Houston Astros outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (hand) is still not swinging a bat. The 28-year-old recently underwent imaging of his hand, which showed that the small fracture had healed. Now, any pain he's experiencing is due to inflammation, not the fracture. The 3x All-Star also has received injections in his hand, but he hasn't been able to progress to swinging a bat. A return after the All-Star break was looking like the best-case scenario, however, it seems a late July return is becoming the most optimistic view at this point.

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Kansas City Royals catching prospect Blake Mitchell went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run during their contest against High-A Fort Wayne on Friday evening. This was Mitchell's first career home run at the High-A level. The No. 33-ranked prospect in baseball was sidelined throughout most of the first half with a wrist injury. He participated in an 11-game rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League before returning to High-A. Through his first three games at High-A this season, Mitchell has gone 3-for-12 with two doubles, a home run, and two RBI. Last season, the catcher spent the majority of his time with Low-A before earning a brief five-game taste of High-A. Given the time he missed this season, fantasy managers should expect Mitchell to spend a majority of the second half with High-A.

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New York Yankees outfield prospect Spencer Jones went 3-for-5 with a home run during their contest against Triple-A Buffalo. This performance extended his current hitting streak to six games. During this stretch, Jones has gone deep three times, added a double, and swiped five bags. Since earning the call to the top level of the minor leagues, Jones has been one of his most productive hitters in the minors. Through 12 contests, Jones has posted a .408/.475/.837 line with three doubles, six home runs, six stolen bases, and a 17:8 K:BB. Earlier in the season, Jones showed high power upside with Double-A Somerset, hitting 16 home runs across 49 contests. Given his incredible start to his Triple-A tenure, Jones could be in the mix to join the Yankees shortly after the All-Star break.

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New York Mets infield prospect Jett Williams broke out of his slump in a big way on Friday evening. During their contest against Double-A Altoona, the top-ranked prospect in Queens went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI. Before this game, Williams held a .171/.327/.244 line over his last 12 games. During this 12-game skid, Williams did not hit a home run and posted just two multi-hit outings. After missing time with injuries last season, Williams has been very productive during the 2025 season. Through 76 games with Double-A Binghamton, the former 14th overall pick has held a .283/.393/.493 line with 23 doubles, eight home runs, and 25 stolen bases. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his progression, as he should be in the mix to join Triple-A in the second half.

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Baltimore Orioles catching prospect Samuel Basallo went 1-for-4 with a home run during their contest against Triple-A Jacksonville on Friday evening. This was his 18th home run of the season. The top-ranked catching prospect in the sport has looked very comfortable during his first extended look at Triple-A. Through 60 games at Triple-A this season, the 20-year-old has posted a remarkable .265/.385/.585 slash line with 10 doubles, 18 home runs, and a 53:38 K:BB. This is an excellent sign for the budding star as he posted a modest .222/.267/.370 through his first 22 games with Triple-A Norfolk during the 2024 campaign. Fantasy managers should continue to closely monitor Basallo as he is on the verge of making his MLB debut. He should be viewed as a top stash candidate heading into the All-Star break.

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Mariners' C Cal Raleigh had five RBIs going 2-for-5 with two home runs in a 12-3 win over Detroit on Friday, Jul. 11.

Cincinnati's SP Chase Burns recorded 10 strikeouts in 6 innings in a 3-2 loss to the Rockies on Friday, Jul. 11.

New York Yankees' CF Cody Bellinger had six RBIs going 3-for-5 with three home runs in a 11-0 win over the Cubs on Friday, Jul. 11.

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh continued his monster season in his team's 12-3 win on Friday night over the Detroit Tigers. Raleigh went two-for-five with a pair of home runs and five RBI. The switch-hitter has been by far the best catcher in baseball this season, slashing .264/.377/.645 with 38 home runs, 81 RBI, 65 runs scored, and nine stolen bases. Raleigh's 38 homers are the second-most of any player before the All-Star break, trailing only Barry Bonds (39 in 2001). The 28-year-old has been MLB's premier power bat in 2025, upping both his barrel rate (19.8%) and hard-hit rate (48.9%) to career-highs while dropping his strikeout rate to a career-low 25.2%.

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Texas Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford had a huge game in his team's 7-3 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night, going four-for-five with a home run, two RBI, and a stolen base. The 23-year-old is having a solid but unspectacular season in the middle of an underwhelming Rangers' offense so far in 2025. In 323 plate appearances, Langford has slashed .246/.325/.442 with 15 home runs, 38 RBI, 40 runs, and 14 stolen bases. His 26% strikeout rate is nearly 6% higher than the 20.6% rate he posted in 2024, but he's also upped his barrel rate (9.3% to 12.5%) and isolated slugging (.162 to .196). Langford quietly has a chance at a 25-homer/25-steal season and remains a balanced contributor across the board even if he hasn't been the breakout star fantasy managers were hoping for earlier this year.

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Cleveland Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase earned his 20th save of the season on Friday, working a scoreless ninth inning in his team's 4-2 win over the Chicago White Sox. Clase got off to a rough start to the season with a 6.75 ERA at the end of April, but he's been much better of late. He's allowed just one earned run since June 17th (10 2/3 innings pitched). For the season, Clase has converted 20 out of 24 save chances while posting a 3.05 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 40 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings. He's allowed too many base runners but remains elite at home run suppression (0.22 HR/9), which limits his blow-up potential. Clase may not get back to the dominant form he showed in 2024, but he's still a solid closer option for fantasy.

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Minnesota Twins reliever Jhoan Duran notched his 15th save of the season on Friday night in his team's 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Duran worked a scoreless ninth inning, allowing a hit but striking out two without walking a batter. The 27-year-old righty has now converted each of his last four save chances. In 42 1/3 total innings (43 games) this season Duran is 15/17 converting save opportunities with a 1.49 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts. Duran's 26.3% strikeout rate entering the night was a career-low, but he's been as effective as ever so far this year and remains a high-level closer option in fantasy.

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Atlanta Braves closer Raisel Iglesias picked up his 10th save of the season on Friday night in his team's 6-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The veteran right-hander worked a perfect ninth inning and recorded a strikeout. It's been an underwhelming season so far for Iglesias, as he's posted a 4.54 ERA, and 1.25 WHIP in 35 2/3 innings. The underlying numbers suggest better luck is on the horizon for him, as he still owns an excellent 22.4% K-BB rate and a 3.84 xERA. Home runs have been the issue for Iglesias, as he's allowed a career-worst 1.82 HR/9. He's a good bet to provide more value for fantasy managers in the second half of the season than he did in the first.

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New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon earned his 10th win of the season on Friday night by throwing eight scoreless innings in his team's 11-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Rodon tallied eight strikeouts, allowing just four hits and one walk. The veteran lefty was named an American League All-Star earlier in the day and has had an excellent season to this point. In 119 2/3 innings (20 starts), Rodon is 10-6 with a 3.08 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 135 strikeouts. His 28.2% strikeout rate is his best since 2022, and he entered the night allowing a career-low .185 opponent batting average. Rodon is a must-start pitcher in all fantasy formats as long as he stays healthy.

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Colorado Rockies right-handed reliever Victor Vodnik notched his second save of the year in a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. Vodnik gave up a ninth-inning leadoff double to Santiago Espinal before settling down and striking out both TJ Friedl and Matt McLain swinging. After intentionally walking Elly De La Cruz to put the winning run on first base, Vodnik fanned Austin Hays to clinch a Colorado victory. The hard-throwing 25-year-old has now gone 11 straight appearances without allowing an earned run. Vodnik's ERA has fallen to 2.30 with 29 strikeouts in 27 1/3, though he has also issued a lofty 16 walks. The Rockies have given the majority of save opportunities to Seth Halvorsen, but he melted down in his previous outing and hasn't been particularly effective this year. Meanwhile, Zach Agnos hasn't done enough to take the job from Halvorsen. If he continues pitching well, Vodnik could be worth monitoring for fantasy managers in desperate need of saves.

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New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger victimized his previous team, the Chicago Cubs, in an 11-0 blowout on Friday. Bellinger picked up his first multi-homer game of the season, going deep three times in a 3-for-5, six-RBI effort to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games. The 29-year-old almost had another HR in the seventh inning, but Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker made a leaping catch to prevent it from going over the wall. Bellinger has now racked up multiple hits in four of his past five games, continuing a superb start to July. He's 17-for-43 (.395) with four homers, 11 RBI, and 12 runs scored in 10 games this month. The former MVP has bounced back from a mediocre 2024 to slash .285/.340/.498 with 16 homers, 54 RBI, 53 runs, and nine steals across 368 plate appearances in his first year with the Yankees.

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Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks (4-3) had a night to forget in a 5-4 defeat to the Boston Red Sox on Friday, recording his third blown save and taking his third loss of the year. Heading into the bottom of the ninth with a 4-3 lead, the Rays called on Fairbanks to close out a victory. Instead, he issued a one-out walk to Roman Anthony and then surrendered a two-run homer to Ceddanne Rafaela to drop an important game against a division rival. Fairbanks didn't allow a homer in any of his first 36 appearances this season, but his luck ran out in that department on Friday. He has now given up two earned runs in two of his past four appearances. While Fairbanks still holds a 2.75 ERA with 15 saves in 36 innings, that production has come with unspectacular strikeout and walk numbers (31:15 K:BB).

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Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts issued a positive update on third baseman Max Muncy (knee) on Friday, saying Muncy's "spirits are up" and "he's moving around." Muncy suffered a bone bruise in his left knee on July 2 and is expected to remain out until sometime in August. The 34-year-old was on a weeks-long tear before the injury and landed on the shelf slashing .250/.375/.457 line with 13 home runs and 55 RBI in 315 plate appearances. With Muncy unavailable, the Dodgers have turned to Miguel Rojas and Tommy Edman at the hot corner.

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Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell (shoulder) will make his second rehab start on July 15 in the Arizona Complex League. Snell toed the rubber in his first rehab start Wednesday, throwing two scoreless innings and 31 pitches at the Single-A level. The two-time Cy Young winner hasn't pitched in the majors since April 2 because of shoulder inflammation. Snell is still likely to require two or three more rehab starts before rejoining the Dodgers, but he should be back in the next couple of weeks if there are no setbacks.

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Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa left a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday with a mild left-ankle sprain, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports. Correa went 1-for-3 before the Twins replaced him at shortstop with Brooks Lee in the top of the seventh inning. The injury may wrap up the first half of the season for Correa, who would get more time to rest with the All-Star break coming. Correa earned his third All-Star nod last year, but this season has been a struggle. He's hitting an underwhelming .261/.302/.385 with seven home runs and 30 RBI in 318 plate appearances.

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