July
13,
2025
The
hardest
Cup
Series
driver
to
evaluate,
Chase
Briscoe,
has
had
an
odd
season-long
trend
of
qualifying
and
finishing
well
but
running
worse
than
it
appears
on
the
surface.
That
can't
be
sustainable
forever,
and
indeed
Briscoe
had
an
atypical
race
read more...
July 13, 2025
After winning his first race at Sonoma three years ago, Daniel Suárez returns to the site of his triumph as a lame-duck driver as he has been released from Trackhouse Racing to presumably make room for Saturday's winner Connor Zilisch, who has not yet been formally announced. Although Suárez was a quite consistent qualifier here as he earned four top-10 finishes in qualifying in a row, not counting the canceled 2021 qualifying session, his win was something of an outlier that served as his only top-10 finish as well as the only race where he led a lap. Suárez has rarely seemed to have winning speed in any of his other Cup Series seasons unless his teams implemented wild strategies, and even that hasn't worked for him as much lately. Couple that with a career-worst starting position of 19th at Sonoma, and it's hard to envision him doing much.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 13, 2025
Although Kyle Busch no longer seems to have the oval speed he once did, he remains a strong contender on road courses and seemingly nowhere else of late. At Austin, he led the most laps and earned 42 of his 62 laps led this season and finished fifth. At Chicago last week, he recovered from a spin to finish fifth again; his two fifths are his only top five finishes this season. Busch starts 17th, much worse than he did in either of those races, but he does only have two finishes worse than 7th at Sonoma in his last nine starts. Coupling that with the fact that he surely needs to win to make the playoffs and Busch is likely a high-volatility option who would likely reap high dividends if he doesn't crash (like at Austin or Chicago) or underachieve wildly if he does (like at Mexico City). Essentially, whether he's a good DFS play or not pretty much comes down to whether he makes a mistake.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July
13,
2025
Zane
Smith
of
Front
Row
Motorsports
will
start
12th
for
this
week's
Cup
Series
race
at
Sonoma
Raceway,
the
Toyota/Save
Mart
350.
Smith
outqualified
his
two
other
teammates
at
FRM,
as
he
is
the
only
driver
from
the
team
to
score
read more...
July 13, 2025
After coming out on top in his latest iteration of his feud with Bubba Wallace last week at Chicago, Alex Bowman advanced to Round 3 of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge, where he should be easily favored to advance since he has earned top-10 finishes in all three of his road/street-course starts this year while Dillon has never earned a top-10 finish on either track type in his career. Since Bowman starts ninth, there is a solid chance that he will lose positions from his starting spot, and he isn't the kind of driver who can usually go out and dominate a race. Since he's unlikely to score either place-differential or lap-leader points, he's not as valuable as he might seem on the surface, but considering he's been a consistent top-10 finisher on road courses lately, there's definitely a little value.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 13, 2025
Although Denny Hamlin doesn't have as strong a record at Sonoma as he does at many other tracks, he is probably going to be a little undervalued for DFS play because he has finished 31st, 36th, and 38th in his three races with the Next Gen car. However, that record is somewhat misleading with regard to how he has actually run as he wo the pole in 2023 and crashed after leading 33 laps then blew an engine on lap 3 last year, which suggests he will likely finish better than a statistical model based on recent performance would predict, particularly considering he had five consecutive top ten finishes at Sonoma before that, highlighted by a second-place finish where he arguably should've won before Tony Stewart ran him into the wall. Considering Joe Gibbs Racing's traditional road course speed and his 16th-place starting position, he should gain positions in the race, but maybe not enough to justify starting him.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 13, 2025
Brad Keselowski got himself in some hot water when he publicly lambasted NASCAR for suddenly embracing more road course races in the Jim France era, which helped precipitate a decline for a champion who was typically mediocre on road courses apart from a few years at Watkins Glen. At Sonoma, Keselowski tended to be much more mistake-prone. Although he's actually finished in the top 20 in his last nine Sonoma starts, his only finish better than 10th came in 2017 when he finished third while he was still good. Now that he is on the verge of not being good anymore, the chances of him pulling out a strong run seem much likely, especially when he is in a win-and-in scenario in a track where he's essentially certain not to win today. Although he'll probably gain a few spots from his 21st-place starting position, it won't be enough to make him a great DFS contender.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 13, 2025
Although Austin Dillon crashed last week in Chicago, he's well worth considering for DFS play this week at Sonoma, mainly because the Richard Childress Racing cars have been faster on road courses than they have on any other track type lately. Not only did Kyle Busch lead the most laps at Austin, he also recovered from a spin to finish fifth last week while his similarly-named teammate Austin Hill got his first top ten. Even Dillon himself earned a surprise top ten qualifying run at Chicago before his crash. Having qualified 33rd for today's Sonoma race, Dillon stands a really solid shot at earning Place Differential points at a track where he finished between 11th and 19th in seven of his ten starts including his best finish of 11th in his first Next Gen race in 2022. If you want to free up money to draft Shane van Gisbergen, Dillon would be a solid option for that purpose.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 13, 2025
St. Louis Cardinals shortstop prospect
J.J. Wetherholt hit leadoff for the National League team in Saturday's All-Star Futures Game, going 1-for-4 with a double in the contest that the NL team won 4-2. Wetherholt's hot hitting is what earned him a spot in the game, slashing .340/.460/.583 since June 3, including hits in each of his first three games at Triple-A Memphis. For the season, the Cardinals' top-ranked prospect is hitting .303 with eight home runs, 14 steals, and more walks (45) than strikeouts (42). With a good showing at Triple-A, the team's 2024 first-round draft pick could make a late-season debut in St. Louis, otherwise, expect him to see plenty of time in the big leagues next season. The 22-year-old is expected to see time at third base and second base in addition to shortstop during his time at Triple-A, which should help open multiple paths to a promotion to the big league club.
--Jarod RuppSource: MLB.com
July 13, 2025
Although Noah Gragson earned his first top-10 finish on a road course earlier this year at Austin, that is starting to look more and more like a fluke, as he is tending to run consistently mediocre everywhere. Case in point: His 32nd-place qualifying run at Sonoma on Saturday was far slower than his Front Row Motorsports teammate Zane Smith's 12th-place run, although he actually beat his other teammate Todd Gilliland in qualifying. Gragson missed the 2023 Sonoma race due to a concussion, so his only Cup Series start there came last year when he finished 26th for a Stewart-Haas Racing team that was arguably faster than FRM is now. There seem to be few reasons to justify starting him when there are better road-course drivers who are available for less money and are starting worse.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Referenec
July 13, 2025
Justin Haley's season has been somewhat disastrous thus far, but if he has any hope of turning around, it could happen at Sonoma. Last year, Corey LaJoie had one of his best runs of the year in the No. 7 car at Sonoma, where he finished 11th and had an average running position of 15th. However, Haley does not have as strong a record at Sonoma as LaJoie does, as he only finished in the top 20 once, earning a 12th-place finish in 2022 when he drove for Kaulig Racing. If Spire Motorsports' road-course cars are as fast as they seemed to be last year (especially at Watkins Glen), Haley may be an excellent dark-horse selection to earn place-differential points. The speed Michael McDowell showed last week at Chicago is certainly promising, but ultimately he's been running too poorly everywhere to be seriously considered for DFS play.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 13, 2025
After backing into the Round of 16 in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge because he finished both of the first two races while his heavily-favored opponents Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski both crashed, Ty Dillon's run will likely end on Sunday now that he is facing Alex Bowman, a driver who has earned top-10 finishes in all three of his road/street-course starts, while Dillon has never had one in his career. At $5,000, Dillon is one of the most inexpensive drivers in the field, but in five Sonoma starts, he has never finished better than 23rd. The fact that he had his best qualifying run on Saturday and starts a career-best 26th indicates he's even less likely to gain place-differential points than he was in previous years. There are plenty of drivers who are available relatively cheaply who should be considered before him.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 13, 2025
Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher
Shelby Miller (forearm) will seek a second opinion after getting his MRI results. It's usually not good news when a pitcher is seeking a second opinion on an elbow or forearm issue. It seems like the D-Backs and Miller are trying to avoid having Tommy John surgery. The 34-year-old is currently sidelined with a right forearm strain, but we'll see what happens after the second diagnosis. It is looking increasingly likely that Miller is done for the season. That would be tough news for the D-Backs who are already without
Justin Martinez (elbow), AJ Puk (elbow), and
Jalen Beeks (back) right now. That being said, the D-Backs are likely going to use a committee of
Kevin Ginkel,
Kendall Graveman, and
Kyle Backhus as their closer going forward.
--Andy WebbSource: Arizona Sports
July 13, 2025
Chicago Cubs outfield prospect
Owen Caissie didn't let the All-Star Futures Game slow him down, going 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI double in the contest that saw the NL squad emerge victorious over the AL team by a score of 4-2. Over his last nine games for Triple-A Iowa, the Cubs' top prospect has gone 14-for-35 (.400) with eight home runs, 10 RBI, 15 runs scored, and a 10:8 BB:K. For the season, the left-handed slugger is slashing .278/.386/.575 with 19 home runs and a strong 14.0 percent walk rate, although it comes with a 30.2 percent strikeout rate. The 23-year-old should make his MLB debut this season, but with a crowded outfield in Chicago, there is no path to at-bats at the moment. Managers in very deep and NL-only leagues in need of some power production should consider stashing the former second-round draft pick ahead of his eventual call-up.
--Jarod RuppSource: MLB.com
July 13, 2025
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman
Max Muncy (knee) has progressed to using a stationary bike, according to the team's manager Dave Roberts. He continued by saying that Muncy is trending really well from his left knee bone bruise. Muncy has been out since early July and is expected to miss about six weeks of action. That timetable would put him around mid-August to get back into the mix at third base. In his absence,
Tommy Edman and
Miguel Rojas have been splitting up duties at the hot corner. Fantasy managers should continue to hold Muncy through the injury.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
July 13, 2025
Haas Factory Team driver Cole Custer will start 27th for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 after qualifying. Custer has never qualified lower than this position in his entire Cup career at Sonoma Raceway. In two Cup starts at Sonoma, Custer has two finishes of 21st or better, but has only scored positive Place Differential once. With 19 races completed this season, Custer has five top-20 finishes, with his only top-10 being claimed at Mexico City, another road course venue. The No. 41 Ford driver also has finished with positive PD in two of the three road course events this season. In practice, Custer ranked 18th in overall lap averages and 25th in five consecutive lap averages. Based on his practice speeds and overall results at road courses this season, Custer is one of the more favorable DFS value options to consider for all formats this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July 13, 2025
Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher
Kyle Bradish (elbow) is set to take the ball and throw two innings next week in Florida. If everything goes well, Bradish is likely to go out on a rehab assignment after his two-inning outing on Saturday. Bradish is currently working his way back from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in June of last year. Barring any setbacks, Bradish should be able to get back into the mix at some point in August. It's unclear how much Bradish will be used down the stretch of the season as the O's place in the standings could dictate that. Bradish isn't someone that must be stashed right now as it's unsure when he'll return at the moment.
--Andy WebbSource: Roch Kubatko
July
13,
2025
Los
Angeles
Dodgers
outfield
prospect
Josue
De
Paula
went
1-for-2
with
a
three-run
home
run
in
the
fourth
inning
of
Saturday's
All-Star
Futures
Game
that
erased
a
2-0
deficit,
putting
the
NL
squad
ahead
read more...
July
13,
2025
Erik
Jones
of
Legacy
Motor
Club
obtained
a
starting
position
of
31st
after
qualifying
for
Sunday's
Toyota/Save
Mart
350
at
Sonoma
Raceway.
Jones
is
the
lowest-qualifying
Toyota
driver
of
the
week
for
Sunday's
race
and
is
matched
up
against
his
teammate,
read more...
July 13, 2025
Baltimore Orioles catcher
Adley Rutschman (oblique) is scheduled to play catch next Saturday, July 19 in Florida. That being said, Rutschman won't be ready to return to the field right after the All-Star break. The switch-hitting catcher continues to work his way back from an oblique issue that has sidelined him since mid-June. Rutschman has been swinging the bat and hitting off a tee, but there is still more work that needs to be done. Fantasy managers might not get Rutschman back into the mix until possibly August. He was struggling with the bat before going down, but is still worth rostering in most fantasy formats.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
July
13,
2025
Cody
Ware
of
Rick
Ware
Racing
will
start
36th
after
qualifying
for
this
week's
Toyota/Save
Mart
350
at
Sonoma
Raceway.
Ware
is
the
lowest-qualifying
Ford
driver
in
the
field
for
this
week's
race.
In
four
previous
Cup
races
at
Sonoma,
Ware
read more...
July 13, 2025
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher
Aaron Nola (ankle, rib) was able to throw a 40-pitch bullpen session on Saturday. Nola continues to work his way back from a right ankle sprain and also a stress fracture of his right rib. The right-hander is currently scheduled to throw a live batting practice session on Tuesday and Saturday of next week. There is still more work to do, but hopefully Nola will be able to return to the starting rotation in early or mid-August. Nola has been sidelined the last two months, so his return to the mound will almost be like a trade deadline acquisition for Philadelphia. Fantasy managers should continue to hold Nola and be patient.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
July 13, 2025
Philadelphia Phillies third baseman
Alec Bohm (ribs) is unlikely to play during Sunday's series finale against the San Diego Padres. Bohm was forced to make an early exit from Saturday's contest. He was hit by a pitch in the left ribs by
Yu Darvish in the second inning. Bohm stayed a little longer, but was pulled out for
Edmundo Sosa in the fourth inning. It doesn't sound like a major injury, but the issue could affect him swinging the bat. That being said, the Phillies are likely going to play it safe and rest Bohm with this being the last game before the All-Star break. If that happens, Bohm would have until July 18 to recover and get ready to play again. Sosa figures to draw the start at third base on Sunday.
--Andy WebbSource: Lochlahn March
July 13, 2025
Los Angeles Angels outfielder/designated hitter
Mike Trout had a huge night in his team's 10-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday. The hall-of-fame-bound veteran went two-for-four with a walk, home run, and four RBI. Trout may not be the MVP-level player he was in his prime, but he's still posted an .830 OPS with 17 home runs, 40 RBI, and 36 runs scored. Trout's hard-hit rate is back over 50% after it dropped under that mark for the first time in four seasons in 2024, and his expected stats suggest he's actually been unlucky in both the batting average and slugging department. Health is always the key for Trout, but he should be a productive power bat for fantasy managers if he can stay on the field the rest of the way.
--Will BradySource: MLB.com
July 13, 2025
Minnesota Twins utility man
Willi Castro went 3-for-4 with a walk, home run, and three RBI in his team's 12-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Castro is having a solid season overall, hitting .269 with nine home runs, 24 RBI, 41 runs, and eight stolen bases. The versatile switch-hitter has also logged double-digit games at second base, third base, and both corner outfield positions. Castro's 10.1% walk rate is the best of his career, as is his 43.5% hard-hit rate (entering play on Saturday). With his multi-position eligibility and modest power/speed ability, Castro is an underrated piece in fantasy.
--Will BradySource: MLB.com
July 13, 2025
Seattle Mariners outfielder
Julio Rodriguez had a monster game in his team's 15-7 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, going 3-for-5 with a walk, home run, two additional runs scored, three RBI, and a stolen base. The 24-year-old All-Star hasn't lived up to his massive potential so far in 2025, slashing .249/.308/.405 with 13 home runs, 48 RBI, 60 runs, and 16 stolen bases. Even so, Rodriguez remains a high-level fantasy option because of his five-category potential while playing every day in a resurgent Seattle lineup. He won't participate in the All-Star game due to a desire to take time to recuperate, so fantasy managers can hope the extra rest will power him to a big second half.
--Will BradySource: MLB.com
July 13, 2025
Chicago Cubs catcher
Carson Kelly powered his team to a 5-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday, going 2-for-3 with a walk, home run and two RBI. Kelly has been one of the best-hitting catchers in baseball so far this season, slashing .272/.374/.518 with 12 home runs, 33 RBI, and 36 runs scored in 230 plate appearances. The 30-year-old is walking at a 13.9% rate while striking out in just 16.1% of his plate appearances. Kelly's 109.7 mph maximum exit velocity, 10.1% barrel rate, and 44.3% hard-hit rate are all career highs. The veteran is a must-start catcher in all fantasy formats as we head into the second half of the season.
--Will BradySource: MLB.com
July 13, 2025
Athletics designated hitter/outfielder
Brent Rooker went 2-for-2 with a walk, home run, and three RBI in his team's 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. The 30-year-old has been excellent this season, slashing .278/.352/.505 with 20 homers, 54 RBI, and 60 runs in 422 plate appearances. Rooker's 22% strikeout rate is over 6% lower than his career norm, and his .293 xBA and .546 xSLG suggest that he's underperformed his underlying metrics to this point. Rooker has established himself over the past two seasons as a legitimate late-blooming breakout bat, and he looks like one of the better power and run producers in baseball.
--Will BradySource: MLB.com
July 13, 2025
Athletics closer
Mason Miller picked up his 18th save of the season on Saturday in his team's 4-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Miller pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two and allowing a walk. The 26-year-old right-hander has allowed just one earned run in his last 10 1/3 innings pitched, converting five of six save chances in that stretch. For the season, Miller is 18/21 on save opportunities with a 4.15 ERA, 10.8 WHIP, and 56 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. His 4.15 ERA is a bit inflated due to an abnormally low 64.8% strand rate, but Miller's 2.77 xERA and 28.1% K-BB rate point to how dominant he's truly been.
--Will BradySource: MLB.com
July
12,
2025
According
to
Jeff
Howe
of
The
Athletic,
Jacksonville
Jaguars
running
back
Travis
Etienne
Jr.
needs
to
have
a
strong
year
to
be
considered
a
"marquee
target"
in
free
agency
next
offseason.
If
not,
he
could
read more...
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