The fantasy baseball daily that reads everything so you don't have to  ·  Past Issues ·  Subscribe free →
🗞️

Top Stories

MLBTradeRumors · Rotowire · MLB.com

Elly De La Cruz lands on IL with hamstring strain, faces 2–4 week absence

FantasyPros · 2026-06-02

De La Cruz left Sunday's win over Atlanta with right hamstring tightness and was placed on the 10-day IL Monday. Imaging revealed a Grade 1–2 strain — serious enough to sideline him 2–4 weeks but short of the season-altering scenario. Manager Terry Francona noted the 24-year-old likely avoided worse damage by stopping early. Another MRI is scheduled in two weeks to gauge progress.

Fantasy take: Painful, but don't panic-sell. There will be a trade market overvaluing your desperation right now. Stream a shortstop or CI option for the next 2–3 weeks and hold De La Cruz until the second MRI tells you more.

Aaron Judge dealing with bone bruise in rib cage, IL not ruled out

Yahoo Sports · 2026-06-04

Judge has missed New York's last two games against Cleveland after imaging revealed a bone bruise in his right rib cage. Manager Aaron Boone declined to rule out an IL stint and wouldn't confirm or deny a fracture, saying 'I don't know that yet.' Before the injury, Judge was slashing .248/.375/.533 with 17 home runs and 38 RBI.

Fantasy take: Bone bruises in hitters are notoriously slow to heal — they linger every time the bat makes contact. Be willing to buy now while the fear premium is highest if you're a win-now team; hold if you can wait. Selling at a discount right now would be a mistake.

Munetaka Murakami (CWS) on IL 4–6 weeks with Grade 2 hamstring strain

ESPN · 2026-06-01

Murakami was tied for the AL lead in home runs (20) when he strained his right hamstring in Saturday's game. He's been one of MLB's most productive hitters in his debut season — .240/.938 OPS, 41 RBI, 44 walks across 57 games. He received a PRP injection Monday and is staying back in Chicago during the team's road trip.

Fantasy take: Don't let the fact that the White Sox are bad tank your asking price. This is a top-40 asset with a clear return window. Hold unless someone panics and wildly overpays you — even at 60–65 cents on the dollar, the production when healthy is elite.

Josh Hader reinstated from 60-day IL, immediately reclaims Astros closer role

NBC Sports · 2026-06-02

Hader was reinstated Tuesday after missing the entire season with left biceps tendinitis — a biceps issue that emerged during a spring training bullpen session. The All-Star closer immediately stepped back into the ninth-inning role, bumping Bryan Abreu to setup. Houston is 27–34 without him and has genuine postseason aspirations in a mediocre AL West.

Fantasy take: Add Hader immediately if he's somehow available. Conversely, drop Abreu back to pure holds value. If you stashed Hader through the 60-day, he returns as a borderline top-5 closer — the best-case scenario for a long-game roster decision.
📈

Waiver Wire Targets

FantasyPros · Rotoballer · Pitcher List

Who's Hot This Week

Deep League Digs

< 30% owned
INF · NYY · ~12% owned
.339
BA (MiLB)
.447
OBP (MiLB)
.514
SLG (MiLB)
Called up to New York after slashing .339/.447/.514 across 30 combined Double-A/Triple-A games. Playing time opened unexpectedly on the Yankees' roster and the organization fast-tracked him. The hit tool is legitimate. Too speculative for most formats, but deep leaguers should get ahead of the buzz.

Standard League Targets

30–60% owned
SP · LAA · ~45% owned
2.87
xERA
.209
xBA against
75
K in 63 IP
His actual ERA sits north of 4.50, but every underlying number looks like a 2–3 ERA starter: 2.87 xERA, .209 expected batting average against, 1.14 WHIP, 75 strikeouts in 63 innings. Opponents are posting a .260 BABIP against him — the luck will regress. Add now before it does.

Shallow League Grabs

60%+ owned
SS/3B · SEA · ~65% owned
.949
OPS (14 G)
3
HR
.354
OBP
Seattle's top prospect and MLB's largest pre-debut contract ($95M/8 years) is earning every penny: .354 OBP, .595 SLG, three homers, seven extra-base hits in his first 14 games. The youngest Mariner to debut since Félix Hernández. If he's still on wires in your 8–10 team league, fix it today.
RP · TOR · ~65% owned
0.69
WHIP (last 4 G)
9
K in 4.1 IP (L4G)
2
SV (last week)
Re-emerged as Toronto's closer with back-to-back dominant outings — 0.69 WHIP, 9 strikeouts in 4.1 innings, two saves. His overall ERA is unimpressive but the recent work is the real signal. The Blue Jays are competing; save opportunities will keep coming.
🌱 Stash of the Week

Gabriel Rincones Jr.OF, PHI (~10% owned)

The 25-year-old left-handed power bat may be forced into a regular lineup role as the Phillies — now 15–4 under Don Mattingly — continue running out of right-handed outfield options. He can't hit lefties, but Philly's desperate need for a right-handed bat may push him into everyday work against same-side pitching. Speculative but worth the waiver claim in 14+ team leagues while the Phillies are this hot.

Worth Reading

01

Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: Jeff Hoffman re-enters the closer picture; Kenley Jansen falls on hard times

A clean breakdown of the Week 10 bullpen landscape: Hoffman's re-emergence in Toronto, the trainwreck in Detroit after Jansen's pelvic inflammation, and exactly what to do in Kansas City and Milwaukee. Essential before setting your closes this week.

02

Fantasy Baseball Closer Confidential for Week 10 2026: Jansen and Erceg Are Vulnerable

Grades every active closer situation with specific add/drop/hold calls for Week 10. The Jansen and Erceg deep-dives are especially useful — both situations were deteriorating before this week's news made them obvious.

03

MLB Injury Report: Elly De La Cruz goes down with hamstring strain, lat issue delays Garrett Crochet's return

Covers De La Cruz's hamstring timeline in depth alongside a bad update on Crochet's lat timetable and several other IL developments. Good triage read if you're managing multiple injured stars at once.

🩹

Injury Report

Rotowire · MLBTradeRumors · Beat Reporters
IL-10

Elly De La CruzSS, CIN

Right hamstring strain (Grade 1–2), placed on IL Monday after leaving Sunday's win over the Braves. Terry Francona confirmed a 2–4 week timeline; a follow-up MRI is planned for two weeks out. First IL stint of his career.

IL-10

Munetaka MurakamiDH, CWS

Grade 2 right hamstring strain, 4–6 week timeline. Received a PRP injection Monday while the team traveled. Was tied for the AL HR lead (20) at time of injury. Jacob Gonzalez (INF) was called up from Triple-A Charlotte.

Add in deep leaguesJacob Gonzalez
IL-10

Teoscar HernandezOF, LAD

Left hamstring strain (Grade 1), placed on IL May 27. Expected to miss roughly one month — return targets the back half of June. Part of a brutal Dodgers injury wave that also includes Enrique Hernandez (oblique). The Dodgers are piecing together their outfield.

IL-15

Logan HendersonSP, MIL

Lower-back strain; placed on IL after his May 22 start vs the Dodgers (9 K, 1 ER in 5 IP). Received a back injection Tuesday. The Brewers target late June or early July for his return. Was 2–1 with a 2.74 ERA in five starts before the injury.

StreamCrow (MIL prospect, called up)
🔍

Scouting Report

ESPN
ESPN · by ESPN Staff · 2026-06-01

Best Pitcher of the Month Battle Ever: Did Misiorowski or Sanchez Have the Better May?

Jacob Misiorowski became the first pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts in 2026, doing so in just 11 starts — a pace not seen since Spencer Strider's 2023 run. The 24-year-old Milwaukee ace leads baseball in strikeouts (108), FIP (1.89), H/9 (4.8), and K/9 (14.1). His six-start May was just the third such month in MLB history featuring five-plus starts, a sub-0.50 ERA, and 50-plus strikeouts — only Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson have comparable months on record.

The key leap from his rookie year has been command. Misiorowski dropped his walk rate from 4.2 to 2.4 BB/9, which unlocked everything else. He now pitches backwards — leading with his curve (33%) and slider (28%) before using his 100+ mph fastball as a chase tool rather than an establishment pitch. In his most recent Cardinals start, he threw 57 pitches at 100 mph or above, breaking the single-game record set by Hunter Greene in 2022.

With rotation partner Logan Henderson now on the IL with a back strain, Misiorowski is carrying Milwaukee's rotation alone. He's the NL Cy Young frontrunner and one of the five most valuable fantasy pitchers in baseball right now. If you traded him during his rookie growing pains, this one is going to hurt for a while.

108MLB-leading strikeouts
1.89FIP
14.1K/9
The VerdictUndisputed ace. Start every week without hesitation. At this pace he's a legitimate 300-strikeout threat and the most dominant pitcher in baseball. Treat him like a first-round pick from this point forward.
Read the full piece at ESPN
🔥

Bullpen Bulletin

Closer Monkey · Beat Reporters
Closer Monkey's Leverage Ledger2026-06-03

Gregory Soto (Pirates) picked up save No. 8 with a dominant two-strikeout, seven-pitch performance in Pittsburgh's road win in Houston. Lucas Erceg blew his third consecutive save and MLB-leading sixth total as Cincinnati walked off Kansas City on a Will Benson leadoff homer. Will Vest recorded his first save of the season for Tampa Bay. The biggest news: Josh Hader returned to the Houston roster Tuesday after his 60-day biceps IL stint, immediately taking back the ninth inning from Bryan Abreu.

Read the full Ledger →
CloserTeamStatusNote
Lucas ErcegKC🟡 WatchThree straight blown saves, six on the year — MLB's most. His ERA is 5.06 with a 1.69 WHIP and he's only converted 1 of his last 5 save chances since May 15. Carlos Estevez (foot) is expected to begin a rehab assignment soon. Drop in most formats; the job is not secure.
Abner UribeMIL🔴 CommitteeHas just one of Milwaukee's last seven saves, with Trevor Megill (4) and Chad Patrick (2) stealing the rest. Uribe's ERA has risen to 3.80 and his K rate has dropped from 30% to 25.8%. Do not trust anyone in this situation in high-stakes decisions.
Detroit 9th InningDET🔴 CommitteeThe most broken bullpen situation in baseball: Kenley Jansen is on the IL with pelvic inflammation, and Kyle Finnegan — the nominal next man up — has his own right groin tightness. Every credible arm in the 9th is either hurt or overworked. Avoid the entire situation.
Bryan AbreuHOU🟡 WatchHeld the closer role through Hader's 60-day absence, but Josh Hader was reinstated Tuesday and immediately reclaimed saves. Abreu remains a high-leverage setup arm with holds value, but his save opportunities are gone for the foreseeable future.
📱

Best in Social

X · YouTube · Instagram · TikTok