Ottoneu Hot Right Now: May 27, 2026

Hot Right Now (HRN) is a weekly Ottoneu feature focused on popular players currently being auctioned or players who you should think about auctioning in your Ottoneu leagues. Even if you don’t play Ottoneu, we’ll be highlighting players you should be looking at in deeper and keeper formats. In this feature, we will break down players into two sections:

1. Current Auctions: A closer look at players being auctioned at a high rate.
2. Hot Performers: Players with a high P/G or P/IP over the last 14 days who are also rostered in 80% of leagues or less.

The RotoGraphs Ottoneu team plans to run this feature weekly, updating fantasy managers on the biggest movers in Ottoneu leagues with an analysis of how these players could or could not help your roster.

Current Auctions

Curtis Mead — 65 current auctions — 37.9% roster%

A one-time top prospect for the Rays, Curtis Mead simply couldn’t figure out how to make the jump from the minors. He posted a 77 wRC+ across 152 games in parts of three seasons, and Tampa Bay eventually gave up on him and traded him to the White Sox last summer. He was traded to the Nationals right as the regular season got underway and he’s played his way into a regular role as a utility infielder. He has posted a 160 wRC+ in May and a 141 on the season.

His breakout this season is being fueled by both an increase in contact quantity and an increase in contact quality. His plate approach looks a lot more controlled; he’s reduced his overall swing rate to just over 40% and his chase rate to 23.4%. As he has become more selective with his swings, he’s making contact more often. The result is a 14.4% walk rate that’s just a hair shy of his 15.1% strikeout rate; both marks are career bests for him. His contact quality has taken a big leap as well; his hard hit rate is up more than 10 points and his barrel rate is up six points. He’s also pulling the ball a ton more, helping him make the most of his elevated contact.

It certainly looks like he’s figured things out in Washington, making all the right adjustments to make good on his prospect pedigree. He’s got positional flexibility, a regular role in the middle of a potent lineup, and all his underlying peripherals look solid. Go out and grab him if your fantasy squad needs a middle infielder.

Gage Jump — 64 current auctions — 56.0% roster%

The Athletics promoted top pitching prospect Gage Jump for a surprise start on Tuesday. He was knocked around a bit by the Mariners, allowing four runs on nine hits across five innings of work. He struck out five. He didn’t allow much hard contact but he was pitching with runners on base throughout the night and all that added pressure led to some poor results.

Jump has got an excellent fastball that produces both rise and run and a trio of breaking balls that help him keep batters off balance. The biggest knock on him as a prospect was his lack of command. He has trouble locating his pitches around the zone and can work himself into trouble if he’s not hitting his spots. Eric Longenhagen mentioned Robbie Ray as a comp, and while that might be a little ambitious — Ray won a Cy Young in 2021, a ceiling I don’t think Jump can reach — the broad strokes of that profile are definitely present. And because the Athletics pitching staff is desperate for improvement, I’m sure the team will give Jump a long look to see if he can establish himself in the big leagues this summer. That certainly seems like a profile worth rostering, but don’t expect him to be a guy you want to slot into your lineup every single time he starts. You’ll want to play matchups for now and be wary of home starts.

Tommy Troy — 50 current auctions — 9.3% roster%

The Diamondbacks promoted Tommy Troy on Sunday after Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was sidelined with a hamstring injury. The second ranked prospect in Arizona’s system, he’s a well-rounded prospect without any true standout skills. He’s bounced around the infield and outfield, spending time at second base, center field, and left field this year. His excellent bat speed and high-effort swing should help him post moderate power numbers and he’s got enough speed to be a danger on the basepaths.

Troy will probably get everyday at-bats in left field while Gurriel is on the shelf, though it sounds like his injury is pretty minor. Once Gurriel is back in the fold, the D-Backs could shift the veteran to designated hitter to keep Troy’s bat in the lineup if he impresses over this next week or so. If he manages to play his way into a full-time role this summer, he could be worth checking out, but I don’t think his ceiling is high enough to warrant an auction this early in his big league career.

Hot Performers
Players with a high P/G or P/IP over the last 14 days rostered in 80% of leagues or less.

Jake Burger — 9.4 FGPts/G (last 14 days) — 64.7% roster%

Over the last two weeks, Jake Burger has collected 16 hits and four home runs, putting up a 223 wRC+. It’s been a huge turn around in what has been a really up and down season. He started off the season with a 124 wRC+ through April 17. Then, from April 18 through May 11, he ran a -2 wRC+, and now he’s back on the upswing.

Nothing in his underlying peripherals looks amiss; he’s still producing pretty good contact but he swings and misses way too much to stabilize his production. He’ll have massive slumps and hot streaks because he really has to maximize every single ball he puts in play. When they’re not falling in for hits, he suffers. That makes rostering him in fantasy baseball an exercise in identifying his hot streaks and benching or cutting him during his cold snaps.

Keibert Ruiz — 8.4 FGPts/G (last 14 days) — 23.0% roster%

Keibert Ruiz had almost played his way out of a starting role for the Nationals over the last few years. He was pretty good in his first full season in Washington back in 2022, but over the last three years, he’s managed just a 79 wRC+ and -1.9 WAR. He seems to have figured something out this year, however. Over the last two weeks, he’s collected 12 hits and his 223 wRC+ has raised his season line up to a career-best 108.

His plate approach doesn’t appear to have changed that much; he’s still super aggressive with good bat-to-ball skills, leading to low strikeout and walk rates. If anything, he’s been a bit more selective this year; his overall swing rate has dropped five points and nearly all of those additional takes have come on pitches in the zone. What has changed is the quality and shape of his contact. He’s improved his hard hit rate by 10 points and his barrel rate by more than five points, and what’s even more encouraging is that he’s pulling and elevating a ton of his contact this year. That combination has helped him produce a .224 ISO thus far, a career high by a pretty wide margin.

He’s also improved his defense behind the plate, and while that doesn’t really have any bearing on fantasy baseball, it does bode well for his ability to hold a regular role for the Nationals. There’s been a ton of attrition at catcher across baseball this year — I count six or seven starting catchers who are currently sidelined with varying injuries. Ruiz could be a solid backup catcher if you’re struggling to fill that spot in your fantasy lineup.