It's a new week but the same results for fans of the Bronx Bombers. The New York Yankees had themselves one heck of a nightcap to their weekend on Sunday night, and it came after a Saturday they wanted to forget -- and successfully put behind them fast. On Saturday, the Astros combined to no hit the Yankees. On Sunday, the Yankees defeated the Astros with a walk-off home run from Aaron Judge, who now leads the major leagues with 28 bombs on the year.
Why was this one so special for Yankees fans? Well, it puts Judge on pace to pass Roger Maris all-time single season team home run record. Also, it was the Yankees' 10th walk-off win before the end of June. They became only the third team to reach double-digit walk-off wins before June, joining the 2000 Royals (11) and the 1975 Dodgers (12). Three more walk-off wins in the next week and the Yanks have done it. I wouldn't put it past this team.
We'll dive into all of the action from the weekend, 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 his favorite Week 13 sleeper hitters and you can find that here. You can also find Scott's favorite sleeper pitchers for the week here. And if you're looking for two-start pitchers to fire up this week, Scott has you covered 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.
Harper replacements
The worst news of the weekend came when we learned Bryce Harper fractured his left thumb after getting hit by a pitch. The Phillies placed him on the IL on Sunday, and although they have yet to provide a clear timetable, the injury is expected to keep him out for a while. It's awful news as Harper was off to a sizzling start in 2022 with a .318 average, 15 homers and nine steals across just 272 plate appearances. With Harper out for an extended period, you probably need some outfield help in a pinch. Here are a few players to consider adding off your waiver wire or targeting in a trade:
Connor Joe is heating up again for the Rockies and picked up multiple hits in three of his past four games -- he even stole a base on Sunday. He is 69% rostered and has six games at Coors Field this upcoming week. He's our favorite short-term solution for Harper.
Alex Kirilloff might be my favorite long-term solution. Kirilloff looks like he has finally shaken the wrist issues that have plagued him at times the past two seasons. He's not the flashiest waiver add right now, but it wasn't too long ago he was talked about as one of the more exciting hitting prospects in baseball. He's 62% rostered.
Here's what Scott had to say about playing Kirilloff as a sleeper hitter for this coming week: "Kirilloff has been a little slow out of the gate after his torrid stretch at Triple-A, but this week figures to be his coming-out party with an eight-game slate against mashables like Zach Plesac, Cal Quantrill, Jordan Lyles and Tyler Wells."
Jarren Duran is definitely one of the most flashy options to replace Harper, and after a strong weekend he's now batting .327 with four stolen bases over his first 13 games of this season. Duran picked up two bags on Saturday alone. He's 33% rostered.
Oscar Gonzalez is a Fantasy Baseball Today waiver wire favorite and just 33% rostered. Scott also likes him as a sleeper hitter for this coming week: "Gonzalez has been delivering elite exit velocities since being called up in late May, and it's finally resulting in some home runs. The Guardians have the second-best hitter matchups of any team this week, thanks in part to having eight games on the schedule."
Perez replacements
Bryce Harper wasn't the only big name to go down this weekend. Salvador Perez -- who I drafted in way-too-many leagues (thanks, Scott!) -- will miss the next eight weeks while undergoing surgery to repair the UCL in his left thumb.
Here are some replacements to scoop:
- Shallow leagues: Christian Vazquez, Sean Murphy, MJ Melendez
- Deeper: Jorge Alfaro, Jose Treviño, Cal Raleigh, James McCann
Leftover quick hitters
- Jose Urquidy threw an absolute gem against the Yankees this weekend -- seven innings of one run ball with one hit allowed. He's 68% rostered and has three straight quality starts.
- Marco Gonzales racked up his third straight quality start by going six innings and allowing just two runs to drop his ERA to 3.31 on the season. He's 69% rostered.
- Kyle Hendricks showed signs of life with his best start of the season -- 7 1/3 shutout innings. He's 56% rostered.
- Graham Ashcraft surprised us with his first quality start since June 7, leaning into his cutter heavily -- and racking up eight innings of two-run ball.
- Shane McClanahan made it nine straight quality starts with seven innings of one-run ball and 10 strikeouts. A Cy Young future at the beginning of the season on Shane-O-Mac is looking fun right now.
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.
- Ronald Acuña was out of the lineup Sunday after fouling a ball off his foot Saturday. He isn't dealing with a fracture but couldn't put much pressure on it.
- Manager Dave Roberts said that Mookie Betts' initial return timetable of two weeks is proving to be unrealistic.
- Jacob deGrom threw 20 pitches during live BP on Saturday. The hope is for him to return some time in July.
- His running mate Max Scherzer expects to make another rehab start Tuesday. If that goes well, he could return to the Mets next weekend. Take the chance and start him.
- Wander Franco returned from the IL and started Sunday.
- Jack Flaherty was removed Sunday with right shoulder stiffness, which is just about the last thing you wanted to see with him.
- Jesse Winker was among six players and two managers who were ejected Sunday following their brawl.
- Jeremy Peña made his return to the Astros, batting sixth, on Sunday.
- Mitch Garver, who was out of the lineup Sunday, said he'll eventually require surgery to address the forearm injury that has prevented him from catching since early May.
- Chris Sale allowed three hits while striking out six over 2.2 scoreless innings in a rehab start for the Florida Complex league Saturday.
- Michael Brantley was removed Sunday with right shoulder discomfort.
- Nick Lodolo is scheduled to make another rehab start Wednesday before rejoining the Reds. He's 37% rostered if you need a pitcher to stash.
- Dustin May, who is returning from Tommy John surgery, faced live hitters Friday. He's expected to have three more throwing sessions, which puts him on track for a rehab assignment in mid-July. He's 27% rostered.
- Yermin Mercedes was called up by the Giants on Sunday.
- Ezequiel Duran and Taylor Hearn were both optioned to Triple-A Saturday.
- Ty France was placed on the IL with a grade 2 flexor strain in his left forearm.
- Andrew Heaney was placed on the IL with left shoulder inflammation, hopeful for a brief absence
- Brandon Crawford was placed on the IL with left knee inflammation.
- Hunter Renfroe was placed on the IL with a left calf strain.
- Trevor Larnach was placed on the IL with a core muscle strain.
- Daniel Lynch was placed on the IL with a blister.
- Daniel Hudson is out for the season with a torn ACL.