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Top Stories
MLBTradeRumors · Rotowire · MLB.comSchwarber smashed three home runs — 456ft, 457ft, and a seventh-inning two-run shot — while Bryce Harper hit for the first cycle of his career in just five innings (four at-bats) as the Phillies walloped the Mets 15-3. They became the second teammate pair in MLB history to accomplish both feats in the same game, joining Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri in 1932. Schwarber's MLB-leading total climbed to 28; he homered again the following night in a 6-2 Phillies series-clinching win to push it to 29.
Fantasy take: Start both every week, no exceptions. Schwarber is on a 60-HR pace and the single safest power bat in fantasy — there is no better trade target if he's available. Harper's trade value is at its 2026 seasonal peak; if an owner overvalues the rest-of-season risk, buy now.
Rutschman took an errant throw from Colt Emerson off the head in the ninth inning of the Orioles' June 18 loss to Seattle. The Orioles placed him on the 7-day concussion IL on June 20, retroactive to June 19, making him eligible to return June 26 when Baltimore opens a home series against Washington. Samuel Basallo was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. Through 54 games, Rutschman is slashing .254/.329/.458 with 8 HRs and 40 RBIs.
Fantasy take: Slot Rutschman into your IL if you have the space — he's back next weekend and has a genuine 118 wRC+ this year. If you can't IL him, hold anyway; Basallo is a deep-league streamer only.
The Guardians placed DeLauter on the 10-day IL (retroactive to June 14) after he fractured a rib on his right side crashing into the wall chasing a Gleyber Torres fly ball. The 24-year-old rookie was slashing .263/.337/.408 with a team-leading 34 RBIs at the time of the injury. Cleveland recalled Kahlil Watson and has not set a formal return timeline, though the club's tone suggests a shorter rather than longer absence.
Fantasy take: Hold DeLauter — this reads as a 10-day trip with a realistic June 24 return. Watson is worth adding for his speed (30 career stolen base profile in the minors) in deep leagues only, but DeLauter is the hold.
Woodruff returns from a nearly seven-week right-shoulder absence to start tonight's Brewers series opener in Cincinnati. He couldn't reach 90 mph consistently in his final April start and has since completed two minor-league rehab outings. Pre-injury, he was sitting on a 3.60 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 25:7 K:BB across 30 innings. The two-time All-Star is 87% owned in Yahoo leagues but starts tonight at hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark.
Fantasy take: Bench in standard leagues for his GABP debut — the shoulder uncertainty plus the venue is too uncomfortable a combination for a first start back. Check the post-start velocity report; if he's sitting 93-plus mph again, he goes straight back into your rotation.
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Waiver Wire Targets
FantasyPros · Rotoballer · Pitcher ListWho's Hot This Week
2B/SS/CF · Washington Nationals · ~14% owned
27 SBs (NL leader, 2nd MLB overall)
2026 season
.378/.467/.378 in 13 June games
June form
Nuñez leads the NL in stolen bases at a 59-SB pace with a 97th-percentile sprint speed (29.8 ft/sec) and an 84% success rate — this isn't just volume, it's efficient. The June offensive awakening (.467 OBP) means he's no longer an active batting average drag while he runs. At 14% owned, the most actionable pure-speed source on any wire in any league size.
SP · Houston Astros · ~19% owned
3.23 ERA / 1.11 WHIP in 11 starts
2026 season
2.42 ERA / 1.16 WHIP over last 22.1 IP
June
A journeyman rebuilt in Japan (116.1 IP with Yakult Swallows in 2025) and now thriving in Houston's system. Lambert's value is his deep four-pitch arsenal and elite command — he doesn't blow hitters away but executes a plan every start. Minute Maid Park plays into his groundball-heavy approach. At 19% owned, he's a legitimate SP3/SP4 with a stable rateline.
C · Kansas City Royals · ~48% owned
9 HR / 37 RBI in 2026
Season totals
8-game hitting streak entering Monday
Hot streak
Near-full-time play at catcher with genuine two-way production — 9 HR and 37 RBI at catcher is top-12 fantasy production at the position this year. The 8-game streak coincides with a jump in hard contact rate. At 48% owned he's in the standard-league window; don't wait until he crosses 60%.
CF/SS/LF/RF · Colorado Rockies · ~46% owned
3 HR in first 7 MLB games
MLB debut
.338/.414/.529 / 30 SB in 57 AAA games
Triple-A pre-call
Brenton Doyle's IL absence gives Carrigg everyday center field and the 30-steal AAA pace is real — that sprint speed translates immediately. Three home runs in his first week in the majors adds a power dimension that wasn't fully priced in. Multi-position eligibility in a lineup that plays 81 games a year at altitude. Ownership will track upward fast; grab now.
🌱 Stash of the Week
Dalton Rushing — C, Los Angeles Dodgers (~6% owned)
The 2023 first-round Dodgers catching prospect continues to surface in dynasty-meets-redraft stash discussions with the Dodgers bullpen in crisis mode and the roster reshuffling around it. Rushing profiles as a power-first catcher who could be the Dodgers' long-term answer behind the plate. At 6% ownership, the risk is nothing and the dynasty upside is real.
Worth Reading
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RotoBaller's Monday hitter streamers piece for Week 13 leads with Cole Carrigg's everyday at-bats and multi-position upside and includes scheduling analysis for favorable right-left matchup angles across the week. The best quick-read before setting lineups for Monday's slate.
02
FanGraphs' daily SP chart gives full start/sit breakdowns by league size for Monday's slate, flagging Brandon Woodruff's GABP debut as a bench in all but the deepest formats and Peter Lambert's road matchup in Detroit as an SP2-or-better given Detroit's below-average wOBA vs. right-handers this month.
03
Full tiered rankings for hitters and pitchers with FAAB bid recommendations. Nasim Nuñez and Peter Lambert headline the speed and SP adds respectively; Carter Jensen is flagged as the top catcher pickup in standard leagues. The closer section covers the rapidly changing Dodgers situation.
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Injury Report
Rotowire · MLBTradeRumors · Beat ReportersIL-7
Placed on the 7-day concussion IL June 20 (retroactive to June 19) after an errant Colt Emerson throw struck him in the head in the ninth inning of the June 18 Mariners game. Eligible to return June 26 at Oriole Park vs. Washington Nationals. Through 54 games: .254/.329/.458, 8 HR, 40 RBI, 118 wRC+.
IL-10
Fractured rib suffered June 14 crashing into the outfield wall on a Gleyber Torres fly ball. IL retroactive to June 14; return target around June 24 for the White Sox series, pending how the rib responds. Slashing .263/.337/.408 with a team-leading 34 RBIs at the time of the injury. Kahlil Watson recalled.
IL-60
New hamstring strain suffered June 20 in a bullpen session piled onto prior left hip inflammation. Manager A.J. Hinch was unambiguous: "This is not a matter of days. It's a matter of weeks." Two major setbacks layered — there is no realistic 2026 return path for the 43-year-old.
IL-10
Mike Trout — OF, Los Angeles Angels
Right hamstring strain (IL June 18). Trout reports daily improvement but there is no formal return timetable. The Angels will be cautious; mid-July remains the optimistic target for a 34-year-old hamstring in an organization with no playoff pressure to rush.
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Scouting Report
FanGraphsFanGraphs · by FanGraphs Staff · 2026-06-15
Spike, Spook, Rollie, Patsy, and Nasim Nuñez
The article title telegraphs the argument: FanGraphs places Nasim Nuñez in the company of the game's greatest baserunners, comparing him to the Spike Owens and Patsy Donohues of history — players who built careers almost entirely on legs. Nuñez's 29.8 ft/sec sprint speed (12th in MLB, 97th percentile) isn't the curiosity stat — it's the foundation. He's reached 27 stolen bases in fewer games than any National League player at that threshold in years, and his 84% success rate eliminates the 'he just runs a lot' dismissal. He steals smart. FanGraphs' baserunning value metric has him at plus-5.0 runs — tied for the lead in all of baseball.
The power ceiling is zero and that's not a developmental concern — it's a permanent feature. Nuñez has zero barrels on the season, a 19.9% hard-hit rate, and an 84.6 mph average exit velocity. He is a pure hit-and-run player in an era where teams rarely build around that archetype anymore. What's changed in June is the contact quality in the zone — he's posting a .378/.467 slash over 13 games while cutting his chase rate, suggesting the batting eye is matching the foot speed. The Nationals have moved him to the two-hole, and he's responded with a .467 OBP that makes him a legitimate table-setter.
The fantasy case doesn't need nuance: Nuñez is on a 59-SB pace and no player on any waiver wire in any league gives you what he gives you on the bases. The caveats — no power, mediocre team, thin MLB track record — are all real. But every one of those caveats was true in April when he was 2% owned. He's been the most consistent speed source in the NL for two months. Ownership still hasn't caught the June surge. The window to add him below 20% is closing.
29.8 ft/sec sprint speed (97th percentile)Speed grade
27 SBs (NL leader) on 84% success rateStolen base efficiency
+5.0 BsR — tied for 1st in MLBFanGraphs baserunning value
The VerdictThe best speed asset on any waiver wire in any league size. Nuñez will never give you power — the exit velocity and barrel data are permanent ceilings — but at a 59-SB pace with an improving June batting average, he's not actively destroying your other categories while he fills up the stolen base column. Add in all formats.
Read the full piece at FanGraphs →🔥
Bullpen Bulletin
Closer Monkey · Beat ReportersFriday's Leverage Ledger flags the Dodgers closer situation escalating further: Treinen joined Tanner Scott on the IL with right elbow inflammation, leaving LA without three of its top late-inning arms simultaneously. The broader map shows five teams — Cubs, Dodgers, Reds, Twins, and Royals — where the ninth inning is genuinely up for grabs. The Cubs' Palencia timeline is the most actionable: a June 28 throwing program start means at least ten more days of Webb-led committee saves available before the role reverts.
Read the full Ledger →| Closer | Team | Status | Note |
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| Jacob Webb / Committee | Chicago Cubs | 🔴 Committee | Palencia shut down through June 28 before beginning a throwing program (right elbow flexor strain, second stint). Webb leads the committee over Caleb Thielbar and Phil Maton with the most recent save and the most high-leverage deployment. At least 10 days of committee saves available; Webb is still under 10% owned. |
| Alex Vesia / Committee | Los Angeles Dodgers | 🔴 Committee | Edwin Diaz is done for the year, Tanner Scott is on the IL with elbow inflammation, and now Blake Treinen joined them June 20 with the same. Vesia and Jack Dreyer are the remaining options in a true 2-man rotation. Saves available but daily assignments are unpredictable — stream individual high-leverage appearances rather than committing roster space. |
| Committee | Cincinnati Reds | 🔴 Committee | Emilio Pagan out with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Multiple relievers have shared ninth-inning duties with no consensus heir — Tony Santillan was the presumed frontrunner and hasn't delivered. Avoid for anything other than individual high-leverage streaming. |
| Alex Lange | Kansas City Royals | 🟡 Watch | Has gone 4-for-4 in save chances since taking over from Lucas Erceg (6 blown saves in 17 tries). The deployment pattern is clear but the role isn't formally locked. Still under 20% owned — add now and hold through the formal announcement. |
| Yoendrys Gómez | Minnesota Twins | 🟡 Watch | Seven saves in 2026, four in June. Has a 1.65 ERA and 1.10 WHIP since joining Minnesota and a 29.4% strikeout rate. The Twins have used 11 different relievers for saves this year, so the committee history is real — but Gomez has emerged as the primary option. Deep-league add; standard-league consideration if the role firms up. |
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Best in Social
X · YouTube · Instagram · TikTokKyle Schwarber's historic third home run of the game against the Mets — the two-run shot in the seventh inning that capped the fifth three-homer game of his career and pushed his MLB-leading total to 28.
Bryce Harper's two-run triple off the left-center wall in the fifth inning to complete the first cycle of his career — finished in just five innings, the 11th cycle in Phillies history.
A 15-year career, 10 All-Star appearances, an MVP, two Silver Sluggers, and a World Series ring — and this was the first cycle. Harper's sprint out of the box after the triple is worth every second. One of the cleanest feel-good moments of the 2026 season.
It took just 5 INNINGS for Bryce Harper to hit for the cycle! →ESPN's cut of the Harper cycle highlights the full context: the home run in the first, the double-and-single in the eight-run third, and Schwarber's sprint that cleared the bases to set up the triple. Full Phillies dugout reaction included.
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