MLB Player News

Neither of Busch’s first two hits were well struck, but the third was a sharp opposite-field liner. With the injured Tyler Austin no longer a threat, Busch figures to start against most lefties, adding to his fantasy value even if he’s dropped from the leadoff spot in those situations.

Hernández hit two home runs on Sunday and then was not in the lineup on Tuesday as the Marlins struggle to deal with their outfield surplus. Hernández has started mainly against lefties, with Griffin Conine and/or Owen Caissie heading to the bench, which makes sense because Hernández has been far better against lefties, with an .870 OPS compared to a .739 mark against righties. On Wednesday, it will be Conine on the bench despite the Marlins facing right-haner George Kirby.

Benson was sent to the minors on June 23rd after hitting .188/.310/.333 in 114 plate appearances this season with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate. He was then designated for assignment about a week later to make room on the 40-man roster and will now return to Louisville.

Bowman started this season with the Twins and pitched to a 1.69 ERA and a 25/6 K/BB ratio in 21 1/3 innings. However, he triggered an opt-out clause in his contract and was granted his release. He then signed with the Blue Jays, where he posted a 10.38 ERA in 8 2/3 innings at Triple-A and was released again. Now he’s back with the Twins in his fifth stint with the team.

Another exciting addition to the contest, which already features Ben Rice and Junior Caminero. In his first full MLB season, Caglianone is hitting .258/.322/.455 with a 14 home runs and 33 RBIs in 85 games. However, his 14 home runs have averaged 418 feet in length, which is tied for the best average in the majors this season. He will be the fifth Royals player to complete in the Home Run Derby, and the first since Bobby Witt Jr. was the runner-up back in 2024.

Since coming off the injured list on June 8th, Muncy has hit .210/.296/.387 with three home runs, 13 RBI, and a 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 20 games. He has a 9.5 percent barrel rate over that stretch, but is not making consistent enough contact, and with Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson back off the IL, the Athletics had no room for Muncy. They will likely move forward with Zack Gelof as their primary third baseman.

In 24 hours we went from hearing that Sodterstrom hadn’t done any baseball activities, to hearing he could be back soon, to actually having him back from the injured list. We have no idea how healthy he truly is, but this Athletics lineup could certainly use him. Soderstrom is one of our favorite picks for a strong second half surge.

The Giants have not listed a starting pitcher for Thursday’s game, but have starters listed for every other game this week, so it appears that Whisenhunt could get a start at home against the Rockies on Thursday. In his lone MLB start this season, the left-hander allowed two runs on six hits in five innings against the Braves. He doesn’t have much strikeout upside, but he could be a deep league streamer in a good matchup this week.

The plan is for the left-handed reliever to have a PRP injection and be reevaluated in a few weeks. Gage has a 5.70 ERA in 27 1/3 innings for the Giants this season, but has a 3.69 ERA in 78 career MLB innings.

In a social media post, Verlander, who was given a legacy spot in this year’s All-Star game, said that he always wanted “the game to tell [him] when it was time” to retire and “over the least several months, [he] realized that the time has come. Verlander has pitched just 3 2/3 innings this season while dealing with hip and hamstring issues. The 43-year-old currently has a 3.33 career ERA and 266 wins in 556 MLB starts. He will look to add to those numbers down the stretch for the Tigers this season before calling it a career.

Montgomery allowed five hits and struck out three while not walking a single batter. He threw 26 of his 40 pitches for strikes and had a 32 percent whiff rate and 33 percent CSW. He sat 90.7 mph on his sinker, which is down a little over one mph from where we saw him in 2024 and down almost two mph from his great season in 2023. His breaking pitches are also all down in velocity, so this could simply be a veteran who is not letting it loose as he works his way back from a long absence. We should see something closer to full strength for Montgomery in his next few starts as he gets closer to a shot in the Rangers’ rotation. There’s a chance that he’s back by August.