August 24, 2025
Miami Marlins shortstop
Otto Lopez (illness) is returning to the starting lineup on Sunday against Toronto Blue Jays right-hander
Kevin Gausman. Lopez, who's hitting fifth, is making his first start since Tuesday. However, he did return from illness on Saturday as a bench player in a 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays. Lopez entered as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning and delivered an RBI single. He finished 1-for-3 in a game that went 12 innings. Hits have been hard to come by in August for Lopez, who has gone just 14-for-74 (.189) in 80 homer-less plate appearances this month.
--Connor ByrneSource: MLB.com
August 24, 2025
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (hamstring) is sitting for the fifth straight game on Sunday against the Miami Marlins.
Ty France will play first base in Guerrero's place and hit fourth versus right-hander
Eury Perez. Guerrero left the Blue Jays' loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday with inflammation in his left hamstring and hasn't played since, but he has been participating in baseball activities. He was available off the bench on Saturday, and that will presumably be the case again on Sunday. The star slugger could return Monday to start a series against the Minnesota Twins. France, acquired from the Twins on July 31, has hit a productive .308/.373/.404 since the trade, though he hasn't homered in 58 plate appearances.
--Connor ByrneSource: MLB.com
August 24, 2025
Detroit Tigers infielder
Colt Keith (illness) has been scratched from Sunday's lineup with an illness, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Zach McKinstry will take over at third base and hit sixth against Kansas City Royals right-hander
Seth Lugo, while outfielder
Wenceel Perez will lead off in place of Keith. The 24-year-old Keith has enjoyed a highly productive August, having slashed .304/.375/.536 with three homers, seven RBI, and 11 runs scored in 18 games. Overall, Keith has hit .261/.343/.425 with 11 HRs, 39 RBI, and 56 runs across 397 trips to the plate.
--Connor ByrneSource: Evan Woodbery - MLive
August 24, 2025
New York Mets catcher
Luis Torrens (hand) is in the lineup on Sunday and hitting eighth against Atlanta Braves right-hander
Bryce Elder. Torrens missed the Mets' previous three games while dealing with hand soreness. The 29-year-old has taken over as the Mets' primary catcher with
Francisco Alvarez (thumb) on the shelf, but he offers little value from a fantasy standpoint. Torrens has hit a miserable .210/.275/.299 with two homers, 16 RBI, and 10 runs scored in 233 plate appearances.
--Connor ByrneSource: MLB.com
August 24, 2025
New York Mets outfielder
Brandon Nimmo (neck) remains on the bench for Sunday's series finale against the division-rival Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
Jeff McNeil is making the start in left field for this one and will hit cleanup against Braves right-hander
Bryce Elder. Nimmo is considered day-to-day, but he's missing a fourth straight game and could very well end up on the injured list with a neck injury that is not a new issue. The 32-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder hasn't been great on offense in the month of August, either, going 14-for-74 (.230) with just one home run, two doubles, eight RBI, 10 walks and 20 strikeouts in 17 games played. Check back to see if Nimmo is available for the start of a crucial divisional series on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies. McNeil ha hit just .083 with a .237 OPS in 12 career at-bats versus Elder.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
August 24, 2025
Tampa Bay Rays first baseman/designated hitter
Yandy Diaz (hamstring) is playing first base and batting third in Sunday's contest against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals and left-hander
Matthew Liberatore. Diaz did not play on Friday after suffering a low-grade hamstring strain in the series opener against St. Louis on Thursday, but he's back in for the series finale after a rare team off day on Saturday. The 34-year-old veteran has been seeing the ball well of late with hits in eight of his last 10 games, so fantasy managers certainly will want him back in their starting lineups now that he's back on the field. Diaz has gone hitless in three career at-bats against Liberatore and is hitting .266 (34-for-128) with nine of his 21 home runs on the year against southpaws. The Cuban slugger is quietly hitting .281 on the year and is jut two home runs away from setting a new career high.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
August 24, 2025
St. Louis Cardinals infielder/outfielder
Alec Burleson (wrist) is starting in left field and batting third in Sunday's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander
Ryan Pepiot at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Burleson did not play on Friday against Tampa but is feeling better after the day off on Saturday, so he'll return to the starting nine. The 26-year-old left-handed swinger has never faced Pepiot in his career but has been hot at the plate of late, hitting .333/.364/.476 with a home run, double and eight RBI in his last 10 games. Fantasy managers will want to get him back in their starting lineups. In his fourth big-league season in 2025, Burleson is slashing a strong .285/.337/.449 with a career-best .786 OPS, 15 home runs, 59 RBI, 43 runs scored and five stolen bases in 451 plate appearances over 117 games played.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
August 24, 2025
St. Louis Cardinals shortstop
Masyn Winn (knee) is out of the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays due to knee pain, according to John Denton of MLB.com. Winn received an injection in his knee over the All-Star break in mid-July and has been playing in pain for weeks. While he's day-to-day for now, this is totally something that could land the 23-year-old starting shortstop on the 10-day injured list, so fantasy managers need to plan for the worst. With Winn out on Sunday,
Thomas Saggese will draw into the lineup at the 6 and will hit sixth against Rays right-hander
Ryan Pepiot. Winn also had a day off on Saturday, but he's still in pain and needs more time off his feet. Since the All-Star break, Winn has hit .267 (32-for-120) with two homers, seven doubles, 14 RBI, four steals and a 23:4 K:BB in 31 games.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - John Denton
August 24, 2025
The Colorado Rockies selected the contract of rookie right-hander
McCade Brown from Double-A Hartford on Sunday and optioned left-hander
Lucas Gilbreath to Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move. The team also moved right-hander
Dugan Darnell (hip) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL. Brown will make his major-league debut and start Sunday's series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. The 25-year-old has a good matchup in the Bucs and has posted a solid 2.47 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 105 strikeouts and 30 walks in 76 2/3 innings with Hartford and High-A Spokane this year after returning from Tommy John surgery that he had in 2023. Fantasy manager in deep NL-only leagues may want to take a flier on him, but he's not guaranteed to stick in the rotation, and his lack of experience makes him an extremely risky fantasy streamer.
--Keith HernandezSource: Rockies Club Information
August 24, 2025
Cincinnati Reds infield prospect
Sal Stewart continued his assault on Triple-A pitching on Saturday, drawing two walks and going 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs for Louisville. He also tallied four RBI and three runs scored in the contest. The Reds' top prospect has now reached base safely via hit or walk in 17 straight games for the Bats, and is now hitting .317 with a 1.046 OPS in 32 games at that level. Right now, there is no room for him on the major league roster, but with rosters expanding in September, it would be surprising if he were not with the big league club at some point this year.
--Jarod RuppSource: MiLB.com
August 24, 2025
New York Mets pitching prospect Jonah Tong continued his stellar run on Saturday, notching his second straight scoreless outing since his promotion to Triple-A just over a week ago. The Mets' fourth-ranked prospect allowed five hits and one walk while striking out eight in five shutout innings for Syracuse, now with a 0.00 ERA and a 17:3 K:BB in 11 2/3 innings at Triple-A. Prior to his promotion, the 22-year-old owned a 1.59 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and an elite 29.7 percent K-BB% in 20 starts at Double-A. His 179 strikeouts lead all minor leaguers, and by a wide margin, with 147 strikeouts coming in at second-most (
Trey Gibson, BAL). At this rate, don't be surprised to see him in Queens before the season is over.
--Jarod RuppSource: MiLB.com
August 24, 2025
Texas Rangers shortstop prospect Gavin Fien has been assigned to Single-A Hickory. The Rangers' top pick in this year's Draft (12th overall) played in his first game there on Saturday, belting a triple in his first at-bat, and finishing the day 2-for-5 with three RBI, one run scored, and was the only hitter in Hickory's lineup who did not strike out at least once. Fien was drafted as a shortstop but has the arm strength to play third if needed, however, he was the team's designated hitter in his first contest with the Crawdads. With MLB.com recently updating its prospect lists for each team, Fien slides in as the Rangers' second-ranked prospect, but given that he's just 18 years old, his projected MLB ETA is set at 2029.
--Jarod RuppSource: MiLB.com
August 24, 2025
Washington Nationals outfield prospect
Elijah Green (hamstring) was placed on the 7-day injured list at Single-A Fredericksburg on Saturday with what appeared to be a hamstring injury that occurred when he was running to first base on Friday. The 21-year-old was having a rough season, having begun at High-A, where he hit .171 with a 45.7 percent strikeout rate. He was then sent to Single-A, where he was hitting .233 with a 34.5 percent strikeout rate. Despite the overall underperformance, the former fifth-overall draft pick from 2022 was riding an 11-game hit streak coming into Friday's game, going 15-for-45 (.333) with five doubles and three steals during that stretch. Green finished 2024 as Washington's sixth-ranked prospect but has fallen all the way out of the top 30. Hopefully the recent hot stretch was the beginning of a turnaround for the 6-foot-3 slugger.
--Jarod RuppSource: Bobby Blanco
August 24, 2025
Chicago Cubs catcher
Reese McGuire came up clutch at the plate during Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. McGuire put the game basically out of reach with a grand slam in the fourth inning of Saturday's contest. It was only a 389-foot shot, but it was enough to get over the wall. McGuire would finish this game 1-for-2 with a homer, five RBI, and a walk in the blowout win. The left-handed slugger is slashing .223/.250/.457 with seven homers and 21 RBI this season. He continues to split up playing time with
Carson Kelly behind the plate. That being said, there isn't much fantasy value for McGuire right now.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
August 24, 2025
Washington Nationals outfield prospect
Cristhian Vaquero (undisclosed) was placed on the 7-day injured list at Single-A Fredericksburg on Saturday. The nature of the injury is not clear, but if it is anything more than a minimum stay, then this could end his season. The Nats' 26th-ranked prospect was spending his third straight season at Single-A, but had shown marked improvement over last season. In 2024, the switch-hitter batted .190 with five home runs and a sky-high 34.2 percent strikeout rate, however, in 2025, he improved that to a .256 average, a more palatable 24.7 percent strikeout rate, and was up to eight home runs. Since June 21, a period of 41 games, the 6-foot-3 Cuban was slashing .299/.367/.481, so he looked to be on the precipice of a promotion to High-A. Still only 20 years old, he should see High-A next year, and with continuous improvement combined with his plus speed (27 steals in 2025), he could start to climb the ladder quickly.
--Jarod RuppSource: MiLB.com
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