We've spent the last few weeks helping managers prepare for a playoff push by examining the schedule, and we certainly hope that the majority of our subscribers are in playoff contention. Sometimes things don't go to plan, but the good news is that there's always next season.
In this article, we'll discuss some of the players that will be worth watching closely for the last seven weeks of the regular season. There are a few different categories of players that we will consider, including young players that have shown intriguing skill in a small sample or are finally getting a chance after losing playing time due to injury or being blocked by their organization. The other category will be some players who have interesting, and primarily disappointing, seasons but may not be being talked about much.
Interesting or Concerning Veterans
Butler was among the trendiest breakout candidates this offseason, yet has been a below-average hitter as measured by wRC+ and wOBA. The latter in particular is concerning for points formats, and his .308 wOBA has translated to 2.6 fantasy points per game (CBS standard scoring).
Things have taken a particularly ugly turn in the last few months, as he's hit .234 and .174 in June and July, respectively. He's had a corresponding jump in strikeout rate of 31.1 and 33.7 percent in those two months. An interesting but not necessarily clear trend is that Butler has seen fewer fastballs in that span. However, when he's hit well, he's
We've spent the last few weeks helping managers prepare for a playoff push by examining the schedule, and we certainly hope that the majority of our subscribers are in playoff contention. Sometimes things don't go to plan, but the good news is that there's always next season.
In this article, we'll discuss some of the players that will be worth watching closely for the last seven weeks of the regular season. There are a few different categories of players that we will consider, including young players that have shown intriguing skill in a small sample or are finally getting a chance after losing playing time due to injury or being blocked by their organization. The other category will be some players who have interesting, and primarily disappointing, seasons but may not be being talked about much.
Interesting or Concerning Veterans
Butler was among the trendiest breakout candidates this offseason, yet has been a below-average hitter as measured by wRC+ and wOBA. The latter in particular is concerning for points formats, and his .308 wOBA has translated to 2.6 fantasy points per game (CBS standard scoring).
Things have taken a particularly ugly turn in the last few months, as he's hit .234 and .174 in June and July, respectively. He's had a corresponding jump in strikeout rate of 31.1 and 33.7 percent in those two months. An interesting but not necessarily clear trend is that Butler has seen fewer fastballs in that span. However, when he's hit well, he's capitalized on all types of pitches, and during his slump he's struggled with all pitch types.
An even bigger reason for concern is that Butler has started to lose playing time, sitting for each of the Athletics' last three games (through Thursday). If he has a big close to the year, perhaps 2026 will bring a buy-low opportunity to roster Butler as a post-hype breakout, but his ballooning strikeout rate and loss of playing time are both significant concerns.
It may come as a surprise that Merrill has averaged the same 2.6 fantasy points per game as Butler. They've taken very different paths to get there, as Merrill has made much more consistent contact but provided less juice in the traditional hitting categories on a per plate appearance basis.
There's something that isn't particularly satisfying about saying that he's simply gotten unlucky, but Merrill's skills still resemble what he did as a rookie in 2024. His .317 wOBA is 35 points off the pace of last season, but his .360 xwOBA is very comparable from his .372 mark last season.
One of the more interesting things to monitor as we enter the offseason is how drafters and managers perceive Merrill. He seems to be getting a pass for his performance relative to other underperformers, so he many not come at much of a discount in 2026.
Lee doesn't necessarily fit in the same box as the guys above. He likely doesn't possess the star upside of Butler and Merrill, but he has also shown skills growth this season that wasn't necessarily anticipated. Specifically, his ISO has improved from .069 in 2024 to .153 in the current campaign. It hasn't been a smooth path though, as Lee had an excellent April before slumping in May and June, only to rebound in July and the early portions of August. That makes him worth watching the rest of the way.
Lee has the baseline skills to be a strong points-league contributor thanks to his plate discipline, but the next couple of months will give us some additional data to decide if the rest of his profile is empty, or if he can be a solid option as an OF3 heading into 2026.
Young Players Getting a Chance
Crews hasn't had the year, or start to his career, that was expected. His strikeout rate ballooned to 27.7 percent early in 2025, and he's been sidelined since May 20 with an oblique injury. Crews has spent almost two weeks on a rehab assignment and should be back in the lineup within a week, giving him roughly the last six weeks of the regular season to get his performance on track heading into 2026.
Not all is lost based on what we saw from Crews early in the season. His .196 batting average and .274 wOBA are ugly, but he also posted a 14.5 percent barrel rate and .158 ISO. That brings us back to Crews' scouting reports, which generally had his hit tool in the 50-60 range on the 20-80 scale. If he can combine his improved power with the hit tool he was projected to have, he should set himself up to be a breakout candidate entering 2026.
Mayo has been waiting on a real chance in the majors for the last calendar year. Despite dominating Triple-A and all levels of the minors, Mayo was blocked by a combination of Ryan O'Hearn and Jordan Westburg. He also struggled when given an opportunity, though. Mayo has just a 64 wRC+ and .260 wOBA in 181 plate appearances, though that sample is heavily skewed by a very poor first glimpse of the majors in 2024.
Mayo has served as a near everyday player for the last two weeks, during which he's delivered a respectable .256 batting average with only an 18.6 percent strikeout rate. More importantly, he has three home runs and five total extra-base hits across 39 at-bats. His path to claim first base in Baltimore is clear, and he appears poised to do so.
Keaschall was one of the bigger prospect risers last season and entered the year ranked 20th on RotoWire's top 400 list. He made his big-league debut in April, only to miss over three months due to a fracture in his forearm. Given that layoff, we're dealing with a very small sample, but Keaschall has been extremely productive when he's been in the Twins' lineup.
We should get the typical pattern we see with a callup over the final seven weeks of the regular season, with pitchers making adjustments and Keaschall having to adjust back to remain effective. How he closes the season will determine whether he's an interesting sleeper to consider in 2026 drafts, or if he's already among the better fantasy options at second base.
Montgomery began his big-league career on the opposite trajectory to Keaschall, as his prospect status dropped as he rose up the ladder, and there were significant questions about whether he could make enough contact to hit in the majors. The answer through 106 plate appearances has been a resounding yes, as Montgomery has made some key improvements to his profile.
The most notable is that he's cut down on his infield flyball rate relative to his career in the minors, dropping from rates consistently in the high teens (or worse) to 9.7% with the White Sox. Montgomery has also carried over his walk rate from the minors, particularly important for points leagues. He still posts a well-below average on-base percentage (.295), but it has been passable enough that he's been a productive points league option when combined with his power output.
There's likely to be some bumps in the road for Montgomery. He has a 17.7 percent swinging strike rate, 11th highest in the league among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances. Some of the most notable players on the list with higher rates include Kyren Paris, Christopher Morel and Matt Mervis, all of whom have shown flashes at some point in their career, only to see their performance dip relatively quickly.
Montgomery is defying the odds right now, but there needs to be a significant change in his skills for anything resembling his current form to carry forward.
