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| Tuesday, May 27, 2025 |
| There's a lot to get to in today's newsletter, which makes sense since we're covering a whole long weekend's worth of news. And because of that, we're going to do things a little differently today. |
| We'll have some waiver-wire targets and a breakdown of the biggest performances from Monday's Memorial Day slate, but before we get to that, let's go through a quick rundown of the biggest storylines from this weekend and how they'll impact your Fantasy teams. And if you missed it, you can check out my Week 10 Waiver Wire targets column here, which has some reactions to some of the biggest news and performances of the weekend: |
| Five biggest things from the weekend |
| Logan Henderson was sent back down … again! |
| Henderson's most recent start was, perhaps, his least impressive yet. He still made it through five innings with six strikeouts and just one earned run allowed, so it was still plenty impressive! He has a 1.71 ERA with 29 strikeouts to just six walks in 21 innings to begin his major-league career, and he has been rewarded with two trips back to Triple-A since his initial promotion. |
| It's not fair, and the Brewers aren't blind to that, with manager Pat Murphy telling reporters he understands why Brewers fans aren't happy to see Henderson sent back down. It's obviously not about performance, because Henderson has been the team's best arm so far this season. It's about the schedule (the team won't need a fifth starter this week) and it's about options – Quinn Priester likely wouldn't have any left if he was sent down, which isn't an issue for Henderson. |
| It's frustrating, and with Brandon Woodruff expected back from the IL soon, it might be a while until we see Henderson again. But you should still try to keep him stashed on your bench because Henderson absolutely looks like an impact arm right now. He won't be this good moving forward, but his fastball/changeup combo is terrific, and it clearly works against MLB hitters. The Brewers will have a need for Henderson's arm eventually, and it'll probably come sooner than they are expecting, given the nature of pitcher injuries. |
| As frustrating as it is, Henderson remains well worth stashing in basically all leagues. |
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| Ronald Acuña is back, baby |
| The Braves took some extra time with Acuña's recovery from his torn ACL this time around, giving him basically a full year to get back to an MLB field, compared to just over nine and a half months when he tore his ACL in 2021. It was frustrating in the moment – especially the uncertainty of how much of 2025 he would miss – but maybe that extra time off will have been worth it. |
| In 2022, Acuna came back more quickly but didn't really look like himself, and his .255/.351/.413 line was by far the worst performance of his career. And the power was especially lacking. That may not be an issue this time around, as Acuna clubbed a couple of homers in his first two games – including a 115.5 mph shot in his very first trip to the plate, a higher exit velocity than any ball he hit last season. His six batted balls this weekend were hit 105.3 mph on average, which is just bonkers. |
| We'll probably see a less active version of Acuna on the bases – he's said as much – but if he can hit like he did in 2023, Acuna can still be one of the best hitters in Fantasy, and this was a great start. |
| Marcelo Mayer has arrived – but Alex Bregman's gone for a while |
| It took an injury for Mayer to get his chances, which certainly mutes the level of excitement here. Especially since Bregman was living up to the highest hopes anyone could have had in his first season in Boston, hitting .299/.385/.553 through his first 51 games before suffering a quad injury. Bregman told reporters the injury is "similar to 2021," and if you can remember that far back, that's pretty ominous – Bregman missed 58 games with that quad injury. |
| Hopefully, his absence won't be quite that long, but it doesn't seem like an injury we should expect to be better in just a couple of weeks. Which means Mayer should have quite a bit of runway here. He started at third base in his MLB debut Saturday, and should be eligible there in CBS Fantasy leagues very soon, a nice bonus that should boost his value a bit – shortstop is deeper with impact bats than third base, so it's easier to see him sliding into your lineup there. I wrote about my expectations for Mayer here , but in short: He's an exciting prospect, but not one I necessarily expect to be a difference-maker for Fantasy. |
| Granted, I don't know if it's necessarily fair to expect any top prospect to immediately help carry your Fantasy team, but Mayer has always been more of a Dansby Swanson-type, someone with more strengths than weaknesses, but not necessarily a ton of outlier skills. He has good speed, but isn't a burner; he's got good power, but probably won't be a 25-plus homer guy; he has a good approach at the plate, but isn't likely to hit .300 in the majors. He's still worth adding in pretty much all leagues, but just go in with reasonable expectations. |
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| Michael King has a shoulder injury |
| King was scratched about an hour before he was supposed to pitch Saturday and ended up being placed on the IL with shoulder inflammation. The team doesn't sound too concerned about it for now, but he's dealing with some weakness and stiffness in his scapula, with manager Mike Shildt even saying the team is hopeful he could end up missing just one start with how the schedule works out. But that's not necessarily a sure thing, so hopefully, we'll get some updates in the coming days and have a bit better of an idea. Yu Darvish could be back in the Padres rotation soon, but he isn't a replacement for King, so hopefully it's just a short-term issue. |
| Jacob deGrom didn't look like himself |
| There might have been a minor injury going on with deGrom's finger, though I didn't see much discussion of it after the start – he was spotted rubbing the finger on his pants late in the start, but he wasn't accompanied by a trainer when he left the game. |
| But it would almost be more concerning if deGrom was 100% healthy for his start Monday because then we wouldn't have an explanation for why he looked so off. For the first time in his career, deGrom finished a start without recording a single strikeout, and it was just the second time he had fewer than two in a start. His velocity mostly looked fine – down about 0.5 mph across his four pitches – but deGrom generated just three whiffs on 36 swings against the Blue Jays , a stunning number – he had at least seven in each of his first 10 starts of the season and was averaging 13.3 entering this one. |
| Of course, I distinctly remember the last time deGrom failed to generate multiple strikeouts in a start – Sept. 16, 2020, against the Phillies, when he had just two strikeouts in two innings of work. He struck out 24 combined over his next two starts, with 51 swinging strikes. It's not what you want to see, but as long as deGrom is healthy coming out of this one, I'm not going to worry too much. |
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| Tuesday's top waiver-wire targets |
| Ryan Weathers, SP, Marlins (76%) – This should be the last time I have to recommend adding Weathers because he sure looks like a must-roster pitcher right now. He fell just short of his first quality start of the season Monday against the Padres, but he allowed just two unearned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out six over his 5.2 innings of work. He has held on to his increased velocity through three starts, while his changeup and sweeper continue to look like strong swing and miss pitches, so I think the big strikeout numbers are coming. His team will hold him back, but I think Weathers is clearly the most talented pitcher available in as many leagues as he is. |
| Daulton Varsho, OF, Blue Jays (39%) – I'm skeptical that Varsho has suddenly become one of the best power hitters in the league, but he isn't really showing many signs of slowing down. He homered for the eighth time in 20 games Monday, and after striking out 14 times in his first eight games, he's down to 12 strikeouts in his past 12. Varsho's new swing is generating more power than we've ever seen from him, and he already has multiple batted balls with a higher exit velocity than any before this season, so maybe there's something happening here that is real. |
| Daniel Palencia, RP, Cubs (28%) – I don't have a ton of faith in Palencia taking this job and running with it, but with Porter Hodge on the IL and Ryan Pressly still not back in the team's good graces, Palencia does now have the last three saves for the Cubs, and if he can continue to avoid walks, he'll have a chance to keep the job. Again, I'm skeptical – he has a 4.15 ERA and 4.9 BB/9 in 60.2 career innings – but he's getting the opportunities and getting the job done right now. Right now is all that matters for most closers, so go add him. |
| Daylen Lile, OF, Nationals (2%) – Lile has some interesting skills, sporting strikeout rates below 18% over the past two seasons while stealing 34 bases in 169 games in that time. There isn't a ton of power here, but he'll draw a walk and put the bat on the ball, and when he gets on base, he's been opportunistic. The Nationals called him up over the weekend, and he could be a cheap source of speed in deeper Roto leagues. |
| Monday's standouts |
| Kevin Gausman , Blue Jays @TEX: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K – That's two starts in a row where Gausman's splitter looks like it used to, and there's no surprise that they were arguably his two best starts of the season. If he can sustain the kind of splitter that generates double-digit whiffs every start, yeah, Gausman can definitely still be a very good pitcher. But we saw a few stretches like this from him last season, and they never ended up being sustainable. I'm guessing the same is coming here, so there could be a sell-high window opening here. If you can't get a top-30 pitcher for him – I'd especially try to dangle him for Logan Gilbert as a high-variance move – I'm fine hanging on to Gausman. I just don't think he's a difference-maker anymore. |
| Clay Holmes, Mets vs. CHW: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K – Holmes continues to generate very good results, but I think his May has been more discouraging than his results might make you think. A 3.34 ERA and 1.21 WHIP isn't bad, but 20 strikeouts to 11 walks in 29.2 innings just isn't very impressive. I don't think Holmes is bad , but I think he's probably closer to a 4.00 ERA pitcher than his current 2.98 mark. |
| Gavin Williams, Guards vs. LAD: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 3 K – I wrote about how Williams appeared to take a step forward in his past couple of starts, but I hope you didn't take that to mean I thought you should trust him against the Dodgers. Because that is not what I meant. From watching this start, I actually think his command was better than the six walks might make you think – he got squeezed on a few pitchers and generally placed his pitches in competitive spots overall – so I'm still mostly buying Williams with his expanded arsenal. The results weren't great, but 15 whiffs on 109 pitches against the Dodgers is pretty impressive! |
| Hayden Birdsong, Giants @DET: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K – The good news here is that Birdsong was allowed to go up to 88 pitches, so they're going to give him a chance to pitch a real starter's workload. The bad news is, he failed to get out of the fifth inning on 88 pitches. Birdsong looks dominant pitching out of the bullpen for the Giants, but that's a whole different story than being asked to start games and get through the opposing lineup multiple times. His control was a limiting factor last season, but at least that hasn't been a problem yet. I'm certainly not writing Birdsong off, but I'm not saying he's a must-roster pitcher in this role, either. |
| Ryne Nelson, Diamondbacks vs. PIT: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K – Nelson has maintained his velocity bump as a starter for the most part, but he just hasn't been particularly impressive despite it. This was a strong start, certainly, but only four strikeouts against this Pirates lineup is pretty underwhelming, and he has just eight strikeouts to five walks across his three starts this season, which is a lot more than underwhelming. Nelson has flashed some upside as recently as the second half of last season, but I don't see much to get excited about here right now. |
| Chad Patrick, Brewers vs. BOS: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K – Patrick is getting pretty good results, but there just isn't a ton of Fantasy upside here at this moment. Despite a 2.75 ERA over his past four starts, he has just one quality start; in fact, he has finished five innings just once in that span and just five times in 11 starts. His overall 3.23 ERA should be useful, but without many strikeouts and with limited volume, it's just hard to get too excited here. |
| Jameson Taillon, Cubs vs. COL: 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K – Taillon can be extremely useful against the right matchups, and he's had some pretty terrific matchups lately – his past three starts have come against the Marlins and Rockies , and he has three quality starts to show for it. I think he's mostly as useful as his next opponent for Fantasy, and the good news is, he's got another start later this week against the Reds away from Cincinnati. Stream him for that one, at least. |
| News and notes |
| A bunch of players have gone on the IL since Friday. Here are the most notable ones: |
| Michael King with right shoulder inflammationMiguel Amaya with a left oblique strain. The Cubs notably did not recall Moises Ballesteros , so if you were hanging on to him after his demotion, I think you can go ahead and cut him. Ramon Laureano with a left ankle sprainGio Urshela with a left hamstring strain Jacob Young with a left shoulder AC joint sprainJoc Pederson with a fractured right hand |
| Yordan Alvarez is taking part in baseball activities but manager Joe Espada said he won't put a specific game or day for Alvarez to be activated. Hopefully, he's getting close. |
| Mike Trout is expected to resume running the bases at some point this week. He's working his way back from a knee injury and should be activated shortly after he is able to run the bases without limitations. |
| Logan Gilbert completed a simulated game Friday and could need multiple rehab outings before he returns from that right elbow flexor strain. |
| Corey Seager faced live pitching Saturday and is expected to be activated during the Rangers homestand this week. |
| Jazz Chisholm could be cleared to begin a rehab assignment this week. He's coming back from an oblique injury. |
| Giancarlo Stanton will likely take BP over the next two weeks and is getting close to going on a rehab assignment. He's working his way back from injuries to both elbows, and his return will create even more playing time questions for Ben Rice, despite his hot start. |
| Cole Ragans has been playing catch and is expected to return from the IL when eligible on June 1. |
| Shota Imanaga is slated to throw a bullpen Tuesday. The expectation is that Imanaga won't return until well into June from his hamstring injury. |
| Kyle Finnegan was unavailable Saturday due to shoulder fatigue. Jorge Lopez picked up his first save of the season on Saturday. |
| Shane McClanahan threw from 90 feet Friday. He had been throwing from 60 feet in early May but began to feel discomfort as he recovers from a nerve issue in his upper arm. At this point, we can't even speculate as to when he might be back, but even a best-case scenario probably wouldn't be before July. |
| The Rangers dropped Marcus Semien to 9th in the Rangers lineup! It's been another tough season, and at this point, there isn't much reason to think Semien is going to turn things around. |
| Jordan Westburg is on his way to Triple-A to begin a rehab assignment. He's been out since April 26 with a left hamstring strain. |
| The A's optioned JJ Bleday to Triple-A and designated Seth Brown for assignment. |
| Sean Manaea will throw live batting practice Thursday, his first time facing hitters since going on the IL with a strained left oblique. He's probably out until July at the earliest but remains worth stashing if you have the roster space. |
| Frankie Montas started a rehab assignment at High-A on Saturday. He is just 7% rostered and could be worth stashing if we get good results on his rehab assignment. |
| Ha-seong Kim started a rehab assignment at Triple-A on Monday. He's been rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery. |
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