Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs
Pete Crow Armstrong went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run on Friday against the Cardinals. It was his 30th home run of the season, officially locking in a 30 home run, 35 stolen base campaign. It's been a long time waiting for this milestone, as the youngster reached 25 long balls before the All-Star break, before going ice cold afterwards, hitting 5 homers in his past 59 games. The biggest contributor to his lengthy cold spell is his poor plate discipline, which is marked by a 41.8% chase rate (2nd percentile), 4.6% walk rate (5th percentile), and 24.1% strikeout rate (32nd percentile). Those are his season-long numbers in those metrics, meaning they are likely looking even worse over the past couple of months specifically. The rookie went from being a fantasy superstar to being nearly unstartable overnight, which makes him a tough player to rank for 2026. The 23-year-old still has his whole career ahead of him with plenty of time to make improvements, but his recent struggles have probably limited him to being a third-round target next season.
Nico Hoerner, 2B/SS, Cubs
Nico Hoerner went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Friday's 12-1 win over the Cardinals. He's not usually known for his power, as this was his seventh home run of the year, but he's been a standout fantasy player regardless. The 28-year-old is now slashing .300/.348/.398 on the year with 89 runs, 7 home runs, 61 RBI, and 29 stolen bases. He's been one of the best values this season, paying off his low draft cost with exceptional production in batting average and steals. His ADP was outside of the top 12 at the position, and as it stands now, he is the third most valuable second baseman in 5x5 roto leagues. He has some of the best contact skills in the sport, featuring a 7.4% strikeout rate (99th percentile) and a 36.4% squared-up rate (96th percentile). Expect him to be drafted somewhere within the top 7 at the position next season.
Josh Naylor, 1B, Mariners
Josh Naylor went 1-for-2 with a stolen base on Friday against the Dodgers. While this is a pretty uneventful day on the surface, it's notable because this was Naylor's 30th stolen base of the season. This came completely out of nowhere in 2025, as he stole only 6 bases in 2024 and 10 in 2023. This is really proof that the most important factor in being a good base stealer is simply the intent to steal bases, because Naylor is shockingly slow with a 24.4 feet per second sprint speed that ranks in the 2nd percentile. It's truly bizarre to realize that someone in the bottom two percent of the league in speed is one of only 20 players with 30 steals on the season. When you combine this with his .295 batting average, 20 home runs, 81 runs, and 92 RBI, you get an elite five-category fantasy contributor. It's hard to think he will repeat this next season, so it's better to treat him as a top 7 option at the position and view any stolen bases as a bonus.
George Kirby, SP, Mariners
George Kirby had another great performance on Friday, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts over five innings against the Dodgers. The 10 strikeouts were especially impressive against a tough Dodgers offense, and it's the second time in his last three starts that Kirby has reached double-digit strikeouts. He now has 137 strikeouts in 126 innings, which is a significant improvement over 2024 and 2023, where he struck out 179 and 172 in 191 and 190.2 innings, respectively. This new and improved strikeout rate, along with his elite 5.6% walk rate, gives him quite a bit of upside in 2026. He's allowed much more hard contact than usual this year, but he also started the season late due to injury. With a full, healthy offseason to prepare for next year, he could once again return to being a fantasy ace.
Aaron Nola, SP, Phillies
Aaron Nola delivered his best performance of the season in his final start of the regular season against the Twins on Friday. He allowed one run on two hits and no walks while striking out 9 over 8 excellent innings. This brought him out of a recent rut where he had given up 10 earned runs in his last 28.1 innings pitched, spanning five starts. His ERA still sits at 6.01 on the season, but this was a good note to end on to hopefully gear him up for postseason play. The 32-year-old still has a 95th percentile chase rate of 34%, but only a 25.3% whiff rate (50th percentile). The lack of whiffs may be due to diminishing velocity, as his 91.4 mph average fastball velocity is the lowest of his career and ranks in the 12th percentile. It looks like his days of being a fantasy ace are likely over, and he shouldn't be drafted in 2026 until at least the top 36 starters are off the board.
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