Happy Monday, everyone! We closed out Sunday's action with the Mets getting back on track from what had the makings of their first series lull out west, the Yankees bashing in another 18 runs in a single game, and the red-hot Braves winning their 11th straight game. We're starting to see the early signs of some fun division races shaping up. The Braves are now just 5.5 games back from the Mets, the NL West is log jammed with a whole lot of wins up top, and the Dodgers, Padres and Giants all within 3.5 games of each other -- in that order, and the Guardians are keeping pace but still three games behind the Twins. Two divisions have a first- and second-place team separated by exactly 8.5 games each -- can you guess them?
We'll dive into all of the action from the weekend including a red-hot hitter who is more than likely on the majority of your waiver wires -- at least until you read his name here. But first, make sure you're all caught up with everything going on from the Fantasy Baseball Today team over at CBSSports.com/Fantasy/Baseball. Scott White broke down why Bryson Stott and Oscar Gonzalez are two of his Week 11 sleeper hitters you can find here. You can also find Scott's sleeper pitchers, including names that might scare you off -- Alex Wood and Alex Faedo. Scott explains why they're good plays for the week here. Lastly, Scott's two-start pitcher rankings give you a great resource for any tiebreaker starting lineup decisions. You can find that here.
And of course, as always, you can follow to make sure you get the latest episodes of Fantasy Baseball Today right when they drop on Apple and Spotify.
Walker Buehler fallout
The big news of the weekend is centered around one of the first handful of starting pitchers who came off the draft board this past spring and he's likely the player you slotted in as your SP1 if you drafted him this season. Dodgers SP Walker Buehler is dealing with a flexor strain in his right elbow and he won't pick up a baseball for at least six weeks. These 6-8 week timelines tend to push toward the longer side and even after that, it will take Buehler time to build back up. Realistically, the Dodgers probably are hoping to get him back for a couple of starts in September prior to the start of the postseason.
It's highly possible this injury has been hampering Buehler this season. He just hasn't looked himself as of late and enters this IL stint with a 4.02 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP and just 58 strikeouts in 65 innings. It's a tough break for managers who drafted Buehler, especially those who went with a hero-SP approach. It's never simple to find a replacement -- there is no replacement -- but here are a few pitchers who might still be on your waiver wire depending on how shallow or deep your league is. These pitchers could help provide a band-aid at the very least.
Jon Gray: The veteran carried some hype into the season after finally breaking free from Coors Field. He didn't get off to a hot start in Texas before getting hurt, but he just delivered his best outing for the season. He struck out 10 in six innings and allowed just three hits and one run. His called swinging strike rate is excellent, and he's just 55% rostered with a start against the Tigers this week. Gray has a 4.85 ERA on the season after a rough start, but keep in mind he also has a 3.64 FIP.
Taijuan Walker: The Mets starter looked the part in his best outing of the season against the Angels on Sunday. Walker racked up 10 strikeouts in six innings and allowed just one run, six hits and one walk. He drew 18 swinging misses and worked his slider more into his pitch mix. Right now the splitter is what does it for Walker, and it delivered a 53% whiff rate in this one. He is just 54% rostered and draws the Marlins this week.
Ross Stripling: Stripling has been long touted as an end-of-your-draft sleeper dating back to his Dodgers days, but he has never quite lived up to the hype. There's certainly a lot of skepticism about whether Stripling can keep this run going, and I'm included in that, but the dude has thrown 11 shutout innings in his last two starts and he hasn't allowed a walk. Two hits in 11 innings were all that he allowed. Stripling is not the sexiest pickup, but he's only 24% rostered and he's hot.
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Burger with another multi-burger
White Sox 3B Jake Burger is red hot with the bat right now and probably still on at least three out of every four waiver wires right now. Will he keep this up? Who knows, but it's probably wise to strike while the iron is hot, and Burger's past seven games have been exactly that. Burger is batting .414 over that seven-game span with three homers. He's just 20% rostered right now on CBS Sports leagues, and he has started in each of the past seven games. Scoop him up.
Regression alert?
Martin Perez finally got hit, and was roughed up really bad against the White Sox on Saturday when he allowed six earned and 12 hits through five innings. Even after this outing, his ERA stands at a sparkling 2.18.
Eric Lauer gave up three homers in just five innings to go along with eight total earned runs against the Nationals this weekend. He's been on for most of the season -- and absolutely dominant when he has been -- but now his ERA is up to 3.36 with a 5.85 ERA over his past four starts.
MacKenzie Gore had been on a tear leading up to his weekend start against the Rangers and then he got rocked for six earned runs with four walks through just 2 1/3 innings. This one raised Gore's ERA to 2.50 on the season. He draws the Rockies again this week, but this time it's at Coors Field.
News and lineup notes
Every night the Fantasy Baseball Today team dives into all of the happenings around the MLB from top performers to injuries, trades and more. The podcast is a must listen for any diehard, if I do say so myself. Tune in to the podcast to hear the FBT crew expand on the news and notes below.
- Max Scherzer is scheduled to throw a live bullpen in the near future.
- Jacob deGrom threw a third bullpen session Saturday.
- Brandon Woodruff is experiencing numbness in the middle three fingers of his right hand and doesn't have a timeline for his return.
- Tim Anderson will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Tuesday. He's on the IL with a groin injury.
- Seiya Suzuki is not making progress with his sprained finger and remains without a timetable.
- Jack Flaherty will make a third rehab start Wednesday. He's allowed just one run over his first two rehab starts.
- Chris Sale will throw to live batters for the first time Monday.
- Franmil Reyes will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A. He's been out since May 25 with right hamstring tightness.
- Royce Lewis was transferred to the 60-day IL with a partially torn ACL.
- Jo Adell put together back-to-back multi-hit games and then was sent back to Triple-A this weekend as the Angels are opting to roll with Juan Lagares in the outfield instead.
- Orioles outfield prospect Kyle Stowers has joined their taxi squad and will likely make his debut in Toronto.
- Corey Knebel is dealing with a tight shoulder and hopes to only miss a day or two.
- Casey Mize will undergo Tommy John surgery.
- Andrew Heaney is expected to throw at least five innings in his Double-A rehab start Tuesday.
- Anthony DeSclafani went three scoreless innings at a Triple-A rehab start Saturday. He's on the IL with an ankle injury.
- It turns out Andrew Kittredge needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of this season.
- No surprise, but Sixto Sanchez is not expected to pitch this year. He's still trying to work his way back from a major shoulder injury.
- Kyle Hendricks has been resting due to shoulder fatigue but is lined up to start Tuesday against the Padres.
- Nathan Eovaldi went on the IL with lower back inflammation
- Kolten Wong went on the IL with a right calf strain
- Marcus Stroman went on the IL with right shoulder inflammation
- Garrett Whitlock went on the IL with right hip inflammation
- Jakob Junis was diagnosed with a grade 2 hamstring strain and went on the IL.
- Mike Zunino went on the IL with a left shoulder injury
- Wade Miley went on the IL with a left shoulder strain
- Ramon Urias went on the IL with a left oblique strain
- Mitch Garver, Glenn Otto, Garrett Cooper and Mike Clevinger went on the COVID IL.