Two games into their September stop at Yankee Stadium, the Rockies have scored four runs, struck out 24 times and lost twice.
The Yankees won the opener 5–3 before taking Game 2 by a 6–1 score.
Tonight gives the Rockies (55–90) one more chance to salvage a game against the Yankees (83–62), avoid the sweep and carry a bit of momentum with them to Detroit.
Ryan Feltner will make his 22nd start in a season that has gone poorly. He is 5–9 with a 5.91 ERA and 1.58 WHIP across 106.2 innings.
Feltner leads with his four-seam fastball and varies his secondary mix from there. He works primarily with the slider and changeup against lefties, then turns to the slider, sinker and sweeper against righties. Lefties have produced a .293/.378/.507 line against him this season, while righties are at .275/.326/.522.

#four #slider #righties

There is a solid list of two-start options for a second straight week, as there are three pitchers who can be started in most leagues and a couple others who will make sense for managers who have some room to risk their ratios.
On the hitting side, managers will struggle to find streamers during the next four days, as most teams play three games and there is a lack of obvious matchup advantages. The Pirates and Phillies may be the best source of help.
Jacob Lopez, Athletics, 42% (vs. TOR, vs. SEA): Lopez limits quality contact as well as any player in baseball, which has enabled him to log a 2.36 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in the second half. He has worked at his hitter-friendly home park in five of nine starts over that stretch, allowing no more than two runs in each of those outings. Lopez is a great bet to stay hot this week, when he faces the Blue Jays and Mariners, who rank 27th and 30th respectively in runs scored.
Andrew Painter, Phillies, 33% (vs. HOU, @ ATL): We may have finally found a sustainable version of Painter. The former top prospect with a reworked **** nal has logged a 3.12 ERA and 0.89 WHIP across his past seven starts and has tallied at least six strikeouts in five of those outings. The right-hander can provide a double-digit whiff total for those who are starting the fantasy playoffs, and his matchups are only slightly harder than average, as the Astros and Braves rank 10th and 12th respectively in OPS versus righties.
Hayden Wesneski, Astros, 33% (@ PHI, @ TB): Wesneski has fared well in seven starts since returning from May 2025 Tommy John surgery (3.18 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 1.06 WHIP), and he has looked especially good while allowing one run over 17 innings in his past three starts. The right-hander is set to face two above-average offenses next week (Phillies, Rays), which slots him behind Lopez among the recommended options. But at this time of year, managers may opt to go with someone who has been pitching well over someone who has questionable skills and favorable matchups.

#whip #starts

Brandon Lowe and Yordan Alvarez didn't hit home runs yesterday. As a result, the season's record for best home run bets slid to 21-84, with three no-bets. Hitting on long-shot bets is challenging, and that's reflected in the season's record for home run props.
Unfortunately, the two losses yesterday drained the middling profits. Anyone who bet $100 on each of this year's touted home run props is down $146, which is a disappointing outcome for grinding them all season.
Gamblers must have a short memory with losing bets and avoid holding grudges against players who failed to deliver a winning bet. Today's suggestions for the best home run bets are a perfect example of short memory. For the first time all season, I'm suggesting home run props for the same players as in the previous article. Lowe and Alvarez have favorable matchups and compelling betting odds for their home run props. Thus, they get the nod for the best home run props on Friday.
Over 0.5 Home Runs (+420) at FanDuel Sportsbook
Brandon Lowe has hit 23 of his 29 home runs this year against right-handed pitching, popping 15 at home and nine at home against righties. In four plate appearances yesterday, Lowe walked once and had flyouts on his three batted ******* . It's disappointing he didn't hit a home run yesterday, but he had no problem lifting the ball.

#lowe #didn 't

At a key time in the fantasy baseball calendar, we are unfortunately saddled with possibly the worst two-start pitcher group of the season. In fact, once we get past the top option, every other hurler may be best left for those in deep formats. On the hitting side, managers should load up on Rockies for the first half of the week.
Zac Thornton, Mets, 20% (vs. MIL, vs. HOU): Thornton continues to establish himself as a reliable major league rotation member and now sits at 3-4 with a 3.04 ERA and 1.13 WHIP after nine starts. The rookie struck out seven Padres in his most recent outing, which is a great sign from someone whose only weakness thus far has been an inability to accumulate whiffs. He unfortunately has a pair of matchups against top-10 teams in OPS versus righties, but at least both starts will take place at his pitcher-friendly home park.
Andrew Alvarez, Nationals, 7% (vs. COL, vs. MIA): Although Alvarez has enjoyed his best stretch of the season during August (2.42 ERA, 0.90 WHIP), the advanced stats (16:8 K:BB ratio, .169 BABIP) don't back up his success. In fact, the left-hander's strikeout rate this month (6.5 K/9) is notably lower than his season-long mark (8.3). Alvarez deserves credit for consistency, as he has allowed more than three earned runs in just one of his 19 appearances. However, most of his outings last less than five innings. He has reasonable matchups and the two-start options are poor this week, which makes him worth consideration as a low-floor, low-ceiling option in deeper formats.
Max Scherzer, Blue Jays, 6% (vs. KC, vs. SEA): After enjoying three consecutive strong starts, Scherzer faltered (4 IP, 7 ER) last time out. The outing wasn't quite as bad as the stat line indicates, as a pair of misplayed fly ***** by Jesús Sánchez ruined the right-hander's chances. Scherzer wouldn't normally rank as a viable two-start option, but he has had enough success of late to warrant consideration for two home starts against teams that rank 22nd (Royals) and 30th (Mariners) in runs scored.
Seth Lugo, Royals, 24% (@ TOR, @ CLE): Lugo opened the second half by posting a 2.37 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over three starts, but his 10:6 K:BB ratio in those outings showed that he hadn't truly turned around a poor season. Sure enough, the 36-year-old came crashing back to earth with a 7.48 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in his past four outings. Lugo has favorable matchups this week, as the Blue Jays (28th) and Guardians (26th) sit near the bottom of baseball in runs scored. That's the only reason to select him over those who trail him on this list.

#alvarez #start

What can you really say about the Braves' lineup at this point… or ever? Mauricio Dubon is back in left field tonight, and hitting fifth.
Dubon had a really fun time in June while the rest of the team was imploding offensively, with a .378 wOBA and .368 xwOBA. Unfortunately, he's more or less fallen apart as the team clambered out of its doldrums, with wOBAs and xwOBAs in the .280 range irrespective of how you slice and dice the six-ish weeks since June ended. But, here he is, hitting fifth. It doesn't really matter, but Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Riley have been on a tear in August, so this is a case where the Braves' lineup construction is relatively staid, even though we've seen it get relatively reactionary earlier in the season with regards to other things.
The Twins lineup gives Martin Perez a steady diet of righties to contend with:
It's kind of an interesting array. Luke Keaschall will hit leadoff for the first time all season; this will be his second career game in that spot. Kaelen Culpepper has hit seventh a few times and ninth a few times, but never eighth (until this game).
This Twins lineup has pretty solid numbers up and down on paper. Hopefully the Perez pachinko comes up favorable for the Braves… or they just crush Bailey Ober.

#lineup #dubon #time

A strong previous week for two-start pitchers is followed up by a weak group for the current scoring period. A pair of Cardinals headline the list, but once we get past that point, the options mostly include subpar pitchers with favorable matchups.
On the hitting side, a five-game series at Great American Ball Park could provide fireworks.
Kyle Leahy, Cardinals, 39% (@ CIN, @ PHI): The Cardinals tend to save this column during down weeks, as their rotation ranks ninth in baseball in ERA despite lacking a member who is rostered in 50% of Yahoo leagues. After a slow start in his first season as a rotation member, Leahy has been the team's most consistent starter of late, having logged a 1.52 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 46:9 K:BB ratio in his past nine starts. Although he has been more effective at home (2.91 ERA) than on the road (3.96 ERA), he should have success in two road starts against the Phillies and Reds, who rank 16th and 29th respectively in OPS vs. righties.
Andre Pallante, Cardinals, 38% (@ CIN, @ PHI): Although Leahy has been the Cardinals most reliable starter this summer, Pallante is the rotation member who has been the most consistent throughout the season (3.46 ERA, 1.22 WHIP). The righty lacks the strikeout skills to be a high-end fantasy contributor but maintains a significant floor thanks to his elite groundball rate (55.6%). In a poor week for two-start pitchers, he can be started in any format.
Tyler Mahle, Braves, 30% (@ MIN, @ MIL): Mahle has been terrific across two starts as a member of the Braves, posting a 16:2 K:BB ratio, along with a 0.75 ERA and 0.75 WHIP. But we can't overlook the fact that his 18 outings with the Giants resulted in a 5.13 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. It's worth noting that the ERA estimators don't mind Mahle, ******* igning him marks in the range of 4.00 this season. The right-hander is set to tangle with two top 10 offenses in terms of OPS versus righties, but his success with Atlanta should still get him a look in 12-team leagues.

#member #mahle #rotation

I hope you all will forgive me for spending a portion of my Saturday mornings sorting through various somewhat bleak baseball things in preparation for the coming recap. For instance, today I found myself roaming around looking at the recent game logs for Harrison Grant Holmes and comparing them those of Eduardo Rodriguez (Holmes had a better run recently, at least until today), and then looking at how the Braves as a team hit versus left-handed pitching (10th in the majors, as opposed to 8th vs. right-handers). The Diamondbacks, incidentally, are 2nd in the majors facing lefties, at least in terms of OPS, which was nice to see. But Grant Holmes is not a lefty, so I scrolled down to see how we do against righties, and discovered the rather depressing fact that we rank 29th in the majors in OPS against right-handed pitching. I tend to try to look for something interesting that I could touch on and organize my thinking around, in case a Saturday game goes badly for us, as it feels like they often do.
Anyway. As it turns out, I didn't really need to, though it certainly didn't look like it was going to be that way in the early going. Holmes caught leadoff man Lars Nootbaar looking to start off the game, then got Corbin Carroll to pop out on the infield and Geraldo Perdomo to strike out swinging on three pitches to make short work of the Snakes in the top of the first. Everyone's favorite hologram then came on for the bottom of the frame and gave up hits to the first three batters he faced: a home run to absolutely straightaway center field to Ronald Acuña, Jr., followed by a double to Drake Baldwin and a maddening bloop single just behind shortstop that fell in and advanced Baldwin to third. ERod finally recorded his first out on an Ozzie Albies pop fly to shallow right, but Baldwin crossed the plate on a grounder to second. That wound up being all the damage done, but we were already in a hole and Rodriguez had already thrown 24 pitches. 2-0 Atlanta
Given our dismal 0 for 14 performance last night with runners in scoring position, and given how easily Holmes had disposed of the top of our lineup in the top of the first, it seemed like we were in a very deep hole. But the bottom two thirds of the lineup, perhaps shamed by yesterday's aforementioned dismal performance, were having none of it today. Gabriel Moreno drewa five-pitch walk to lead things off, and was promptly advanced to third by a Max Kepler double into the alley in right center that rolled to the wall. Nolan Arenado grounded out slowly to third, allowing Moreno to score. Then Tim Tawa grounded a single to left, driving in Kepler and tying things back up. But we weren't done! Ildemaro Vargas, starting at second today due to Ketel Marte's gimpy knee, rolled over to second for the second out, but then Ryan Waldschmidt hit an opposite field liner to right that dropped for a single and scored Tawa from second. 3-2 DBACKS
And it was basically off to the races after that. ERod surrendered a

The Nats got their second sweep of the season this weekend. Now they will look to build off that this week. That will be tough against a Cubs team that has been playing great baseball the past couple of months. Pete Crow-Armstrong in particular is performing at an absurd level.
With a lefty on the mound, the platoon heavy Nats have a lot of righties in the lineup. Dylan Crews will lead off while Andres Chaparro hits second and plays first. After not playing much this weekend, Andrew Pinckney will get the start in left field. Brady House and Harry Ford also return to the lineup. Jake Irvin will be on the mound tonight for his first home start since mid-May.
As mentioned, Pete Crow-Armstrong has been a monster at the top of the Cubs lineup. However, there is also plenty of depth as well. The likes of Seiya Suzuki and Alex Bregman feature in the middle of the order. Even at the bottom of the order the Cubs have an established veteran in Dansby Swanson. The Cubs have **** anese lefty Shota Imanaga on the mound.
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#armstrong #second

The first two games of this series against Atlanta, the NL East front-runner and a possible postseason opponent should the Yankees go deep in October, have gone almost as well as possible, considering the glaring holes in the New York lineup. Starting pitching has been a huge reason for that success. Max Fried and Gerrit Cole combined to allow two runs through 13.1 innings in the opening contests. Should similar events unfold today, a sweep is tantalizingly close.
The Yankees theoretically have the right guy on the mound to do it. Cam Schlittler is in the middle of a dominant season, one that has him at the head of the pack for the AL Cy Young (or at least neck-and-neck with Dylan Cease). He's admittedly in a bit of a rough spell, with a 3.86 ERA over his last seven starts. But in his final two starts of July, he allowed one run in 13.2 innings prior to his ****** py outing against St. Louis, so let's not fret he's turned into a pumpkin.
Anyone who has been watching Cam knows what to expect. He brings the heat. His four-seamer, cutter, and sinker account for 90 percent of his pitches and he has been overpowering with them. When he does sprinkle in the curve, it is overwhelmingly to lefties. If you are a right-handed hitter, prepare for the gas.
The Braves turn to Grant Homes to prevent the sweep. Holmes is in the middle of a perfectly cromulent season of his own, for what it is worth. Today should be a juxtaposition of styles. While Schlittler attacks with the No. v1, Holmes will throw the kitchen sink at Yankee hitters. Righties can expect to see his slider, four-seamer, and sinker. He attacks lefties, meanwhile, with the slider, four-seamer, cutter, curve, and changeup. All told, he throws the slider more than any other pitch so expect to see it frequently today.
With a righty on the mound, the Yankee lineup is littered with lefties. In fact, it's actually identical to the one that they deployed on Friday against Holmes' fellow righty, Tyler Mahle. Heliot Ramos and beloved rookie George Lombard, Jr. are the only righties starting today. Ben Rice, fresh off ending an 11-game homerless streak, hits second. The aforementioned Lombard, who went oppo taco for a homer of his own yesterday, hits seventh. Newly acquired Luis García Jr. hits cleanup. Perhaps unsurprisingly as a former division rival of Atlanta, García has the most familiarity with Holmes of any Yankee batter, the erstwhile Nat possessing a 4-for-10 line against Holmes, including a longball.

#holmes #atlanta

After that brutal road trip, these last two wins have been a massive boost for the Nats. Now they will look for only their second sweep of the season this afternoon against the Reds. The only other sweep was against another NL Central team in the Brewers, so maybe that is a good luck charm.
The Nats actually have the same 9 players in the lineup today. However, the order is mixed up a bit. Jose Tena will be up in the 3 spot, while Dylan Crews moves down to the 5 hole. Keibert Ruiz will also move down in the order. The Nats have a bullpen game today which will be started by Brad Lord, but all hands are on deck.
The Reds are making a couple changes with a righty opener on the mound. Hector Rodriguez will return to the lineup. Tyler Stephenson will also be the catcher in this one. Left handed JJ Bleday will move up in the lineup while righties like Eugenio Suarez and Dane Myers will move down. The veteran sinkerballer Brady Singer is on the **** p.
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#move #reds #only #order

For 114 games this season, Ozzie Albies has been in the starting lineup. Sometimes he's hit third, sometimes he's hit sixth, he had a long stretch hitting second… but he's been in there.
Tonight, for the first time in 2026, Albies won't be in there. He gives way to Mauricio Dubon, who will slide over to the keystone and bat fifth.
The rest of the lineup is more or less as expected, with the Braves loading up on lefties against right-hander Janson Junk, a day after they loaded up on righties against right-hander Eury Perez. Austin Riley remains set in the eight-hole, as the Braves double up on lefties after Dubon.
Given that Junk has already made one start against the Braves this year, there's no lack of familiarity here, though neither Drake Baldwin nor Jim Jarvis have stood in against him yet. And, really, we're not talking a lot of PAs for the other seven guys, as Mike Yastrzemski leads the way with nine. The collective line is just a .255 xwOBA in 34 PAs… but it does come with a .340 wOBA. Both Riley and Dominic Smith hit three-run homers off Junk earlier this year.
The Marlins still don't have a lineup, which always seems to be the case — they are definitely one of the latest lineup-posters in MLB and have been for quite a few years now. I'll update this if they ever put one out.

#junk #albies #sometimes #lefties

The Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, Aug. 4, were set to introduce outfielder Lars Nootbaar, whom they acquired in a trade-deadline deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
In exchange for the 28-year-old left-handed-hitting Nootbaar, the Diamondbacks gave up Double-A pitchers Daniel Eagen and Sandro Santana along with a player to be named later.
Nootbaar is in the lineup as the designated hitter for Tuesday night's game, hitting sixth.
Nootbaar is hitting just .234/.333/.354 overall but has a .258/.354/.383 line against right-handers. In his career, he owns a .764 OPS with a .341 on-base against righties. His season started late after he underwent surgeries on both of his heels last offseason.
"He missed a lot of time, I know that," manager Torey Lovullo said a day earlier. "So hopefully he hasn't hit his stride yet. And when he comes here, he will."

#diamondbacks #lars

The 2026 Trade Deadline has officially come and gone, and it's time for the immediate breakdown of the state of the Yankees following it. It's fair to say that most weren't projecting a flashy deadline for New York with a big-name blockbuster or anything of that sort, but it still comes as a surprise that at the end of the day they made only three moves: they traded Camilo Doval away to Pittsburgh, and then added Luis García Jr. alongside Heliot Ramos to bolster their lineup and provide some depth to the outfield while two of their stars are on the shelf.
Let's start with what they did accomplish before we get into what they failed to get. García is a legit A-plus addition offensively, leading the National League in slugging and coming in just behind Ben Rice for third overall across MLB. They also managed to pry him away from Washington for a basket of arms that they likely didn't have plans for this season and possibly even next, sending off their 14th-rated prospect Jack Cebert and their 25th-ranked prospect Ben Grable by MLB Pipeline's scouting, alongside Yovanny Cruz and Jake Bird. Cruz impressed in Triple-A this season and got a couple brief stints with the major league team but never seemed to be in the plans for a postseason bullpen, while Bird actively worked his way off the roster two years in a row after getting acquired at the deadline last season. Overall, that's a more than acceptable package to surrender in exchange for a bat that can mash against righties and bring some protection to Rice's spot in the order.
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García's defensive fit is a bit more murky, as he's a first baseman when the team already has Rice and Paul Goldschmidt working there. Goldschmidt, for all his early-season success, is still meant to be a backup for this team, and it looks as though he'll cede playing time to García at first while Rice will primarily play as the designated hitter.
What that group looks like once Giancarlo Stanton is back in the fold, who knows, but the Yankees can't plan on Stanton just sliding back in after missing most of the season and needing a bat in the worst way to stay afloat here and now. The Yankees will have García for the 2027 season as well, ****** uming there will be one amidst CBA negotiations and the very real threat of a lengthy lockout.

#season

Chase DeLauter has hit seven of his 11 home runs this year against righties on the road.
The MLB best home run bets are in a small funk. Since Bryce Harper and Ozzie Albies hit home runs on July 20, four straight MLB best home run bets have failed to deliver. So, the season's record for MLB best home run bets sits at 18-63, with three no-bets.
The record is rock-solid for a long-shot bet, like home run bets. As a result, anyone who has bet $100 on each of the touted home run props at the listed odds has profited $861. Again, home run bets are long-shot wagers, so losing streaks are part of the equation.
There are two appealing home run bets on today's MLB slate, though. A young left-handed-hitting outfielder in a plus matchup and homer-friendly ballpark and a young right-handed-hitting outfielder in a favorable matchup and homer-friendly ballpark have the most compelling home run bets on today's MLB slate.
Over 0.5 Home Runs (+338) at DraftKings Sportsbook

#home #bets #shot #young

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees finally added a catcher on Tuesday … via a minor league contract.
The team signed veteran backstop Christian Bethancourt and ***** igned him to Triple-A before beating the White Sox, 3-2, in Chicago. The move shouldn't have any impact on the Yankees' pursuit of a righty-swinging catcher prior to the Aug. 3 trade deadline, though options appear limited for them and a handful of other needy clubs.
While Bethancourt is a right-handed hitter, he's ideally just another experienced Triple-A depth catcher for the Yankees alongside J.C. Escarra, a lefty. That depth could prove useful down the road since big league backup Ali Sánchez is out of minor league options.
Sánchez, a right-handed hitter who crushed the first homer of his career in Tuesday's win, would likely be forced out if the Yankees trade for a catcher to pair with the lefty-swinging Austin Wells.
Bethancourt has played in parts of eight big league seasons with the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins and Chicago Cubs, but he hasn't appeared in an MLB game since 2024. He had a .775 OPS (.783 vs. righties, .736 vs. lefties) over 59 games for the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate this year.

#league #triple #minor #swinging

Zac Thornton continued his excellent start to his career with the Mets on Monday night against the Atlanta Braves, allowing three earned runs in 6.1 innings of an eventual 14-3 win for New York.
The left-hander is now 2-1 with a 2.43 ERA (0.91 WHIP) in five starts and 29.2 innings pitched this season, and although he's a top pitching prospect in the Mets organization and just 24 years old, Thornton's repertoire doesn't include the typical blistering fastball and wicked secondary pitch that most young pitching prospects have.
Instead, Thornton relies mostly on a cutter that averages around 87 mph and his two-seam fastball that sits between 89-92 mph while mixing in a variety of other pitches, none of which get above 94 mph on a consistent basis.
Interim manager Andy Green admitted that it's not "the traditional way" that most front-line starters attack hitters in this day and age of high velocity and spin rate, but the results so far speak for themselves.
"It's good stuff," Green said about Thornton's ******* ortment of pitches. "We live in a world where we don't define stuff as good unless it's 95+ anymore and that's unfortunate because the cutter really is tough for righties to see and react to and the more you have to think about pitches coming in on your hands, the more you're gonna pull off of everything else that works away from you.

#innings #pitching

The Orioles focus for much of today is on the future. They made a few draft picks, including seventh overall pick Eric Booth Jr., a high school outfielder from Mississippi. Hopefully a few of the youngsters they call on this weekend will turn into quality Orioles a few years from now.
The 2026 Orioles, however, are still hoping that they can win on the field right now. At seven games under .500, things aren’t great. But they have won two in a row, and are only three games out of the final wild card spot, which is currently occupied by the sub-.500 Seattle Mariners. The AL is so poor that a bad team (or two) is probably going to play meaningful October baseball.
In order for the Orioles to be that bad team, they need to beat up on the few teams that are currently below them in the standings. They did that in game one with the Royals on Friday. Another win tonight would make it three in a row.
The pitching matchup favors them. Kyle Bradish, when on, is a stud atop the rotation. Noah Cameron hasn’t been as good this year as he was in his debut last year. But he throws with his left hand, and sometimes that is enough to take the Orioles down.
Craig Albernaz mostly has his lineup for left-handed starters on display tonight. That means Coby Mayo and Tyler ONeill get prominent spots. But it’s the left-handed Jackson Holliday at second base rather than right-handed Blaze Alexander. Hollliday has been hot lately, and actually has better numbers again southpaws than he does righties. Alexander has been torching righties, not lefties. So, it’s a logical decision.

The Tigers had Monday off to catch up on their errands, and on Tuesday night they opened up a six-game home stand and a three-game series against the Don’t-Call-Them-Sacramento Athletics. Their opponents made a giant mistake which ended up being the difference in a 6-2 win.
Tarik Skubal made his twelfth start of the year. He’s been good since returning from the Injured List, but very uncharacteristically he’s given up quite a few more home runs. Heck, on June 24 at home against the Yankees, he gave up a trio of taters in a losing effort. His previous start, also against the Yankees but in New York, was more in line with what we’re expecting from him: six innings, one hit, one earned run, nine strikeouts. Who would show up tonight?
Facing the Tigers for the A’s was JT Ginn, whose name I like a lot. (His “JT” and mine stand for different things; his stands for “John Thomas” which, if you know your ****** ney rhyming slang, is pretty funny.) The right-hander’s left-right splits for batters has been vast: lefties are hitting .251 with a .740 OPS, righties are .169/.520. That’s why AJ Hinch stacked his lineup with lefties…
…and it paid off in the bottom of the first: Kevin McGonigle walked and Colt Keith followed with a long home run to right for a 2-0 lead.
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This week's two-start pitcher list lacks a headliner, but it deserves credit for being a deep group with 5-7 viable options, depending on a manager's league format and tolerance for risk. The one-start list is spectacular this week, as there are nearly 10 members who can be started with enthusiasm. On the hitting side, the Brewers and Cardinals are about to embark on a rare eight-game week, which makes their players easy streaming targets.
J.T. Ginn, Athletics, 43% (@ DET, @ CWS): Thanks to a heavy groundball lean, Ginn has been one of baseball's most consistent starters over the past two months (2.48 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). Fantasy managers shouldn't confuse the right-hander's consistency with dominance, as over that stretch he has logged a mediocre 59:27 K:BB ratio. Still, consistent success is good enough to make Ginn a strong option during a two-start week with two road outings. As is the case with many of his teammates, Ginn has been much more successful when working away from his hitter-friendly home park (2.31 ERA).
Ian Seymour, Rays, 33% (vs. NYY, vs. SEA): Since moving into a role as a starter/bulk reliever who follows an opener, Seymour has produced a 2.52 ERA and 0.76 WHIP. The southpaw has also logged an impressive 27:4 K:BB ratio over those five outings, while enjoying the benefits of good fortune (.158 BABIP). **** uming that he handles the Judge-less Yankees in his initial start, Seymour could have a dominant week that will include a start against a Mariners lineup that sits last in OPS vs. lefties.
Joey Cantillo, Guardians, 47% (@ MIN, @ MIA): Cantillo got his season back on track by lowering his walk rate in June before issuing five free passes on July 1. The southpaw collects just enough whiffs (8.8 K/9 rate) to be an effective starter when his control skills are respectable, and this week he will face two offenses that are in the middle of the pack in terms of walk rate. Fantasy managers should view Cantillo as a boom-or-bust option who can be deployed by managers who are not overly concerned with their WHIP.
Michael McGreevy, Cardinals, 31% (vs. MIL, vs. ATL): The combination of strong control skills (2.1 BB/9 rate) and good luck (.252 BABIP) has helped McGreevy to be a ratios **** et (3.12 ERA, 1.11 WHIP) despite poor swing-and-miss abilities (5.7 K/9 rate). The right-hander has been terrific at home this season (1.96 ERA), which helps him to earn a lineup spot despite having a start against a Brewers offense that ranks sixth in OPS vs. righties.

This week’s list of two-start pitchers has three headliners but falls off quickly after that point. In fact, fantasy managers will may want to leave all of the additional options on waivers and instead focus on streaming the top one-start options.
On the hitting side, the Rockies have multiple players who should be added and streamed this week.
Griffin Jax, Rays, 41% (@ KC, @ HOU): Moving Jax to the rotation has been a tremendous success for the Rays, as the right-hander has posted a 2.40 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP across 11 starts. His ceiling is capped by his inability to work deep into games, but Jax still has proven his win potential by logging five innings in six of his past eight starts. The Royals and Astros have both been average against righties, and Kansas City has been one of baseball’s worst offenses on the road. The matchups are good enough to make Jax the top option in an shallow group.
Sean Burke, White Sox, 42% (@ BAL, @ CLE): After enduring some inconsistencies during May and the first half of June, Burke ironed out the rough spots when he allowed two runs over 13.2 innings while posting a 14:2 K:BB ratio in his past two starts. The 26-year-old has been effective overall this year (3.71 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 9.0 K/9 rate) and can be used in all formats for a week with reasonable matchups. The start against the Guardians is especially enticing, since the team has struggled against righties and is missing centerpiece José Ramírez.
Zebby Matthews, Twins, 16% (@ HOU, @ NYY): Matthews has endured two seven-run disasters while tossing a quality start in his other six appearances. The right-hander is ****** e to the long ball (1.8 HR/9 rate), which is the only blemish on an otherwise solid skill set. Matthews would normally be atop this list but facing the clubs that rank first (Yankees) and fourth (Astros) in home runs makes him riskier than usual.

After stumbling to a series-opening loss to the Red Sox on Thursday, the Yankees found themselves completely shut down by Payton Tolle as the Red Sox jumped on a struggling Will Warren to clinch a breezy 6-1 victory. They've guaranteed themselves at least a series split; now it's up to the Bombers to claw back the final two decisions. The effort will begin with Gerrit Cole on the ***** p.
Like the Yankee lineup, Cole is looking for a mulligan. He struggled through 4,1 innings as a meek Tiger offense awoke for five runs on nine hits against him. While there were flashes of the usual Cole between the loud noises, he was not able to execute big pitches in key spots. The Red Sox offense has been doing their homework–they have not looked overawed by the task of facing Yankee pitching in this series.
Cole hasn't pitched at Fenway Park in nearly four years; you have to go back to September 13, 2022, in which he struck out 10 batters but allowed four runs in a no-decision. He has not had success in Boston in his career; his career ERA there is 5.52, and that's before you include his two postseason losses there. But every start is a blank slate.
Jake Bennett is another of the Red Sox' seemingly limitless supply of talented young left-handers: the third New York will face in this series. Bennett took the rotation spot of the struggling Brayan Bello, and has turned in a solid 3.71 ERA in his first five turns. Last time out he dazzled with six scoreless innings against the Rockies, but Boston got walked off in the ninth inning on a triple by Jake McCarthy. Bennett features a pair of fastballs and a changeup in addition to three other pitches he sprinkles in every so often. He attacks same-siders with the sinker but favors a more balanced three-pitch approach against righties.
Ben Rice draws back into the starting lineup today; he'll bat second after Paul Goldschmidt. Amed Rosario hits third and returns to third base. Jazz Chisholm Jr. will hit the bench today–José Caballero will man the keystone. Max Schuemann will play in center field with Cody Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez in the outfield corners. Austin Wells will catch for Cole.

Ever since Giancarlo Stanton went down with an injury and Paul Goldschmidt found himself in the starting lineup pretty much every day, the Yankees have had a fairly consistent strategy atop the order. Against right-handed pitchers, Trent Grisham would lead off, and against southpaws, Goldschmidt would. In fact, between Stanton’s injury back on April 24th and Grisham’s injury this past weekend, the Yankees deviated from this pattern just four times, with Ben Rice sitting atop the order on May 16th, May 20th, May 21st, and June 2nd.
Early indications suggest that the Yankees might opt to have Rice lead off against righties, while continuing to bat him second against lefties; indeed, this is exactly what they did last Saturday, the team’s first day without Grisham. I would like to make the case, however, for another batter to sit atop the order: Jasson Domínguez.
Back when he was a top prospect, Yankees fans dreamed of the Martian as a middle-of-the-order bat. During his 2023 cup of coffee, that seemed accurate, as he hit four home runs in just eight games before requiring Tommy John surgery. Aside from that stretch, however, the prodigious power he demonstrated as a 16-year-old has not really materialized at the Major League level, and while there’s still time for that to come around — he is, after all, just 23 years old — that is not the player he is today.
The traits that have developed, though, suggest to me that he could be an effective bat at the top of the order. In 429 plate appearances last season, Domínguez worked 41 walks, good for a 9.6 walk rate that ranked in the 67th percentile. Although he has not yet demonstrated that so far this season, this walk rate matches what ****** ysts have said about him during his years as a prospect: for example, MLB’s top prospect lists said prior to the 2024 season that “he draws more than his share of walks.” And while he’s not been barreling the ball as of yet, he has cut down his strikeout rates both in the majors (14.6 percent, down from 26.8 percent last season) and in the minors (16.1 percent when in Scranton).
Even if it hasn’t resulted in real production as of yet, there’s quite a bit of red on that Statcast profile. Batting in front of a hitter like Ben Rice, the Martian would see a lot of pitches to hit, as teams will want to avoid putting runners on for the Yankees’ first baseman/designated hitter. Even though our sample size is still too small to say with certainty that Domínguez will see positive regression, they provide some reason for optimism that he can at least get on base at a decent clip while providing some power in the gaps and making some plays on the basepaths with his speed — which is exactly what the Yankees could use as a table setter with Grisham out so many hitters out.

NEW YORK — With the Yankees facing Blue Jays southpaw Patrick Corbin and the lefty-swinging Spencer Jones out of the lineup on Sunday in Toronto, Aaron Boone was asked if the young outfielder could get some chances against left-handed pitches moving forward.
“Yeah, I think so,” the manager replied. “I’m sure at some point I’ll do that.”
That point did not come on Wednesday, however, as Jones, who went 1-for-2 with two walks, a strikeout and his first home run at Yankee Stadium in Tuesday’s win, was out of the lineup with the White Sox starting Anthony Kay, another left-hander. Boone said he debated giving Jones a go before the Yankees beat Chicago, 10-5, but Kay has dominated left-handed hitters this season, holding them to a .143 average and a .482 OPS before Wednesday’s game.
Jones, meanwhile, has only gotten eight big league plate appearances against lefties. He entered Wednesday’s game hitless with two walks and four strikeouts against them. He struggled against left-handers at Triple-A this year as well, hitting just .208 with a .663 OPS.
“It really came down to Kay just being so good against lefties, and he’s had some struggles against righties,” Boone explained. “Pretty drastic, pretty big split. So it was definitely a game going into this week that I was going to have as much of a righty presence as I probably could have. But yeah, I did consider [Jones].”

We are less than a month away from the most delightful, awe-inspiring, low-stakes, good-natured event on the baseball calendar: the Home Run Derby.
This year, MLB’s smorgasbord of big flies will take place July 13 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, home to the 2026 All-Star festivities. Unfortunately, last year’s dinger champ, Cal Raleigh, likely won’t be around to defend his ****** le, as the Mariners’ catcher has endured an injury-riddled first half.
As of this moment, none of the eight Derby contenders has been announced, so let’s take this opportunity to craft ourselves a dream field. A good Derby needs diversity: righties and lefties, moon shots and laserbeams, heroes and heels, youngsters and geezers, innocence and experience. Something for everybody, everybody for somebody.
To be clear, the following octet is an unrealistic, pie-in-the-sky hope. Some of these sluggers will forgo participation due to injury, fear of injury or, in Shohei Ohtani’s case, the pursuit of a Cy Young.
But let’s at least dream about the world we want to live in.

Let's go with a repeat for the first time this season. Scott was first recommended in this **** e on Apr. 28, when he was coming off a miserable season debut and was three-percent rostered in Yahoo. His subsequent four starts were decent, but they didn't produce much fantasy value, as he threw only 18 1/3 innings between them and recorded no victories. However, his last three times out have seen pitch 5 2/3 scoreless innings twice and allowing one run over five innings once. He's also picked up his first two wins in that span. He's currently sporting a 2.50 ERA and a 26 percent strikeout rate.
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Scott, who missed last year after UCL surgery, has returned with a little extra velocity this season, averaging 95.5 mph with his fastball. He seems like he should be particularly tough on righties with his big sweeper, but he's had terrific success against lefties thus far, limiting them to a .179 average and no homers in 84 at-bats. His cutter has been a factor there, but really, no one is doing much damage against his fastball. He's given up a total of five singles and five doubles on the pitch through eight starts.
Eventually, lefties are going to have more success against Scott. His subpar splitter and lack of a traditional changeup will turn into an issue, and he'll start giving up some homers. However, he should remain a legitimate middle-of-the-rotation starter with some extra fantasy value in a good situation in Queens. Even in 10-team leagues, he should be rostered at this point.
Slated to play regularly in the Diamondbacks outfield at the beginning of the year, Lawlar lasted all of six games before a HBP left him with a fractured wrist. He's getting close to returning now, having gone 2-for-8 in three games in the Arizona Complex League and 3-for-11 (with all of the hits going for extra bases) through three games with Triple-A Reno on a rehab **** ignment. Does he still have a spot awaiting him?