Shohei Ohtani won't pitch Friday vs. Arizona and won't travel to Philadelphia for Tuesday's Midsummer Classic, all because of a left knee issue he has been managing since June 11. The Dodgers will drain the knee after Sunday's series finale and target a return for the second-half opener July 18 against the Yankees. The key detail: the knee affects his pitching mechanics, not his hitting — he is still DHing throughout this weekend.
Oakland's two most fantasy-relevant position players are both shelved. Kurtz hit the 10-day IL (retroactive to July 10) with a right thumb capsule sprain he had been gutting through for days — he was hitting .266 with 20 HR, 66 RBI, and a major-league-leading 76 walks before the shutdown, and will miss the All-Star Game. Gelof is also IL-bound with a knee laceration after slamming into the outfield wall making a catch on July 9. Tyler Soderstrom was activated from his own IL stint July 9, and Joey Meneses joins him to cover first base.
A Michael Wacha fastball caught Vientos on the right hand in the second inning of the Mets' July 9 win over Kansas City, fracturing the bone. The 6-8 week timeline may require surgery if it is the hamate (a common bat-hand injury with a 4-6 week recovery post-op). Brett Baty moves from second base to take over the hot corner. Ronny Mauricio is the most likely recall option.
After going .196 with just seven extra-base hits across 102 June at-bats, Rice exploded Thursday against Tampa Bay — going 2-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI in New York's 12-4 rout. He is now slashing .275/.366/.590 with 28 HR, 65 RBI, and 63 runs in 377 plate appearances. Five home runs in his first 29 July at-bats suggests the June slump was a blip rather than a new trend.
Who's Hot This Week
Soderstrom was activated July 9 from his own IL stint and now wakes up two days later to find both Kurtz and Gelof in the training room. He is the Oakland starting first baseman for at least the next three weeks and has the bat — a former top overall prospect — to do damage in this role. The A's lineup is lean, but the playing time is guaranteed and catcher eligibility adds real value. Grab him now in 12+ team leagues and hold through the break.
Worth Reading
RotoBaller's final waiver wire rankings update before the All-Star break, tiered by league size and focused on weekend roster decisions. Worth a look before Saturday morning waivers process — the rankings account for this weekend's schedule.
Ownership-weighted recommendations split by position, with FAAB bid ranges for each target. The framing is explicitly pre-break, flagging which adds to hold through the All-Star break versus one-week streamers to cut next weekend.
The most complete bullpen ranking document in fantasy baseball, updated with the latest closer news and ranked by format (standard, holds leagues, points leagues). With Helsley and Romano both in flux, this is the reference you want before the break.
Right thumb capsule sprain suffered over multiple games — he had been playing through it before exiting Wednesday's game vs. Detroit and confirming the IL placement. IL retroactive to July 10; return target is late July, though a thumb capsule can linger. .266/.400+, 20 HR, 66 RBI, and a major-league-leading 76 walks in 92 games before the shutdown. Will miss the All-Star Game.
Knee laceration from a full-extension sliding catch into the outfield fence on July 9 vs. Tigers. Came off his own hand IL (June 25) just days before this new injury. Return timeline is unclear but knee lacerations are typically a 2-3 week absence rather than a structural issue.
Right hand fracture from a Michael Wacha 92-mph fastball in the Mets' July 9 win over Kansas City. Medical staff has flagged a possible hamate fracture that could require surgery with a 4-6 week post-op recovery — worst case puts him back in September. Was batting .211 with 11 HR and 35 RBI across 73 games.
Left knee irritation managed since June 11 — Ohtani exited a June 11 start vs. Pittsburgh with knee inflammation and has been carefully managed since. Skips his final first-half start (Friday vs. Arizona) and the All-Star Game in Philadelphia. Knee will be drained Sunday; Los Angeles targeting a July 18 return at New York. The issue is mechanical for pitching, not hitting — he continues to DH this weekend.
Cam Schlittler is 25 years old and is putting together one of the best Yankees pitching seasons by WAR this century — and he is doing it by being relentlessly simple. An upper-90s four-seamer backed by a plus cutter, with a show-me curve to keep hitters honest. The walk rate has been cut nearly in half from his debut partial season. He is 9-5 with a 2.01 ERA (second in the AL), 131 strikeouts (sixth), and a 0.93 WHIP (third). What makes the season special is that there is no trick — it is elite command of a three-pitch fastball combination, deployed against an offense-heavy era.
The FanGraphs piece situates Schlittler alongside Dylan Cease (2.56 ERA, 2.20 FIP, 148 strikeouts in 98.1 innings) as the class of the AL staff for Tuesday's game. What is striking in the data is that both pitchers work in opposite ways: Cease overpowers with high-spin four-seam movement and a hammering slider; Schlittler wins with deception and tunnel similarity between the four-seam and cutter. The AL has two elite archetypes at the top of the rotation, and both are fantasy aces with legitimate Cy Young trajectories.
For Schlittler owners, the message is straightforward: this is not a regression risk situation. His .293 BABIP is barely above league average, his strand rate is sustainable, and his underlying contact metrics are clean. The second half should look like the first half. For Cease owners in two-start leagues, the approaching All-Star break means he may be available for a premium streaming window before the Jays' schedule lightens up considerably in late July.
The three chaotic ninth-inning situations heading into the break are San Francisco, Washington, and Colorado. The Giants' Caleb Kilian has recorded three blown saves with a 12.08 ERA in save situations and Ryan Walker just returned from a minor-league assignment competing for the role. In Washington, nine different pitchers have combined for 21 saves on the season — Clayton Beeter, Gus Varland, and Richard Lovelady are cycling through the job. Colorado's Jordan Romano, signed July 4, has recorded two saves in three outings and looks like the most actionable short-term play of the three.
Read the full Ledger →| Closer | Team | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caleb Kilian | SF | 🔴 Committee | Named closer despite a 12.08 ERA in save situations and three blown saves this season — manager Tony Vitello is openly reviewing options. Ryan Walker returned from Triple-A and is 3-for-6 in save chances this year. This is a full committee; neither pitcher is safe to roster as your primary closer, but there are saves available if you want to stash one. |
| Clayton Beeter | WSH | 🔴 Committee | Beeter, Gus Varland (5 saves), and Richard Lovelady (4 saves) have split the ninth inning all season with no clear hierarchy. Beeter has found his velocity again and gets the slight edge in recent usage. In a 14+ team saves-hungry league, he is worth a speculative add — but do not expect nine innings of Beeter per week. |
| Jordan Romano | COL | 🟡 Watch | Signed July 4 and has looked like the designated closer immediately, converting two of three chances. The 7.36 ERA on the season at other stops is ugly, but the Rockies' bullpen is thin and Romano has the save experience. A saves-at-Coors spec in deep leagues — the win rate is low but when Colorado does win, Romano appears to be getting the ball. |
| Tanner Scott | LAD | 🟡 Watch | Still closing while Edwin Díaz (60-day IL, loose bodies in elbow) works toward a post-ASB return — Díaz threw live BP and is targeting July 21. Scott has 12 saves with a 2.02 ERA across 38 appearances. The clock is ticking: if Díaz returns healthy around July 21 as expected, Scott reverts to a holds-only asset. Ride the saves until then, but make the switch quickly. |
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. smokes a game-tying home run in the Blue Jays vs. Padres game on July 11 — a monster shot to left-center that keeps Toronto in it late.
Official full game highlights from Guardians vs. Marlins on July 11 — featuring Miami's offense including Javier Sanoja, this issue's top waiver target.
The 2026 MLB Draft officially began in Philadelphia on July 11 — the official account posted live coverage of the first round, including the top overall picks.
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