Dylan Cease named AL All-Star starting pitcher

Thorpe will be pitching in his first game action since July 31, 2024. The 25-year-old former top pitching prospect has been working his way back after undergoing Tommy John surgery last March. He’ll require several weeks without any setbacks to build up his stamina and pitch count before he’s remotely close to making it back to Chicago. There’s a chance he’s ready to contribute for the ascending White Sox at some point in the later stages of the second half.

Lebron is arguably the best athlete and most polarizing prospect in his entire draft class with the Reds going slightly above slot to sign him for $5 million. There are some legitimate concerns regarding the 21-year-old shortstop’s hit tool leave, which leaves him with one of the widest ranges of potential outcomes. If everything clicks, he possesses some of the loudest fantasy-relevant tools in the group, pairing above-average power with elite speed. He’s the type of talent that fantasy managers need to be closely monitoring in dynasty formats during the early stages of his professional career.

Gridlinger heads to Los Angeles on a full-slot deal worth $5.88 million following an impressive showing as a two-way prep star in California. The 17-year-old is pretty much all projection at this stage in his development, but his left-handed swing makes it easy to envision him growing into plus raw power. He also flashed mid-90’s fastball velocity on the hill. It’s a bit unclear how the Angels will proceed with his development, but he’s a fascinating talent and figures to open his career on a two-way trajectory. We’ve seen this story before in Los Angeles.

Allen will serve as Cleveland’s 27th player for the twin bill before heading back to Triple-A Columbus. The soft-tossing 27-year-old southpaw fared well during his lone appearance in the majors earlier this season, tossing four scoreless frames and striking out seven against the Nationals back on May 25. He’s not a recommended streaming option for fantasy managers based on his career track record.

Meyer had his final first-half start skipped for workload reasons and he declined to pitch in the All-Star Game for the same reasons. The 27-year-old former top pitching prospect finally delivered his long-awaited sustained breakthrough with a phenomenal first half, pitching to a 9-1 record with a sparkling 2.58 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 116/38 K/BB ratio across a career-high 108 innings over 19 starts. There are zero physical concerns for Meyer as he opens the second half with a tough road matchup in Milwaukee.

Walcott returned to action at Double-A after getting a pair of games under his belt earlier this week in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. The 20-year-old prodigy missed the first couple months of the season recovering from an internal brace procedure on his right elbow back in late February. He’s one of the top fantasy prospects in baseball and offers a significant power ceiling for a middle infielder.

Báez went deep for the first time since a two-homer explosion back on July 2. It was his 29th round-tripper of the year. The 23-year-old’s off-the-charts power/speed combination gives him a chance to be the most impactful fantasy prospect to receive the call to the majors in the second half. There are some lingering swing-and-miss issues that are probably the biggest reason why he’s still in the minors. He should have an immediate impact once he is promoted, which makes Báez a worthwhile stash candidate in all fantasy leagues.

Lombard went deep in his first contest back at Triple-A since June 16. The 21-year-old top prospect wound up missing just over one month recovering from a pair of sprained fingers on his throwing hand. There’s a real possibility he gets the call to New York at some point in the second half with neither Anthony Volpe or José Caballero having a firm grip on the starting shortstop role. It’ll likely come down to whether the Yankees are able to address the position at the trade deadline with a veteran stopgap before they decide whether Lombard is ready. He certainly is from a defensive standpoint, but he could use to extra time to continue his development at the plate on the doorstep of the big leagues.

Robert figures to be getting close to returning to New York’s outfield mix following his seventh rehab contest in the upper minors since June 30. The 28-year-old is likely going to split time with rookie standout A.J. Ewing in center field and could easily wind up on the move before next month’s trade deadline. He played just 24 games before hitting the injured list with lumbar spin disk herniation in late April.

Martínez started in left field and was 0-for-2 before the contest was suspended due to rain. The 24-year-old corner outfielder is working his way back from a non-displaced left foot fracture that put him on the injured list on June 16. He’ll require at least a couple games to get back up to speed following the extended layoff, but he should make it back to Cleveland’s lineup by late July.