Before we get to what you need to know from Thursday’s action around MLB, let’s check in with what’s been going on over at CBSSports.com/Fantasy/Baseball, huh? Scott White and I are always keeping the site up to date to help you get through the Fantasy season, with Scott’s latest look at the top waiver-wire stashes right now.
And with big names like Aaron Judge and Jose Ramirez (among many others) out with injuries right now, there are plenty of tough choices to be made. Scott ranks the 50th biggest IL stashes out there, from those who you have no choice but to keep around to those you probably don’t have to wait on, like Luis Robert and Trevor Story.
Scott also gave us his weekly Prospects Report Wednesday, and it’s definitely worth diving into that. So, let’s take a look at five prospects you need to know, starting with three worth stashing right now:
No. 1 Prospect to stash: Joshua Baez, OF, Cardinals
Baez has to be close. He had a four-homer game this week, which should serve as the exclamation point on his minor-league career, as he now has 23 in 63 games at Triple-A while hitting .277/.343/.621 on the season. The 30.8% strikeout rate is a bit of a red flag, obviously, and it’s not clear there’s a defensive fit here – he plays center field, but isn’t expected to be even average there – so he isn’t quite the can’t-miss prospect his numbers might make you think. But there just doesn’t seem to be much left for him to learn down there, and the Cardinals are surprisingly competitive, so they probably just need to call him up and see what he can do. We’re talking about a potential plus power hitter who also stole 54 bases last season.
No. 2 Prospect to stash: Luis Lara, OF, Brewers
The Brewers gave Lara a $31 million contract extension last week, and while that isn’t “this is a franchise centerpiece” money, it is “we don’t need to play service-time games with this guy” money. He’s a 21-year-old enjoying a breakout season at Triple-A, hitting .319/.431/.460 with an excellent approach at the plate and enough power that pitchers at least have to respect him. He’s kind of a Sal Frelick clone in some ways, but seeing as Frelick is hitting just .233/.306/.316, the Brewers might be close to seeing if the new guy can outhit the old one.
No. 3 Prospect to stash: Karson Milbrandt, SP, Marlins
This one is partially about need, as the Marlins basically have two healthy starting pitchers right now. But Milbrandt deserves credit for leveling up this season, tweaking his delivery to nudge his control up to at least passable this season. He’s slid back a bit since getting promoted to Triple-A, but a 10.4% walk rate to go with his 35.1% strikeout rate across 11 starts at two levels will play. The Marlins like to let their prospects marinate at the highest level of the minors before promoting them, but they are just one game below .500 and in the hunt for a playoff spot, so at some point, they’ve gotta get actual talents in there instead of the likes of Ryan Gusto and Tyler Phillips. Milbrandt is the most obvious healthy option, so there’s a pretty good chance we’ll see him soon.
Scott also highlights River Ryan of the Dodgers, an excellent older pitching “prospect” who is more than MLB ready – he made his MLB debut two years ago – and Yohandy Morales of the Nationals, who has dominated Triple-A this season. Check out what he has to say there.
Two on the periphery
Scott also focuses on prospects whose immediate path to the majors is a bit less certain, but who are worth getting to know. Maybe they won’t get the call anytime soon, but they are names Fantasy players should know, especially these two:
Charlie Condon, 1B, Rockies
There was a lot of skepticism around Condon coming into the season, and his .264/.392/.523 line might make you think he’s silenced it. But you have to keep in mind that the Rockies play in the Pacific Coast League, where offense is hyper-inflated – check out the results of the recent series played in the PCL venue in Las Vegas with the Athletics if you don’t believe me. That’s still an above-average line, but the 119 wRC+ Condon has put up is merely the 18th best in the league this season and the fourth-best on his own team. That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to be excited about here – and Condon will eventually play half his games at Coors Field, which helps his case. He just isn’t projecting as a superstar anymore, and it’s not clear there’s a spot in the Rockies lineup right now. But we should see him at some point in the second half.
Josiah Hartshorn, OF, Cubs
Hartshorn was an over-slot sixth-round pick last year who has way overshot his draft status so far, hitting .316/.436/.578 in his first 58 pro games. And he’s been even better since a promotion to High-A, hitting .403/.463/.821 with eight homers in 19 games to date. I don’t think he’s likely to make it to the majors anytime in 2026, but he has yet to be challenged in the low minors, so a promotion to Double-A sometime in the second half of the season seems at least possible. And an ascension into the top-100 of rankings when sites update their mid-season lists seems all but certain. And if he does force his way to Double-A by the end of this season, he could be playing his way into a pre- age-21 debut.
Now, here’s what you need to know about from Thursday’s action around MLB:
Friday’s waiver-wire targets
Mick Abel, SP, Twins (54%) – It looks like Abel is going to make his return from the IL this weekend against the Diamondbacks, and I think you have to treat him as basically a must-add player right now. We don’t have a super-long track record of production for Abel – even in the minors, he had largely pitched his way out of top prospect status before this season – but he’s been excellent when on the mound this season, dating back to Spring Training. He’s even seen a bit of an uptick in velocity on his minor-league rehab assignment, no small thing for a guy whose fastball is a big part of what makes him so interesting as a pitcher. Remember, he had 16 strikeouts in 13 shutout innings and looked like he was taking a step forward before his IL stint. Let’s see if he can continue to build on that.
Gage Jump, SP, Athletics (61%) – Jump has been interesting since his promotion, but we’ve been waiting for a truly great start to really get the hype flowing, and we got it Thursday. Sure, it was against the Angels without Mike Trout, but hey, seven one-hit, shutout innings with seven strikeouts speaks for itself, especially from a recently promoted top prospect. He had multiple whiffs on his four-seamer (five), curveball (four), and slider (two), and that was pretty much all he needed in his one, as he allowed just four hard-hit balls on 14 balls in play. And he did it against a lineup fully stocked with right-handed batters, an even more impressive feat for a young lefty. He’s still down to a pretty middling 22% strikeout rate in his first five career starts, but the stuff is there – he struck out 33% prior to his promotion – so I remain very optimistic about Jump. I’ll add and start him for next week in San Francisco.
Sean Burke, SP, White Sox (33%) – Whoa. I’m not sure what got into Burke, but his velocity was up nearly 2 mph on his fastball, and he generated a truly impressive 20 whiffs in a bulk relief appearance Thursday. He ended up throwing 7.1 innings against the Yankees, and I think it’s the best he’s ever looked in the majors. He struck out eight, walked just one, allowed just one earned run, and most notably, added nearly 2 mph on his fastball. And that might be underselling it: His final pitch of the night to close out the game came in at 99.3 mph, just the fourth time he’s ever hit 99 in an MLB game – and, again, it was his final pitch of the game. It’s so out of character that I think you have to assume it won’t prove sustainable, but it was also so impressive that I think you do have to at least take the possibility of him doing this moving forward seriously. Prioritize Jump, certainly, but I’m very intrigued to see what Burke does in his next outing against a Guardians lineup missing Jose Ramirez.
Shane Baz, SP, Orioles (73%) – I still don’t buy Baz as a long-term difference maker, but he’s on a nice run right now and deserves a bit more respect from Fantasy players. Baz ran into some early trouble Thursday but ended up allowing just three runs over seven innings of work against the Mariners, with nine strikeouts and 13 whiffs on 99 pitches. That brings him to a 2.39 ERA over his past six starts, though he still isn’t generating as many strikeouts as you’d like, leading ERA estimators to discount this run he’s on. At the very least, however, you’ve gotta like his odds for next week against a Mike Trout-less Angels squad, even if it remains reasonable to be skeptical about him long-term.
Matt Shaw, 3B, Cubs (16%) – It’s been hard to find consistent playing time for Shaw, but that should change after the Cubs sent Moises Ballesteros down to Triple-A Thursday. Michael Conforto may take on some of Ballesteros’ DH duties against right-handed pitching, but with Shaw’s defensive versatility, I think we’ll see him out there more often than not, and he’s looked a bit more well-equipped to play every day than he did as a rookie, hitting .266/.319/.440 while cutting his strikeout rate to 17% this season. He probably doesn’t do enough to matter in points leagues, but he’s a nice guy to have on your bench in Roto leagues with MI, CI, and OF eligibility.
Christian Moore, OF, Angels (8%) – Moore did little to distinguish himself in his MLB debut last season, hitting .198/.284/.370 in 53 games with a 33.7% strikeout rate. He was overwhelmed, as fast-promoted Angels’ prospects often are. But he went back down to Triple-A this season and has hit .333/.468/.585 with nearly as many walks as strikeouts and nine homers and 10 steals in 51 games. Even in his rookie season, he showed off roughly average raw power and has done even better so far at Triple-A, albeit with a very low pulled-air rate that suggests he isn’t likely to make a huge impact as a power hitter. But the improved plate discipline and contact skills, plus a bit of speed, suggest there’s something here at least for those of you in deeper Roto leagues, especially when he gains outfield eligibility by the end of the week.
Thursday’s standouts
Bryan Woo, Mariners vs. BAL: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K – The overall numbers still aren’t great, as Woo just got his ERA down below 4.00 for the season. But nothing else looks particularly alarming here, so I’m chalking it up to a weird cold streak. His FIP and xERA are within spitting distance of last season’s, and this is now eight or more strikeouts in four of his past eight starts, with one of the other three a seven-K effort. If there’s any kind of buy-low window available, I’m trying to clamber through before it shuts.
Trey Yesavage, Blue Jays @BOS: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K – This one got a bit more interesting than it perhaps needed to as Yesavage allowed two homers in the eighth inning to cost himself a chance at the win. But after a stretch of iffy control, it was lovely to see Yesavage get through a whole start without any walks. He hasn’t been quite as good as hoped this season, but Yesavage is still showing plenty of bat-missing ability with his slider and splitter, while his four-seamer continues to limit damage for the most part. I’d bet on something more like his 3.15 xERA than his 3.76 actual mark moving forward.
Sonny Gray, Red Sox vs. TOR: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – Gray is still showing inconsistency as a bat-misser, but the results remain mostly excellent. The question is, how long can he get away with it? His 3.12 ERA comes with an expected ERA closer to 4.00, and that’s probably my expectation for him moving forward if he’s truly just a 20%-ish strikeout rate guy. He should still be useful, but I’d be looking to trade Gray before the regression caught up to him.
Parker Messick, Guardians @MIL: 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K – Another good start from a guy who kind of needed one – Messick hadn’t gone six innings in a start since May 13 before this one. He had gotten close, getting pulled with two outs in the sixth in three of five starts since, so it’s not like anyone was panicking. But Messick was looking a bit less sharp, including three straight starts with just four strikeouts before this one. Given the limited track record, there’s always going to be some inherent uncertainty here, but Messick answered some of that with a very good outing here, which also saw his four-seam fastball sit 2.2 mph up from his season average. That’ll help, as will pitching on seven days of rest, so don’t expect Messick to sustain that velo bump.
Ryan Weathers, Yankees vs. CHW: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K – There’s a theme tonight: Guys who needed a good start got one. Weathers faded his fastballs a bit in this one, while also throwing them about 1 mph harder, and he had his best start in four tries. He still gave up a homer, which remains the biggest issue for Weathers, who otherwise is missing plenty of bats and limiting walks well. I still think we’re likely looking at Weathers moving to the bullpen at some point in the second half once Max Fried is ready to come back from his elbow injury, so it’s not a bad idea to shop Weathers right now.
Sean Manaea, Mets @PHI; 5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K – There are other more interesting names to consider on waivers right now than Manaea, who is just 27% and isn’t likely to see that number climb much moving forward. But I’m not opposed to adding him if some of the names above are already rostered, because we’re seeing some interesting signs that look like his very effective 2024 form. Manaea is fading his four-seamer for his sinker lately, and his sweeper has looked a lot better this season, including garnering 11 whiffs Thursday. That’s a couple of good starts in a row, but I’m not sure I’m ready to trust him for next week against a Cubs lineup with very good numbers against lefties. But as a SPaRP, he’s already a good streamer in H2H points leagues, at least. Let’s see if he can become more than that again.
