Kansas City Royals right-handed reliever Carlos Estevez (shoulder) suffered a shoulder injury while rehabbing his foot on May 6. He threw a bullpen session on June 27, but his right shoulder didn't feel great, so the Royals will re-evaluate him in the coming days, according to MLB.com. Estevez initially went on the 15-day injured list on April 1 with a foot injury, but he was transferred to the 60-day IL on June 15 with a right rotator-cuff strain in his shoulder. It's unclear exactly what is wrong with the 33-year-old Dominican veteran now, but he's unlikely to come off the IL to rejoin the Royals' bullpen before the All-Star break next month, and depending on what the team finds this week, Estevez could be out well into the second half of the season. Right-hander Lucas Erceg was the next man up for saves in KC with Estevez hurt early in April. Erceg has 12 saves, but he has since been booted from the closer's role in favor of Alex Lange, who has converted all seven of his save opportunities in June. It's becoming harder to justify holding Estevez in fantasy baseball leagues as we near the end of the first half. He's currently rostered in 42% of Yahoo leagues.

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Miami Marlins catcher/first baseman/designated hitter Liam Hicks (back) took part in a full day of baseball activities on June 26 and is swinging without limitations and can catch. If Hicks continues to make progress, MLB.com suggests he's likely to come off the 10-day injured list when he's first eligible on Tuesday. Hicks was put on the IL on June 21 with a lower-back strain, but it looks like fantasy managers will get him back this week. The 27-year-old left-handed-hitting Canadian backstop has had a breakout in his second season in the big leagues, slashing .278/.359/.472 with an .831 OPS, 13 home runs, 53 RBI, 40 runs scored, and a stolen base across 73 games played and 288 plate appearances in 2026. For fantasy purposes, it's the perfect time for managers to get Hicks back, with Miami in Colorado and Sacramento at Coors Field and Sutter Health Park, respectively -- two of the most hitter-friendly parks in the league. In 16 games in June before his back injury, Hicks had gone 18-for-58 (.310) with two homers, two doubles, a triple, eight RBI, and 13 runs scored. Get ready to plug him back into all starting fantasy lineups this week.

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New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien (elbow) was diagnosed with a Grade 3 hip-flexor strain, and he will be out four to six weeks at a minimum, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Semien tried to play through the injury until it severely limited his movement. Outfielder Tyrone Taylor had a Grade 1.5 to 2 flexor strain and missed 28 days. The 35-year-old Semien had been showing signs of decline offensively in recent years, but playing through injury in 2026 in his first year in New York had really tanked his numbers. In 80 games (318 plate appearances) in his 14th year in the majors, the three-time All-Star hit .214/.271/.341 with a career-worst .613 OPS, nine home runs, 29 RBI, 30 runs scored, six stolen bases, and a 21.4% strikeout rate, which is his worst mark since 2017 with the Athletics. There's no guarantee Semien will bounce back in the second half for the last-place Mets if he can return fully healthy in the second half. For the foreseeable future, Brett Baty will serve as the team's primary option at the keystone in Queens.

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New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that All-Star outfielder Aaron Judge (ribs) is still taking things slow, according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News. Judge is coming up on four weeks on the 10-day injured list due to a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side, but it doesn't sound like he will be ready for more testing at that point. The 34-year-old former MVP was placed on the IL on June 5, and at the time, the Yankees said Judge would be re-evaluated in four to six weeks. It sounds like the Yankees don't plan on re-evaluating him for another couple of weeks, so fantasy managers definitely cannot expect the slugger to return before the All-Star break in mid-July. The former first-rounder in 2013 out of California State University, Fresno, is an obvious must-stash while he heals, but fantasy managers may not get him back until early August in a best-case scenario. We'll have a better idea on a timeline for a return once he resumes baseball activities. Judge has hit .248 (53-for-214) with 17 homers, 38 RBI, 43 runs scored, and five stolen bases in 2026 in his 11th year in the majors. With Giancarlo Stanton (calf) and Trent Grisham (hamstring) still on the IL as well, Jasson Dominguez will continue to be an everyday player in the outfield in the Bronx.

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Atlanta Braves infielder/outfielder Mauricio Dubon has never had much power or speed in his seven-plus years in the big leagues with four different teams as a utility player, but he has recently become more attractive off the waiver wire in fantasy baseball leagues as a short-term boost during his hot streak with the Braves. Dubon has hit .267/.316/.421 with a .738 OPS in 78 games across 314 plate appearances with Atlanta so far this year, and he's only three home runs away from setting a new career high in that category. The 31-year-old veteran from Honduras has been excellent in 22 games (89 plate appearances) in June, going 26-for-84 (.310) with five long balls, five doubles, 14 RBI, 12 runs scored, and two stolen bases. Dubon is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak in which he's gone 11-for-29 (.379) with a homer, four doubles, an RBI, five runs, and a stolen base. He sits in just the 11th percentile in hard-hit rate and 25th percentile in barrel rate, but he rarely strikes out (85th percentile in K rate) and should continue to play regularly with Ronald Acuna Jr. (hamstring) on the injured list. Most importantly, Dubon is eligible at second base, third base, shortstop, and the outfield, and he's rostered in only 39% of Yahoo leagues. Ride the wave in deeper fantasy leagues.

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Chicago White Sox infielder Chase Meidroth is quietly hitting .276 (83-for-301) in his second year in the major leagues for a resurgent White Sox club in 2026. Meidroth hit .253/.329/.320 with only five home runs, 23 RBI, 14 stolen bases, and 54 runs scored in 122 games (505 plate appearances) in 2025 in his rookie season. He's only stolen two bases in his 80 games so far in 2026, but the 24-year-old former fourth-round pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2022 out of the University of San Diego already has a career-high six homers in 339 plate appearances. In 23 games and 97 plate appearances in June, Meidroth has gone 26-for-89 (.292) with a homer, three doubles, nine RBI, and 11 runs scored. The problem with adding Meidroth off the waiver is that he currently has an elevated 24.8% strikeout rate (up from 14.3% last year), and his walk rate is nearly identical to what it was last year at 8.6%. His xBA of .227 and xwOBA of .282 point to serious regression since he's not making nearly as much contact as he did in 2025. Meidroth might be in play as a short-term middle-infield boost while he's hot, but his underlying metrics say that it's not going to last. He's rostered in only 30% of Yahoo leagues.

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Boston Red Sox infielder Caleb Durbin has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball recently, and he went 1-for-4 at the plate with two RBI, a run scored, two stolen bases, and a strikeout in the team's 5-4, 10-inning win at Fenway on Sunday to help Boston complete a four-game sweep over the division-rival New York Yankees. Durbin's overall numbers in 2026 in his second year in the majors (first with the BoSox) don't look very enticing from a fantasy standpoint, as he's hitting just .230/.283/.381 with a .664 OPS, six home runs, 34 RBI, 30 runs scored, and nine stolen bases in 75 games and 267 plate appearances. However, he has become a strong waiver-wire addition in fantasy leagues of late due to his hot streak at the plate, and he's eligible at both second and third base in most leagues. In his last 11 games, Durbin has gone 17-for-39 (.436) with three home runs, eight RBI, and four stolen bases. Durbin had 11 homers and 18 RBI in 136 games in his rookie campaign with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025, and he's Boston's starting third baseman. He's available in 70% of Yahoo leagues right now.

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Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler is slashing just .204/.290/.311 with five home runs, 21 RBI, 29 runs scored, and six stolen bases in 76 games so far in 2026. His slow start to his fourth year in the big leagues with the A's has caused him to be dropped in many fantasy baseball leagues. However, he had another two-hit game in the team's loss to the division-rival Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, and he's hitting an even .300 (18-for-60) with two home runs, four doubles, seven RBI, 12 runs scored, and two stolen bases in 23 games across 66 plate appearances in June. Fantasy managers shouldn't forget that the 25-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder had his first 20-20 season in 2025 with 21 homers, 63 RBI, and 22 stolen bases in 152 games played. The year before, in his first full season in the majors, Butler came two steals shy of his first 20-20 season, so the power/speed profile is definitely there. It hasn't been the year he had hoped for through the first three months, but there is still time for Butler to turn things around, and fantasy managers could find worse power/speed gambles off the waiver wire. Butler is currently rostered in only 35% of Yahoo leagues.

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Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Jared Jones has struggled through six starts since returning from the UCL surgery he underwent in May of 2025, pitching to the tune of a 5.76 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and nine walks in 25 innings pitched. It's expected that one is to struggle from an injury like he suffered; however, the 24 year old second round pick in 2020 has been a highly viewed pitching prospect for the Pirates after he had a nice rookie campaign in 2024, where he had a 4.14 ERA (3.97 xERA) and really strong strikeout and swing and miss numbers (26.2 percent strikeout rate and 30.2 percent whiff rate). So far through his six starts in 2026, his fastball velocity remains elite (97th percentile); however, his strikeout rate is down (22.7 percent), and he's getting hit hard (90.3 mph average exit velocity and 40.8 percent hard-hit rate), all while demonstrating average control (8.2 percent walk rate). Additionally, Jones has only worked five innings once and is averaging only four innings per start, so he is being handcuffed a bit by pitch count and is inefficient. All this to say, Jones has tremendous upside, and while he is not necessarily a must-start at this time, he is still a strong person to roster that can be useful down the stretch as he continues to ramp up from his return from injury.

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The Colorado Rockies have seven games at Coors Field this week, and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who has struggled this season slashing only .209/.255.330, should have an opportunity to get hot at the plate with the Rockies play in the hitter friendly ballpark all week. While Tovar has been useless in fantasy in 2026, he is still a career .251 hitter with a .701 OPS in his five seasons with the Rockies. Unfortunately, under the hood, Tovar has been just as bad as his surface-level stats: .278 xwOBA and .220 xBA, but fantasy Managers who are in a pinch at their middle infield position may want to look Tovar's way at least this week, to see if a week-long home stretch can get him going. Tovar is not necessarily someone fantasy managers should be blowing all their FAAB on, but more of a look if injuries are catching up to their team or you are looking for a deep-sleeper hitter for Week 15.

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New York Yankees switch-hitter Jasson Dominguez has struggled mightily in 2026, slashing .214/.250/.405 with three home runs, eight RBI, four stolen bases, and only seven runs scored. Dominguez has seen a massive increase in playing time and opportunity due to injuries to Yankees outfielders Aaron Judge (ribs) and Giancarlo Stanton (calf), and, unfortunately, has not been able to do much with it. That being said, Dominguez is playing every day in a Yankees lineup, and has the prospect pedigree that makes him a higher-upside stash than others in a five-outfielder format. In his last full season at the Minor league level in 2024, Dominguez slashed .314/.375/.504, and last season with the Yankees he slashed .257/.331/.388 with 23 stolen bases. He has the upside to become a five-category contributor; he just hasn't been playing to his potential. Fantasy managers in deeper formats where five outfielders are required should continue to take a shot on Dominguez simply based on his upside compared to what else may be available in deeper leagues.

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Cincinnati Reds 28-year-old outfielder JJ Bleday has cooled off a bit at the plate of late, as he's only hitting .163 with a .628 OPS in June; however, he's still hitting .241 with a .859 OPS on the season with 13 home runs, three stolen bases, 29 runs scored, and 37 RBI. In May, Bleday was unstoppable at the plate, hitting .301 with a 1.018 OPS, but inevitably cooled off. Through 232 plate appearances, Bleday's batted ball metrics and underlying data remain rock-solid, with a .371 xwOBA (88th percentile), .264 xBA (72nd percentile), 10 percent barrel rate (51st percentile), and 45 percent hard-hit rate (71st percentile). He's accomplished all of this even while keeping his plate discipline in check, with a 23.2 percent chase rate, 25.2 percent whiff rate, and 19.3 percent strikeout rate while walking at a 13.8 percent clip. All this to say, nothing under the hood showcases that continued regression is on the horizon for Bleday. Fantasy managers who have seen Bleday dropped in their leagues after a slow June should consider adding him to their roster, especially in five outfielder formats.

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Cincinnati Reds 24-year-old outfielder Noelvie Marte has had a tough season thus far in 2026, slashing only .191/.258/.371 with four home runs, four stolen bases, 12 runs scored, and six RBI. On June 26, he delivered a pinch-hit, two-run go-ahead home run to help seal the win for the Reds against the Pirates, but outside of that, to this point, Marte has been fairly useless from a fantasy standpoint. It's important to note that in 2025, he hit .263 with a .748 OPS, 14 home runs, 10 stolen bases, and 51 RBI. He has the talent and upside to be a five-category contributor; he's just not playing well right now. At this time, Marte is more a speculative add in deeper, five-outfield leagues than more of a must-add player off the waiver wire. Fantasy managers can queue him up on their waiver wire and see how he does over the next week or two, because when he gets hot, it can happen quickly and with a lot of upside.

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Twins' SP Connor Prielipp recorded 10 strikeouts in 6 innings in a 3-2 win over the Rockies on Sunday, Jun. 28.

Nationals' 2B Luis Garcia Jr. had five RBIs going 3-for-5 with two home runs in a 6-4 win over Baltimore on Sunday, Jun. 28.

Braves' SP Chris Sale recorded 10 strikeouts in 6 innings but took the loss in a 3-2 loss to San Francisco on Sunday, Jun. 28.

Minnesota Twins rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp came into his start on Sunday against the Colorado Rockies with an ERA over 5.00 through his first 11 major-league starts over 55 2/3 innings pitched. After a strong start to his big-league career, Prielipp had cooled off a bit, but he reminded fantasy managers on Sunday that he still has plenty of swing-and-miss upside. The 25-year-old southpaw allowed two earned runs on six hits while walking none and striking out a season-high 10 batters in six innings for a no-decision on Sunday in the Twins' 3-2 win over the Rockies at Target Field. Priliepp generated an impressive 20 swings and misses in the outing and didn't allow a walk for the first time since his MLB debut on April 22. He is now 2-5 on the year with a 4.96 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and 65:23 K:BB in 61 2/3 innings pitched across 12 starts. In his previous four starts in June, Prielipp allowed 16 runs (13 earned) on 26 hits (two homers) while walking eight and striking out 20 in 22 1/3 innings pitched, so Sunday's start was a nice step in turning things around going into July. He has a tough upcoming matchup against the New York Yankees, but fantasy managers in deeper leagues in search of more strikeouts should have Prielipp on their radar. He's rostered in just 9% of Yahoo leagues.

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There is perhaps no hitter in baseball hotter than Washington Nationals infielder Luis Garcia Jr. right now. In the Nationals' 6-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles in Sunday's series finale, Garcia went 3-for-5 at the plate with two home runs, five RBI, and three runs scored to boost his season batting average to .279 and his OPS to .850. The left-handed-hitting infielder has been seeing the ball extremely well in his last six games, going 10-for-19 with six long balls to raise his season slash line to .279/.307/.543 with 16 home runs, 55 RBI, 33 runs scored, and two stolen bases in his 270 plate appearances in his seventh year in the majors. The 26-year-old Garcia needs only three more home runs to set a new career high in that category. He has only three steals after swiping 36 over the last two seasons, but fantasy managers looking to ride the hot hand right now off the waiver wire should look no further than Garcia, who is rostered in 59% of Yahoo leagues at the moment. His fantasy ceiling isn't incredibly high, but a player with second base eligibility and 20-homer power is relevant in most fantasy leagues.

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Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Logan Henderson (back) had a strong minor-league rehab start on Sunday with Triple-A Nashville, throwing three shutout innings with one hit allowed, one walk, and seven strikeouts against Triple-A Gwinnett. It was a fine showing in Henderson's first time back in game action since straining his lower back in late May. The 24-year-old former fourth-round pick in 2021 out of McLennan Community College should have a starting rotation spot waiting for him in Milwaukee when he's ready after going 201 with a 2.74 ERA (2.41 FIP) and 1.04 WHIP with 30 strikeouts and six walks in 23 innings over his first five starts in 2026. He impressed in his major-league debut last year as well, going 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA (3.02 FIP), 0.99 WHIP, and 33:8 K:BB in 25 1/3 frames across his five starts for the Brew Crew. It's unclear exactly when he'll be reinstated from the 15-day injured list, but barring a setback on his rehab assignment, he could come back to make a start for Milwaukee before next month's All-Star break. Henderson is rostered in only 39% of Yahoo leagues.

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Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale had a much-needed bounce-back performance in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits while walking one and striking out 10 in six innings of work. It was Sale's sixth loss of the 2026 season, but it was a turnaround after having failed to go six innings in any of his previous three starts versus the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Chicago White Sox. The 37-year-old veteran southpaw has now had two games this year with double-digit strikeouts, and he now holds a 2.10 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 109:22 K:BB in 90 innings pitched in his 15 starts in his 16th year in the big leagues. Sale will be a must-start for fantasy managers in his next scheduled outing against the last-place New York Mets. The division-rival Mets currently have the second-worst OPS (.672) in all of baseball, ahead of only the San Diego Padres. Sale has allowed more than three earned runs in just one of his 15 starts, and it came all the way back on April 6 against the Los Angeles Angels in his third start of the season.

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