It wasn't clean, but St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley picked up his 15th save of the season in Tuesday's 8-7 win over the Cubs. Helsley came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by one. He got the first out on a ground-out, allowed a single, got the second out on a strikeout, allowed another single, and ended the game with a ground-out. The 30-year-old has been uncharacteristically erratic this season, blowing five saves with a 3.54 ERA, a 1.46 WHIP, and a 10.61 K/9 rate in 28 innings of work. The good news is that Helsley doesn't have much competition and has only walked one batter in June, and he has provided fantasy value despite some of his foibles this season.

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Cleveland Guardians outfield prospect Chase DeLauter went 2-for-3 with a home run and two walks in Tuesday's 12-0 win against Triple-A Omaha. The 23-year-old looks super polished at the plate, as he has walked more than he's struck out on the season and holds a 51.5 percent hard-hit rate. After dealing with multiple injuries along the way, DeLauter appears to be knocking on the door of the big leagues. He's handled Triple-A pitching very well, slashing .312/438/.519 in 96 plate appearances. While he won't offer much in the speed department, his ability to hit for average with some power has appeal in deeper leagues and is a speculative add in standard formats.

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Houston Astros closer Josh Hader picked up his 20th save of the season in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Phillies. Hader came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning. He got the first out on a strikeout, hit a batter, got the second out on a pop-up, and ended the game with another strikeout. The 31-year-old has been as good as ever this season, converting all of his save opportunities with a 1.78 ERA, a 0.74 WHIP, and a 14.01 K/9 rate in 35 1/3 innings of work. Walks and home runs have bloated his ERA at times in his career, and while his current 1.27 HR/9 rate is not the best, he has put few runners on for free. His 1.78 BB/9 rate is a career-low, so it is possible that he won't sustain it, but Hader has been outstanding overall this season, even by his standards.

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San Diego Padres closer Robert Suarez continued his solid season in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Nationals, picking up his 22nd save. Suarez came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by one and shut things down with a 1-2-3 outing, ending the game with a strikeout. The 34-year-old racked up 36 saves last season and is currently tied with the most saves this season. He has a 3.51 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and a 9.18 K/9 rate in 33 1/3 innings of work. Suarez may not be the most exciting closer in baseball, but he offers a very high floor from a fantasy perspective and has been rock solid since the beginning of the 2024 season.

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Tampa Bay Rays shortstop prospect Carson Williams went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and three RBI in Tuesday's 15-6 win over Triple-A Memphis. Williams hit a 465-foot moonshot in the bottom of the fourth inning and has been surging in June. The 22-year-old is slashing .324.425/662 with six homers and four stolen bases across 76 plate appearances. He's maintained a high walk rate while also making more contact during this stretch. Williams is the Rays' top prospect according to MLB.com, and if he continues trending this way, he could make his debut late in the season.

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Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Tanner Scott picked up his 16th save of the season in Tuesday's 9-7 win over the Rockies. He came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning up by three with two outs and runners on first and second. He allowed a two-RBI double before ending the inning with a fly-out. He stayed on to pitch the ninth, getting the first out on a ground-out. He allowed a single but induced a double play to end the game. Despite the Dodgers' nebulous bullpen roles, Scott has served as the team's primary closer this season. He has converted 16 of 21 save opportunities to go with a 3.65 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP, and a 9.73 K/9 rate in 37 innings of work. While he may prove to be frustrating from a fantasy perspective at times, given how the Dodgers treat their bullpen, Scott has offered a solid amount of fantasy value so far this season.

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Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff (ankle, elbow, shoulder) bounced back well from his live batting practice session on Monday and will make a minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Nashville against Triple-A Jacksonville this weekend, according to manager Pat Murphy. It's been a roller-coaster ride for Woodruff in the first half of 2025 as he's attempted to return from right-shoulder surgery that he had in the fall of 2023. The 32-year-old veteran did not pitch at all in 2024 and was close to rejoining Milwaukee's starting rotation last month before dealing with ankle tendinitis and a right-elbow contusion after being hit by a comebacker. Barring a third setback this weekend, he should come off the 60-day injured list before the All-Star break and should already be rostered in all fantasy leagues due to his ace potential when healthy.

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Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Blake Perkins (shin) will join Triple-A Nashville to officially start his minor-league rehab assignment this week and is tentatively scheduled to debut on Thursday, according to manager Pat Murphy. Perkins began playing in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Saturday and could rejoin the big-league roster before the mid-July All-Star break if he doesn't suffer a setback with his shin in the minors. The 28-year-old outfielder has yet to play in the big leagues in 2025 because of his shin injury, but when he's ready to return, he'll give the Brew Crew more outfield depth from both sides of the plate as a switch-hitter. Perkins is unlikely to play regularly, but he can be useful in deeper fantasy leagues for his speed after stealing 23 bags in 121 games in his second big-league season in 2024. However, he could might run less coming off his lower-leg injury.

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Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he wanted to leave things "open-ended" as far as when right-hander Shohei Ohtani will make his next start, but The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya writes that everything lines up for Ohtani to toe the rubber next in Kansas City against the Royals this Saturday. The 30-year-old Japanese two-way superstar made his pitching debut for L.A. on June 16 against the San Diego Padres and allowed a run in just an inning of work before throwing a shutout inning with two strikeouts in his second start on Sunday versus the Washington Nationals. Ohtani will slowly build up his pitch count as he makes his way back from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in September of 2023, but he won't go deep enough into his third start of the year against the Royals to make it worth using him as a pitcher in fantasy lineups.

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Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Ildemaro Vargas left Tuesday's game after being hit in the right foot by a pitch, and the team has since confirmed that he suffered a fractured fifth metatarsal. The 33-year-old actually remained in the game after being hit by the pitch in the first inning, and he didn't exit the contest until the bottom of the fourth. This was only the tenth game the veteran played in this season for the big league club, and he's gone 8-for-29 with one home run during that time. Expect more details on a potential timeline to come in the near future, but a trip to the injured list is certain.

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Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Harris II (elbow) left Tuesday's game in the sixth inning after getting hit by a pitch on his right elbow, reports Barrett Sallee. Despite it hitting off his elbow guard, the 95 mph fastball still did enough damage to knock the 24-year-old out of the game. Eli White shifted over to center field and Stuart Fairchild entered the game in left field in his place. There should be updates regarding the extent of the injury after the game, but hopefully it was just a precautionary move. Harris has been one of the bigger disappointments in fantasy this season, slashing just .220/.246/.331.

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New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (knee) was lit up in his third rehab start, allowing five runs on 10 hits and two walks over 3 innings. He threw 65 pitches and struck out one. All three of his rehab starts have come at the Double-A Level, and they've progressively gotten worse each time he takes the mound. The Yankees desperately need the rotation help, with Allan Winans currently penciled in as their fifth starter, but Stroman certainly isn't creating much optimism that he would be any better. Even before heading to the injured list with knee inflammation, the veteran posted an 11.57 ERA through three starts.

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Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (ankle) is set to begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday night with Triple-A Omaha. He's working his way back from a sprained ankle that has kept him on the injured list since June 8. In 56 games this season, he is slashing .202/.221/.258 with two home runs and one stolen base. He hasn't hit more than 15 home runs in a season in his career and has a career on-base percentage of just .221, so the 27-year-old doesn't bring much interest for fantasy even once he does get healthy.

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Outfielder Jason Heyward (oblique) was released by the Padres on Tuesday. He was designated for assignment on Saturday and had officially cleared waivers at the time of his release. The veteran has been working his way back from an oblique strain, with his last major league game coming on May 23. In 34 games this season, he slashed just .176/.223/.271 with two home runs. The 35-year-old hasn't been productive at the plate since 2023 when he posted a .269 batting average on .340 on-base percentage, but another team may be willing to take a chance on him with a minor-league deal.

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Infielder Whit Merrifield officially announced his retirement from professional baseball on Tuesday, according to his agency. Merrifield, 36, was originally a ninth-round pick by the Kansas City Royals in 2010 out of the University of South Carolina. He spent the first six full seasons of his MLB career with the Royals before also playing with the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. In his prime, Merrifield was an elite speed threat that made plenty of contact at the plate, leading the league in steals three separate times and making the All-Star team three times. Merrifield finishes his nine-year major-league career with a .280/.328/.414 with a .741 OPS, 94 home runs, 485 RBI and 218 stolen bases in 1,147 regular-season games. He ranks seventh in Royals franchise history with 174 steals and 13th with his .286 career average.

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Houston Astros right-hander Luis Garcia (elbow) threw his first live batting practice session on Tuesday at Daikin Park before the team's game against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. Garcia threw 20 pitches in the outing as he continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery that kept him out all of last season. The 28-year-old Venezuelan hurler will need at least a couple more live BP sessions before he's cleared to begin what should be a lengthy minor-league rehab assignment. Barring any setbacks when Garcia begins pitching in games, he could be an option for the Astros' starting rotation at some point in August. He was a reliable member of the team's rotation before his elbow injury, but he made only six starts in 2023 and will likely be on a strict and limited workload when he returns to the big leagues later this season.

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Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah (elbow) threw 25 pitches over one inning in a live batting practice session in Florida on Tuesday, according to Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling. "It went really well," said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. "Velo was up to 95. Best he's felt in a while." The next step for Manoah will be to build up to a multi-inning live BP session. The 27-year-old had a hybrid Tommy John/internal-brace procedure last June and has yet to pitch in 2025, but barring a setback, he should be an option for Toronto's starting rotation at some point in the second half (possibly August). Manoah was an American League Cy Young finalist in 2022 before the wheels fell off in 2023 and he was sent to the minor leagues. He made only five starts last year before having elbow surgery. Manoah has the stuff to bounce back, but it remains to be seen if his mechanical tweaks will allow for it later this season.

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New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez came out of the game early on Tuesday at Triple-A Syracuse due to a heat/dizziness issue, according to SNY's Andy Martino. Alvarez went 0-for-1 at the plate before being replaced by Jakson Reetz behind the plate. It's unclear if Alvarez will be feeling good enough to return to the lineup for Syracuse on Wednesday. The Mets optioned the 23-year-old backstop to the minors on Sunday after he slashed .236/.319/.333 with a 27.5 percent strikeout rate in 35 games with the Mets this year. It didn't help his cause that he fractured the hamate bone in his left hand back in spring training, which kept him out for the first month of the regular season. Alvarez will work on his swing mechanics at Syracuse before rejoining the big-league club at some point in the second half. In the meantime, Luis Torrens will be New York's starting catcher.

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San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman (hand) thinks he could return from the 10-day injured list for the team's final homestand before the All-Star break that runs from Monday, July 7, through Sunday, July 13. Chapman will get in work at the team's spring training complex in Arizona while the team is on the road, and he would prefer not to go on a minor-league rehab assignment unless it's needed. He is back to throwing and took 20 swings off a tee on Tuesday. The 32-year-old veteran is no longer wearing a splint on his injured right hand. Until he returns, Casey Schmitt is expected to continue serving as San Fran's primary third baseman. There's no reason Chapman should be available on the waiver wire in fantasy leagues while he's on the injured list. Before getting hurt, he was slashing .243/.360/.452 with an .812 OPS, 12 homers, 30 RBI, 35 runs and seven steals in 65 games.

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Miami Marlins right-hander Max Meyer (hip) is scheduled to have season-ending left-hip labral repair surgery on Friday with Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville, according to MLB.com's Christina De Nicola. The recovery timeline for Meyer will be roughly six to eight months, so he should be ready for the start of the 2026 season, barring a setback during his rehab in the offseason. Obviously, the 26-year-old can now be dropped in all single-year fantasy leagues now that he won't pitch again in 2025. The former third overall pick is losing appeal in dynasty/keeper leagues, too, as he just hasn't been able to overcome injuries to make an impact at the big-league level yet. Meyer returned from Tommy John surgery in 2024 to post a 5.68 ERA and 1.42 WHIP with a 46:19 K:BB in 11 starts and had a 4.73 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 68:20 K:BB in his 12 starts this year before his hip injury.

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