River

Ryan

The 28-year-old right-hander has been battling through a hamstring injury over the past couple of weeks and is finally ready to show the Tigers what he can do at the MLB level. He’s only expected to work a few innings in the game and will be piggybacked by Keider Montero, so fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him to have a shot at earning a victory.

On one hand, two runs on five hits in just over two innings is not good. On the other hand, Ryan threw 69 percent of his pitches for strikes, while posting a 13 percent swinging strike rate and 33 percent CSW. He sat 97.4 mph on his four-seamer, which he got a few whiffs on. He threw all six of his pitches and flashed good swing-and-miss on his changeup to lefties. It remains unlikely that Ryan, who threw 39 pitches in this one, will make it up to the Tigers in the final week of the season, but he should be penciled into their 2027 rotation.

Ryan has been on the minor league injured list since late June with a hamstring strain. He was subsequently traded to the Tigers as part of the Tarik Skubal trade, so this was his debut as a member of the Tigers organization. He struck out two and didn’t walk a batter while throwing 74 percent of his pitches for strikes and posting a 17 percent swinging strike rate. His four-seamer averaged 97 mph with an elite 17 inches of vertical movement. He looked like a potential difference-maker in this one, but he also threw just 23 pitches across two innings, so he will need a few more starts to ramp back up and might not return in time to pitch for the Tigers this season. He could be stashed in keeper leagues though.

Ryan ranks as the 68th best prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, which opinions on the right-hander’s worth landing all over the board. At 27, he’s a bit old for a prospect, but only made the full-time transition to the mound in 2022 and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2025. He possesses next-level stuff and if he’s able to stay healthy his ceiling projects as a top of the rotation starter at the MLB level. He’ll begin his Tigers’ tenure on the injured list at Triple-A Toledo as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain, but he could find his way into the big league rotation before the end of August.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Dodgers will send outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitching prospects River Ryan and Brady Smith. It was initially reported that Emmet Sheehan was included, but multiple outlets have confirmed he’s not headed to Detroit. Skubal is inarguably one of the best pitchers in baseball and has won back-to-back Cy Young Awards for the Tigers, and he joins Los Angeles with a 2.79 ERA and 116/14 K/BB in his 16 starts this year. The pending free agent will join the loaded Dodgers’ roster as the new ace, and obviously, fantasy managers have no reason to believe he won’t continue to pitch at an elite level now that he’s in Los Angeles rather than Detroit.

Ryan missed time earlier in the season due to an issue with the same hamstring and it flared up and caused him to miss his last start at Triple-A Oklahoma City. No word yet on how long he’ll be shelved for. There goes the glimmer of hope that fantasy managers had that Ryan may make a spot start next week with the Dodgers having seven games on the docket.

There’s zero urgency for Los Angeles to expedite Ryan’s timeline to the majors given their starting pitching depth, but the 27-year-old top prospect will begin to force the issue if he keeps pitching like this. He generated 15 swinging strikes and threw a staggering 67 of 87 pitches for strikes. There’s a path to a rotation spot with the Dodgers if recently acquired Eric Lauer doesn’t show anything in the next couple weeks.

Ryan threw 51 of his 84 pitches for strikes and averaged 97.8 mph on his four-seam fastball. He maintained that velocity for much of the game, falling to 96.6 mph by the fifth inning. He also induced 14 whiffs on 35 wings for a 40 percent whiff rate. He did only get one whiff on his slider, which is not ideal, but he had a 69 percent strike rate overall, and his fastball was simply dominant. The Dodgers will give Eric Lauer a start on Monday, but Ryan could push for a rotation spot if that Lauer start doesn’t go well.

Lauer is available to pitch out of the bullpen this week after being plucked off waivers from the Blue Jays over the weekend. He’ll jump into Los Angeles’ rotation at some point next week as a replacement for Blake Snell, who underwent NanoScope surgery on his left elbow this week. The 30-year-old lefty is a non-factor fantasy-wise but his arrival means intriguing pitching prospect River Ryan will remain in Triple-A.

Lauer will slot into the Dodgers’ six-man rotation after being acquired from the Blue Jays in a trade over the weekend. The 30-year-old lefty struggled to a bloated 6.69 ERA across 36 1/3 innings for Toronto earlier this season. He’s unlikely to carry any semblance of fantasy value unless Los Angeles’ pitching apparatus is able to unlock something to get him back on track. It’s a noteworthy development since he’ll take over Blake Snell’s rotation spot with prospect River Ryan likely staying in the minors.