Beck Way heads to IL with lower back issue

Way has had a solid season in Triple-A, posting a 4.50 ERA in 30 innings with a 42/10 K/BB ratio. He came over from the Yankees in 2022 as part of the Andrew Benintendi trade and will make his MLB debut if he gets into a game.

While Jac Caglianone is the biggets name on the list of non-roster invitees, Cross is intriguing in his own right. The 23-year-old outfielder — and ninth overall pick from the 2022 draft class — slashed .261/.342/.428 with 15 homers, 59 RBI and 30 stolen bases (32 attempts) in 101 games at Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2024. There’s a good chance that we see him in Kansas City at some point during the 2025 season and his speed would give him some appeal from a fantasy perspective.

Beck Way was sent from the Yankees organization to the Royals in July 2022 in exchange for outfielder Andrew Benintendi. The 24-year-old posted a 6.67 ERA and 1.77 WHIP across 79 2/3 innings at Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Way was a fourth-round pick in 2022 who has posted a slash of 3.73 in 15 starts with an 80/26 K/BB ratio in his 72 1/3 innings. He’s a 22-year-old right-hander -- 23 on August 6 -- who has a plus fastball and slider with a useable change for good measure. He projects as a backend starter at the highest level, but the stuff could play up in relief.

Beck allowed four hits with a walk. The right-hander has been consistently inconsistent as of late, as two of his last four starts have seen him fire five-inning shutouts. The other two have seen him record a total of 10 outs and give up 11 runs. That helps explain why the 2020 fourth-round pick has a 5.40 ERA, but a 44/12 K/BB ratio helps tell you that there’s been better with the bitter. Way has two plus pitches in his fastball and slider, and he also has made gains with a change that should be an average pitch. The issue -- unsurprisingly -- is command, and it may cause him to move to the bullpen someday. The Yankees will give him every chance to start, however, and if the command can reach average, he has a chance for some fantasy relevance.