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    Kirby Yates closes out Twins for third save

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    LAA Relief Pitcher #39
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    Kirby Yates allowed one hit in a scoreless inning to earn the save against the Twins on Friday.

    It’s been a bit difficult for Yates to get in a groove since very few save opportunities come up for the Angels. Still, he locked this one down and has only allowed one run over his last 12 appearances. It’s been easy to overlook that he’s actually having a fine season with a 3.00 ERA across 24 appearances, but just three saves.
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  • LAA Relief Pitcher #39
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    Yates came into a tie game in the ninth and gave up a groundball single, a sac bunt and then a long single off the wall in left to end the game. It was a tough break for a reliever who has been very good of late with little to show for it. It was the first run he’d allowed since June 22 and the first earned run since June 8. He’s still a candidate for saves in the Angels’ pen, though he has earned just two so far.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #39
    The 39-year-old Yates had 41 saves for the Padres in 2019, 33 for the Rangers in 2024 and now 26 in his other 10 seasons as a big leaguer. He should stay in the mix for saves in Anaheim, but his velocity is down 1.5-2 mph from last year and about three mph from his prime, making him difficult to rely on.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #39
    Yates was pitching with the Angels down 6-0 in the ninth, so this was hardly a crucial appearance for the 39-year-old. Still, it was nice to see him average 91 mph with his fastball for just the second time this season and fan three batters for the first time. His average fastball tonight was still down 1.7 mph from last year, and there’s little reason to expect big things going forward. However, there’s no one in the Angels pen who is clearly a better bet than Yates at the moment.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #39
    Brought in with a 4-3 lead, Yates blew the save after Jeremy Peña singled, stole second base and scored on a Christian Walker single. After the game, manager Kurt Suzuki said Yates was closing tonight because that’s what the Angels signed him to do in the offseason, which was pretty amusing because Suzuki made no such claim while declaring the ninth an open competition this spring. Signing Yates didn’t seem like such a bad idea then, but his velocity has been down about two mph from last year. Maybe he’ll get a little better than his current 5.23 ERA, but it’s hard to be overly optimistic.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #39
    Yates allowed a single, a double and a sac fly to put the Rockies on top. Actually, all five batters he faced had hard-hit balls against him. It’d be fun to see Yates step up as the Angels’ closer, but the stuff just isn’t there at this point. The hardest of his six fastballs tonight checked in at 91.2 mph. The Rockies swung at seven of his 10 pitches and made contact every time.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #39
    Yates failed in his first chance for a save with the Angels on Wednesday, but he was able to convert this one without issue. The 39-year-old didn’t allow a hit, and he struck out a batter while throwing 9-of-11 pitches for strikes. Yates has plenty of closing experience, but it’s tough to trust him even before you consider how bad the Angels are.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #39
    Yates was pitching with a lead for the first time in five appearances since coming off the IL, though that had less to do with his status than the fact that the Angels have done little but trail lately. Up 5-3, they went to Ryan Zerferjahn in the seventh tonight, only to watch him hit back-to-back batters with one out. Sam Bachman came in and, after allowing one inherited runner to score, kept the A’s scoreless through the eighth. That led to Yates taking over in a one-run game, but McNeil sent a ball 364 feet down the right-field line to even things up. The Angels ended up losing in 10. Yates has allowed three runs in five innings since coming off the IL, and his velocity is down a bit more than two mph from last year. He’s probably not going to run away with the closer’s role in Anaheim.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #39
    It’s theoretically possible that Yates takes over the closing role in Los Angeles considering Ryan Zeferjahn and Sam Bachman appears to be the only obstacles standing in his way at the moment. However, he got hit hard in a couple rehab outings where his fastball velocity was down considerably. A wait and see approach seems like the correct move here, but Yates is probably worth a speculative roster spot in extremely deep leagues where saves are hard to find on the waiver wire.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #39
    Yates threw 11 of his 16 pitches for strikes, but both of the hits off of him were hard hits. He was also sitting 90.2 mph on his four-seam fastball, which is 2.6 mph down from where he was last season. It’s still early in his rehab, but he may need a few more outings to get back to a place where we can consider using him in fantasy leagues.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #39
    Yates is trending towards a return as Jordan Romano has given up five earned runs in his last two outings. There’s no guarantee that Yates will see closer work, but he’s certainly got a cleaner recent track record than Romano despite 2025’s 5.23 ERA in 50 games out of the Dodgers pen. He may be worth stashing in deeper leagues for those looking for saves.

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    Jordan Walker won the 2026 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby.

    Walker entered the event as one of the field’s biggest underdogs, but looked cool, calm and collected from the outset, launching 19 home runs on just 27 swings, including 13 in the first round, to cruise into the finals. He then eliminated one of the favorites, Junior Caminero, to earn a showdown with Kyle Schwarber in an electric final round. The 24-year-old burgeoning star went deep on each of his final six swings to become the first Cardinals hitter in franchise history to win the Home Run Derby. It was an unbelievable performance.
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    Kyle Schwarber finished as the runner-up in the 2026 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby.

    Schwarber’s defining characteristic is an uncanny ability to thrive under pressure, somehow always finding his swing and locking in on the biggest stages in baseball. The 33-year-old entered as the overwhelming favorite in his home ballpark and managed to overcome a frosty start to narrowly advance to the semifinals before outlasting former teammate Willson Contreras to reach the final round. He homered on seven of his first 10 swings in the finals and finished with a whopping 11 on 15 swings. It took a herculean effort from Cardinals emerging star Jordan Walker, who homered on each of his final six swings to pull off an incredible comeback.
  • SD Left Fielder #38
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    Padres signed OF Dustin Harris to a minor league contract.

    Harris heads to Triple-A El Paso as extra outfield depth for San Diego. The 27-year-old has hit .233 (10-for-43) with five homers in 52 plate appearances across 17 games between the White Sox and Astros this season.
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    White Sox signed first-round pick SS Roch Cholowsky.

    Cholowsky receives a $10.35 million signing bonus, which represents a roughly $1 million under-slot deal, as the top-overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. The 21-year-old was universally regarded as the most polished collegiate shortstop in at least a decade with a real chance to be above average both at the plate and in the field. From a fantasy standpoint, he projects as a strong contributor in the power department with enough hit tool projection to envision a respectable batting average. He won’t help at all in the stolen base department, which caps his realistic upside. Still, he’s a phenomenal prospect with a chance to bolster Chicago’s rapidly improving young nucleus as one one of their franchise cornerstones.
  • LAD Relief Pitcher #85
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    Dodgers sent LHP Charlie Barnes outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

    Barnes has been removed from Los Angeles’ 40-man roster after surrendering seven runs over seven innings during a bulk relief appearance back on July 1. The 30-year-old has allowed 11 runs over 12 innings in the big leagues this season.
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    Orioles optioned LHP Nick Raquet to Triple-A Norfolk.

    Raquet heads back to the minors after allowing three runs over 3 2/3 innings across four appearances for the Orioles. The 30-year-old lefty has made six relief appearances in the big leagues over the last two years.
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    The Brewers and Jacob Misiorowski haven’t discussed a long-term contract extension, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.

    Misiorowski has made the leap from hard-throwing phenom to top-of-the-rotation force within the last few months, posting a microscopic 1.62 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 167/27 K/BB ratio across 111 innings over 18 first-half starts. The 24-year-old flame-thrower won’t reach free agency until 2032, but with more teams prioritizing long-term extensions with their top young players, it feels a bit surprising that there haven’t even been preliminary talks yet. Misiorowski is slated to resume throwing this week after being scratched from his final first-half outing due to fatigue. It doesn’t appear to be a serious concern, but fantasy managers should continue monitoring his status coming out of the All-Star break.
  • FA 3rd Baseman #31
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    Rangers released INF Jonah Bride.

    Bride has gotten into 214 games in the big leagues between three different organizations since 2022. He was in Rangers camp as a non-roster invitee this spring. The 30-year-old has been cut loose after batting .271/.389/.418 with nine homers and eight steals in 357 plate appearances over 80 games for Triple-A Round Rock. He should be able to latch on elsewhere as organizational depth.
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    Cole Ragans underwent season-ending UCL repair surgery earlier this month.

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  • ATL Right Fielder #13
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    Ronald Acuña Jr. (hamstring) went 0-for-3 with a strikeout on Monday in a minor league rehab game in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.

    Acuña played five innings in right field during his first rehab contest. The 28-year-old fantasy superstar appears on track to return to Atlanta’s lineup following the All-Star break. He’s been brought along slowly in his recovery from a left hamstring issue that has forced him to the injured list on a pair of occasions since early May. He’ll get in a handful of additional rehab contests in the Florida Coast League before his next steps come into focus.