September 4, 2025
Los Angeles Angels outfielder
Mike Trout (body) is back in the starting lineup ahead of Thursday's game against the Kansas City Royals. Trout is back in the mix after missing each of the last two games due to a skin infection. He appears to be feeling good enough to play on Thursday, but won't play in the field. Trout will bat second and serve as the designated hitter versus left-hander
Noah Cameron. The 34-year-old has struggled with the bat recently, but still needs to be rostered in most fantasy formats.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
September 4, 2025
Minnesota Twins outfielder
Byron Buxton is resting in Thursday's series finale against the division-rival Chicago White Sox at Target Field. Josh Outman will take over in center field and will bat eighth against White Sox left-handed opener
Fraser Ellard. Buxton has been seeing the ball well at the plate, but he'll get a day off after starting each of the team's last seven games. The 31-year-old veteran has managed to mostly stay healthy in 2025 and has played in over 100 contests for just the third time in his 11 major-league-seasons while slashing .273/.333/.559 with a career-best 29 home runs, 72 RBI, 83 runs scored and 21 stolen bases in 456 plate appearances. Fantasy managers should get him back in their starting lineups for Friday's series opener on the road against the division-rival Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
September 4, 2025
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder
Oneil Cruz is on the bench to start Thursday's series finale against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers with left-hander
Blake Snell on the mound.
Alexander Canario will start in center field and will bat seventh. The Pirates continue to shield Cruz from lefties, as this will be the fifth straight game against them that he has taken a seat. In 118 plate appearances against southpaws in 2025, Cruz is hitting a pathetic .106 (11-for-104) with just one of his 19 home runs on the year and 43 strikeouts. The Dominican is barely hitting over .200 on the year but does have 19 homers, 54 RBI, 60 runs and 36 steals in his 416 at-bats, which continues to make him fantasy relevant in all leagues despite all the swing and miss. Cruz is hitting .123 (8-for-65) with two homers, 10 RBI, two steals and 23 K's in 19 games since Aug. 1.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
September 4, 2025
Milwaukee Brewers second baseman
Brice Turang and outfielder
Sal Frelick are both out of the lineup for Thursday's series finale with Philadelphia Phillies left-hander
Ranger Suarez on the mound. The Brewers are going with
Andruw Monasterio at the keystone and
Isaac Collins in right field with Turang and Frelick getting a day off. It's a rare off day for Turant, who continues to contribute across the board for fantasy managers with a .291/.359/.450 slash line, .808 OPS, 17 home runs, 70 RBI, 87 runs scored and 23 stolen bases in 505 at-bats. The 25-year-old is a major reason why Milwaukee is the best team in baseball. Monasterio has been a productive utility player for the Brew Crew in a limited role, batting .294 (30-for-102), but with only four homers. Collins is mainly useful for his speed (16 steals), but he's also hit .276 in 115 games in 2025.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
September 4, 2025
Los Angeles Dodgers catcher
Will Smith (hand) is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's series finale at PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates after taking a pitch off his right hand in Wednesday's loss. Rookie
Dalton Rushing will do the catching for left-hander
Blake Snell and will bat ninth against Pirates right-hander
Paul Skenes. X-rays on Smith's right hand came back negative, so hopefully he'll be available to play in the series opener on Friday in Baltimore against the Orioles. Smith has been a must-start in fantasy when he's in the lineup as one of the best hitters at a weak position. Rushing, meanwhile, is hitting only .190 (22-for-116) with three home runs and 21 RBI in his first 43 big-league games this year. In the tough matchup against Skenes, we'd recommend fading Rushing as a DFS sleeper.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
September 4, 2025
New York Mets infield/outfield prospect
A.J. Ewing delivered his second consecutive three-hit performance on Wednesday for Double-A Binghamton, extending his current hit streak to 12 games for the Rumble Ponies. During that time, he's gone 25-for-53 (.472), and is now slashing .386/.424/.482 at that level with 11 steals in 19 games. After starting out the season at Single-A, he was promoted to High-A, and now he's performing at Double-A. In all, the Mets' seventh-ranked prospect owns a .322/.412/.438 slash line with 25 doubles, nine triples, three home runs, 69 steals, and a strong 12.8 percent walk rate complemented by a better-than-average 17.7 percent strikeout rate. If he can grow into more power, he's got some mult-category fantasy potential in his bat and is an under-the-radar prospect for dynasty managers to consider.
--Jarod RuppSource: MiLB.com
September 4, 2025
Pittsburgh Pirates infield prospect
Yordany De Los Santos was promoted to High-A Greensboro on Wednesday after a productive 116 games at Single-A Bradenton. The Pirates' 14th-ranked prospect hit just .249 with a .699 OPS, but belted 11 home runs and stole 51 bases for the Marauders, which was second-most in the Florida State League. The 20-year-old will need to work on limiting his strikeouts at High-A if he's going to have any success, as he held a 26.8 percent K% this season at Single-A, which was combined with a slightly below-average walk rate of 7.8 percent. The 6-foot-2 Dominican is still a few years away from the majors, though.
--Jarod RuppSource: Bradenton Marauders
September 4, 2025
New York Yankees pitching prospect
Kyle Carr was promoted to Double-A Somerset on Wednesday after a strong season at High-A Hudson Valley. The Yankees' 13th-ranked prospect recorded a 1.96 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 104 strikeouts in 119 1/3 innings pitched over 22 starts for the Renegades. Things began smoothly in his Double-A debut, not allowing a hit over the first three innings, but the southpaw ended up yielding four earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out four in 3 2/3 innings of work. The former third-round draft pick will likely start at Double-A next year and has an outside chance of making his big league debut if he hits the ground running, but a low 8.05 K/9 for his minor league career dampens his potential fantasy outlook.
--Jarod RuppSource: Hudson Valley Renegades
September 4, 2025
The St. Louis Cardinals are hoping that right-handed reliever
Riley O'Brien (shoulder) will be available out of their bullpen this weekend during their series against the visiting San Francisco Giants, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. O'Brien has been dealing with a right-shoulder injury and hasn't pitched for the Cardinals in over a week, but he was cleared to resume throwing earlier this week and it looks like he will avoid a trip to the injured list. How effective the 30-year-old will be in his return is another question, but he should continue to be in the mix for saves for St. Louis the rest of the way if he can stay healthy. O'Brien has been fantastic in his second season for the team in 2025 with a 1.69 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, his first two career saves, 35 strikeouts and 17 walks in 37 1/3 innings of relief. He also had three holds last month.
--Keith HernandezSource: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 4, 2025
Chicago Cubs pitching prospect
Jaxon Wiggins has been promoted to Triple-A Iowa following a successful 10-game stint at Double-A Knoxville. The Cubs' fourth-ranked prospect (MLB No. 81) began the season at High-A, pitching to a 1.71 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and a 17.1 percent K-BB% over six appearances (five starts, 26 1/3 innings pitched), then followed that up with a 1.93 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and a 21.3 percent K-BB% at Double-A in 42 innings pitched. The 6-foot-6 hurler is now in a position to make a run at a big league debut next year and has the potential to be a solid starter in the majors. With big strikeout stuff, he could be fantasy relevant as soon as next year, but he'll need to limit the walks to be successful.
--Jarod RuppSource: Tommy Birch
September 4, 2025
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder
Nick Castellanos will retreat to the bench for Thursday's series finale against the hosting Milwaukee Brewers. The left-handed-hitting
Max Kepler will make the start in right field for the Phillies and will bat seventh against Brewers right-hander
Freddy Peralta. This will be the fourth time in the last 10 games that Castellanos will start on the bench for the first-place Phillies. Since Aug. 6, the 33-year-old veteran has fallen on hard times at the plate, going 12-for-75 (.160) with only one home run, two doubles, one RBI, 12 runs scored, six walks and 19 strikeouts in 20 games. Castellanos last homered on Aug. 17, although he did go 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Wednesday's 6-3 loss. Kepler has only faced Peralta seven times in his career, but he's hitting .429 against him with a 1.214 OPS.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
September 4, 2025
Toronto Blue Jays infield prospect
Orelvis Martinez (undisclosed) was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday, retroactive to September 2. The nature of the injury is not known, but at his point in the season, it will all but end his 2025 campaign. The Blue Jays' 12th-ranked prospect has had a rough go of it in 2025 and even worse up until the injury, going hitless in 14 of his last 18 games, during which time he went 4-for-54 (.074). The 23-year-old owns a .176/.288/.348 slash line with 13 home runs in 99 games for the Bisons and will look to make another attempt to get back to the majors in 2026 after making a one-game debut there in 2024, but right now, his arrow is pointing down.
--Jarod RuppSource: MiLB.com - Transactions Page
September 4, 2025
The Chicago White Sox announced on Thursday that they recalled right-hander
Jonathan Cannon and left-hander
Tyler Gilbert from Triple-A Charlotte and placed left-hander
Bryan Hudson (back) on the 15-day injured list with a lower-back strain in a corresponding move. Right-hander
Bryse Wilson was also designated for assignment. Cannon is expected to serve in a bulk-relief role for Thursday's contest against the division-rival Minnesota Twins at Target Field behind left-handed opener
Fraser Ellard. Although Cannon has more streaming appeal than Ellard in this one, fantasy managers should still have better options than Cannon despite the small slate of games on Thursday. The 25-year-old has gone 4-9 at the big-league level in 2025 with a 5.34 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and a 76:35 K:BB in 96 innings over 19 outings (17 starts) in his second MLB season.
--Keith HernandezSource: Chicago White Sox
September 4, 2025
Kansas City Royals left-hander
Cole Ragans (shoulder) threw a two-up live batting practice session at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday that consisted of around 30 pitches and could embark on a minor-league rehab assignment this weekend if everything checks out in the coming days, according to MLB.com. It was the first time that Ragans has faced hitters since being diagnosed with a torn left rotator cuff and placed on the injured list on June 11. The Royals are taking it slow with the 27-year-old left-hander, who is in the midst of an injury-plagued 2025 campaign. Ragans has a shot to rejoin the Royals before the end of September as they look to get into the postseason, but at this point, fantasy managers shouldn't be holding their breathe for him. He was an All-Star in 2023 but pitched to a 5.18 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 76 K's and 16 walks in 10 starts before being shut down.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
September 4, 2025
The Atlanta Braves announced on Thursday that they reinstated outfielder
Jurickson Profar from the paternity list and also recalled right-hander
Daysbel Hernandez from Triple-A Gwinnett. In corresponding moves, the team designated infielder
Luke Williams for assignment and released right-hander
Cal Quantrill. Right-hander
Wander Suero was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets. Profar will return to Atlanta after he missed the final two games of the series in Chicago this week against the Chicago Cubs, but he's back now and will be in the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the visiting Seattle Mariners. The 32-year-old veteran switch-hitter has played in only 58 games in his first season with the Braves due to a PED suspension and is slashing .258/.362/.472 with 12 homers, 37 RBI, 44 runs and eight steals.
--Keith HernandezSource: Atlanta Braves
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