Mining the News (6/24/26)

Note: Any stated rostership rates come from the NFBC RotoWire Online Championship, the same rates we use on the FanGraphs Player Rater. For reference, these leagues are 12-team Roto leagues with 30-man rosters (2 C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, MI, CI, 5 OF, UT, 9 P) and weekly add/drops.

American League

Angels

• Ryan Johnson threw the best start of his career.

The rookie turned in the best outing of his young career, allowing just one hit and one walk with eight strikeouts over six scoreless innings in a 5-1 win over the Orioles on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

Johnson carried a no-hitter until the sixth inning before he gave up a one-out single to former Angels infielder Jeremiah Jackson on a first-pitch cutter. But he got ex-Angels outfielder Taylor Ward to promptly ground into a double play to end his night, as he faced just one over the minimum.

“I feel great,” Johnson said with a big smile after his third career start. “You can’t feel anything but great after that. That’s exactly what I wanted to do.”

I tried to find any changes and found that he used a significantly different release point in the start.

I’m not sure Johnson (career 8.21 ERA, 1.82 WHIP) is even close to being added, but he’s someone to monitor to see if the changes and results stick.

Astros

• Cristian Javier is close to returning from the IL.

RHP Cristian Javier
Injury: Grade 2 right shoulder strain
IL date: April 10 (retroactive to April 9, transferred to 60-day IL on April 20)
Expected return: Late June
Status: Threw 75 pitches over 4 2/3 innings of three-run ball on June 21, striking out five. The Astros will see how he feels in the coming days before deciding his next steps.

He’s struggling in his AAA rehab assignment with a 4.91 ERA (5.00 xFIP). While he’s striking out batters (11.5 K/9), the combination of too many walks (3.3 BB/9) and home runs (1.6 HR/9, 20% GB%) means I’ll be staying away.

Blue Jays

• Addison Barger should be returning any day now.

RF Addison Barger
Injury: Right elbow inflammation
IL date: May 11 (10-day IL, retroactive to May 10)
Expected return: Early July
Status: Could begin rehab with Single-A Dunedin as early as Thursday.

I was surprised to see that he’s only 34% rostered. While there might be a roster crunch, he should be a strong side platoon bat when he returns.

Orioles

• Dylan Beavers is on a rehab assignment.

OF Dylan Beavers
Injury: Right oblique strain
IL date: May 13, retroactive to May 11 (10-day IL)
Expected return: Early July
Status: Began rehab assignment with Double-A Chesapeake on June 18 and went 0-for-8 with four walks in three games there. Moving to Triple-A Norfolk on June 23.

Once healthy, I don’t see how he gets enough immediate playing time to be fantasy relevant. There is even a chance he heads to AAA.

• Both Dean Kremer and Cade Povich are on rehab assignments.

RHP Dean Kremer
Injury: Right quad strain
IL date: April 23, retroactive to April 20 (60-day IL)
Expected return: Late June/early July
Status: Began rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk on June 21. He allowed one run on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings in a 66-pitch, 38-strike outing.
…
LHP Cade Povich
Injury: Left elbow inflammation
IL date: May 8 (15-day IL)
Expected return: Late June/early July
Status: Began rehab assignment with Double-A Chesapeake on June 21. He tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts in a 43-pitch, 34-strike outing.

Of the pair, Kremer is the pitcher to add. He was lights out in two MLB starts (4.09 ERA, 2.37 xFIP, 0.91 WHIP, 13.1 K/9). I’m guessing he replaces Trey Gibson.

Povich, who has minor league options, has struggled in the majors (career 5.20 ERA, 1.46 WHIP), so I don’t see him replacing Brandon Young.

Red Sox

• Caleb Durbin has been using a hitting coach.

Since he began working with a private hitting coach in May, Caleb Durbin has been on a tear at the plate.

…

Over his last 20 games, Durbin is hitting .320 with a .910 OPS, seven doubles and four homers. In his first 48 games, he hit .163 with a .479 OPS, eight doubles and one homer.

Durbin has worked to keep his hands closer to his body and to have a more upright stance at the plate. The improved mechanics have helped him become one of the team’s most productive hitters over the past month.

After returning from a benching in mid-May, he has hit .307/.323/.557 with 4 HR and 3 B in 27 games. While this is a good stretch, he’s had two similar stretches during his career.

While he’s worth rostering during this stretch, no breakout has occurred … yet.

• Isiah Kiner-Falefa dealt with an inflamed forearm for a couple of weeks.

Another day, another injury for the Red Sox. Isiah Kiner-Falefa landed on the 10-day injured list Friday with left forearm inflammation. He told reporters he’d been dealing with the ailment for the past two weeks but that it flared up this past week — so much so that he didn’t take swings in batting practice because of the pain.

Saturday, the 31-year-old had an MRI that showed inflammation, but he’s scheduled to get further testing when the team returns to Boston on Thursday. Interim manager Chad Tracy said they have not ruled out more serious conditions, such as a stress fracture.

In most leagues, IKF is irrelevant, so the injury is also.

• Romy Gonzalez is expected to return from the IL any day now.

INF/OF Romy Gonzalez
Injury: Left shoulder surgery
IL date: March 12 (60-day IL)
Expected return: During June 25-July 1 homestand
Status: Worked out at Fenway Park June 22 after hip flexor discomfort on rehab stint. Manager Chad Tracy said Gonzalez will DH on June 23 and is back on track with rehab.

I could see Gonzalez getting some runway at second base since the team is playing Anthony Seigler there.

• Patrick Sandoval is on a rehab assignment.

LHP Patrick Sandoval
Injury: Left biceps discomfort
IL date: March 25 (15-day IL, retroactive to March 22)
Expected return: July
Status: Threw three innings of one-run ball in a rehab start for Double-A Portland on June 17. Will make another start with Triple-A Worcester on June 23, targeting three to four innings and 55 pitches.

He’s struggling in his rehab assignment with a 7.7 BB/9 (5.40 ERA, 1.80 WHIP). Ignore for now until he can get the walks under control.

Tigers

• Jack Flaherty started his rehab assignment.

RHP Jack Flaherty
Injury: Left peroneal strain
IL date: June 13 (15-day IL)
Expected return: Possibly June 28
Status: Scheduled to make a rehab start for Double-A Erie on June 23.

He struggled with walks (4.7 K/9, 1.57 WHIP) before going on the IL with an ankle injury. In his first rehab start, he only walked one batter over 5 IP. He’ll need a couple more rehab starts with low walk numbers before I buy in.

Twins

• Victor Caratini reworked his mechanics.

The Twins catcher, who signed a two-year deal with the club in January, has hit .382 in June to raise his batting average from .190 to its current mark of .231. It’s a drastic improvement from his average of .143 in May, and the change came about after he started reviewing his mechanics with hitting coach Keith Beauregard following a frustrating run of bad luck at the plate.

Caratini shifted his hands, as well as how he’s loading up, and results have followed. That success continued on Friday, as he blasted a Statcast-projected 430 foot home run in Minnesota’s series-opening 9-5 loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

Batting .367/.446/.694 with 4 HR in June. Stream until he cools off.

• Yoendrys Gómez improved by making a few adjustments.

“I think he’s a guy we identified in Spring Training. We saw him for the Rays pitch against us a couple times, and pitch well,” Shelton said. “And then he got [to our organization] and he got with our pitching group. We’ve made a little bit of modifications and he’s throwing strikes. But I do think the fact that he’s controlling the ball on the plate is what’s made him effective.”

In addition to a slightly dropped arm slot, one adjustment for Gómez has been to use his sweeper more frequently. This year, that pitch — which he uses 23.9 percent of the time to accompany his four-seam fastball (43.3), cutter, sinker, and changeup — has resulted in an opposing batting average of .158 and a .184 slugging percentage.

“I’ve used it quite a bit with all the hitters,” said Gómez, who has also been particularly effective in general against right-handed hitters, limiting them to a .159 average and .174 slugging percentage. “So, I think it’s been a good pitch. At the beginning of the season, I was also using it; it wasn’t working that well for me, but now it’s better. I’ve got a better feeling for it now and it’s been good.”

With the Twins, he has a 1.37 ERA (3.41 xFIP), 0.97 WHIP, and 10.1 K/9. He is the team’s closer until further notice.

• Mick Abel had a setback in his return.

RHP Mick Abel
Injury: Right elbow inflammation
IL date: April 20 (15-day IL, retroactive to April 17)
Expected return: TBD
Status: Woke up with soreness in his right elbow after throwing a bullpen session on June 19. Manager Derek Shelton called it a “setback,” and Abel will have an MRI completed on Monday to determine next steps.

I don’t see a reason to be rostering Abel at this point. Gamble on another injured arm with a shorter return timetable.

White Sox

• Noah Schultz began his rehab assignment.

LHP Noah Schultz
Injury: Right knee patellar tendinitis
IL date: May 26, retroactive to May 25 (15-day IL)
Expected return: June
Status: Pitched 1 2/3 innings of two-run ball for Triple-A Charlotte on June 16 to begin his rehab assignment, allowing one hit, walking three and striking out four.

In four innings over two rehab starts, he has a 4.15 ERA (7.02 FIP), 1.62 WHIP (8.3 BB/9), and 16.6 K/9. Walks (5.1 BB/9) held him back in the majors, and they still seem to be a problem. Ignore until he finds some control.

National League

Brewers

• Brandon Sproat had his best game of the season.

Twenty four hours apart, the two right-handers delivered nearly identical performances at Great American Ball Park: Six scoreless innings, one hit, no walks, 10 strikeouts and no-hit bids into the sixth inning of back-to-back victories over the Reds, including Tuesday’s 2-0 Brewers win behind Sproat’s best start of his budding career.

Sproat has shown some improvement in June. Before June, he had a 6.24 ERA (4.59 xFIP, 5.09 botERA) and 1.53 WHIP (5.0 BB/9). In June, it’s a 3.48 ERA (3.17 xFIP, 4.61 botERA) and 0.92 WHIP (2.2 BB/9). While theBot STUPH model doesn’t agree there has been much change, the results based ones do. And over Sproat’s short 20 game career, he’s in his best four game stretch.

Sproat has shown improvement over the season with his monthly xFIP going from 4.82 to 4.31 to 3.17 in June. This four-game stretch in June has been the best of his career.

With so few waiver wire options, Sproat should be on everyone’s radar.

Cardinals

• Nolan Gorman is working on his swing mechanics in the minors.

Nolan Gorman was optioned to Triple-A last week but has yet to play in Memphis, as the infielder has instead been working on his swing mechanics at the Cardinals‘ Spring Training complex. As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, Gorman was fully on board with the idea, and there isn’t any timetable as to when Gorman might see action in either Triple-A or even in the Florida Complex League. “Sometimes there might be ways that you can attack certain issues more effectively away from games. All of this is designed to get his swing to a less steep place, where he’s got a much better chance to make quality contact on a variety of pitches,” Cards president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said.

He was batting .194/.279/.318, so Gorman needed to try something.

Cubs

• Matthew Boyd should start this week.

For the second time in as many weeks, Matthew Boyd has had a successful rehab outing, and looks poised to return to the big league Cubs the next time through. From Cubs.com:

“Both Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and Boyd indicated on Sunday that the pitcher had recovered well a day after that appearance for South Bend. The lefty is scheduled to throw a bullpen session in New York on Monday and the Cubs will determine his next step from there. It is possible Boyd could be activated as early as Thursday.”

While the 6.00 ERA is unsightly, he had a 2.70 xFIP, 1.29 WHIP, and 11.6 K/9 before going on the IL. Must add in all formats.

• Matt Shaw has increased his Bat Speed.

At the start of this season, before his injury, Shaw’s bat speed had dropped even lower: 68.2 MPH and his fast swing rate (the percentage of swings which registered over 75 MPH) dropped to 4.4%. Together, those dragged his barrel rate down with him (5.1%). But since returning from his injury, Shaw’s bat speed and fast swing rate have EXPLODED:

• 71.2 MPH Bat speed (+3 MPH)
• 19.4% Fast-swing (+15% points!)

With that, his average exit velocity has increased from a below-average 86.4 MPH to a just barely above-average 89.0 MPH. And his hard-hit rate did the same thing (well below average to just about league average). The barrel rate ticked up only a little bit, but I do think this is the start of something promising given his particular deficiencies.

The improved Bat Speed helps, but importantly, he has started in six of the last seven games. Add while playing regularly.

Diamondbacks

• Carlos Santana is about done with his rehab assignment.

1B Carlos Santana
Injury: Strained right adductor
IL date: April 7 (60-day IL, retroactive to April 6)
Expected return: TBD
Status: Was nearing a return to the active roster when he felt a twinge in the adductor on May 9 while on rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno. Played seven innings at first base for Reno June 10 and nine innings as DH June 11.

Santana only has 20 days to go on a rehab assignment before joining the major league team. The clock started on June 5th, so it’s right at the end of it (if I’m right on the dates). So there are three options.

First, the team pulls him off the rehab assignment, and he can refresh the 20 days. If so, he is ignorable.

Second, he joins the major league roster and replaces Pavin Smith or LuJames Groover.

Three, the team releases him. Also, ignorable.

Dodgers

• Tyler Glasnow is not making any progress.

RHP Tyler Glasnow
Injury: Lower back spasms
IL date: May 8 (transferred to 60-day IL on June 6)
Expected return: Mid-July at earliest
Status: Has made little progress in his rehab and is currently not throwing.

I wonder if Glasnow is a cut at this point. Once he starts up his recovery, he’ll need at least a month to get to the majors. In the best-case scenario, it might be mid-August before he returns.

Even if he is dropped, there seems to be a chance he’ll stay on the wire. On June 14th, Glasnow was dropped in 52 NFBC leagues but re-added in only 24 leagues, and only six of those having a second team bidding (max $8). This week, 35 more teams dropped him. Drop until there are signs he’ll return.

• River Ryan is not throwing long into games, which is the reason why he’s not being called up. But the team might have to promote him if another pitcher gets hurt.

The Dodgers cannot ask Ryan to consistently notch six innings in the big leagues if he hasn’t been able to do so in Triple A, and they won’t risk losing him again for the sake of a few starts in June — especially when they view him as a potential weapon coming out of the bullpen in October. That the back end of the rotation has been so consistent also makes it easier for the Dodgers to stay patient with Ryan.
…
So the Dodgers will continue building up Ryan’s foundation. He’s coming off his first true bad start of the year — he allowed eight earned runs over 4 1/3 innings against Sacramento on Wednesday — but the organization is not concerned. Excluding that start, Ryan owned a 2.15 ERA dating to May 15, his first start post-hamstring injury. If an injury occurs or a spot start is needed, expect Ryan to get the call. Until then, working on the mix, pitching deeper into games and bulking up innings remain the focus for an arm the Dodgers expect to contribute to their aspirations of a third straight World Series.

Giants

• Heliot Ramos is about to return from his rehab assignment.

LF Heliot Ramos
Injury: Right quad strain
IL date: May 16 (10-day IL)
Expected return: Late June
Status: Began rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on June 17. Main priority is getting additional game action, according to Giants manager Tony Vitello.

He is rostered in 67% of leagues, so he could be available for some managers. Before going on the IL, he hit .267/.307/.424 with 4 HR in 176 PA.

Pirates

• Jared Jones and Braxton Ashcraft will see their innings limited as the season goes on.

As for Jared Jones and Braxton Ashcraft, Murphy is being extra careful. Jones is coming off internal brace surgery on his right elbow, and has been limited to 70-80 pitches per game. Murphy described Jones’ usage as “fluid,” and they’ll monitor how he continues to recover before upping his pitch count. He was struck by a comebacker on the same elbow Sunday against Colorado, but initial imaging came back negative.

Ashcraft is similar. The 26-year-old has posted a career season but is already 27 innings away from matching his career high. Murphy said it’s a game-to-game assessment, seeing where there will be opportunity to back off. Ashcraft’s efficiency, just a six percent walk rate, makes things easier.

I’m a little worried Ashcraft could see a start or two skipped around the upcoming All-Star game.

Reds

• Emilio Pagán is close to going on a rehab assignment.

Emilio Pagan also faced live hitters during a 20-pitch simulated game session on Friday, as the reliever is close to starting a rehab assignment of his own. Reds manager Terry Francona told reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that the plan is for Pagan to throw another sim game on Monday before likely starting a rehab assignment next weekend.

He’s a waiver wire non-factor since he’s already rostered in 98% of leagues.

Rockies

• Brenton Doyle and Jordan Beck started their rehab assignments.

CF Brenton Doyle
Injury: Left oblique contusion
IL date: May 21 (10-day IL, retroactive to May 20)
Expected return: TBD
Status: Sent out to begin a Minor League rehab assignment June 22.

OF Jordan Beck
Injury: Left hamstring strain
IL date: May 18 (10-day IL)
Expected return: TBD
Status: Sent out to begin a Minor League rehab assignment June 22.

I’m not sure how the outfield playing time will work out in Colorado. The team is already having to find time for five outfielders (McCarthy, Freeman, Johnston, Carrigg, and Moniak). I have no idea what the Paste-Eaters are going to do.