St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar (rest) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Chicago Cubs. This appears to be a regular rest day for Nootbaar, with the Cubs sending southpaw David Peterson to the mound. Nootbaar has started in 11 straight games, so he could use a rest day. In his place, Jose Fermin will cover left field and bat seventh on Friday. Due to injuries, Nootbaar has only played in 23 games this season. He's slashing .300/.387/.463 with two home runs and eight RBI in 93 plate appearances. He could be an under-the-radar deep league addition at the moment.

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Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (hip) remains out of the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the New York Yankees. This marks the fourth straight game that Buxton has missed due to a hip impingement issue. The Twins had an off day on Thursday and were hopeful Buxton could return here, but he'll remain out at least one more game. For now, Buxton should be considered day-to-day, but he could end up on the Injured List if he doesn't improve at all during the weekend. Ryan Kreidler will cover center field and bat seventh against right-hander Gerrit Cole on Friday.

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New York Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham (hamstring) was activated off the 10-day Injured List on Friday. As expected, Grisham has been activated ahead of the series opener versus the Minnesota Twins. Grisham has been sidelined since June 12 due to a right hamstring strain. Before going down, Grisham was swinging a hot bat to begin the month of June, but we'll see if that can carry over into July. Overall, this season, Grisham is slashing .232/.341/.406 with eight home runs, 35 RBI, and six steals in 57 games. He does offer some upside as a power bat, but is more worth a look in mixed leagues against right-handed pitching.

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St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May (ankle) was forced to make an early exit from Thursday's outing against the Atlanta Braves. He exited in the first inning due to a right ankle contusion, but the X-rays came back negative. On Friday, manager Oliver Marmol said that May's ankle is feeling better than expected. That is encouraging news for a pitcher who suffered an ankle injury less than 24 hours ago. He was planning to play catch ahead of Friday's game against the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately, that didn't happen with thunderstorms looming over Wrigley Field. Given the improvement, the Cardinals are likely going to take this situation day-to-day. The right-hander could end up on the Injured List, but the team will probably wait and see how May progresses over the weekend.

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St. Louis Cardinals left-handed pitching prospect Quinn Mathews is showing off his upside this season. In 15 starts at Triple-A Memphis, Mathews has a 4-3 record with a 3.95 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched. Since serving up four runs on May 22, the southpaw has logged 30 1/3 innings to the tune of a sharp 2.08 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. The high strikeout upside is the first thing that stands out and makes him extremely enticing as a fantasy starter. He has allowed 11 home runs, which is fairly high at this point in the season, but his overall numbers are very good. The fourth-round pick out of Stanford is eyeing a promotion to St. Louis and is looking for a spot in the rotation. Right now, the MLB rotation has five solid starters, so a call-up could depend on an injury. But Mathews has proven himself at the Triple-A level this season and could be an excellent addition in deep leagues as a wait-and-see target.

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New York Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon (illness) was activated off the 10-day Injured List on Friday. McMahon has been out since June 21 due to a throat and ear infection. He figures to resume his role as a platoon option at third base. So far this season, McMahon is slashing .210/.269/.360 with eight home runs, 23 RBI, and three steals in 69 games. The 31-year-old offers some power upside, but being a platoon player doesn't help his fantasy value. At the moment, fantasy managers shouldn't view McMahon as anything more than a source of power in deep leagues.

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Minnesota Twins outfield prospect Walker Jenkins has found his way back from a sprained left shoulder AC joint and has rejoined the St. Paul Saints at the Triple-A level. In 114 at-bats with St. Paul this season, Jenkins is hitting .272 with two homers and 11 RBI to go with seven stolen bases. In an injury-limited season, Jenkins has shown off his five-category ability. The former No. 5 overall pick has room to improve the power numbers in his limited at-bats but is more than capable of doing so. He has shown nice speed on the base paths and is hitting for a good average. The question is what he can do at the big-league level, but he has been considered one of the top outfield prospects in the minor leagues over the last few years. He could reward fantasy managers who take a chance and add him prior to his call-up to Minnesota. Jenkins has the talent to help teams win fantasy titles late this season, making him a worthy stash target in deeper five-outfielder leagues with N/A spots.

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Washington Nationals shortstop prospect Seaver King has had a productive year in the minor leagues in 2026, hitting .306 between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester with 10 home runs and 51 RBI, along with nine stolen bases. The former No. 10 overall pick out of Wake Forest is pushing hard for a look at a promotion to Washington but has seen his numbers dip slightly with his promotion to Triple-A. With stud shortstop CJ Abrams manning the position in Washington along with Nasim Nunez providing depth, it might be hard for King to break through for a spot with the Nationals in the short term. King's five-tool profile, however, makes him a good candidate to add in mid-to-deep-sized leagues. He should help contribute at the middle infield positions and would be a must-start should Abrams or Nunez suffer an unfortunate injury.

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New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (elbow) was placed on the 15-day Injured List on Friday. Rodon heads to the shelf for hopefully a minimal stint due to left elbow inflammation. The Yankees believe this is an injury that can be managed without Rodon needing to undergo surgery. There isn't a clear timetable for Rodon, so the Yankees will just give him time to rest before they make any further decisions. The southpaw owns a 3.30 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and a 52:26 K:BB ratio across nine starts this season. When healthy, Rodon is a stud, but keeping him on the mound has been a problem. It's unclear at the moment who is going to take over his spot in the rotation.

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Milwaukee Brewers infield prospect Jett Williams was shipped to the NL Central this winter as the headliner piece in the Freddy Peralta trade. Williams is a big-time talent who is hitting .225 this season at Triple-A Nashville with nine homers and 41 RBI. He has shown off the speed with 19 steals and looks to be a plus contributor in the steals department for fantasy managers. The shortstop position is a bit crowded for the Brewers with Cooper Pratt playing at the big-league level and Jesus Made manning the position as one of the top Double-A prospects. But Williams offers solid speed, with a season-high 45 steals across three levels of the minors in 2023. Fantasy managers will look for him to raise his batting average at Triple-A before taking a chance on him. He has the upside to make him worth a stash, but that would have to be in deep leagues as he battles stiff competition on his own team for a big-league spot.

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Seattle Mariners starting pitching prospect Kade Anderson has turned in a dominant June at Double-A Arkansas and is coming off a start in which he allowed his first two earned runs of the month. Overall, he completed June with a 4-0 record and an 0.79 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings pitched. It doesn't get much better than that at any level, and fantasy managers would like to see Anderson and his lefty dominance at the Triple-A level sooner rather than later. Anderson has shown a mastery of Double-A with an 8-0 record and 1.22 ERA with 99 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings pitched. The talented former No. 3 overall pick would likely need some time in Triple-A before the Mariners take a look at him in Seattle. But his numbers show that he could be ready for a close-up and is definitely worth picking up and stashing off the waiver wire in leagues of all sizes.

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Just as Minnesota Twins shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper returned from a two-week stint on the injured list with a left hip strain, he injured his hand earlier this week and is now day-to-day. Despite the recent injury bug, Culpepper is still a priority stash ahead of his call-up to the major leagues. If not for the injuries, the talented former first-round pick likely would have already received the call to the major leagues. Through 250 Triple-A at-bats this season, Culpepper is hitting .272 with 14 homers and 43 RBI to go with 15 stolen bases. The Twins have the luxury of some quality players to play on their big-league infield, including Brooks Lee, Kody Clemens, and Ryan Kreidler, but Culpepper could eventually force his hand should he demonstrate he can stay healthy, and his production should follow him to the major leagues. He looks like a priority stash target in mid-to-deep size leagues and could be a quality piece for the stretch run for many fantasy managers.

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San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen said on Friday on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that right-hander Randy Vasquez's (ankle) X-rays "were negative and all tests came back pretty clean." Vasquez has been given the all-clear after also fainting at Dodger Stadium following his abbreviated three-inning outing in the series opener on Thursday, in which he was hit by a Mookie Betts line drive in the ankle in the first inning. The 27-year-old Dominican hurler has been released from the hospital, but it remains to be seen if he'll make his next scheduled start. Vasquez started the year strong in SD's starting rotation, but like the team, he has faded of late and is now 6-6 with a 4.71 ERA (4.92 FIP) and 1.50 WHIP with 60 strikeouts and 27 walks in 84 innings across his 17 appearances (16 starts) after he gave up four earned runs in three innings versus L.A. on Thursday in three innings. Vasquez will be an extremely risky fantasy streamer if he makes his next scheduled start next week.

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For some reason, Los Angeles Dodgers left-handed relief pitcher Tanner Scott just isn't gaining much traction in fantasy baseball leagues in 2026, even though he leads the team in saves with Edwin Diaz (elbow) on the injured list for the foreseeable future. It's probably because of Scott's disastrous first season in L.A. in 2025, in which he lost the closer's gig and finished with a 4.74 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with a 60:18 K:BB despite saving a career-high 23 games in 57 regular-season innings pitched. The 31-year-old southpaw has turned things around in 2026 in his second year with the Dodgers, posting a 2.08 ERA (2.54 FIP), 0.72 WHIP, 11 saves, 42 strikeouts, and only three walks in 34 2/3 innings pitched. It's a modest number of saves for the first-place Dodgers, but Scott's other numbers suggest that he should be rostered in more than 53% of Yahoo leagues. Since last allowing a run on June 11 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Scott has been lights-out in his last seven appearances, throwing seven shutout innings with no walks, 10 strikeouts, five saves, and a hold. Manager Dave Roberts does deploy Scott in some non-traditional save situations earlier in the game, but that shouldn't deter fantasy managers from chasing him until Diaz returns later in the second half.

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Boston Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle is 4-6 with a 3.39 ERA (3.53 FIP) and 1.12 WHIP with 74 strikeouts and 23 walks in 13 starts across 74 1/3 innings pitched in just his second year in the big leagues in 2026. The 23-year-old southpaw and former second-round pick out of Texas Christian University in 2024 broke a stretch of three straight outings with three earned runs or fewer on Wednesday, when he allowed a season-high six earned runs on seven hits (two homers) while walking three and striking out five in just three innings for his sixth loss of the year. It was the first time since May that Tolle failed to go at least five innings in what was his shortest outing of the season. Despite the poor showing this week, Tolle remains one of the more intriguing young lefty arms in baseball and is still worth a pickup off the waiver wire with an upcoming matchup against the Chicago White Sox, a team that ranks seventh in OPS (.739) but fourth in strikeouts (777). Tolle ranks in the 79th percentile in chase rate and the 62nd percentile in strikeout rate despite giving up plenty of hard contact. He's currently rostered in 60% of Yahoo leagues.

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Athletics rookie left-hander Gage Jump has proven himself to be pretty effective in his first seven major-league starts, going 3-2 with a 2.93 ERA (2.66 FIP) and 1.12 WHIP with 40 strikeouts and 10 walks in 40 innings pitched. The 23-year-old former second-round selection in 2024 out of Louisiana State University hit a road bump in his most recent outing, though, giving up a season-high five earned runs on 11 hits (two homers) while walking none and striking out five on June 29 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It broke a string of two straight scoreless appearances against the Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants in which he struck out 16 and walked only four. We'll give Jump a pass against the back-to-back World Series champions in what was just his seventh major-league start. The A's No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, has plenty of upside with a 25% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate, although he'll be much riskier as a fantasy streamer at home at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park. In four starts in Sacramento, Jump has a 4.98 ERA with 26 hits allowed, compared to a 0.49 ERA in two road starts so far.

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Boston Red Sox infielder Caleb Durbin has emerged as a waiver-wire target after a hot month of June at the plate. In 25 games and 92 plate appearances during the month, Durbin went 28-for-86 (.326) with six home runs, six doubles, 13 RBI, 16 runs scored, and five stolen bases. The 26-year-old is now hitting .229/.286/.387 with a .674 OPS, seven home runs, 36 RBI, 31 runs scored, and nine stolen bases in 78 games across 278 plate appearances in his first year in Beantown and his second overall in the majors. It was an incredibly hot month of June, but Durbin, who stands at just 5-foot-6 and 183 pounds, isn't your typical third baseman, both in stature and power potential. He hit .256 (114-for-445) with 11 homers, 53 RBI, 18 stolen bases, and 60 runs scored in 136 regular-season games with the Milwaukee Brewers in his rookie campaign last year. Fantasy managers considering Durbin off the waiver wire should be targeting him for his speed and not his recent power surge. He has a weak .234 xBA, .324 xSLG, and .277 xwOBA, suggesting that his power outburst last month isn't sustainable.

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Colorado Rockies outfielder Mickey Moniak has been a late bloomer after the Philadelphia Phillies took him first overall in the 2016 MLB draft. The 28-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder finally broke out in 2025 in his sixth year in the league and first with the Rockies, hitting .270/.306/.518 with an .824 OPS, 24 home runs, 68 RBI, 62 runs, and nine stolen bases. He was following it up this year by hitting .280/.335/.607 with a .942 OPS, 12 homers, 28 RBI, and 21 runs in his first 43 games through May 21 before an injury landed him on the injured list. Since returning on June 22, Moniak has gone 9-for-32 (.281) with three homers, two doubles, a triple, nine RBI, and seven runs in 10 games played. More recently, he has six hits in his last nine plate appearances with two homers, two doubles, a triple, five RBI, and five runs scored. Moniak came a single shy of the cycle on Wednesday against the Miami Marlins and went 3-for-5 with his 15th homer of the year to finish a triple shy of the cycle on Thursday in the series finale. The power is real at hitter-friendly Coors Field, but beneath the hood, rough times could be coming. Moniak has a .233 xBA, a .326 xwOBA (.353 current wOBA), a chase rate in the third percentile, and a hard-hit rate in just the 55th percentile. Additionally, he's batting only .182 (6-for-33) with two of his homers against lefties and .219 (16-for-73) with three of his 15 homers away from Coors Field.

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Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn has enjoyed his first year in the Steel City and has backed up his first All-Star appearance from a year ago, slashing .285/.340/.471 with an .811 OPS, 13 home runs, 51 RBI, 41 runs scored, and a stolen base in 73 games across 300 plate appearances. He is clearly on pace to set new career highs across the board if he stays healthy in the second half. The 32-year-old veteran left-handed hitter has been hitting even better in his last 15 games, going 20-for-63 (.317) with three home runs, six doubles, 16 RBI, and 10 runs scored in 65 plate appearances. That stretch includes five multi-hit games. O'Hearn is now an everyday player, and most importantly, he's improved against same-handed pitchers, hitting .240 (18-for-75) with three of his 13 home runs against left-handed pitchers. He might be producing a bit above his skis, though, with a hard-hit rate in the 62nd percentile, an xwOBA in the 51st percentile, a barrel rate in the 31st percentile, and a chase rate in the 27th percentile. Still, you can't ignore the improvements O'Hearn has made, and he's still worth considering off the waiver wire for outfield depth.

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Cincinnati Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo has been pretty erratic for fantasy managers so far in 2026, going 2-2 with a 5.05 ERA (5.30 FIP) and 1.47 WHIP with 42 strikeouts and 22 walks in 51 2/3 innings across 10 starts while also continuing to deal with injuries. The former seventh overall pick in 2019 out of Texas Christian University has always intrigued fantasy managers because of his strikeout upside as a southpaw, but so far in 2026, he's sporting a career-low 18.2% strikeout rate and a career-high 9.5% walk rate. It wasn't pretty through his first eight starts for the Reds, as he allowed 29 earned runs on 51 hits (6.12 ERA) while walking 17 and striking out 32 in 42 2/3 innings pitched. But in his last two starts, Lodolo has thrown nine shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and five walks in two outings against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. The 28-year-old lefty is by no means a slam dunk waiver-wire pickup, but he could have a third straight strong start in his upcoming matchup against a Baltimore Orioles team that has the fourth-most strikeouts in baseball this year. Lodolo is rostered in 66% of Yahoo leagues.

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