Congratulations! You’ve made it to the second half of the fantasy baseball season. The fact that you’re still reading articles like this puts you among the elite managers who have remained glued to their fantasy baseball teams as we enter the dog days of summer, even as another unnameable fantasy sport begins ramping up.
Let’s take a look at how MLB lineups and rosters have changed over the last week, and how you can take advantage of the playing time changes to gain an edge in your fantasy leagues.
The Diamondbacks’ outfield took a hit over the weekend, with both Tommy Troy and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. landing on the IL. Their absences should secure Ryan Waldschmidt a full-time role in center field — he’s started five of the six games he’s been healthy for since rejoining the roster. It also means we’ll likely continue to see Max Kepler get a good run of playing time in left field for the time being.
Tyler Locklear was called up on Friday and has started two of five games at first base. The other three starts have gone to Tim Tawa and Ildemaro Vargas.
Joshua Kuroda-Grauer was placed on the IL after fouling a ball off himself and suffering what may be one of the most painful injuries of the season. The A’s called up Max Muncy to take Kuroda-Grauer’s roster spot, but with Nick Kurtz potentially returning from the IL this weekend, it seems more likely that Tommy White is plugged into third base than Muncy.
Mike Yastrzemski made quick work of his IL stint and returned to the team on Tuesday. He should continue to operate in a strong side of the platoon role, even once Ronald Acuña Jr. is back in the fold.
Austin Riley has been hitting well since the start of the month (.263/.354/.491) and has been bumped up a few spots in the lineup. He’s hit cleanup in two straight games, after largely batting sixth or seventh recently.
A left wrist injury sent Adley Rutschman to the IL, promoting Samuel Basallo to the Orioles’ starting catcher role. Chadwick Tromp and Sam Huff will get very limited starts as the backups while Rutschman is sidelined.
Blaze Alexander’s strong campaign came to a screeching halt over the weekend due to a fractured left hand. Coby Mayo has taken two of the five starts at the hot corner since Alexander went down. The Orioles called up former top prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand from Triple-A Norfolk, and he’s taken the other three starts, two of which have come against lefties. This is probably a platoon situation moving forward, but neither Mayo or CES seem like a priority pickup outside of deep AL-only leagues.
Manager Craig Counsell has made a slight switch in the lineup, swapping Seiya Suzuki’s and Alex Bregman’s lineup positions. Suzuki has hit second for seven straight contests, while Bregman has hit third or fourth during that stretch.
The White Sox placed Kyle Teel back on the IL due to a left ankle sprain. Chicago has played most of the season without its starting catcher, so they’ll pivot back to a playing time share between Drew Romo and Edgar Quero behind the plate. Neither Romo (47 wRC+) nor Quero (37 wRC+) has seized on the opportunity this year, so this seems like a position ripe for an upgrade at the trade deadline. If you have to add a White Sox catcher in an AL-only league, I’d take a chance on Quero’s former prospect pedigree finally showing up at the game’s highest level.
Austin Hays is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte, but will likely only return to a bench role with the young trio of Sam Antonacci, Tristan Peters, and Braden Montgomery holding down the outfield on Chicago’s south side.
Ke’Bryan Hayes has started just four of eight games since returning from the IL. Sal Stewart and Eugenio Suárez have taken the other starts at the hot corner. While shuffling things around at third base is obviously bad for Hayes’s playing time, it has opened time for Nathaniel Lowe to get a few starts at first base and designated hitter.
Kahlil Watson very quickly crashed from being an everyday player to being sent down to Triple-A. As of a week ago, he was the Guardians’ center fielder, and on Wednesday, he was demoted as the corresponding move to José Ramírez’s activation. This makes way for the hot-hitting Petey Halpin to get everyday at-bats in center. Angel Martínez is on a rehab assignment with Double-A Akron and should return to a regular starting outfield job in Cleveland once he’s activated from the IL, bumping Halpin back to the bench.
Steven Kwan has returned to the leadoff role, hitting at the top of the lineup in three straight contests, two against righties and one against lefties. The typically light-swinging lefty has finally turned his season around, slashing .400/.509/.556 since the start of July.
Cole Carrigg’s playing time is trending down. The rookie center fielder has started four of the last seven games, but more importantly, just two of the last five against righties. It seems like Carrigg may start in center field against lefties, but will give way to Jake McCarthy against righties, so Mickey Moniak can play in left field.
Gleyber Torres returned from the IL on Monday and has hit first or second in his two games back from injury. Eduardo Valencia was demoted to Triple-A in the corresponding move. Hao-Yu Lee and Zach McKinstry will both take playing-time hits with Torres back in his everyday role.
Just when it looked like Brice Matthews was getting a real shot at the center field job, he sprained his knee over the weekend and landed on the IL. The Astros called up Lucas Spence, and he’s started five straight games in center field. Spence is a former undrafted minor prospect who has combined to hit .258/.353/.424 across three minor league stops this season. Center field has been a rotating door in Houston all year long, so the Astros may upgrade the position at the trade deadline.
Kyle Isbel began a rehab assignment this week and should be back with the big league club soon. Lane Thomas has filled in admirably in center field (.240/.338/.412 with 9 HR and 5 SB), but if you’re rostering him, you’ll want to make contingency plans now as Isbel will at least take some of Thomas’ playing time, if not the bulk of it.
Vaughn Grissom has re-emerged as an everyday player. From June 19 through July 7, Grissom started just six games. Since July 7, he’s started nine of 10 across three different infield positions. He has a 158 wRC+ over that 10-game stretch, and is once again worth a look in deep formats, especially with his multi-positional eligibility.
For about a month leading up to the All-Star break, Wade Meckler was getting nearly everyday starts in left field. Since the break, though, he hasn’t started a game and has only made two pinch-hit appearances.
Heriberto Hernández has been on the deep league radar for quite some time now, but those in shallow leagues may want to start paying attention to the Marlins’ left fielder, too. Hernández has started 10 straight contests and has largely hit second in the lineup. He has considerable power potential with a 12.2% barrel rate and 51.2% hard-hit rate.
The Marlins made a small roster move on Sunday, demoting Rece Hinds and calling up Graham Pauley. Pauley has started one of three games since being recalled.
Luis Lara was one of our featured players in last week’s article, but his playing time hasn’t come through the way I expected. He’s only started two of the Brewers’ last six games, which is especially surprising given that Sal Frelick was placed on the IL on Saturday.
Rather than give Lara more playing time, the Brewers have opted to shift Jake Bauers to right field to make room for Andrew Vaughn. He’s started three straight games at first base and is worth a look since he’s likely sitting on the waiver wire in most fantasy leagues.
The Twins activated Byron Buxton from the IL on Monday. In the corresponding move, they sent Tristan Gray to Triple-A, clearing the runway for Ryan Kreidler to get full-time at-bats at shortstop.
Luke Keaschall had been the starting center fielder in Buxton’s absence. With Buxton back in the lineup, Keaschall has started one of two games in right field, pushing Alan Roden to the bench.
A.J. Ewing is the team’s new leadoff hitter versus right-handed starting pitchers. He’s hit leadoff in 10 straight against righties, and even two of the last three versus lefties.
As mentioned last week, both Luis Robert Jr. and Marcus Semien have been activated from the IL in recent days. Robert has started both of the games he’s been active for, while Semien has started three of five.
With Robert back patrolling center field, Ewing has taken over most of the right field assignments while Juan Soto has shifted to primarily DH duties. Those moving pieces have taken Jorge Polanco out of a regular role. Polanco has started just two of the last six games.
Third catcher Garrett Stubbs landed on the IL on Tuesday with a wrist injury. Rather than replace him with another catcher, the Phillies called up Bryan De La Cruz to join their outfield mix. De La Cruz last saw regular playing time in 2024 and hit 21 home runs with the Marlins and Pirates, although he only managed a 78 wRC+. Until he actually gets playing time, I wouldn’t add him prospectively.
Spencer Horwitz began a rehab assignment with Single-A Bradenton on Tuesday. Once Horwitz is ready to return, there’s going to be a roster crunch here as Pittsburgh is going to have to navigate finding time for Horwitz, Ryan O’Hearn, and Esmerlyn Valdez at first base and right field. I wonder if we could see Marcell Ozuna designated for assignment to free up some DH at-bats.
Ty France is on a heater and is moving up the lineup. He’s started eight straight games at first base and has hit cleanup the last three. He’s slashing .327/.371/.691 with five home runs in July.
A fractured right wrist will keep Miguel Andujar on the IL for the foreseeable future. He had started six of eight games as the Padres’ designated hitter before the injury, so his absence will open up a decent number of plate appearances. The two DH starts so far have gone to Xander Bogaerts and Luis Rengifo. I’d expect manager Craig Stammen to use the open DH role to give guys a day off playing the field rather than the opportunity being given to a single hitter.
Daniel Susac returned from the IL on Friday. In the five games since he’s been back, he’s started two behind the plate, Drew Cavanaugh has started two, and Jesus Rodriguez has started one. Unless one of them earns the bulk of starts moving forward, this is a situation you want to avoid in fantasy, even in NL-only leagues.
Brendan Donovan shifted his rehab assignment to Triple-A Tacoma over the weekend, so he should be back with the Mariners soon. That said, recent reports indicate he’ll return to a super-utility role, not a designated starting spot.
The Rangers placed catcher Kyle Higashioka on the IL with a right flexor strain. In his absence, Elias Díaz should get nearly every day playing time behind the plate, making him an interesting pickup in deep fantasy formats given his solid .260/.272/.450 slash line. Austin Wynns was called up from Triple-A and will serve as the backup catcher.
All-Star starter Ernie Clement has received a big promotion in the lineup recently. He hit in the bottom half of the order for most of the season, but has hit leadoff or third in 11 straight contests.
We saw the long-awaited Nationals debut of catching prospect Harry Ford over the weekend after Drew Millas was placed on the IL. Ford’s gotten off to a hot start with the MLB club, slashing .273/.385/.636 through 13 plate appearances. In a best-case scenario, he’ll split time with Keibert Ruiz behind the plate. Ruiz is having a breakout season (.275/.305/.464), so I can’t imagine Ford would be able to totally supplant him as the team’s go-to catcher, barring a major downturn from Ruiz.
