Fantasy Baseball Drop Candidates: 5 Players to Cut or Bench Now

After a bunch of fantasy baseball waiver wire articles, let's now dive into some drop candidates.

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. 

Here are links to the waiver wire stories: hitters, pitchers and weekly projections.

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.

Angel Martinez - Cleveland Guardians

Martinez sits near 53% rostered right now. He was closer to 65% just three days ago.

Martinez sat with a .342 average and .419 on-base percentage on April 11, but now sits with a .262 average and .314 OBP. He has just four hits over his past 27 plate appearances, and no walks in that span. Martinez has three RBIs, one run scored and six punchouts in that timeframe as well.

The primary outfielder has struggled of late, so it's no surprise to see him dropping. He could be eligible at second base too, and if he is, there's more reason to hold him.

However, he isn't producing enough to warrant keeping him around in standard leagues. Only utilize him in deeper leagues, but keep tabs on him in case he gets hot again at some point.

Jeff Hoffman - Toronto Blue Jays

Hoffman is owned in about 81% of leagues at the moment. He was at roughly 91% a week ago, and he's pretty steadily fallen since.

Hoffman has struggled over his past two outings, allowing six runs over 1 2/3 innings. He blew a save and took a loss in those two appearances.

Hoffman has a 1-2 record, two saves and three blown saves already in 2026. He's allowed 10 runs (eight earned) on 13 hits and six walks over 9 1/3 innings. Hoffman has 20 strikeouts at least.

He's struggled, just like Toronto has early on. He's tough to trust right now, and is droppable in some standard leagues for sure. He's bound to bounce back here soon, at which point he'll likely be added back, so keep tabs on him - don't write him off for good.

Jeffrey Springs - Athletics

Springs was near about 88% before he made a start against the White Sox on Sunday. We'll see how much he falls by the end of the day.

Springs was stellar over his first four starts, and was set up well on Sunday to deliver maybe his best game yet. Instead, he was tagged for seven runs on nine hits and a walk over five innings. He allowed four home runs, but still did strike out seven batters.

Springs has a 3-1 record and 3.34 earned run average, which is still solid after the blowup outing. I like him as a fantasy asset, but until he repeatedly delivers, he's more of a streaming asset in standard leagues.

Keep rostering him in deeper leagues, but add/drop him in standard leagues. Watch his scheduled starts and roster him when things look favorable, but just know these random poor showing could happen here and there.

Cam Smith - Houston Astros

Smith is rostered in 72% of leagues at the moment. He's been above 75% for about the past week.

Smith was hitting over .300 and had a .393 OBP after a four-hit game on April 11. He has three hits in the eight games since, and has just two RBIs, three runs scored, four walks and five strikeouts as well.

He's hitting .244 and getting on base at a .341 clip over 23 games and 92 plate appearances overall. Smith has 10 RBIs, 13 runs scored, three stolen bases, 11 walks and 20 strikeouts, plus five doubles and three homers among his 19 total hits.

Smith can be a really good fantasy asset when in a groove, but the young hitter is still a bit inconsistent. He's still worth rostering in deeper leagues, but could be droppable in standard leagues, especially since he's part of a loaded fantasy outfielder spot. Keep tabs on him, but look elsewhere for fantasy help until Smith's bat heats back up.

Chase DeLauter - Cleveland Guardians

DeLauter has dropped to 89% owned. He was at 95% as of April 14.

He is down to a .232 average and .325 OBP over 20 games and 80 plate appearances for the season. DeLauter has five homers, but those all came in the first seven games of the year. He has five doubles as well among his 16 hits, plus 12 RBIs, 11 runs scored, 10 walks and 11 strikeouts.

DeLauter sat against a left-handed pitcher on Sunday, and if that continues, he might slip back to being just a deep-league asset, especially if his bat doesn't get going.

He was stellar early on, and I think he'll have more strong stretches like that, so keep tabs on DeLauter. He's one to bench in some leagues, and drop in standard leagues in others, especially if you need immediate fantasy help in the outfield.