Roto Riteup: July 2, 2026

O’Neill! Oh, Canada!

Now where has this power been all season?

On the Agenda: 

1. Closer Chaos
2. Quick Hits
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitchers

Closer Chaos

Chicago Cubs lefty starter-turned-reliever Jordan Wicks earned a three-inning save, entering the game in the seventh inning with a 15-2 lead. His first save of the season was on Sunday as he pitched the bottom of the 10th inning with a one-run (4-3) lead. Wicks isn’t officially in the saves mix though. Jacob Webb remains the leader of this committee until Daniel Palencia returns.

Baltimore Orioles closer Ryan Helsley was warming up before the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game, but did not enter it. Instead, veteran Andrew Kittredge stepped in to pitch a clean ninth. Helsley is dealing with right elbow discomfort and will have to undergo further testing. It doesn’t sound great, and it would be Kittredge who steps up as the closer if Helsley has to visit the injured list again.

There’s always chaos in Coors, especially when it comes to the closers. Jimmy Herget still appears to be the at the top of the pecking order, though he drew eighth-inning duties with a 6-3 lead. That’s because Marlins lefties Liam Hicks and Griffin Conine were due up. Herget took of them both, plus the red-hot Javier Sanoja. Former Red Sox long reliever Brennan Bernardino stepped in for the ninth and earned the save, punching out Kyle Stowers, then getting two righty bats to line out. It was Bernardino’s first save as a member of the Rockies. He earned one last season with the Red Sox. Fun fact: Bernardino did not make his Major League debut until he was 30, back in 2022.

Quick Hits

Brent Rooker is out for the season. He will have surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left knee.

Matt Chapman hit the IL with a abdominal strain. Fellow Giant Willy Adames missed his third straight contest with a back injury. Rookie Victor Bericoto homered on Wednesday. It’s his third home run in six games. Perhaps manager Tony Vitello starts him for 2-of-3 RHPs in Coors Field this weekend.

New York Yankees rookie outfielder Spencer Jones missed Wednesday’s game due to food poisoning. Rumor has it he ate Giancarlo Stanton’s stale chips.

Dodgers catcher Will Smith will be out through the All-Star break. He’s been slow to heal from neck inflammation.

Vinnie Pasquantino is hoping to start a rehab assignment before the All-Star break. He’s been out since June 14 after fracturing the hamate bone in his right hand. Kyle Isbel is on a rehab assignment and should be back sometime early next week. Maikel Garcia’s return is still up in the air, but it should occur sometime around the All-Star break.

The Houston Astros plan to activate pitcher Cristian Javier on Friday and have him work out of the bullpen. Javier gave up 13 runs in three starts to begin the season before going on the IL with a shoulder injury. The Astros are operating a five-man rotation for now with Hunter Brown, Spencer Arrighetti, Mike Burrows, Peter Lambert, and Tatsuya Imai.

This shouldn’t affect any fantasy players because if you still have Bryce Elder on your roster, you’ve probably reserved him. Elder will have his next start skipped. Grant Holmes will take his place. After that, and assuming Elder doesn’t get smashed in his final start before the break, Holmes will move into the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever, full time.

Various News and Notes

Someone’s been playing like a first overall MLB draft pick.

Dansby Swanson was legitimately hurting fantasy managers who invested in him, batting .183, though with 8 HR and 31 RBI through his first 72 games. He has nearly duplicated this production over his last 10 games, hitting 8 HR with 28 RBI. The funny part is that all the production came in just six games as he went 0-for-16 in the other four. There’s probably no worse feeling than being the fantasy manager who dropped him before June 20.

The Cubs scored 23 runs against the Padres in Wednesday’s contest. They hit eight homers in total, including two from Michael Conforto. Walker Buehler was pummeled for nine runs, Kyle Hart 하트 for five, and Padres backup catcher pitched the last two innings, allowing eight earned runs on seven hits. Buehler’s ERA jumped nearly a full run, from 3.81 to 4.61.

Kevin McGonigle smashed his seventh home run of the season.

The AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner is slashing .282/.391/.424.

Junior Caminero homered in his sixth straight game. He’s incredible and will certainly be a first-round fantasy pick in all formats next season.

Major League stolen base leader Nasim Nuñez hit his first home run of the season off Red Sox lefty Payton Tolle. This was the fourth dinger allowed by Tolle in his last four starts. Tolle served up just three dingers in his previous nine starts.

Check out this inside-the-park homer by Marlins rookie catcher, Joe Mack:

The Marlins were the only 20-win team in June and they’ve kicked off July just right.

Mets rookie outfielder Carson Benge is officially a double-digit HR-SB guy before the All-Star break. He crushed his 10th home run of the season and extended his on-base streak to 14 games. Benge has 11 swipes.

Taj Bradley earned the Twins a win with a masterful performance, striking out 11 hitters in five innings. Their opponent’s starter, Tatsuya Imai, was knocked out of the game in the second inning. He gave up a two-run home run to Josh Bell in the first, then a three-run shot to Kody Clemens, before getting yanked.

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% on Yahoo)

Pitchers for Today: Ian Seymour, TB (14%) at KC

There are two major concerns here: the projected run total is 10.5 and temps will be in the low 90s. But the matchup is excellent for Seymour, facing a watered-down Royals offense. Seymour is fresh off 6.2 innings of no-hit ball against these same Royals.

Other Options: Walbert Ureña, LAA (34%) at SEA

Ureña has had a very good rookie season, though he’s been partially fueled by luck, and some of that luck ran out in his last start against the Athletics when he allowed seven runs. His 11.8% walk rate isn’t pretty, but the matchup and ballpark with the Mariners in Seattle is a good one. The Mariners are strong favorites, but the projected run total for the game is 7.5. On a shorter slate like this one on Thursday, we might be able to get away with it.

Pitchers for Tomorrow: Jake Bennett, BOS (19%) at LAA

Perhaps he’s due for some regression, but it’s a fine matchup for the rookie southpaw. Over his last three starts (v NYY, at COL, v TOR), Bennett has a 1.53 ERA (3.05 xFIP) and a 17:2 K:BB.

Other Options: Anthony Kay, CHW (15%) at CLE

The Guardians’ active roster ranks dead last against southpaws in wRC+ (79), ISO (.104) and SLG (.317).