MLB Player News

Langford missed just the minimum 10-day stint on the injured list with his oblique strain. He’s back and he’ll hit sixth and play left field against the Padres on Saturday. The 23-year-old has been inconsistent in his sophomore campaign, but offers enough fantasy upside that he should be added back to lineups in the majority of leagues.

Stanton had one of the two Yankees hits on the day and their only run. He now has four home runs and 14 RBI in 21 games this season. He also continues to strike out over 30 percent of the time, as he has in basically every season since 2021. The Yankees continue to play him around four times a week, which makes it hard to roster him in weekly lineup leagues, but he has value in daily moves leagues or OPS leagues.

He also struck out just one while walking three and throwing 52 of his 88 pitches for strikes on the day. Warren didn’t have his best command on the day, posting just a 49 percent zone rate overall while inducing only seven whiffs on 43 swings for a 16 percent whiff rate and 18 percent CSW. The rookie will end the first half with a 4.63 ERA in 95 1/3 innings; however, his strikeout rate and 3.63 SIERA suggest that a better second half could be in order if he can continue to make his command more precise.

Imanaga was tremendous in this one, walking just one batter and striking out six while needing 91 pitches to get through seven innings. His splitter and sweeper combined for eight whiffs on 23 swings (34.7 percent whiff rate) while posting a 27 percent CSW on the day. The left-hander has been great when healthy for Chicago this season and will take a 2.65 ERA into the break. He’s a fantasy ace.

The 37-year-old left-hander now has 17 saves and a 1.18 ERA in a tremendous first half. He’ll represent Boston in the All-Star game and is becoming increasingly likely to finish the season with the Red Sox and as the team’s closer as the season goes on.

Rafaela broke open a 2-1 game with a 352-foot home run in the sixth inning that left the bat at 99.3 mph. The 24-year-old now has 14 home runs and 48 RBI to go along with a .271/.314/.483 slash line in the first half. Rafaela was a top 40 overall prospect in baseball coming into last season and had some good moments, but struggled with consistency and wore down as the season went on. He came into spring training this year with far better plate discipline, and we’re seeing a legitimate breakout of a young star here. Kudos to you if you got early shares in fantasy leagues this year.

Mangum had an 87 mph double and a 64 mph infield single, but that’s kind of his game. He won’t hit the ball overly hard, but he is really hard to strike out and can fly on the bases. If you’re looking for batting average and speed in deeper formats, Mangum can be a solid addition while hitting in the middle of the Rays’ order.

Things were going fine for Pepiot, who had allowed just one unearned run on four hits through his first five innings. In the sixth, he allowed three hits and three earned runs, including a two-run homer to Ceddanne Rafaela. The right-hander struck out three and walked one on the day, while posting a 14 percent whiff rate and 24 percent CSW. Some of that lack of swing-and-miss is on Pepiot, who didn’t locate his slider or changeup well, but the Red Sox offense has just been really tough to get out lately. Pepiot will now take a 3.38 ERA into the All-Star Break.

Bello has now allowed three runs or fewer in every start since May 18th and has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts. He was efficient again on Sunday, throwing 73 of his 105 pitches for strikes and not walking a single batter while striking out five. The 26-year-old continues to morph into a predominantly fastball pitcher with 80 of his 105 pitches being either a four-seamer, sinker, or cutter. He only had two total whiffs on 12 swings on his changeup and sweeper, so the secondaries remain inconsistent, which keeps Bello from being a true difference-maker in fantasy leagues. However, his floor is considerably higher with this new approach and high groundball rate, and he should be rostered in most leagues.

It sounds like the decision was out of an abundance of caution after Abrams suffered the minor injury during his pregame routine, which led to his removal from Sunday’s lineup shortly before first pitch. There should be some additional clarity on his status following the contest.

Cruz takes a seat for Sunday’s first-half finale after leaving Saturday’s game with a hip flexor issue. The 26-year-old is slated to compete in the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday, so his absence is likely for precautionary reasons to ensure that he’s ready to compete.