if you are acquiring him, do not overpay.

Xavier Edwards - Miami Marlins

Edwards has 10 hits over the past week, including two doubles, a triple and a home run. He also has five runs scored, six RBIs, four walks, a stolen base and three walks - showing his well-rounded game.

He too is owned in almost all fantasy leagues now, and that should stick for most of the season. Edwards isn't a big power threat, but he can rack up fantasy points in other ways, and doesn't hurt you with negative points from a ton of strikeouts.

He should be eligible at shortstop, along with second base, which makes him an even better fantasy asset. I like the idea of acquiring Edwards, as he's not likely to cost too much. At least see what the asking price is.

Maikel Garcia - Kansas City Royals 

Garcia has 10 hits as well over the past week. Three of those are doubles, and he homered once. Garcia also has four RBIs, two walks, three runs scored and eight strikeouts in that span.

He's coming off a big 2025 season and has been even better early on in 2026. Garcia might regress a bit from his current marks, but he still could be a high-end fantasy player for the remainder of the season, and years to come.

The third baseman could be eligible at other spots too, and the more versatility he has, the better his fantasy value becomes. It will cost you a noticeable return to acquire him, but I think Garcia is worth it and will pay off for you in the long run.

Andy Pages - Los Angeles Dodgers

He too has 10 hits over the past week, with two doubles and home runs among the knocks. Pages also has seven RBIs, five runs scored, two walks, a stolen base and 10 strikeouts in that span.

Pages is owned in just about every fantasy league now, so he is another trade target. He's a sell-high option because of his hot start to the season, but he might be better just to hold, as you likely won't get a haul since he's an outfielder.

So I'm happiest to hold Pages if I rostered him. Acquiring him now might not be the best move, but if you need an outfielder and can deal from a position of strength otherwise, then I say go for it.

Jordan Walker - St. Louis Cardinals

Walker leads the league with four home runs over the past week of play. He had eight hits total, with the other four being singles. Walker also had nine RBIs, four runs scored, two walks, a stolen base and nine strikeouts in that timeframe.

He's been a waiver wire asset this week, and is way up to 82% owned. That makes Walker more a trade target in deeper leagues, but some believing in Walker could trade for him in standard leagues, if you missed him on waivers.

We'll see if Walker can keep things rolling, or if this was just a one-week blip in an otherwise so-so MLB career.

James Wood - Washington Nationals

Wood homered three times among his eight hits over the past week. He also doubled once, drove in seven runs, scored eight times, walked on five occasions, stole a base and struck out six times.

Wood is nearly owned in all leagues, which makes him another trade-only target. Now is a time to potentially sell high on him, but his production is still low overall.

He should stick as a daily fantasy asset all year in all leagues. If you want to trade him, I'd wait until his overall numbers were higher.

Freddie Freeman - Los Angeles Dodgers

Freeman homered twice, doubled three times and had nine hits over the past week. He also tallied 10 RBIs, four runs scored, a walk and just three strikeouts.

He's been good to open 2026, and there's no reason to expect his production to drastically fall off. If you have another emerging fantasy 1B though, now might not be a bad time to sell high on Freeman.

He's a top-end fantasy hitter when healthy, so if you're trading him away, make sure you're getting a good/great return.

Hitters Trending Down

Michael Busch - Chicago Cubs

Busch failed to post a hit over 25 plate appearances in the past week. He had two walks, one run scored and RBI and five strikeouts.

He's started the year slow, which is disappointing coming off a very good 2025 campaign. There's reason to expect better results moving forward, but at a loaded first base spot, that makes him droppable now.

Try selling Busch before outright dropping him. That might allow you to get a better return than you might find on the waiver wire. But he's definitely one to drop/trade away right now.

Fernando Tatis Jr. San Diego Padres

Tatis has five hits, including two doubles, over the past week, but also struck out 11 times. He had four runs scored, three RBIs, a stolen base and three walks.

Those negative points from strikeouts can be annoying, but Tatis is still a high-end fantasy hitter when healthy. Trading him now would be selling him low, and I wouldn't recommend doing that.

That also means now is a time to go after Tatis in a trade. It will still cost a lot, but he could be a bit cheaper to acquire.

Harrison Bader - San Francisco Giants 

Bader has a .100 on-base percentage over 20 plate appearances in the past week. Bader had a single for his lone hit, while also having one walk, two runs scored, no RBIs and six strikeouts

Bader has struggled mightily to kick off his San Francisco tenure. Better days are definitely ahead.

He's way down to 11% owned, and he's not startable until he starts hitting a bit. Bader is not worth trading for, outside super deep leagues. He's worth watching for whenever his bat heats up, as he could be a decent deep league, or even standard league, option.

Jung Hoo Lee - San Francisco Giants

Lee is at a .143 OBP over the past week, which spans 21 plate appearances. He had two singles and one walk, along with no runs scored, an RBI and five strikeouts.

He's been consistent in his first two MLB seasons, so his struggles early on are likely just a slow start. Lee has dropped from over 50% owned to just 31% right now.

He's just a deep-league asset for now, and not startable in most leagues. Keep tabs on him, and consider buying him low in deeper leagues, as a bounceback effort should be coming soon.

Pete Alonso - Baltimore Orioles

Alonso has a .148 OBP over 27 plate appearances in the past week. He has two doubles for his only hits, plus two walks. Alonso has an RBI, a run scored and eight strikeouts as well.

He's started slow with his new team, but better days are surely ahead. That makes now a time to buy low on him.

Alonso being at a loaded first base spot should make him even more affordable, so definitely look into buying low on him. The payoff down the road could be great.