<\/p>\n
Injuries continue to hit fantasy managers hard, highlighted by Aaron Judge\u2019s placement on the IL over the weekend. The superstar suffered a stress fracture in his rib and will be reevaluated in four to six weeks; fantasy managers are preparing for Judge to miss significant time. Judge, Tarik Skubal, Elly De La Cruz, Garrett Crochet and Cal Raleigh are among the players with a composite ADP<\/a> inside the top 15 who are currently sidelined on the IL. Then, there\u2019s Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr., who limped off the field Tuesday and is dealing with left hamstring tightness<\/a>. Here are pressing questions during a time in which many fantasy managers\u2019 depth and patience are being tested.<\/p>\n Skubal impressed during a recent rehab start just one month after undergoing elbow surgery. He\u2019s scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday and is (remarkably) tentatively set to return to the majors<\/a> Friday or Saturday. The NanoNeedle Scope technology<\/a>\u00a0has cut the return time<\/a> from bone-chip injuries in half. Skubal encouragingly produced 16 whiffs and topped out at 99 mph during his outing in High A.<\/p>\n Tarik Skubal in his first rehab start:<\/p>\n 5 IP His fastball topped out at 99 MPH pic.twitter.com\/zMR8JWM67H<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) June 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It remains to be seen whether Skubal is 100% after the new procedure, but we\u2019ll find out soon thanks to the procedure that accelerated his recovery time dramatically.<\/p>\n Riley was one of my favorite targets during drafts this season, as he looked like an obvious bounce-back candidate after injuries ruined his previous two seasons. But he\u2019s been a fantasy bust instead, entering Tuesday with a career-low 80 wRC+ and ranking as the No. 22 fantasy third baseman<\/a> despite ostensibly staying healthy. While the Braves\u2019 offense has otherwise rebounded hugely in 2026 (third highest wRC+ in MLB), Riley has been moved down to seventh in Atlanta\u2019s order; he\u2019s even been dropped by some fantasy managers in shallow leagues.<\/p>\n Riley has struck out more while not hitting the ball quite as hard this season, but he\u2019s also undoubtedly been unlucky. Riley\u2019s .266 BABIP and 10.8 HR\/FB% are both career lows and well below his normal marks. His track record suggests he won\u2019t continue performing this poorly for much longer, so patient fantasy managers will be rewarded (preferably soon).<\/p>\n Pasquantino is another massive fantasy disappointment. He was drafted as the No. 10 first baseman and inside the top 75 overall, but he\u2019s produced negative fantasy value<\/a> while ranking as the No. 43 first baseman this season. The performance is especially discouraging considering Pasquantino\u2019s expectations were high after Kauffman Stadium moved in its fences<\/a> for 2026. Pasquantino entered Tuesday with a 57 wRC+ at home compared to 104 on the road, and he has just two homers in Kansas City this year. He ranks 11th on the season in fly-ball percentage (49.7), but Pasquantino\u2019s 6.3 HR\/FB% is toward the bottom among all qualified hitters.<\/p>\n Pasquantino isn\u2019t near last season\u2019s 32-homer pace despite hitting easily the most fly balls of his career and playing in a home park that now has shorter outfield walls. His declining bat speed is a concern, but Pasquantino qualifies as a true buy-low candidate.<\/p>\n Bauers was a complete afterthought and ignored during fantasy drafts, but he entered Tuesday a top-20 fantasy player<\/a> this season, sandwiched between De La Cruz and Judge. Bauers\u2019 Statcast page<\/a> looks legit, including a hard-hit rate (54.1) in the top 3% of the league and a manageable K% (22.1). He\u2019s hitting in the middle of a Milwaukee lineup that leads baseball in runs scored per game, is multi-eligible and doesn\u2019t need to be platooned. Bauers is on pace to go .286-96-30-109-13.<\/p>\n However, Bauers is also a 30-year-old who entered the season with almost 2,000 career plate appearances of poor results (.211\/.307\/.365); he posted a negative fWAR and ranked No. 277 among hitters in wRC+ (87) over 2018-2025<\/a>. Bauers has performed like a truly elite hitter over the first one-third of the season in 2026, which has been a major surprise.<\/p>\n Bauers\u2019 lack of track record and incoming regression likely make him a tough sell-high candidate, but fantasy managers are playing with house money at this point.<\/p>\n Not much has gone right for the Red Sox this season, but Tolle\u2019s emergence has been a highlight. After impressing in spring training and Triple A, the young lefty entered Tuesday\u2019s start in Tampa Bay with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. The rookie won\u2019t finish with those ratios, but regression could be mild given his 20.3 K-BB% would rank 12th among qualified starters. Tolle\u2019s four-seam fastball is especially impressive; it produced the highest swinging-strike rate<\/a> in the minors last season and has been dominant while holding hitters to the league\u2019s lowest hard-hit percentage\u00a0in the majors this year.<\/p>\n Payton Tolle\u2019s 4-seamer has been a dominant pitch this season.<\/p>\n MLB ranks among pitchers with 300+ 4-seamers thrown\u2026<\/p>\n BAA: .138 (3rd) \u2014 Red Seat Podcast (@RedSeatPodcast) June 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n A healthy Crochet would remain the Red Sox\u2019s best starter, but he looked compromised in 2026 and suffered a setback while on the IL<\/a>. Connelly Early (4.08 SIERA) was called up sooner while Sonny Gray (4.09) and Ranger Suarez (3.75) have been solid, but Tolle (3.45) has been the superior pitcher. Tolle threw 108 innings last season, so he may reach his limit in 2026. Still, while many of the biggest free-agent bids have turned into busts this season, Tolle has emerged as Boston\u2019s ace and one of the best waiver-wire adds.<\/p>\n Alex Lange was this week\u2019s biggest free-agent prize<\/a> in NFBC Main Event leagues, as he\u2019s ostensibly replaced a struggling Lucas Erceg as the Royals\u2019 closer. Fantasy managers remain desperate for saves in a season filled with chaos<\/a>. Only five relievers recorded more than one save over the last week, and there have been 75 different relief pitchers who\u2019ve closed out a game over the last month. The Cubs haven\u2019t had a save since May 14, while Jordan Romano has recorded 66.7% of the Angels\u2019 saves despite being released in April.<\/p>\n Abner Uribe ostensibly lost the closer\u2019s role in Milwaukee, thanks to an obscene gesture<\/a>, but Trevor Megill\u2019s health status is now in question after he was unavailable Monday<\/a>. Meanwhile, Joel Kuhnel is suddenly throwing 5 mph harder<\/a> after being traded to the Brewers. The Giants remain a total mess and a stay-away situation, while Edwin D\u00edaz is making encouraging progress<\/a> and is worth stashing in this economy.<\/p>\n Manny Machado apparently hates analytics, which is an odd thing to blame for his horrifically slow first two-plus months of the season. Machado is hitting the ball with less authority, but he\u2019s also suffered bad luck. He entered Tuesday with a .167 BABIP that was 35 points lower than the next worst mark among 161 qualified hitters. Machado\u2019s career hit rate is .295, and his BB% (10.3) is a career high. He owns the fourth biggest difference<\/a> between batting average and expected batting average in MLB and ranks toward the bottom of the league in batting average with runners in scoring position (.156).<\/p>\n Machado is clearly in the decline phase, but it\u2019s unlikely he completely forgot how to hit at 33 years old. His misfortune will turn around.<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz entered Tuesday with a 5.18 ERA that ranked 156 out of 186 qualified relievers this season, but his 2.52 SIERA ranked 11th. Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s velocity and stuff have remained intact while his K-BB% (25.0) has improved compared to last season (21.7), when he finished with a 1.73 ERA. The 27-year-old\u2019s CSW% (35.2) ranks third in MLB, and his LOB% (66.9) and HR\/FB% (19.0) should normalize. Mu\u00f1oz\u2019s poor results haven\u2019t lost him the closing role in Seattle, and his bad luck should change.<\/p>\n Jeff Hoffman is also due for better fortune while flirting with the worst BABIP of all time<\/a>, but he\u2019s become irrelevant in fantasy leagues with Louis Varland pitching like a top-three closer. Mu\u00f1oz can do the same when regression hits.<\/p>\n Joshua B\u00e1ez<\/strong> has clubbed six homers with a 1.373 OPS over the last two weeks and is arguably baseball\u2019s hottest prospect<\/a>. Lars Nootbaar just returned to St. Louis\u2019 outfield, but Victor Scott II was sent to the minors, and DH is open when Ivan Herrera catches. Baez\u2019s K% (32.1 in Triple A) remains an issue, but he owns future 30-HR\/30-SB upside. He\u2019ll induce fights on waiver wires whenever he\u2019s called up by the Cardinals. B\u00e1ez is rostered in only 12% of Yahoo leagues.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Cole Carrigg<\/strong> and Braden Montgomery<\/strong> are recent outfield call-ups worth adding in deeper fantasy leagues. Carrigg has Coors Field on his side and is the preferred add if looking for speed<\/a>, while Montgomery has more power potential<\/a> but is a greater batting average risk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nHow healthy is Tarik Skubal?<\/h2>\n
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2 H
0 ER
0 BB
6 K
54 pitches<\/p>\nWill Austin Riley ever start hitting?<\/h2>\n
Where\u2019s Vinnie Pasquantino\u2019s power?<\/h2>\n
Can Jake Bauers keep this up?<\/h2>\n
Is Payton Tolle already Boston\u2019s ace?<\/h2>\n
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SLG: .200 (1st)
wOBA: .217 (1st)
Whiff: 29.5% (7th)
Hard-Hit: 22.4% (1st)#RedSox<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/vmxLdrYxcL<\/a><\/p>\nHow chaotic are fantasy closers?<\/h2>\n
Which hitter is due for regression?<\/h2>\n
Which pitcher is due for regression?<\/h2>\n
Which prospects are on the fantasy radar?<\/h2>\n