MLB Player News

Horwitz scored three runs for the first time this season. He’s far from a prototypical leadoff man with his fourth-percentile sprint speed, but he’s hitting .281 with a .389 OBP this season. He’s even getting the job done in limited action against lefties, amassing a .383 OBP in 47 plate appearances.

Rangel allowed five runs in four innings in a loss to the Mets on Sunday. The Phillies needed to send him down to get another fresh arm up in the bullpen. The Phillies will have to decide on their fifth starter on Saturday against the Yankees.

Gray was hitting .232/.271/.333 in 182 plate appearances for the Twins. It seems like Ryan Kreidler will be the primary shortstop in Minnesota for the time being.

Buxton was placed on the injured list on July 7th, so he didn’t miss much time with a hip strain. The Twins are four games out of the AL Central lead and in the thick of the AL Wild Card hunt, so they clearly wanted their star back in the lineup as soon as possible.

There was some lingering uncertainty whether deGrom would be ready to take the ball coming out of the All-Star break after being scratched from his final first-half outing with a mild glute strain. Fantasy managers should keep a close eye on his second-half debut to ensure that his effectiveness hasn’t been adversely impacted. He’s probably going to be on a shorter pitch count in this outing as well. The 38-year-old veteran is in line for a two-start week with a home matchup against the Mariners on tap for Sunday.

Misiorowski was originally expected to take the ball for the middle game of three-game set against the Mets, but he was bumped up to take the ball for Monday’s showdown in Milwaukee over the weekend. The dynamic 24-year-old flame-thrower will be making his first start since July 7 after having his final first-half outing scratched due to fatigue. The decision sets up a two-start week with an extremely favorable showdown against the Rockies at home on Sunday. All indications are that the Brewers will get creative to build in some breaks and manage his workload down the home stretch so that he’s available for the postseason. It’s a tough break for fantasy managers, but Misiorowski has certainly delivered for them so far.

Clarke was acquired from the Red Sox in the offseason as part of the Sonny Gray trade, but had shoulder surgery in February. The 23-year-old was an intriguing arm in the Red Sox system and lit up the radar gun on Saturday, hitting 103.1 mph on one of his pitches and throwing every single first-inning fastball over 100 mph. The left-hander only threw 36 pitches in this one as he continues to ramp up, and there remain some command/injury concerns that give him some reliever risk, but the upside is high if he can make it work as a starter.

The right-hander also struck out 11 and walked three on the day while throwing 61 of his 95 pitches for strikes. In four starts this month, Klassen has a 2.66 ERA and 0.93 WHIP with a 25/11 K/BB ratio in 23 2/3 innings. He still has only one start in his last five where he has walked fewer than three batters, so command remains a bit of a concern, but there is clearly MLB stuff here, and he is beginning to harness it a bit.

Whisenhunt threw 50 of his 79 pitches for strikes in a solid effort. He’s also allowed four runs on nine hits in 10 12/3 innings in two starts for the Giants this summer. At this point, the 25-year-old probably deserves a chance to make multiple starts in the MLB rotation to see if he can be an option for the team in 2027.

Smith also threw one inning of relief on Sunday, allowing one run on one hit in one inning while walking three and striking out two. Three walks while coming off a month’s absence for a shoulder impingement is not the best sign. Hopefully it’s just some rust that needs to be shaken off.

Rodríguez now has 24 home runs and 61 RBI to go along with a .280 batting average and .902 OPS. The Reds are one of the few teams that should clearly be sellers at the deadline, so there is a chance they free up some outfield at-bats for Rodríguez to get called up in just a couple of weeks. He’s just behind guys like Joshua Baez and Walker Jenkins in terms of fantasy stashes.