TL;DRSkim

The five fastest-moving roster calls of the morning:

• WATCH - Ryan Weathers (50% owned) exited after one pitch to Myles Straw in the fourth with left forearm discomfort; imaging today.
• DROP - Casey Mize (40% owned) to the IL with a right ankle sprain after slipping on the dugout steps, and his last sinker registered 88.4 mph, the slowest of his career.
• ADD - Jacob Lopez (8% owned) threw six innings with nine strikeouts and one earned run; the cheapest starter on the board.
• HOLD - Cody Bellinger (95% owned) activated today, with Max Schuemann optioned to make room.
• HOLD - Bo Bichette has homered in consecutive games and is hitting .333 across 72 August at-bats since the deadline move to New York.

Weathers Exits After One Pitch with Forearm Discomfort

WATCH · NYY · SP

Ryan Weathers (50% owned) left Saturday's start after throwing a single pitch to Myles Straw in the fourth inning, grabbing at his left forearm. He'd allowed two runs on eight hits over 3⅓ innings, and the Yankees said he's undergoing further imaging.

Action: Bench him and don't wait for the results to line up a replacement. Exiting mid-batter after one pitch is the signature of acute pain rather than gradual tightness, and forearm discomfort in a left-hander is the injury class that most often becomes an elbow diagnosis. Even a clean scan likely costs him a start or two.

Mize to the IL, and the Velocity Is the Real Concern

DROP · SD · SP

Casey Mize (40% owned) slipped on the dugout steps and sprained his right ankle, landing on the injured list. The detail that matters more: his final sinker before exiting registered 88.4 mph, the slowest fastball of his career. He also dealt with an adductor strain earlier this season in Detroit.

Action: Drop in redraft. The ankle alone is two to three weeks, but a career-low fastball reading immediately before a freak injury is the kind of coincidence that usually isn't one. Stash only if you have IL space and are willing to gamble that the velocity dip was mechanical.

Lopez Deals Again for the Athletics

ADD · ATH · SP

Jacob Lopez (8% owned) threw six innings with nine strikeouts and one earned run.

Action: Add him in 12-plus-team leagues. He's now strung together multiple starts with elevated strikeout totals, and at 8% owned he's the widest gap between production and roster share available today. The wins won't come often on a last-place club, so value him on strikeouts and ratios.

Bellinger Activated

HOLD · NYY · OF

Cody Bellinger (95% owned) was activated from his rehab assignment, with Max Schuemann optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to clear the spot.

Action: Activate him immediately. He walks back into everyday at-bats in a Yankees outfield that has been without both Judge and Giancarlo Stanton for weeks.

Bichette Raking in August

HOLD · NYM · SS

Bo Bichette has homered in consecutive games and is hitting .333 over 72 August at-bats.

Action: Hold everywhere and start him without hesitation. He's been productive since the deadline move, and shortstop production at this level is worth trusting regardless of what the season-long line says.

Cease Carries a No-Hitter into the Seventh

HOLD · TOR · SP

Dylan Cease took a no-hit bid 6⅔ innings into Toronto's 4-3 win at Yankee Stadium before Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled to right on his 106th pitch. Austin Wells followed with an RBI single, and John Schneider pulled him for Spencer Miles. Cease finished with two hits and one earned run allowed, eight strikeouts and five walks.

It was his second no-hit bid to reach the seventh this season, after carrying one into the ninth in San Francisco. He's now gone over 100 pitches in 11 of his last 12 starts, an outlier in an era of shortened outings. "It's August, so I'm definitely grinding a little bit, but I'm able to take the ball, and that's all that really matters," Cease said. Nathan Lukes' eighth-inning homer was the difference, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two hits in his return from the concussion list.

Action: Hold and start him everywhere. The workload is the notable part for the stretch run - a pitcher this deep into starts in August is a durability asset when everyone else is getting pulled at 95 pitches.

Bleday Hits for the Cycle

ADD · CIN · OF

JJ Bleday hit for the cycle and drove in three runs as Cincinnati beat Arizona in Phoenix to even the series. It was the eighth cycle in Reds history and the first since Elly De La Cruz did it in June 2023. De La Cruz nearly made history alongside him, collecting four hits and finishing a triple short before striking out in the eighth - no two teammates have ever cycled in the same game.

The night caps a difficult August for Bleday, who entered hitting .164 with a .521 OPS. "It's trying to repeat the swing as often as you can," he said afterward.

Action: Add in deeper and NL-only leagues. One cycle doesn't erase a month-long slump, but Cincinnati's lineup has been gutted by the Steer and Toglia injuries, which means the at-bats are guaranteed for whoever is producing.

Skubal Goes Seven for the First Time as a Dodger

HOLD · LAD · SP

Tarik Skubal pitched into the seventh for the first time since the trade, retiring 18 of his final 19 batters after a rocky first inning. He finished with seven innings, five hits, three earned runs, one walk and 11 strikeouts on 106 pitches. Los Angeles won its fifth straight to reach 79-51.

Action: Hold, obviously. Eleven strikeouts and a 106-pitch outing says he's fully settled in Los Angeles, and the rotation depth around him means no reason to expect innings management.

Angels Bracing for Two More IL Moves

WATCH · LAA · OF/1B

Christian Moore is back in the Angels lineup, but Wade Meckler (concussion) and Nolan Schanuel (side) are both still being evaluated and expected to land on the injured list.

Action: Drop Meckler and Schanuel in shallow formats. The bigger opportunity is watching which young bats get promoted into everyday roles - a last-place club with two more injuries will hand someone regular at-bats in September.

Johnson Extends the Angels' Rotation Run

STREAM · LAA · SP

Ryan Johnson threw seven shutout innings on one hit with two walks and three strikeouts as the Angels blanked Texas 3-0. It's part of a strong stretch for the rotation on this road trip, alongside George Klassen's seven scoreless and Reid Detmers' seven scoreless.

Action: Stream Johnson in deeper leagues when the matchup is soft. The rotation has been excellent, but at 52-78 the offense wastes most of it - you're buying ratios, not wins.

Kikuchi Slated to Start Tomorrow

WATCH · LAA · SP

Yusei Kikuchi is lined up to start for the Angels tomorrow, with corresponding roster moves still to be announced. Klassen threw a bullpen, leaving open whether Los Angeles goes to a six-man rotation.

Action: Watch the transaction for what it displaces. Kikuchi's rehab was rocky enough that he isn't a streaming option yet.

Torrens Homering at a Sudden Clip

WATCH · NYM · C

Luis Torrens has hit six home runs in his last 29 plate appearances after managing two in his first 203 this season.

Action: Deep-league and two-catcher formats only. A power spike this abrupt from a backup catcher usually regresses, but the price is nothing if you need the position.

Kimbrel Records His First Save Since 2024

WATCH · KC · RP

Craig Kimbrel earned his first save since July 7, 2024, in Kansas City's 3-1 win over Detroit.

Action: Don't chase it. One save on a night the Royals happened to lead isn't a role - wait for consecutive opportunities before treating him as a saves source.

Ekness Quietly Excellent in Miami

ADD · MIA · RP

Josh Ekness hasn't allowed a run in his last five appearances and carries a 1.20 ERA over 15 innings, including a 0.93 mark in August.

Action: Add in deeper leagues that count holds. He isn't the closer, which is exactly why he's available at this ratio.

Marsee Breaking Out of His Slump

WATCH · MIA · OF

Jakob Marsee hit his eighth home run at 100.3 mph and stole his first base since July 10, pushing his August OPS to .848. He also homered in Miami's 4-2 series-clinching win over Washington, with Calvin Faucher closing it out.

Action: Add in 12-plus-team leagues. The combination of power and a returning stolen base is the profile that plays across categories.

Paredes' Strikeout Streak Ends at 48

HOLD · HOU · 3B

Isaac Paredes struck out swinging to end the seventh, snapping a run of 48 consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout.

Action: Hold. The streak ending changes nothing about the underlying contact skill.

Pereira Avoids a Fracture

WATCH · STL · OF

Everson Pereira's X-rays came back clean with no fracture after he was hit on the hand, though swelling remains. He's testing it in the cage before the Cardinals decide on an IL move.

Action: Hold through today. Clean imaging plus a cage test points toward him avoiding the IL, which is the better outcome than yesterday's fracture concern suggested.

Nationals Claim Waldron

STASH · WSH · SP

Washington claimed knuckleballer Matt Waldron off waivers, with Connelly Early transferred to the 60-day IL. Waldron carries a 7.54 major league ERA against a 1.33 mark in the minors.

Action: Dynasty curiosity only. Knuckleballers are volatile enough that the minor league number means little until it translates.

Astros Promote Santos to Triple-A

STASH · HOU · RP

Alex Santos, Houston's second-round pick in 2020, was promoted to Triple-A Sugar Land after posting a 3.38 ERA with 82 strikeouts across 53⅓ relief innings at Double-A Corpus Christi.

Action: Dynasty monitoring. Worth tracking given how many arms Houston has cycled through this season.