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Hitters

Colson Montgomery (9): His .257 AVG has come out of left field after struggling to hit for average for years. The biggest surprise has been him dropping his strikeout rate from 33% to 24%. I’m not buying the lower strikeout rate since his swinging-strike rate jumped from 13.1% to 17.2%. Here are some comps to similar swinging-strike rates that point to a 30% K%.

Josh Jung (7): The 27-year-old came off the IL this past Monday (July 21st), so his adds were a week behind. He’s not lived up to his prospect hype and is not a fantasy difference maker (10 HR, 4 SB, .249 AVG). At least he’s healthy … for now.

Gabriel Arias (6): While not much of a fantasy contributor (.234/.294/.381, 7 HR, 4 SB), he is off the IL and back to playing every day.

Joc Pederson (6): Pederson crushes right-handed pitching. Nothing more. One concern is that all his power metrics are at multi-year lows. Maybe bench him for a week or two as he builds up his strength (broken hand).

Warming Bernabel (6): The 23-year-old third baseman is on a Kyren Paris-like hot start. In the majors so far, Bernabel is batting .389/.421/.833 with 2 HR in 19 PA. In AAA, he hit .301/.356/.450 with 8 HR and 5 SB. While those numbers look great, it’s just a 90 wRC+ (10% worse than the average AAA batter) once run environment is taken into account.

His number one trait is his ability to put the ball in play with a just a 12% K% in AAA and a 5% K% so far in the majors. He doesn’t have much power. His AAA 84.2 avgEV ranks 862nd among 972 batters in AAA. He pulled both his home runs right down the line.

For now, he’s an add and monitor.

Ryan Mountcastle (5): Some reports had Mountcastle possibly coming off the IL this week, but it seems to be another week for him.

#Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (hamstring) is eligible to return from IL tomorrow, but he’s unlikely to be back until series in Philadelphia next week

— Jake Rill (@JakeDRill) July 29, 2025

He’s been crushing AAA so far (253 wRC+) with good EV numbers (97 mph avgEV, 112 maxEV). Once he returns, playing time will not be an issue with some of his teammates traded away.

Tommy Pham (5): The Pham demand comes from his weekend games in Colorado. He’s been playing (starting regularly since July 1st) and hitting (.302/.373/.488 in June) for weeks, but no one seemed to care. He’s not doing anything new. It’s just one of the hot stretches he’ll go on. Ed. note: He did also get a new contact Rx that helped his vision which is particularly important as he does have a degenerative eye issue called keratoconus. 

Coby Mayo (5): With several teammates likely to get traded (did happen), managers hoped Mayo (.225/.307/.382, 3 HR, 1 SB) would get more playing time. I’m just not sure Mayo is a good baseball player.

Starters

Troy Melton (11): So a 10.80 ERA can be ignored? While Melton gave up a ton of hits in his debut against the Pirates, he did strike out seven of them while walking two (3.28 xFIP). And on Monday, he went 7 IP with 5 K, 0 BB, and 0 ER over 7 IP (3.36 xFIP). I had the unknown ranked as my fourth-highest free agent starter this past weekend, and that might have been too low.

He’s example #48452 on why to ignore ERA when evaluating pitchers. Hell, just look at his AAA numbers: 2.72 ERA, 2.24 xFIP, 1.1b WHIP, 12.1 K/9. As for an arsenal, he has a 97-mph fastball (11% SwStr%), slider (23% SwStr%), sinker (75% GB%), cutter, curve, and splitter (14% SwStr%). Here are how the pitches did in AAA:

Ed. note: He did get moved to the bullpen after the deadline moves so now he’s the 6th SP. 

J.T. Ginn (9): Time to keep it simple with Ginn. His stats are

9.6 K/9
2.1 BB/9
54% GB%

Pitchers who are better in all three categories this year:

None

The closest comp is Cristopher Sánchez (9.6 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 58% GB%). By just continuing to pitch like he has so far, Ginn will be comparable to the top pitchers in the game.

Luis Severino (6): Severino is in the middle of a nice stretch to add as a streamer. This week he faced Seattle (5 IP, 6 K, 2 BB, 1 ER, 5 H) with a two-step lineup up next week at Washington and Baltimore.

Besides the decent stream, he has been better in July with a 3.81 ERA (3.42 xFIP) compared to a 5.09 ERA (4.76 xFIP) before that. The improvement is from more strikeouts and groundballs.

Stat: April to June, July
K%: 15%, 24%
FBv: 95.8, 96.8
Zone%: 54%, 56%
GB%: 39%, 51%

The only reasons I could find for the strikeout jump are increased velocity and more pitches in the strike zone. The more I write, the more I’m getting pissed that I didn’t emphasize him more this past weekend.

Justin Verlander (6): This add is almost entirely based on Verlander’s matchup against the Pirates this week (5 IP, 1 ER, 7 K, 1 BB) and two-step next week against the Pirates and Nationals.

He is showing no signs of improving, so I suspect Verlander will be dropped after the two-start week.

Joey Wentz (5): Like Verlander, Wentz was added for a decent two-start week. This week, he gets Kansas City (6 IP, 7 K, 0 ER, 3 BB) with two starts next week against the Brewers and Marlins.

Wentz is a career 5.59 ERA (4.74 xFIP) with no signs of improving this year (5.45 ERA, 4.47 xFIP). He’s been dropped by two other teams before joining the Braves. In 18 IP since joining the Braves, he has a 3.09 xFIP. With the Pirates, it was a 4.56 xFIP. A 7.95 xFIP with the Twins. The improvement he made was throwing more strikes.

Team: Ball%
PIT: 37%
MIN: 41%
ATL: 34%

A 34% Ball% usually points to a high-3.00 ERA talent. Not great, but way better than his previous results.

Relievers

Seranthony Domínguez (9): These adds coincided with Félix Bautista going on the IL, but all reports had the Orioles trading away Dominguez. And they did. Drop.

Phil Maton (5): Rumors had Ryan Helsley on the move, so fantasy managers bet Maton would take over the closer’s duties. Again, all reports also had Maton on the move. Maton is now a drop.

Blake Treinen (5): The Dodgers didn’t have a closer, and Treinen was coming off the IL. This add was perfect for those looking to add Saves.

Garrett Whitlock (5): On Sunday, Aroldis Chapman left with a back issue, so managers looked to add his replacement.

While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with even larger entry fees ($2.5K to $15K). They are named “High Stakes Leagues,” and there are eleven of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers try to gain any advantage. Most of the time, these managers will be a week or two ahead of everyone else on their adds. Here are the players and some information on the ones added in five or more leagues. Read the rest of this entry »

While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with even larger entry fees ($2.5K to $15K). They are named “High Stakes Leagues,” and there are eleven of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers try to gain any advantage. Most of the time, these managers will be a week or two ahead of everyone else on their adds. Here are the players and some information on the ones added in five or more leagues.

Batters

Will Benson (7): For anyone using weekly projections, Benson jumped off the page as an add. He came in as the week’s 77th-ranked batter. It might not seem like he’s worth adding, but in a 12-team league with 168 batters rostered, Benson is worth 0.2 points in the standings compared to a replacement outfielder. If a similar move is made every week throughout a season, it would theoretically be worth 5.2 spots in the standings.

In leagues with a decent waiver wire, being able to churn one to three spots can be a huge advantage.

Ha-Seong Kim 김하성 (6): Kim returned to the Rays and immediately injured himself. Once regularly playing, he could be a difference maker with potential for Steals and Home Runs.

So far, he seems to be trading off power for more contact with some career-low power StatCast numbers in his AAA rehab. Solid gamble.

Colson Montgomery (6): I didn’t believe in Montgomery because of his 34% K% in AAA. If an AAA pitcher dominates a batter, I don’t want him in the majors. While a .500 BABIP in 17 PA has his overall numbers up (.385/.500/.538), his 15.6% SwStr% is 2.5% points higher than his AAA rate.

With all the hitters who were destroying AAA and then struggled in the majors, why would I want one who is getting eaten up by AAA pitching?

Max Muncy (West Sacramento) (5): Experiencing a hot streak (.316/.350/.789 in July) but has struggled (75 wRC+, 32% K%) for most of the season. He has shown more power with 7 HR in 179 PA. I backed off of him and several others A’s because Miguel Andujar (.296/.328/.402) is about to come off the IL. Zack Gelof’s return contributes to the roster crunch.

Francisco Alvarez (5): Sent to AAA, and someone thought it was time to add him for a potential future callup. Wasn’t horrible with a 92 wRC+ (.236/.319/.333). He wasn’t much of a fantasy contributor with 3 HR and 0 SB to go with the .236 AVG in 138 PA.

There may be more to the demotion than just his performance. By keeping Alvarez down until Saturday, the Mets gain another year of control over him.

Unless Alvarez is recalled to the major leagues by Saturday, he will have spent enough time in the minors this season to delay his free agency by a full year. The New York Mets will gain an additional year of team control over the catcher, who wouldn’t become a free agent until after the 2029 season. Alvarez would be a free agent entering his age-28 season, still relatively young to be on the open market.

“I can’t worry about that right now — it’s a lot for me to worry about right now,” Alvarez told The Athletic when approached about the free-agency issue Tuesday before a game in Syracuse. “I didn’t know that, but I feel like I need to just focus on getting better and that’s it.”

…

Alvarez’s demotion was not a surprise, and it wasn’t primarily motivated by the service-time issue. Though trying to incorporate a swing change, the third-year catcher has just six extra-base hits in 35 major-league games. His slugging percentage is 100 points lower than it was as a rookie in 2023.

Starters

Joey Cantillo (9): On Monday, Cantillo made his first major league start of the season, going 3 IP on 68 pitches. The results were similar to his results to date, a good number of strikeouts (5) and walks (3). He has some Will Warren/Tylor Megill vibes. He has good enough stuff to get the strikeouts, but the walks can come back to bite him.

On top of his WHIP is doing as much ratio damage as a 4.87 ERA, he’s not going deep into games. That might be the Guardians’ plan to limit his innings like the White Sox did with Garrett Crochet last season. Cantillo has never surpassed 119 IP in a single season and only threw 78 IP last season. So far this season, he’s at 47 IP.

Pablo López (6): On the 60-day IL, and the earliest he can come off the IL is early August, after going on the IL on June 5th. This is a pure stash player and could be worth losing the extra roster spot if Lopez returns to pitch like he was before the injury (2.82 ERA, 2.98 xFIP, 1.07 WHIP, 9.1 K/9).

Sean Burke (5): I wrote the following about Burke in this week’s Waiver Wire article.

Since I wrote the analysis, he faced the Blue Jays and got lit up for 6 ER, 2 K, 3 BB, and 3 HR in 5 IP. He’s likely just a streamer against weaker offenses.

Ryan Gusto (5): Gusto’s (4.61 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 1.44 WHIP) demand is the hope that he replaces Colton Gordon (4.76 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 1.41 WHIP) in the Astros rotation. It seems like Gusto’s been overall better, but he padded his ERA with seven relief appearances (4.92 ERA as SP, 3.29 ERA as RP).

All of Gusto’s struggles have come against lefties. Against righties, he has a 2.49 FIP. Now, against lefties, it’s a 5.86 FIP. Broken down against lefties, it’s a:

4.9 BB/9
2.3 HR/9
.354 BABIP.

If he starts Sunday, he’ll face Texas, which is in the middle of the pack with right-handed batters comprising 57% of their plate appearances.

Logan Allen로건 (5): Allen is scheduled to face the White Sox, so he’s tempting for most fantasy teams to use. His 4.07 ERA is his best trait, with projections and ERA estimators pointing to a mid-4.00 ERA talent. Additionally, his 1.43 WHIP has done as much damage as a 5.10 ERA.

He’s shown a little improvement over his last six starts with his walk rate down from 4.7 BB/9 to 2.8 BB/9.

I get the same feeling as I did with Burke, where I might roster him, but I don’t feel good about.

Relievers

Ronny Henriquez (7): Miami’s closer with some amazing stats (2.72 ERA, 3.17 xFIP, 1.16 WHIP, and 12.6 K/9).

Adrian Morejon (5): The lefty is being used in high-leverage spots with some great stats (1.79 ERA, 2.94 xFIP, 8.3 K/9, 0.82 WHIP). My only issue with Morejon is that, being a lefty, he’s likely behind righty Jason Adam for the closer’s role if Robert Suarez falters.

While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with even larger entry fees ($2.5K to $15K). They are named “High Stakes Leagues,” and there are eleven of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers try to gain any advantage. Most of the time, these managers will be a week or two ahead of everyone else on their adds. Here are the players and some information on the ones added in five or more leagues.

Batters

Casey Schmitt (9): I misread the situation with Schmitt. With Matt Chapman out, he starts every game at third base. I didn’t see much long-term sustainability, but I ignored Tyler Fitzgerald’s struggles, which got him demoted to AAA. Once Chapman returns, I expect Schmitt (a plus defender) to slide over to second base.

In 108 PA so far this season, Schmitt is batting .284/.364/.453 with 4 HR. The biggest difference for the 26-year-old compared to previous seasons is his .359 BABIP (.259 from ’23 to ’24). He’s hitting the ball harder with his avgEV up 2 mph and his HardHit% up 13% points. He’s trading off some Contact rate (76% to 73%) for the additional power.

Projections aren’t buying the higher BABIP and see a .240 AVG to .250 AVG going forward.

Giancarlo Stanton (8): With Stanton’s home run potential, the demand was going to be high. In the nine games since being recalled, Stanton, started in six of them as the designated hitter, but not three in a row.

In 25 PA so far, he’s batting .304/.360/.348 with a 36% K% (Contact% down from 68% to 65%), .500 BABIP, and 64% GB%. Additionally, his average bat speed is down from 81.2 mph last year to 79.7 mph this season.

He should be held for another week or so to see where his talent stabilizes.

Isaac Collins (8): The 27-year-old started in 10 of the last 11 games while batting .262/.366/.403 with 4 HR and 8 SB. The only stat that could be high is his .337 BABIP. Projections say it should be a .300 BABIP.

Even with a lower batting average, he’s still a solid add based on the playing time and talent.

Gary Sánchez (8): With several catchers getting hurt, Sánchez was one of the few available options. He’s never going to provide speed (career 6 SB) or batting average (career .224 AVG), but hit a decent number of homers.

Brady House (6): Nine straight starts at third base, but not much else (56 wRC+). I’m not sure how he’ll be fantasy relevant. He seems to be below league average in every trait.

Michael Toglia (5): He has started eight straight games since being recalled from AAA. Over those games, he’s batting .303/.343/.667 with 3 HR in 35 PA. No breakout is occurring with Toglia experiencing two better eight-game stretches last season.

The hope is that the team remembers this hot streak and allows him to keep starting.

David Hamilton (5): Hamilton can steal bases (12 SB in 112 PA), but little else (30 wRC+). He should hold down the job until Alex Bregman returns after the All-Star break.

It "looks like" Alex Bregman won't be back until after the All-Star break, Alex Cora said. So that would be July 18 at the earliest.

— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) June 25, 2025

When Bregman returns, Marcelo Mayer (4 HR, 91 wRC+) should move over and play second base.

Pedro Pagés (5): Again, with several catchers getting hurt, the bottom of the barrel was being scraped for options. Pagés provides some power (5 HR in 201 PA) but nothing else (.222 AVG, 0 SB).

Starters

Emmet Sheehan (10): The 25-year-old was great in his debut (4 IP, 6 K, 0 BB, and 1 ER). After the start, the team demoted him to AAA. It’s not obvious when he’ll return. Justin Wrobleski now throws strikes (2.5 BB/9) with ERA estimators in the mid-3.00 range.

Sheehan should be worth an add if a team can handle having him take up a roster spot.

Didier Fuentes (7): Before the 20-year-old righty made his Wednesday start, his stock was higher. The results from that first start were respectable (5 IP, 3 K, 1 BB, 6 H, and 4 ER), but his STUPH metrics are off the charts.

Then the Wednesday start happened (3 IP, 6 ER, 1 K, 0 BB, 2 HR). With the disaster, TheBot’s ERA estimator still values him as a 3.33 ERA talent. The Stuff+ values haven’t updated, but he had a 116 Pitching+ pointing to a 3.04 talent.

He attacks batters with his fastball (96 mph, 10% SwStr%), slider, and curve. The results on the slider and curve are worse than his fastball, but the STUPH metrics love both. It’s hard to nail down his value.

One issue is that he’s getting annihilated the second time through the order, likely because his secondary pitches aren’t working.

TTO: K-BB%, BABIP, xFIP, ERA
1st: 22%, .308, 3.26, 4.15
2nd: -6%, .500, 8.63, 27.00

I added him in several leagues, but wasn’t brave enough to start (thank the Spaghetti Monster). It’ll be interesting to see how the team handles him going forward.

Ryan Bergert (7): Most likely added for his start against the Nationals on Tuesday, where he rewarded them with 3 ER, 4 K, 3 BB, and 5 H in 3 IP.

Before the start, he was about as lucky as it could get with .233 BABIP, 0.7 HR/9, and 82% LOB%. For me, his 4.0 BB/9 would have been a sign to stay away, especially with his ERA estimators (4.73 xFIP, 4.63 SIERA) and STUPH values (4.22 botERA, 4.45 Pitching+ ERA) pointing to a mid-4.00 ERA arm.

Janson Junk (6): Junk was limited in how deep he went into games until the last outing (79 pitches). So far this season, he’s posted a 2.60 ERA (2.77 xFIP), 8.1 K/9, and 1.01 WHIP.

He’s been pitching backwards by throwing his slider (46% usage, 15% SwStr%) more than any other pitch. His four-seam has been solid with a 10% SwStr%.

The key for him to keep his value going forward is to limit the walks. He has just two in 27 IP. I expect some regression, but not a ton. His 29% Ball% points to 1.5 BB/9.

Logan Allen로건 (6): For me, his 1.50 WHIP (4.0 BB/9) is unrosterable. It does as much ratio damage as a 5.52 ERA. Fantasy managers added him for his two-step versus Toronto and St. Louis. In the first start, Allen was fine with 4 K, 2 BB, 4 ER, and 8 H in 5.2 IP. We’ll see how the second start goes.

Trevor Rogers (5): After struggling for several seasons to find the strike zone (4.1 BB/9, 1.56 WHIP last season), the 27-year-old is much improved with a 1.6 BB/9 (34% Ball, 2.5 equiv BB/9) so far this season. Additionally, his fastball velocity increased 2 mph (91.7 mph to 93.7 mph). Finally, he’s brought down the usage (24% to 17%) of this horrible sinker (37 botOvr, 78 Pitching+, 2% SwStr%).

The 1.62 ERA and 0.78 WHIP will regress (0.0 HR/9, .213 BABIP, 92% LOB%), but some signs indicate him being a high 3.00 ERA talent.

Justin Wrobleski (6): While a 63% LOB% has him with a 4.91 ERA, he’s been solid with a 3.23 xFIP and 4.32 botERA (difference likely from opponent quality). He has a 8.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and 48% GB%. Starters with better numbers in all three categories (min 20 IP) are:

Nathan Eovaldi
Brandon Walter
Max Fried
Logan Webb

He should continue to get chances as long as he gets similar results.

Eric Lauer 라우어 (5): The .222 BABIP won’t last, but even with some regression, signs point to him being a streamable 4.00 ERA talent.

Jack Kochanowicz (5): Some brave souls are running out the 24-year-old righty for his two-step against Boston and Washington. He struggled in his first start with 1 K, 2 BB, 4 ER, and 6 H in 5.0 IP.

There is an argument that Kochanowicz is the worst of the league’s 73 qualified starters. Here is how he ranks in various categories.

Stat: Rank
K-BB%: 70th
ERA: 71st
WHIP: 73rd
xFIP: 65th

I think he was added because a website ranked him as the 89th best pitcher this week. In 15-teamers, 135 pitchers are rostered so deep, the 89th (of 394) guy seems reasonable. The issue is that those values are based on his production just this week. The higher chance for Strikeouts and Wins pushes him (and the other two-start guys) higher than they should be. Using season-long valuations, his projected ERA and WHIP do so much damage; he’s the 370th-ranked pitcher and will be a net negative for the week (usually 50 pitchers project as such).

Relievers

Orion Kerkering (8): In the week before FAAB ran, Kerkering got two Saves and looks to be sharing the closer’s role and possibly could be the closer.

Chris Martin (7): Martin is Texas’s best reliever, and he got a Save on Saturday. Then on Tuesday, he was brought in for the seventh inning when he faced three batters and allowed three home runs. Who knows his role.

Grant Taylor (6): The 23-year-old righty got the Save on Sunday, so the hope was that he’s now the White Sox’s closer. On Wednesday, he came in the seventh inning and threw two innings, getting a Hold. He’s for sure being used in high-leverage situations.

He attacks batters with a 99-mph fastball (23% SwStr%) and a cutter and curve. The STUPH models love the two secondaries, but the results haven’t been the best on them. He hasn’t generated one swing-and-miss on the curve yet.

The Overall episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Marc Winokur

League Updates

• GDD
  • Trade!
• NFBC
  • 1st half sucesss

Strategy Section

• NFBC Overall Contests
  • When should you alter your focus from the single league contest to playing for an overall contest title?
    • Does the size of your lead matter?
    • Does format matter – FAAB vs. non-FAAB?
  • Do you alter draft strategy at all due to the overall component of NFBC contests?
• The 2025 fantasy basbeall winning strategy to date
• Are Ohtani/Judge auction bids (i.e. high priced, but high returning players) efficient?

ATC Half Season

• Hits and Misses
  • Luis Arraez value
  • The profitable range of the pre-season auction market for hitters and pitchers

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

Buy/Sell/Hold

• Hot Players
  • Andy Pages
    • Who’d you rather?
  • Jesús Sánchez
  • Byron Buxton
• Cold Players
  • Ian Happ
  • Rhys Hoskins
  • Jarren Duran

Waiver Wire

Pitcher Preview

Injury Update

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (beat-the-shift): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with even larger entry fees ($2.5K to $15K). They are named “High Stakes Leagues,” and there are eleven of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers try to gain any advantage. Most of the time, these managers will be a week or two ahead of everyone else on their adds. Here are the players and some information on the ones added in five or more leagues. Read the rest of this entry »

The NFBC episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.

Guest: Zack Waxman

Draft Champions Podcast

Strategy Section

• NFBC
  • Power players
  • Drafting early vs. drafting late
  • The use of projections
  • ADP
  • Jacob deGrom’s innings for 2025
• Waiver Wire / FAAB
  • General Strategy
  • Putting in the time
  • What to tackle first / how best to use your time?
  • Track remaining FAAB?
  • Allocate FAAB weekly?

Injury Guru’s Trivia of the Week

Buy/Sell/Hold

• Hot Players
  • Taylor Ward
  • Miguel Vargas
  • Zach Neto
  • Ranger Suárez
  • Will Vest
• Cold Players
  • Kristian Campbell
  • Matt Mervis
  • Francisco Alvarez
  • Brayan Bello

Waiver Wire

Pitcher Preview

Injury Update

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast (beat-the-shift): Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Note: Sorry for missing last week. Life just got in the way.

Batters

Marcelo Mayer (9): While one of the top prospects in the game (ranked 31st overall here at FanGraphs, 15 at Baseball America), I think Mayer is a good prospect and could help some fantasy teams.  He doesn’t project to be a difference-maker.

First, here are the batters with similar Steamer600 projections.

• Between 100 and 300 PA in AAA
• An >= .800 OPS in AAA
• Baseball America preseason rank from 6 to 25

The numbers are close, with some better in one and the other.

Some 2024 hitters who posted similar results were Jake Cronenworth (17 HR, 5 SB, .241 AVG), Jonathan India (15, 13, .248), and Matt Vierling (16, 6, .257). Vierling (next profile) was added with an average bid of $18.1.

Mayer seems like a reasonable add, just not for the $200+.

Matt Vierling (7): Two starts in three games since coming off the IL. There is no way to know how this add will play out. Vierling could still be hurt. He may not play enough to be fantasy relevant. Or he could have a career year. These managers rostered him now and will evaluate him next week.

Mike Tauchman (7): Platoon bat with just six starts this season (28 PA, .784 OPS). Over his career, he has a 10 HR and 11 SB pace over 162 games. It’s not clear if he’ll he’s good enough to demand full-time at-bats.

Matt Wallner (6): If a team needed power, they might have focused to add Wallner, who has 30 HR in 647 career PA. A 25 HR power source doesn’t just appear on the wire, so Wallner needed to be targeted. The only issue could be if he plays every game with the team getting “healthy”.

Andrew Benintendi (6): He has been a solid accumulator when healthy with 5 HR.

Evan Carter (6): I’m not sure about why Carter was added. He only starts against lefties. He’s been horrible the past two seasons (.616 OPS). He can’t stay healthy. Managers must be dreaming of a continuation of .412 BABIP from 2023.

Robert Hassell III (6): After hitting .288/.337/.405 with 9 SB in AAA, he’s now hitting .143/.143/.143 with 1 SB in four straight starts in centerfield batting seventh or ninth. Pitchers might have his number by not throwing him many fastballs (40% seen) and 29% K% (19% in AAA). Monitor to see if he can handle major league pitching.

Kody Clemens (5): Great since joining the Twins by hitting .327/.411/.714 with 4 HR in 57. A couple of factors hold down his value. First, he doesn’t face lefties, so he needs to be actively managed. Second, once his .429 BABIP normalizes, his batting average could tank with his 30% K%.

Abraham Toro (5): Strong-side platoon bat with six righties on the schedule this week. Acceptable so far by batting .262/.262/.548 with 3 HR.

Angel Martínez (5): Eight starts in the last 10 games while hitting .271/.294/.388 with 2 HR and 4 SB on the season. One issue will be his playing time with Lane Thomas off the IL.

Lenyn Sosa (5): A fine bench bat (4 HR, .277 AVG) for these deeper formats.

Starters

Jacob Lopez (7): This is Lopez’s third promotion to the majors, where he has a combined 3.93 ERA (5.46 xFIP), 1.36 WHIP (4.2 BB/9), and 8.1 K/9. Lopez has two major issues that could cause him to struggle in the majors. First, he walks too many batters with his 39.5% Ball%, pointing to a 4.6 BB/9. His 1.57 WHIP is doing as much damage as a 5.93 ERA.

It’s tough to find many positives. A 91-mph fastball already puts him behind the eight ball. Both of our STUPH models grade his pitches below average. BotERA values him as a 5.51 ERA talent. I’m unable to see the demand.

Ryan Yarbrough (7): Since moving to the rotation, the 33-year-old has a 2.25 ERA (3.56 xFIP), 0.85 WHIP, and 8.6 K/9. One adjustment points to his success, he added a plus slider (18% SwStr%, 22% usage, 119 Stuff+). Add now and see if the results continue.

Kyle Harrison (6): Harrison was a tough call on whether to add him or not on Sunday. It seems that he’ll get a start against the Marlins but possibly head back to the bullpen once Verlander comes off the IL. Between starting and relieving, the 23-year-old has a 3.86 ERA (3.05 xFIP), 1.07 WHIP, and 10.6 K/9. His four-seamer and curve have greater than a 16% SwStr%. A worthwhile addition.

Randy Vásquez (6): Going into this FAAB period, here is how struggled with adding Vásquez.

— Jeff Zimmerman (@jeffwzimmerman.bsky.social) 2025-05-25T21:18:34.863Z

On Monday, he had his first start with the following stats: 3 ER, 6 H, 5 K, 1 BB, and no Win in 6.1 IP. Acceptable, but the hope was for the Win.

Mick Abel (5): Abel’s debut was great (6 IP, 9 K, 0 BB, and 0 ER), but he was demoted right after the start. I love the upside, but it’s unknown how long he’ll stay in the minors, especially with Andrew Painter finishing his rehab.

Mike Burrows (5): After pitching to a 2.51 ERA (3.81 xFIP), 1.05 WHIP, and 11.4 K/9 in AAA, the 25-year-old struggled in his debut, allowing 4 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, and just 3 K in 5 IP. He attacked batters with a 94.5 mph fastball and three secondaries.

Keider Montero (5): Like Vásquez, Montero was a suspect talent (5.28 ERA, 4.80 xFIP, 6.2 K/9, 1.57 WHIP), but was scheduled for two winnable starts (vs SF, at KC). The gamble paid off so far with a Win in 5 IP with o ER, 3 K and 2 BB in the first start. His changeup was the only successful secondary.

Relievers

Daniel Palencia (11): Now the Cubs’ closer with three straight Saves to go along with his 9.2 K/9 and 1.93 ERA. Must add in all Save leagues.

Ronny Henriquez (8): Possibly elite closer with a 12.4 K/9 and 1.78 ERA (3.60 xFIP). It’d be nice to see the 4.6 BB/9 come down, but he’s now got the role.

Robert Garcia (7): With Luke Jackson struggling (5.17 ERA), Garcia got the team’s last Save and could move into the closer’s role.

Ben Casparius (7): The 26-year-old righty has been elite this season with a 2.94 ERA (2.87 xFIP), 0.98 WHIP, and 10.2 K/9. While he’s not in the Dodgers’ rotation, he could if more injuries happen. Right, the game’s best long reliever.

Jorge López (6): With Kyle Finnegan on the IL, López (6.00 ERA, 4.29 xFIP, 1.21 WHIP, 6.0 K/9) is the default closer in Washington.

While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with even larger entry fees ($2.5K to $15K). They are named “High Stakes Leagues,” and there are eleven of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers try to gain any advantage. Most of the time, these managers will be a week or two ahead of everyone else on their adds. Here are the players and some information on the ones added in five or more leagues. Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight, I will be drafting my second $1800 NFBC Main Event team. This is a 15-team, 5×5 Roto league with an overall prize pool.

Read the rest of this entry »