6 Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers: Week 20 (2026)

Welcome to our weekly fantasy baseball risers and fallers column. In this article, I’ll identify three risers and three fallers based on what transpired over the previous week.

Given that we’re in the second half of the season, there are more options to choose from. We know how managers are deploying their players, with some surprisingly receiving less playing time than initially expected. We also have a few young hitters who are making their presence felt immediately.

Without further ado, let’s find out who this week’s biggest risers and fallers are.

Fantasy Baseball Risers & Fallers

Fantasy Baseball Risers

Jac Caglianone (1B, OF – KCR)

Jac Caglianone is heating up at the plate. In the last seven days, he has a 295 wRC+ with three home runs and one stolen base in 27 plate appearances. This includes a homer off Tarik Skubal last night, which is extremely impressive considering it was a lefty versus lefty matchup against one of the best pitchers in baseball. We could see a strong finish from Caglianone.

Tyler O’Neill (OF – BAL)

Tyler O’Neill is a streaky hitter who is running hot right now, registering a 222 wRC+ with three home runs in his last 22 plate appearances. He’s seeing an uptick in playing time while hitting cleanup for the Orioles. This puts him in a good spot for counting stats, so it’s a good idea to pick him up to ride the wave right now.

Jackson Merrill (OF – SDP)

Jackson Merrill is having a second-half surge for the second year in a row. In the last seven days, he has a 208 wRC+ with three home runs and one stolen base in 29 plate appearances. With Merrill being such a touted young hitter, you have to feel like it’s wheels up for the rest of the season. Congratulations if you bought low.

Fantasy Baseball Fallers

Jeremy Pena (SS – HOU)

Jeremy Pena has been having a terrific season, but he’s ice-cold at the plate right now, putting up a -44 wRC+ with zero home runs and zero stolen bases in 28 plate appearances. While I’m confident he’ll get it going at some point, we have to acknowledge that this is just regression for a player who was performing above expectations.

Kazuma Okamoto (1B, 3B – TOR)

Kazuma Okamoto is one of the streakiest hitters in Major League Baseball. Right now, he’s running cold, putting up a -13 wRC+ with zero home runs and zero stolen bases in his last 27 plate appearances. Now, he’s day-to-day with a left knee contusion. It remains to be seen if the Blue Jays feel like Okamoto needs an injured list (IL) stint, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he did.

Zach Neto (SS – LAA)

Zach Neto is having a bit of a disappointing season thanks to a high strikeout rate. He’s ice cold at the plate right now, putting up a -9 wRC+ with one home run and zero steals in his last 32 plate appearances. It’s time to start looking at Neto more as a Javier Baez (prime version) type — a free-swinger with peaks and valleys.