August 4, 2025
St. Louis Cardinals infielder/outfielder
Brendan Donovan (personal) is back in the starting lineup ahead of Monday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Donovan was scratched from the lineup on Sunday due to a personal matter. However, he has rejoined the team and is ready to play a day later. Donovan will cover second base and lead off against right-hander
Tyler Glasnow on Monday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly ahead of first pitch.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
August 4, 2025
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander
Johan Oviedo (lat) was activated from the 60-day injured list to make his season debut in Monday's series opener against the visiting San Francisco Giants at PNC Park. While the matchup is a nice one against the offensively-challenged Giants, fantasy managers will want to think twice before using Oviedo as a streamer after he missed all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery and the first four months of this year with a right-lat strain. The 26-year-old will also likely be on a pitch count on Monday after he threw 62 pitches in his final minor-league rehab start. The Cuban hurler has a career 4.32 ERA and 1.39 WHIP with a below-average 19.6% strikeout rate and an elevated 10.8% walk rate as well. Oviedo showed some promising signs in 2023 but he was also plenty inconsistent, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect much to close out 2025.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
August 4, 2025
Texas Rangers third baseman
Josh Jung (calf) is back in the team's starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the visiting New York Yankees and left-hander
Max Fried and is serving as the designated hitter and is batting sixth. Jung will return to the starting nine after missing the last four games with calf soreness.
Josh Smith will remain at third base and will bat sixth. Fantasy managers will be hoping that the 27-year-old Jung can pick up where he left off after rejoining the big-league club following a demotion to the minors. Since his return to the Rangers, Jung is slashing .367/.424/.567 with two home runs in nine games. Jung has plenty of power from the right side but has had trouble making consistent contact and staying on the field for long stretches of time. When healthy, though, he's Texas' starting third baseman. He has a tough matchup on Monday against a lefty he's never faced.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
August 4, 2025
San Francisco Giants first baseman
Wilmer Flores (hamstring) remains absent for Monday's series opener against the hosting Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Dominic Smith is serving as the designated hitter and is batting fifth, while
Rafael Devers is at first base and hitting second against Pirates right-hander
Johan Oviedo, who is making his first start of the season. This will be Flores' third straight missed start after he hurt his left hamstring on Friday against the New York Mets, but the 33-year-old veteran is expected to avoid a trip to the 10-day injured list. Smith has two hits in four career at-bats against Oviedo, while Devers has a solo home run in his two career at-bats against him. Flores has been one of the Giants' best run-producers with 59 RBI in 342 at-bats, but for fantasy purposes, he's pretty mediocre everywhere else with 12 homers and 36 runs in 97 games.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
August 4, 2025
New York Mets right-hander
Frankie Montas will make his next scheduled outing on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers, according to manager
Carlos Mendoza. However, Mets officials are discussing the possibility of using an opener in front of Montas this weekend, per MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. Montas got a late start to the 2025 season due to injury and hasn't been very good in his first seven starts for the Mets. The 32-year-old Dominican is currently sporting a 6.68 ERA (5.07 FIP) and 1.54 WHIP with 29 strikeouts and 10 walks over his 33 2/3 innings pitched. Montas has been roughed up early in games as well, so the Mets will be hoping he might be more effective if he doesn't start the game against the first-place Brew Crew on Saturday. Regardless of whether Montas is the traditional starter or bulk reliever this weekend, fantasy managers should be looking to stay away.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Anthony DiComo
August 4, 2025
Baltimore Orioles outfielder
Tyler O'Neill (illness) is serving as the designated hitter and is batting fifth for Monday's series opener in Philadelphia against the Phillies and left-hander
Jesus Luzardo.
Jeremiah Jackson will make his fourth straight start and will be in right field and in the six-hole. A minor illness kept O'Neill out on Saturday and Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, but he'll return for the first game of a new series in Philly. The Canadian power/speed threat has struggled with injuries in his first year in Baltimore and has played in just 41 games, going 29-for-138 (.210) with only seven home runs and 21 RBI in 159 plate appearances. He's been a big disappointment for fantasy managers after he reached the 30-homer mark for the second time in his career with Boston in 2024. O'Neill has only faced Luzardo twice in his career but has a hit and an RBI.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Jake Rill
August 4, 2025
Minnesota Twins second base prospect
Luke Keaschall (forearm) reportedly has a locker in the Twins' clubhouse, which potentially indicates that he'll be activated from the 60-day IL on Tuesday. The Twins' third-ranked prospect has been rehabbing at Triple-A over the last couple of weeks, hitting .265 (13-for-49) with a double, a triple, an 8:6 BB:K, and seven steals in 14 games. The 22-year-old displayed the same type of stolen base prowess and hitting ability during his limited time with Minnesota earlier this season, hitting .368 (7-for-19) with three doubles, a 5:2 BB:K, and five steals in seven games for the Twins. Eligible at 1B, 2B, and OF in Yahoo! leagues, Keaschall would be worthy of a roster spot in most 12-team leagues.
--Jarod RuppSource: Bobby Nightengale
August 4, 2025
Colorado Rockies third base/outfield prospect
Charlie Condon broke out of his recent slump with a 3-for-5 day at the plate on Sunday, which included a triple, three RBI, and a run scored. The Rockies' top-ranked prospect came into the contest hitting .108 (4-for-37) over his previous 10 games at Double-A Hartford. For the season, the 2024 first-rounder is slashing .281/.388/.406 with five home runs in 57 games between High-A and Double-A. He missed the first couple of months of the campaign due to a wrist injury suffered in the spring, and with so much time missed, he'll need to start swinging a hot bat in order to make it to the big leagues by season's end. Otherwise, look for the 6-foot-6 power hitter to have fantasy relevance next season.
--Jarod RuppSource: MiLB.com
August 4, 2025
New York Mets pitching prospect
Dom Hamel will be called up from Triple-A Syracuse for what will be his major league debut whenever he enters a game. The Mets' 27th-ranked prospect has an underwhelming 4.73 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 22 appearances (eight starts) at Syracuse this year, however, the righty does own a solid 25.8 percent strikeout rate with a below-average 6.6 percent walk rate. Even so, he'll likely slot in as a middle reliever, and without save chances in his future, the 6-foot-2 hurler can be left to fantasy waiver wires for now. RHP
Austin Warren was optioned to Syracuse in a corresponding move.
--Jarod RuppSource: New York Mets
August 4, 2025
Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Anthony Nunez is getting promoted to Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore's 24th-ranked prospect was acquired in the
Cedric Mullins trade with the Mets. The 24-year-old was originally drafted out of high school as a shortstop back in 2019, but has converted himself into a pitcher, and it appears to have been the right move. In 33 games between High-A and Double-A this season, the right-hander has posted a 1.52 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, and has struck out a whopping 40.0 percent of the batters he's faced. That's good for 62 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched. There is a small issue with an elevated walk rate of 11.0 percent, but if he's striking that many out, it may not matter. Without a dedicated closer in Baltimore, Nunez is a name to keep an eye on down the stretch in case he gets the call.
--Jarod RuppSource: MiLB Central
August 4, 2025
Washington Nationals pitching prospect
Clayton Beeter will be called up to the big league club. The 26-year-old came over in the
Amed Rosario trade and slots in as the team's 24th-ranked prospect. He made his major league debut in July for the Yankees, but allowed six earned runs on five hits (two home runs) and four walks while striking out just one in 3 2/3 innings of relief. So far in the Nationals' organization, he's tossed four innings in relief, giving up three earned runs on two hits and four walks while striking out seven batters. With a high-90s fastball, the 6-foot-2 hurler has some solid strikeout stuff, but the inability to throw strikes consistently has led to high walk rates in the past. Without a high-leverage role out of the Washington bullpen, there's little fantasy value here.
--Jarod RuppSource: Spencer Nusbaum
August 4, 2025
Chicago Cubs right-hander
Jameson Taillon (calf) struggled in his minor-league rehab start on Sunday for Triple-A Iowa against Triple-A Indianapolis, surrendering seven earned runs on seven hits (two homers) while walking none and striking out only one in three innings of work. Taillon was certainly rusty in his first start since June 29 due to a calf injury. The good news is that the 33-year-old veteran threw 64 pitches in the outing and came away healthy. It remains to be seen when Taillon will be activated from the injured list to return to the Cubs, but he might require one more rehab outing to see if he can bounce back from his ugly showing on Sunday. Taillon should have a rotation spot waiting for him in the big leagues, even after the addition of
Michael Soroka at the trade deadline, but he's a low-upside fantasy piece in deeper leagues with diminished velocity and strikeout stuff.
--Keith HernandezSource: Milb.com
August 4, 2025
The New York Yankees are discussing a potential deal with free-agent right-hander
Kenta Maeda, according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman. Maeda was released by the Detroit Tigers this year after allowing eight runs (seven earned) while walking six and striking out eight in eight innings over seven relief appearances before he signed a minor-league deal with the Chicago Cubs back in May. The 37-year-old never made a big-league appearance with the Cubs, though, although he could latch on with the Yankees next as either an experienced starter or reliever. Maeda would be unlikely to have any fantasy appeal the rest of the 2025 season in pinstripes. In his last full season in 2024 with Detroit, Maeda had a career-worst 6.09 ERA and 1.38 WHIP with a career-low 7.7 K/9 in 112 1/3 innings over 29 appearances (17 starts).
--Keith HernandezSource: New York Post - Jon Heyman
August 4, 2025
Minnesota Twins right-hander
Simeon Woods Richardson (illness) was placed on the 15-day injured list on Monday with an illness, according to Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Woods Richardson is battling a stomach issue, according to manager Rocco Baldelli, and was pushed back from his scheduled start on Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians. In a corresponding move,
Darren McCaughan was called up from Triple-A St. Paul. Woods Richardson was pushed back to Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers, but he won't make that start either. It's terrible timing, as the 24-year-old has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his last eight outings to improve his season ERA to 4.24 and his season WHIP to 1.40. It's unclear when Woods Richardson will be able to return or who will take his rotation spot in the meantime.
--Keith HernandezSource: Minneapolis Star Tribune - Bobby Nightengale
August 4, 2025
Boston Red Sox right-hander
Tanner Houck (elbow) is at peace with his decision to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery with Dr. Keith Meister at some point this week. Houck and Meister have yet to discuss whether it might be possible for him to return late in the 2026 season, but Houck is hopeful, according to Christopher Smith of Mass Live. The 29-year-old went on the injured list back on May 14 with a flexor pronator strain. He tried to pitch through it and go on a rehab assignment, but a subsequent MRI exam after five minor-league outings showed that his flexor tendon "was torn a good bit." Before he landed on the IL in May, Houck was awful for the BoSox, posting an 8.09 ERA, 1.69 WHIP and 32:17 K:BB in 43 2/3 innings. There's no guarantee he'll pitch at all in 2026, and if he does, it will likely be in a relief role late in the season.
--Keith HernandezSource: MassLive.com - Christopher Smith
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