Fantasy Baseball Players To Watch For The Week Ahead (June 16 - June 22)

Jarod's fantasy baseball watch list -- hitters, pitchers, and relievers he's keeping an eye on for June 16 - June 22 (2025): hot bats, good matchups, pitchers on a roll, and more.

Welcome back to my weekly Players to Watch for the Week Ahead series for 2025 as we look ahead to the week of June 16 - June 22. In this article, I'll look at players like Elly De La Cruz, Giancarlo Stanton, Logan Gilbert, and others.

As a reminder of what this article is all about, I like to take a look around the league and pick out some players to discuss who might be under-owned in redraft leagues, potential DFS candidates, players returning from injury or getting called up from the minors, or some names that are just flat-out hot.

Looking ahead to this week, we've got a few impressive streaks to keep an eye on, a couple of players returning from injury, and more!

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Fantasy Baseball Players to Watch: Hitters

Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds

What I'm Watching: Home run streak

With a home run on Sunday, De La Cruz has recorded a home run in four consecutive games and now has more homers (15) than he has doubles (14) this season.

FOUR straight games with a home run for Elly De La Cruz 🤯 pic.twitter.com/SfGwXfLYN4

— MLB (@MLB) June 15, 2025

The 23-year-old is slashing .273/.352/.498 with 20 steals, a .364 wOBA, and 128 wRC+ through 72 games, putting him well within the top-10 fantasy performers thus far.

You're using him daily in season-long leagues, and the switch-hitter is almost always a DFS option against right-handed pitching.

But can he make it five straight with a home run? I'm going to say there's a high probability of that, although home runs are tough to predict. But the Reds' next game is on Tuesday in Cincinnati, one of the better parks for hitting home runs in all of baseball, with high humidity in the forecast to boot.

They'll be facing David Festa, who is a righty that brings a 4.76 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP into the contest. He's also yielded four home runs in his last two games, while the bullpen is just middle of the pack in terms of ERA, hits, and home runs allowed.

If he doesn't get one Tuesday, a new streak could start on Wednesday as he'll face righty Bailey Ober, who gave up four gopher balls in his last start alone, and two in the game before that.

After that, it's righties Chris Paddack, Brady Singer, and Miles Mikolas before ending the week with lefty Matthew Liberatore on Sunday. It appears that it will be another productive week for EDLC.

Josh Smith, Texas Rangers

What I'm Watching: Seven-game hit streak

It's not the length of the streak, as several other players around the league have streaks just as long or longer; it's what is included in this seven-game stretch. It included a six-game streak of at least two hits and four straight games with at least one extra base hit.

Josh Smith starts the @Rangers off with a blast! 💥 pic.twitter.com/L2zdaXRhyZ

— MLB (@MLB) June 12, 2025

All told, the 27-year-old went 13-for-31 (.419) with four doubles, two home runs, four RBI, 10 runs scored, and a 4:4 K:BB.

His 23 total bases since June 8 are tied for second-most behind only the aforementioned De La Cruz and one more total base than Aaron Judge during that span. That's some pretty good company.

He tends to be a bit streaky, so you might find he goes cold for a bit here, but in the event he stays hot, the 5-foot-9 slugger is available in about half of fantasy leagues and is eligible at 1B, 3B, SS, and OF, making him a valuable bench bat.

Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees

What I'm Watching: Return from IL

Giancarlo Stanton is expected to rejoin the Yankees this week, as early as Monday, for the team's series against the Angels. The 35-year-old completed a three-game rehab assignment at Double-A Somerset, during which time the right-handed slugger went 3-for-11 with a double, four RBI, and a 3:1 K:BB.

The 5x All-Star has averaged 27 home runs over the last three seasons despite averaging only 108 games played. With 92 games left to play and at that pace, that could mean Stanton will still hit 20-plus home runs this season.

Also, don't forget that Stanton is not far removed from the power display during the 2024 postseason, when he smacked seven home runs in 14 games.

Despite also hitting .273 during the postseason, the former MVP shouldn't be counted on for that. Still, if you are a fantasy manager in need of some power production on the cheap, the 6-foot-6 designated hitter is available in over 70 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Brady House, Washington Nationals

What I'm Watching: MLB Debut

The Nationals are calling up their top offensive prospect, Brady House. Ranked 91st overall by MLB Pipeline, House is having a great season at Triple-A Rochester, hitting .301 with 13 homers and an .865 OPS.

Brady House is getting called up.

2025: 283 PA, .304/.353/.519, 15 2B, 13 HR
90.5 mph AVG EV, 46.2% HH, 9.9% BRL
78.1% Z-Con, 69.7% Contact

Projects as a .250+/20+ type for me long-term and is worth a look in 12+ team leagues if you need a 3B.pic.twitter.com/hkP60odfyt

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) June 15, 2025

The former first-rounder has been even hotter as of late, hitting safely in 17 of his last 18 games and going 29-for-77 (.377) over that stretch.

He's got big-time power but does strike out more than average, with a career 25.9 percent K% during his minor league career. The 6-foot-4 slugger is also a zero in the stolen base department.

The strikeout rate isn't likely to get better in the majors, so hitting for average could be a problem, and not being a threat to run will also tamp down his fantasy value.

While it's exciting to see top prospects get the call, exercise caution when using auction funds on these types of players in redraft leagues.

That being said, his debut will come at home against the Rockies' Carson Palmquist, who brings a 7.77 ERA and 1.82 WHIP into the contest, so House might end up being a cheap DFS option.

Key Matchups: Hitters

These hitters caught my attention when I reviewed batter vs. pitcher matchups. Most of these guys are already rostered in a majority of leagues, so you aren't running out to snag them off the waiver wire, but they could be targets for your DFS lineups.

While there isn't always enough matchup history to look at, there is a frequency to these, and with that comes familiarity. These batters have a history of collecting extra-base hits in these matchups, some with multiple home runs against the opposing hurler.

Fantasy Baseball Players to Watch: Pitchers

Jameson Taillon, Chicago Cubs

What I'm Watching: Can he make it seven straight quality starts?

I discussed Ranger Suarez in last week's article, and he continued his stretch of quality starts this past week, now with seven in a row. However, somewhat overlooked has been Jameson Taillon's stretch of good pitching, now with six consecutive quality starts after his latest outing this past Thursday.

During this stretch, the 33-year-old has authored a 2.31 ERA (4.07 FIP), a 0.74 WHIP, and a 16.0 percent K-BB%. Pitching for an offense like the Cubs has allowed him to rack up five wins in those six contests as well.

Jameson Taillon now has a 2.36 ERA at Wrigley Field since the start of 2024.
pic.twitter.com/segNRPuAyg

— The Wrigley Wire (@TheWrigleyWire) June 13, 2025

The good K-BB% is due more so to his strong command (4.9 percent BB%) than his strikeout rate (20.8 percent K%; 6.92 K/9), the latter of which is poor in terms of fantasy production.

As a result, his 92.2 percent LOB% during this six-game run feels tenuous, especially given his 81.6 percent rate over the entire season and 73.7 percent for his career.

The veteran will take on Milwaukee at home this week, which could go either way. Milwaukee has struggled against righties recently; however, there are multiple bats with solid history against Taillon, with Christian Yelich, Rhys Hoskins, and Jackson Chourio combining for a career .352 AVG (19-for-54) and five home runs off the 6-foot-5 hurler. Something's gotta give.

Taillon's rostership has increased 15 percent over the last week, now close to 80 percent rostered, but managers hoping to get some ERA and WHIP help could take a gamble on the former second-overall draft pick, but that's exactly what it is -- a gamble.

Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners

What I'm Watching: Return from IL

Logan Gilbert posted phenomenal numbers in 2024 with a 3.23 ERA (3.11 xFIP), 0.89 WHIP, and a 22.8 percent K-BB%. His 220 strikeouts were the sixth-most in the majors last season. However, 2024 was a continuation of the solid performance that began in 2022.

This season began with numbers even better than the last few, with the former 14th-overall draft pick recording a 2.37 ERA (1.72 xFIP), 0.79 WHIP, and an elite 32.5 percent K-BB%. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old suffered a flexor strain that has kept him out since late April.

However, the righty has completed a rehab assignment and is expected to make his return to the mound on Monday night against the Red Sox. It could be a tough matchup as the Sox have won five in a row, including a sweep of the Yankees over the weekend.

(Update: the Boston lineup got less potent on Sunday night with the trade of Rafael Devers)

As good as Gilbert has been, it will be hard to replicate the dominance he displayed prior to the injury, and he may be somewhat limited after topping out at 72 pitches in his last rehab start, so caution is warranted if you're considering him for DFS.

However, managers in season-long leagues should probably still start him, especially given the favorable pitching environment in Seattle.

Orion Kerkering, Philadelphia Phillies

What I'm Watching: Scoreless stretch

Looking for some help improving ERA while boosting your strikeout totals? Look no further than Orion Kerkering, who owns the second-longest stretch of scoreless innings in the majors right now, with a streak of 15 appearances and 13 1/3 IP without allowing an earned run.

There is a catch, though. Even during this strong run of outings, the 24-year-old has been somewhat erratic, posting a 1.20 WHIP as a result of a 12.5 percent walk rate (1.45 WHIP, 13.2 percent walk rate for the season).

Jordan Romano is the team's closer, but Matt Strahm was brought in to close the door in Saturday's game even though Romano hadn't pitched since Monday, so perhaps there is an opportunity for Kerkering to make his way into some save situations with his continued success.

The righty is available in almost 90 percent of leagues for those looking for some ERA help with the potential to nab a few saves.

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