Major League Baseball

Covered by Greg Hoogkamp                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Cal Raleigh, C SEA (MLB)

3-for-5, HR, 2 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI

Big Dumper slugged his league-leading 46th home run on Friday night, a 107 mph shot as a RHH off Sean Manaea. Raleigh now sits second all-time among catchers for most home runs in a season, just two shy of Sal Perez’s historic 2021 season. He also has another amazing record in sight: the most home runs in a season by a switch hitter, which is 54 set by Mickey Mantle in 1961. Raleigh has truly been a difference-maker for the M’s and dynasty owners this season because he is doing this all as a primary catcher. His AIRPULL% is 39.1%! This will play when you have a hard hit rate of over 50% (51.3%). He’s the top redraft and dynasty catcher and it’s not close.  

‼️Hurston Waldrep, RHP ATL (MLB)         

6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Waldrep seems to have found the control that has eluded him over the last couple of seasons. In three appearances (two starts), he has a 17:5 strikeout to walk ratio over 17.2 IP giving him a small sample, walk rate of 7.6%. Waldrep attributes a lot of his recent success to Sean Murphy who suggested during an early-season rehab assignment that Waldrep dial back on his 4-Seam and throw his sinker more frequently. Although not immediate, Waldrep worked to develop the pitch and is now throwing it 15% of the time and seeing the fruits of this labor at the highest level. He now has an additional secondary to pair with his lethal splitter. There has never been any doubt about his stuff, it has always been command and control. This tangible adjustment seems to be very real and I would be jumping on whatever shares of Waldrep I could get at this point. 

‼️Sandy Alcantara, RHP MIA (MLB)

6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

The Marlins made a deliberate choice to hold onto Alcantara at the deadline and he showed what he’s still capable of on Friday night. Who knows what the offers were for him, but it clearly was not enough for the Marlins to pull the trigger on a deal. This season, he’s either been really good, or really bad, which makes it incredibly hard to put him in your starting lineup. At his best, Alcantara has always needed to provide volume to meet his acquisition cost. He’s not a strikeout pitcher and if he’s not giving you solid ratios, he’s becoming a “do not start” in many formats. Alcantara’s K-BB over the last five seasons tell the tale: ‘21 18.0%, ‘22 17.8%, ‘23 13.5%, ‘24 DNP, ‘25 8.8%. He’s still only 29 years of age with solid fastball velocity, so it isn’t over by any means, but the trend is not good. 

💣💣Christian Yelich, DH MIL (MLB)

4-for-5, 2 HR, 2B, R, 5 RBI

Yelich has been as hot as a firecracker in August (.412/.483/.745 with 5 HR), carrying fantasy rosters through the dog days. He’s not quite the same player he was in his prime, but he’s still a great option as #2 or 3 OF. Yelich has seen his contact rate drop fairly significantly in 2025 (Zcon down 4.8% and Overall contact down 7.2% from 2024) leading to an elevated strikeout rate and is something to watch moving forward. He’s approaching a 30/20 season which he’s done just twice before, so this has been a very good season for Yelich and his owners. 

🍔🍟 Alejandro Kirk, C TOR (MLB)

2-for-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, SB

The Captain with the combo meal! Alejandro Kirk was presented with the base for his first career MLB steal in a ceremony after the game (his first stolen base since 2019 in Single-A). Kirk has quietly become one of the steadiest backstops in the league and if you haven’t looked at his season stats you might be surprised to know that he is hitting .296 with a 51.1% hard hit rate, a 9.9% strikeout rate and 86.7 zone contact rate. He doesn’t hit a lot of home runs (Friday night’s was his 8th) or steal any bases, but he provides fantastic ratios (.355 OBP) which is outlier territory for the catching position. He’s also a fantastic defensive catcher which should keep his playing time consistent. For those of you who roster him, you already know all of this, for those of you who don’t, it might be time to try and acquire him in your leagues. 

‼️Brandon Young, RHP BAL (MLB)

8.0 IP, H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Friday evening’s stellar effort was far and away Young’s best big league start. He stifled the first-place Astros for 7⅔ innings before having his perfect game bid broken up by an infield single by Ramon Urias. Urias ended up on second after a throwing error by Young. If you watched the play, the home scorer was put in an unenviable position. A good throw might have gotten Urias at first. It was ultimately ruled a hit and a throwing error and after Young struck out Taylor Trammell to end the inning his night was over. One wonders if this game was in Baltimore if the scoring decision might have been different, one of those unique baseball situations. Regardless, Young should be celebrated for this effort. Is he fantasy viable this season, beyond this season? His split finger is his only true whiff offering; his other four pitches get hit around pretty well. Nothing before Friday night suggests solid viability, but the O’s are starved for pitching and haven’t been able to keep their best starters healthy. This puts Young in play as a depth starter who will pile up innings which is valuable in 20-plus team leagues. 

💣💣Francisco Lindor, SS NYM (MLB)

3-for-5, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI

Like Yelich above, the veteran Lindor is having a great August (.314/.417/.608 with 4 HR and 2 SB) and helping dynasty owners compete for championships. His metrics are more in line with 2023 than his excellent 2024, but two more home runs get him to 24 for the season. and a 30/25 season is fast approaching. He’s on the downside of the mountain, but you can count on Lindor to provide solid value down the stretch and over the next couple of seasons. 

🍔🍟Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B NYY (MLB)

1-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, K, SB

Chisholm is a fun and frustrating player to roster in fantasy (and I’m sure in real life too!). His flashy style of play leads to great games and also time on the IL. Chisholm is approaching a career high in home runs; his 21st is now just three shy of his personal best of 24 set last season. While he won’t touch his career-high 40 SB also set last season, Jazz now has 18 steals which is in line with his career norms. His ratios leave a little bit to be desired (.240 average, .334 OBP), but his positional eligibility for 2026 will now include 2B/3B/MI/CI (losing OF) which is handy. 

Nick Kurtz, 1B ATH (MLB)

3-for-5, HR, 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI, K

Your future AL ROY is….Kurtz continues to stretch out his lead in this race with another big game. It’s amazing how quickly Kurtz has adjusted to big league pitching as he now boasts a .305/.384/.631 line with 24 home runs. Though he’s not qualified just yet, he’s having the best season amongst first basemen, posting a 174 wRC+ (second place Guerrero Jr. 150 wRC+). He’s also tied for third in home runs for first basemen despite having at least 150 fewer plate appearances than the leaders. Kurtz has flown up the dynasty rankings and is in the conversation with Vlad and a couple of others for top dynasty 1B in the game. 

Colby Thomas, CF ATH (MLB)

3-for-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI

In his second full month with the Athletics, Thomas is flashing the tools that made him so successful in the minors. It’s really been his last six games that have turned things around for Thomas after a tough first seven weeks to his MLB career. Thomas is 8-for-16 with 2 HR and 2 SB in those games. This young A’s team boasts several outfielders that will need to battle it out for playing time moving forward. Thomas will try to take playing time away from the likes of Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom, Brent Rooker, J.J. Bleday and the soon-to-return Denzel Clarke. It’s a fun problem to have for this young and exciting squad. As a fantasy option, Thomas is an extra base hit machine who can swipe some bags. He will also strike out at a higher than average clip which will challenge his ratios. In the right situation he mashes lefties, holds his own against righties and gives you a nice back-end OF option. 

Chandler Simpson, LF TBR (MLB)

3-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, SB

How many of you would sign up for an outfielder that is hitting .307 with 34 stolen bases? If I told you that his name was Chandler Simpson, how many of you would change your answer from yes to no? Simpson remains a polarizing option for fantasy because he is so good at certain things and so bad at others. The caveat to owning Simpson is that you will always need to construct your roster in such a way that you don’t get hurt by his deficiencies. You will need to insulate him with several boppers who make up for the extreme lack of power (0 barrels in 243 batted ball events) he provides. One important note: Simpson becomes more valuable as league sizes get bigger. As long as you understand these things, you will make the correct roster decisions with Simpson. 

🍔🍟Willy Adames, SS SFG (MLB)

1-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, K, SB

After a sluggish start, Adames is turning things around in the second half. Since the All-Star break, he has an .808 OPS with 7 HR in 110 plate appearances. It’s a safe bet that 2024 was Adames’ career year; how convenient for the Giants who ponied up $182 million to sign him. Upon further examination, his underlying metrics are right in line with last season and even better in certain places. He hits a lot of barrels (12.7%) and has changed his approach since he’s moved to the Bay. Last season he crushed sliders (.446 wOBA, 659 SLG), while this season he’s hunting heaters (.379 wOBA, .534 SLG). Regardless of how he’s doing it, the biggest difference for fantasy owners is that this season he’s attempting to run a lot less (2024: 25 SB attempts, 2025: 7 SB attempts). Realistically, Adames is a 20-25 home run bat who will steal 10-12 bases with lower ratios. 

Triple-A

Covered by Will Thompson

Jeferson Quero, C MIL (Triple-A)

2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI, BB, K

A huge day for Quero, who now has hit two home runs in his last three games. Quero has only played in 37 games this season after getting a late start to the year, but when his power has shown up it’s shown up in bunches. He’s still swinging at everything (39% chase rate), but he also makes contact with everything. Being more consistent at the plate in Triple-A will be the next step. 

🔜‼️Shane Bieber, RHP TOR (Triple-A)

7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Uhhh yeah I think Shane Bieber is ready to come back. He’s now stretched out to 90 pitches and while rehab starts should be taken with a grain of salt, it’s notable that Bieber’s FB velocity in his Triple-A outings averaged 92.8 MPH, which would be his highest mark since the 2020 season. He is ready to come back and make an impact in the Blue Jays rotation. 

🔜George Springer, DH TOR (Triple-A)

1-for-3, HR, R, RBI

Speaking of guys ready to come back and make an impact, George Springer homered in his final rehab appearance. He has already re-joined the big league club for today. 

JJ Wetherholt, 3B STL (Triple-A)

1-for-4, HR, R, RBI, BB

Wetherholt continues to tear up Triple-A pitching and has already topped his Double-A home run total from earlier this year (8 HR in 24 AAA games, 7 HR in 62 AA games). The Cardinals figure to give their stud prospect a shot in September, especially if the team falls further out of the race. The question is where does he play, especially when Nolan Arenado gets healthy again.