Aaron Judge has been diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right rib and has not played since May 31. Specialists have been consulted, and while manager Aaron Boone says Judge is confident he'll return this season, early-to-mid August is the realistic target based on comparable injuries. Giancarlo Stanton (low-grade right calf strain) is also out, leaving the Yankees without two of their three most productive bats.
José Ramírez sustained a fractured left hamate bone during an at-bat against the Tigers and underwent immediate surgery to remove the hook of the bone. The team's surgeon was pleased with the procedure, and Cleveland projects a 5-7 week recovery — putting his potential return around late July to early August. Ramírez had played in all 72 of the Guardians' games before the injury.
JJ Wetherholt went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBIs, and three runs scored in the Cardinals' June 21 win, extending a stretch of 157 wRC+ in June. The 22-year-old rookie leads all NL rookies with a 127 wRC+ on the season, has 12 home runs (tied for 2nd among second basemen in all of baseball), and walked more than he struck out in June. His Barrel% and hard-hit numbers have supported the surge, not just BABIP luck.
The Yankees recalled Jasson Domínguez from Triple-A after he slashed .326/.415/.478 with a 15.1% strikeout rate in the minors — a significant improvement from his 2025 numbers. Domínguez was immediately inserted into the second spot in the lineup and has gone multi-hit in back-to-back games since his recall, holding the spot against both left- and right-handed pitching.
Who's Hot This Week
Batting second for the Yankees with Judge and Stanton both out. He slashed .326/.415/.478 in Triple-A before the recall and has hit in back-to-back games since returning. The lineup protection is elite even without its two biggest names, and Domínguez is young enough to hold the job if he stays healthy. Add now before Judge trade rumors push his ownership up.
Worth Reading
Full FAAB priority rankings across all positions for Week 13. RotoBaller's comprehensive add/drop list covers hitters and starters by league size — useful for setting your waiver budget before Monday's deadline.
Pitcher List spotlights Dustin May's 1.31 ERA and 1.36 FIP in June (3rd in MLB) alongside a handful of other streaming arms worth targeting this week. Good complement to the RotoBaller piece if you're prioritizing pitching adds.
ESPN's add column digs into the Bazzana and Jensen situations with context on their roles and upside in different league formats. If you're still on the fence about either AL Central rookie, this article makes the case clearly.
Stress fracture in his right rib. Has not played since May 31. Manager Aaron Boone says Judge is confident about a return this season, but early-to-mid August is the realistic best case based on comparable rib stress fractures at the MLB level.
Fractured left hamate bone sustained mid-game vs. Detroit. Underwent immediate surgery with surgeon pleased with results. 5-7 week recovery timeline puts his return around late July to early August. Had played every game of the 2026 season before the injury.
Placed on the 10-day IL with a low-grade strain in his right calf concurrently with Domínguez's recall. No official timeline, but a 2-3 week return is a reasonable expectation for this type of injury.
Placed on the 15-day IL on June 16 with right elbow inflammation. Cubs will use a committee of Jacob Webb, Caleb Thielbar, and Phil Maton in his absence. No clear hierarchy has emerged yet.
Davis Martin entered 2026 as a borderline streaming option on the Chicago White Sox, but a deliberate overhaul of his pitch mix has turned him into one of the more interesting breakout pitchers in the game. After using his slider and curve at just 4-5% each in 2025, Martin dialed both pitches up nearly three-fold — his slider now sits at 32% usage, his curve at 12% — and the results have been dramatic. His strikeout rate has jumped 10 full percentage points to 27%, and his SwStr% is at 13%, well into the territory where strikeouts are real and sustainable.
The stat line backs it up: 2.00 ERA through 11 starts, with only one genuine disaster in the bunch. Martin has also repaired his historically weak split against right-handed hitters — they're still hitting .264 against him, but his K rate against RHH is now 28% with an 18% SwStr%, a major improvement. The improved slider usage is the obvious driver, giving him a swing-and-miss out pitch he didn't have access to before this year.
The main reservation is the White Sox's lack of run support, which can inflate Martin's ERA in rough patches. He was tagged for nine earned against the Yankees and six against the Twins in consecutive starts before bouncing back against Detroit on June 21. That recovery matters — pitchers with real underlying improvement tend to smooth out those bumps faster than ERA flukes do. He's not going to win you 15 games, but as a mid-rotation streaming option on a 30% owned pitcher, the risk-reward is compelling.
Three situations worth watching this week: Oakland's committee is slowly consolidating around Elvis Alvarado after dominant recent work, the Cubs are in a true three-man rotation with Palencia on the IL, and Caleb Kilian has quietly become one of the more trustworthy closers in the NL after being named San Francisco's primary option in mid-June.
Read the full Ledger →| Closer | Team | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elvis Alvarado | OAK | 🟡 Watch | Scoreless in 5 of his last 6 appearances, posting a 0.36 WHIP with 13 Ks and zero walks in that span. Hogan Harris is still technically the lead dog, but Alvarado is closing fast. Worth stashing in 14-team leagues. |
| Jacob Webb | CHC | 🔴 Committee | Daniel Palencia (elbow inflammation) is on the 15-day IL. Webb, Caleb Thielbar, and Phil Maton are sharing duties with no clear pecking order. Every Cubs save opportunity is a coin flip until Palencia returns. |
| Caleb Kilian | SF | 🟡 Watch | Named primary Giants closer in mid-June and has delivered: 3.06 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 38 Ks in 32.1 IP. Role is real but new enough that it doesn't yet qualify as locked. Add where available — especially in NL-only formats. |
Full game highlights from Braves vs. Padres — Manny Machado walks off San Diego's 7-6 comeback win with an RBI single on the first pitch of the 10th inning.
Cubs vs. Mets highlights featuring Pete Crow-Armstrong's three-run home run and a strong Cubs offensive night.
FanGraphs posts the June 22 Starting Pitcher Chart — their weekly tier breakdown of streamers, hold-worthy arms, and sit candidates by league size.
Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.