William Contreras sits for first half finale

Smith began the season as the White Sox’s Opening Day starter and was demoted to Triple-A after only three starts. He then suffered a rotator cuff strain at the end of April and has been sidelined ever since. While a return to the Triple-A rotation doesn’t mean he’s close to a big league return, getting the 26-year-old healthy and effective would be a big win for the White Sox as they enter the playoff race.

Ayers has enjoyed a breakout season in his second full professional year. He hit six home runs in 11 games at High-A and was immediately promoted to Double-A, where he hit .304/.417/.591 with 16 home runs, 48 RBI, and three steals in 65 games. That came with a 15.1 percent walk rate. Ayers was old for the level at Double-A, so we’ll need to see if he can keep it up in Triple-A, but the power in his bat looks very real.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.