Cam Schlittler struck out a career-high 13 Reds across six scoreless innings Saturday, allowing four hits and zero walks in the Yankees' 5-0 shutout. He became the youngest pitcher in Yankees history to record 13 strikeouts without a walk in a single game — a feat not achieved in the franchise since Whitey Ford's 1.47 ERA year in 1964. The 25-year-old now leads all AL pitchers in ERA (1.71), innings pitched (95), strikeouts (109), and brWAR (4.2).
Verlander was scheduled to make his highly anticipated return today at Comerica Park against the White Sox, coming back from left hip inflammation. The Tigers announced Saturday that he suffered a new hamstring strain during a bullpen session — his second major setback of the season. Manager A.J. Hinch was blunt: "This is not a matter of days. It's a matter of weeks."
Seattle placed Arozarena on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain after an MRI revealed more inflammation than initially expected. He had hoped to return within days after tweaking the hamstring on a groundout June 17, but the imaging changed the calculus. Victor Robles and Rob Refsnyder are set to split corner outfield duties, with High-A callup Curtis Washington providing depth.
The Phillies announced Garcia will undergo right latissimus dorsi repair surgery June 24, ending his 2026 campaign. He was pulled from a June 10 game with shoulder soreness and imaging confirmed the lat tear requiring surgery. The 6-to-8-month recovery puts him on track for Opening Day 2027.
Who's Hot This Week
A 2023 first-round Dodgers catching prospect, Rushing is surfacing in Razzball's Week 13 waiver article as a dynasty-meets-redraft stash. With the Dodgers' bullpen in full collapse (Diaz done for the year, Scott on IL), the club's roster flexibility is creating opportunities up and down the depth chart. Rushing profiles as a power-first catcher who could be the Dodgers' long-term answer behind the plate. At 6% ownership in standard leagues, the risk is nothing and the ceiling is real.
Worth Reading
RotoBaller's Week 13 roundup leads with Griffin Jax's starter conversion, Kody Clemens' case for multi-positional adds in the Ramirez vacancy, and a deep look at the Cubs' three-man closer committee. The Clemens section is the must-read if you're scrambling for 3B depth right now.
Razzball flags Dalton Rushing, Jac Caglianone, Reid Detmers, and Matt McLain as the priority dynasty/redraft crossovers this week. The Caglianone section is this week's best stash analysis if you have dynasty rosters to manage alongside your roto squad.
FantasyPros updates save situation rankings with Palencia on IL, full Dodgers committee breakdown, and Helsley's late-June return timeline for Baltimore. Fastest read if you just need to know who to add and who to cut in your bullpen before Sunday's slate.
Placed on the 10-day IL June 19 with a left hamstring strain after MRI showed more inflammation than expected. No return timetable. Originally hoped to miss only a few days; imaging changed that calculus. Mariners activated High-A OF Curtis Washington as emergency depth.
A new hamstring strain suffered during a June 20 bullpen session has derailed his planned return from left hip inflammation. Manager A.J. Hinch: "This is not a matter of days. It's a matter of weeks." Verlander, 43, has two significant setbacks layered on each other — there is no realistic path to a meaningful 2026 contribution.
Season-ending right latissimus dorsi repair surgery scheduled June 24. Six-to-eight-month recovery timeline puts him on track for Opening Day 2027. Entered 2026 as the No. 32 fantasy outfielder by ADP.
Continues his IL stint (placed June 18) with a right hamstring strain. Trout said he felt "night and day" improvement between days but there is no formal return timetable. The Angels will be cautious; mid-July remains the optimistic target for a 34-year-old hamstring.
Cam Schlittler didn't just emerge in 2026 — he was built for this. Pitcher List's deep-dive traces his arsenal evolution: a four-seam fastball that sits 98-plus mph and touches 100.6, a cutter refined this offseason to 95 mph with elite glove-side break (eight inches of movement at near-slider velocity), and a curveball that plays off both. The STF+ rating of 112 says what the eye test confirms: this is legitimate top-of-rotation stuff, not a hot run waiting to correct.
What separates Schlittler from other hard-throwers is the pitch mix design. He enters 2026 with cleaner movement separation between his fastball variants than he's ever had — the four-seamer and sinker now have distinct profiles, and the cutter functions as a true third weapon rather than a harder slider. Pitcher List's comp is a higher-octane Drew Rasmussen or prime Lance Lynn: a pitcher whose stuff is so clean that command only needs to be good, not perfect, to produce elite ratios every five days. The current K-BB differential backs that up.
The fantasy case needs no elaboration: 1.71 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 109 K in 95 IP across 16 starts. He leads all AL pitchers in ERA, innings, and brWAR (4.2). Saturday's 13-K, zero-walk performance just added the historical footnote — youngest Yankee to hit that line since Whitey Ford. The underlying data says this doesn't regress. It compounds.
Friday's Leverage Ledger flags Aroldis Chapman's second loss of the season after snapping a 16-game scoreless streak — his trade value for the selling Red Sox is peaking now. The broader closer map stays messy: the Cubs, Dodgers, Orioles, and Reds are all operating without a locked-in ninth-inning option, and the Brewers' hierarchy added another question mark after Joel Kuhnel's latest blown save.
Read the full Ledger →| Closer | Team | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Webb / Committee | Chicago Cubs | 🔴 Committee | Palencia on IL-15 (right elbow flexor strain, second stint). Webb recorded a save June 18 and leads the committee over Caleb Thielbar and Phil Maton. Palencia shut down through June 28 before ramping up — at least 10 days of committee saves available. Webb is still under 10% owned. |
| Alex Vesia / Committee | Los Angeles Dodgers | 🔴 Committee | Edwin Diaz done for the year; Tanner Scott now also on the IL with elbow inflammation. Vesia, Jack Dreyer, and Blake Treinen rotating 9th-inning duties with no consensus hierarchy. Saves available but daily assignment is unpredictable — stream individual high-leverage appearances, don't commit roster space. |
| Rico Garcia | Baltimore Orioles | 🟡 Watch | Ryan Helsley targeting a late June return from elbow inflammation. Garcia has a 0.66 ERA in the vacancy. The role reverts once Helsley is activated — but Helsley's elbow history makes that anything but guaranteed. Ride Garcia now; reconsider when an IL-activation date is confirmed. |
| Committee | Cincinnati Reds | 🔴 Committee | Emilio Pagan out with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Four different relievers have recorded saves since the injury; Tony Santillan was the presumed heir but hasn't delivered. Avoid unless streaming individual high-leverage appearances. |
| Alex Lange | Kansas City Royals | 🟡 Watch | Took over after Lucas Erceg's 6 blown saves in 17 tries and has gone 4-for-4 in save chances since. Role isn't formally locked, but the deployment pattern is unambiguous. Under 20% owned — still a clear add. |
Cam Schlittler's career-high 13-strikeout performance against the Reds — highlights show every K including the 13th punchout on a 100 mph four-seamer to close the sixth inning.
Fresh off winning the NBA title with the Knicks, Josh Hart posted "Schlitty is the Cy Young winner hands down" immediately after Schlittler's 13-K shutout.
Schlittler's Instagram captures the moment of facing the Red Sox for the first time amid the viral fan-harassment saga — a kid who grew up a Red Sox fan now owning the Yankees' rotation and the narrative.
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