In The Field
SS Carlos Correa (heel) is still not running at full speed and is unlikely to be with the Twins during their current season with the Guardians. Once he starts a rehab assignment we will have a more clear understanding of when he will return. Correa is hitting .308 with 13 HR, 51 R, 47 RBI, and 0 SB. OF Tyler O'Neill was placed on the 10-day IL on Wednesday due to an infection on his lower leg. He is eligible to come back middle of next week and he is expected to return then. O'Neill has produced when on the field this year (.268 AVG with 22 HR, 59 R, 45 RBI, and 3 SB). OF Kyle Tucker has been able to jog but still hasn't been able to sprint. He has been out since the beginning of June which at the time was thought to be a minor injury. OF Byron Buxton (back) was not in the Twins lineup on Wednesday. He has been out since colliding with the outfield wall on Sunday. He was back in the lineup on Friday. Buxton is hitting .276 with 14 HR, 52 R, 46 RBI, and 6 SB. He is also approaching his most games played since 2017 (140 GP). OF Kerry Carpenter (back) started a rehab assignment on Tuesday. He has been out since the end of May and he suffered a setback in July. It is likely that he will need an extended rehab so get his timing back before joining the Tigers. Carpenter was hitting .283 with 8 HR, 21 R, 29 RBI, and 0 SB. He was displaying good plate skills (23% K and 7% BB) while hitting the ball hard (16% Barrels and 45% Hardhit). OF Julio Rodriguez (ankle) was able to take swings on the field on Tuesday. He has also been running but has to be able to accelerate and decelerate quickly as well as make turns. Rodriguez was just turning it on before the injury (.375 AVG with 4 HR/1 SB in 14 GP in July). 2B Luis Rengifo had season-ending surgery on his wrist on Tuesday. The Angels got 3B Anthony Rendon back on Wednesday. The only regulars in the Angels lineup are 1B Nolan Schanuel, SS Zach Neto, OF Joe Adell, and OF Taylor Ward. Everyone else either platoons or plays based on matchups which makes it hard to roster them in mixed leagues. 1B Triston Casas is going to return when he feels ready according to manager Alex Cora. He is physically healthy but needs to get his timing and rhythm down before he returns. SS Trevor Story (shoulder) is scheduled to take batting practice on the field Monday. He had surgery in April to repair a fractured shoulder. There is now optimism that Story plays again this year which isn't going to move the needle much for fantasy owners but will give valuable insights into his value for 2025. SS Brooks Lee was placed on the 10-day IL with bicep tendinitis. Lee was hitting .253 with 2 HR, 8 R, 15 RBI, and 2 SB in 26 GP in his rookie season. OF Wenceel Perez left Friday's game early with left abdominal tightness. He has been bouncing around the Tigers order mainly hitting leadoff. He is hitting .243 with 9 HR, 49 R, 32 RBI, and 9 SB. Perez was placed on the 10-day IL on Saturday. OF Riley Greene is scheduled to run bases on Sunday as part of his rehab for his hamstring injury. He has been hitting so this is the big hurdle that he has to clear before returning. He has been out since July 25 and was hitting .264 with 17 HR, 57 R, 51 RBI, and 4 SB.
On The Mound
Nick Pivetta is going to have his start skip this weekend in order to get extra rest. His velocity was down in his most recent start (91.9 mph from 94.1 mph) but the Red Sox are saying that it is not injury-related. This is worth keeping an eye on as Pivetta has good underlying skills (30% K, 6% BB, and 3.20 SIERA) but the results haven't been there (4.44 ERA and 1.14 WHIP). Grayson Rodriguez (lat strain) was placed on the 15-day IL. Manager Brandon Hyde thinks that Rodriguez will return relatively quickly but lat strains are not a straightforward recovery for pitchers so don't get your hopes up. Rodriguez had a 3.86 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 19% K:BB. Joe Ryan left Wednesday's start early with tricep tightness. He was placed on the 15-day IL on Friday and could be out for the year. He has a Grade 2 right teres major strain and is expected to be out for weeks to months according to manager Rocco Baldelli. Ryan has been great this year (3.60 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 23% K:BB). Jacob deGrom threw live batting practice on Thursday (20 pitches). Reports were that it went "really well". Drew Rasmussen was activated on Wednesday. He has returned from an internal brace procedure on his right elbow. He is going to pitch out of the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever. The plan is for the Rays to monitor his innings this year and then have him head into spring next year as a starter. Tanner Bibee (shoulder) threw a bullpen session on Thursday and is scheduled to start on Sunday. Bibee has turned himself into one of the better young pitchers. He has a 3.48 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 20% K:BB. Casey Mize (hamstring) started a rehab assignment on Thursday. He has been out since July 3 so he will need multiple starts prior to coming back. He isn't eligible to come back until August 30 so he should have plenty of time to build his pitch count back up. Chase Silseth has season-ending surgery on his elbow on Tuesday. He was only able to make two starts this year but is expected to be ready for spring training next year. Justin Verlander (neck) threw a bullpen session on Wednesday. Everything checked out and he is expected to start a rehab assignment this weekend. Verlander has been out since June with a neck injury. He has shown his age the past two seasons with declining velocities and strike-out rate (21% K). Verlander still has good control and enough stuff to succeed but it is more at a league-average starter level than an ace. Clarke Schmidt threw 20 pitchers in a live batting practice session on Tuesday. He is scheduled to do the same on Saturday. If everything goes well he will be sent on a rehab assignment. Schmidt had a 2.52 ERA and 1.14 WHIP with 27% K and 8% BB in 11 GS before the injury. Tyler Mahle (elbow) was activated off the 60-day IL on Tuesday. He went 5 IP with 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, and 2 K in his debut against the Astros. Ryan Pepiot is going to make a rehab start on Saturday. The Rays want him to go 65-75 pitches which will put him in line to return to the Rays rotation next week. Nathan Eovaldi was removed from his start on Saturday due to right-side tightness. He will likely undergo testing and we will know more once the Rangers get those results.
In The Bullpen
Jacob Webb was placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation. The Orioles bullpen has been a situation to watch with the recent struggles of Craig Kimbrel but they did not have any save chances this week which did not give us any indication of pecking order. Mason Miller (finger) was activated from the 15-day IL on Wednesday and promptly picked up his 16th save. Hunter Harvey picked up his first save for the Royals last Sunday but hasn't pitched since due to back tightness and was placed on the 15-day IL on Saturday. This has been unfortunate because he has a better closer profile (3.30 SIERA, 25% K, and 7% BB) than James McArthur (3.75 SIERA, 17% K, and 5% BB). Pete Fairbanks continues to be the lone wolf in the Rays pen getting saves. He has a 2.88 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 22 SV. Chad Green had a big week with three saves and is now up to 10 SV on the year with excellent ratios (1.72 ERA and 0.87 WHIP). John Brebbia is the presumed closer if the White Sox can find a way to win games but he hasn't seen a save chance in over a week due to the White Sox losing streak. Tyler Holton is a name to watch in the Tigers bullpen. He picked up a save this week and is working late in games. He has a 2.76 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 20% K, and 5% BB. Jason Foley took a loss on Friday and has struggled at times this year (3.67 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 17% K, and 8% BB) because of his inability to miss bats. The Twins continue to spread save chances around with Jhoan Duran (15) and Griffin Jax (8) picking up saves this week. Jax has been one of the most valuable non-closers this year. He has a 2.01 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 34% K, and 6% BB with 3 W and 8 SV. Josh Hader continues to roll with two more saves and is now up to 24 SV on the year.
Players to add this week:
OF Miguel Vargas (CWS)- Miguel Vargas has been in the White Sox lineup regularly since being traded. This is exactly the type of opportunity that he needed. He has shown that he can hit at the Triple-A level (.290 AVG with 8 HR/8 SB). Vargas has the potential to hit for average with double-digit power and speed. He has struggled at the major league level (.191 AVG in 472 PA) but he has never gotten consistent playing time to make the necessary adjustments.
3B Coby Mayo (BAL)-Coby Mayo was called up when 3B Jordan Westburg was placed on the 10-day IL. Mayo started his first three games but has only played once in the Orioles last four games with 3B Ramon Urias getting those starts. Mayo has a huge ceiling evident by his numbers at Triple-A (.301 AVG with 20 HR, 56 R, 61 RBI, and 4 SB in 77 GP) but he will need to play regularly to be fantasy-relevant.
SS Jackson Holliday (BAL)- Jackson Holliday has been much better since being called up (.281 AVG with 4 HR, 8 R, 11 RBI, and 0 SB). His strikeout rate is still elevated (26% K) but it is a small sample and it is an improvement over his 50% K in his first cup of coffee. Holliday still has superstar potential but that might take a year or two to fully develop. In the meantime, he still has value because he should be a five-category contributor just not elite in any one category.
SP Alex Cobb (CLE)- Alex Cobb made his season debut on Friday night (4.2 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, and 1 K). It was not an inspiring debut but the market for starting pitchers available on the waiver wire is bleak at this point. Picking up Cobb is betting on his track record of being a league-average starter and Cleveland's ability to get the most out of their starting pitchers. Cobb had a 3.87 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 20% K, 6% BB, and 3.81 SIERA in 28 GS for the Giants last year.
SP David Festa (MIN)- David Festa's 5.55 ERA and 1.27 WHIP would not normally warrant adding him in mixed leagues but it is more about the skills. Festa has made five appearances, four starts, for the Twins and has struck out 29% of batters and walked just 6%. He has above-average stuff (103 Stuff+) and three pitches to attack hitters from both sides of the plate. He should be in the rotation for good, given the recent injury to Joe Ryan. Festa should provide strikeouts with average ratios which is more than good enough to make him a mixed-league pickup.
SP Tyler Mahle (TEX)- Tyler Mahle (elbow) was activated off the 60-day IL on Tuesday. He went 5 IP with 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, and 2 K in his debut against the Astros. Mahle is someone that should be picked up considering the state of the pitching on waivers. Mahle had a 4.40 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 25% K, and 9% BB in his most recent full season. He is not going to be a league winner but should be a solid back-end starter on fantasy teams.
RP Lucas Erceg (KCR)- The Royals closer situation is in flux with James McArthur not having the skills to succeed long-term (3.75 SIERA, 17% K, and 5% BB) and recently acquired Hunter Harvey has been out all week with back spasms and was put on the 15-day IL on Saturday. This opens up an opportunity for Lucas Erceg to get save chances. Erceg has the best skills (27% K, 8% BB, and 3.04 SIERA) of the three.
1B Nolan Schanuel (LAA)- Nolan Schanuel is leading off for the Angels and playing every day. He has also hit for more power this year thanks to more barrels (4% Barrels) and fly balls (30% FB). Both numbers are still not great but they are improving. He has also had a very strong start to the second half (.304 AVG with 4 HR, 15 R, 9 RBI, and 0 SB in 20 GP). It is not a league-winning profile but in deeper mixed leagues he has value.
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