Fantasy Baseball Today: Kyle Schwarber and Zac Gallen to IL, Carlos Carrasco's timetable, two-round redraft (2024)

Happy holiday everyone! With July 4 coming on a Sunday this year, many of us are celebrating into Monday for what is without a doubt the most fun holiday of the year (for my money)! Today, this is Fantasy editor Dan Schneier coming at ya with Frank taking the well-earned day off to try and defeat Joey Chestnut on his own time. No, he's not actually doing that, but Frank and the FBT crew did have a lot of fun staging a Fourth of July food draft (in addition to their actual Fantasy Baseball two-round redraft). More on that below.

We'll dive into the holiday fun as well as some sleeper hitters, pitchers and more nuggets you need to know for this week in Fantasy.

Of course, as always, you can subscribe to make sure you get the latest episodes of Fantasy Baseball Today right when they drop on Apple and Spotify.

Redrafting the first two rounds

It's never not fun to redraft in the middle of the season using hindsight. That's exactly what Frank, Chris and Scott did on a bonus (heavy-mailbag focused) FBT pod that should be in your podcast app if you check now. They break down the who, what, why and how on the show, but here's the results of their two-round redraft:

Round 1

• 1.01 Chris: Braves OF Ronald Acuna Jr.
• 1.02 Scott: Blue Jays 1B Vlad Guerrero Jr.
• 1.03 Frank: Padres SS Fernando Tatis Jr.
• 1.04 Chris: Mets SP Jacob deGrom
• 1.05 Scott: Nationals OF Juan Soto
• 1.06 Frank: Angels SP/DH Shohei Ohtani
• 1.07 Chris: Nationals SS Trea Turner
• 1.08 Scott: Dodgers OF Mookie Betts
• 1.09 Frank: Cleveland 3B Jose Ramirez
• 1.10 Chris: Nationals SP Max Scherzer
• 1.11 Scott: Padres SP Yu Darvish
• 1.12 Frank: Yankees SP Gerrit Cole

Round 2

• 2.01 Chris: Phillies OF Bryce Harper
• 2.02 Scott: Braves 1B Freddie Freeman
• 2.03 Frank: Blue Jays SS Bo Bichette
• 2.04 Chris: Brewers SP Brandon Woodruff
• 2.05 Scott: Mets SP Zack Wheeler
• 2.06 Frank: Reds OF Nick Castellanos
• 2.07 Chris: Red Sox SS Xander Bogaerts
• 2.08 Scott: Giants SP Kevin Gausman
• 2.09 Frank: Astros OF Kyle Tucker
• 2.10 Chris: Rockies SS Trevor Story
• 2.11 Scott: Angels OF Mike Trout
• 2.12 Frank: Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers

News and notes

• Nationals OF Kyle Schwarber delivered a mammoth June for Fantasy managers, slugging 16 home runs in 27 games, but now he'll spend the foreseeable future on the injured list after suffering what appears to be a significant hamstring strain.
• Angels 3B Anthony Rendon was removed from Sunday's game due to hamstring tightness, and while he'll miss Monday's game, the ailment isn't expected to send him to the injured list.
• Giants C Buster Posey is set to miss Monday's action after taking a foul ball off his thumb in Sunday's game. The National League's All-Star starter at catcher appears to have avoided a serious injury.
• Twins DH Nelson Cruz was scratched from Sunday's lineup due to neck soreness.
• Diamondbacks SP Zac Gallen was placed on the IL over the weekend due to hamstring tightness. He lasted just two innings in Friday's start before suffering the injury.
• Brewers SP Corbin Burnes expects to make his next start after suffering a knee injury last week.
• Cardinals SP Carlos Martinez left Sunday's start after being hit by a pitch on his thumb, but the injury isn't expected to keep him from making his next start.
• Braves SP Kyle Muller was sent down to Triple-A after posting a 3.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 20 strikeouts and eight walks over 15.2 innings during his four appearances (three starts). Expect him back in the majors after the All-Star break.
• Angels SP Griffin Canning was sent down to Triple-A over the weekend. He's posted a 5.60 ERA and 1.48 WHIP with 62 Ks and 28 BBs over 62.1 innings, and he was rocked for six earned runs in just 2.2 innings in his last outing on Friday.
• SP Blake Snellreturned from a short stint on the IL due to illness to throw four scoreless innings in Sunday's start against the Phillies, but his control proved to be an issue in the outing as he walked four batters.
• Mets 2B/3B/SS Jonathan Villar returned from the IL on Sunday, starting at third base and striking out in al three of his at-bats in Game 2 of the team's doubleheader with the Yankees. Despite the Mets getting healthier in the infield -- starting 2B Jeff McNeil also recently returned from injury -- a USA Today report over the weekend indicated the team was interested in acquiring D-Backs infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, who has spent most of his time with Arizona this year at third base.
  
• Royals OF Andrew Benintendi returned from the IL as well Sunday, going 0 for 3 with a pair of strikeouts before being removed for a pinch hitter.
• Cubs 2B/SS/OF Nico ho*rner also returned from the IL on Sunday, going 0 for 4 while batting sixth. The oh-fer drops him to a .321/.386/.410 slash line on the season.
• Mets SP Carlos Carrasco is expected to finally make his 2021 debut in late July or early August, per manager Luis Rojas. Carrasco has been sidelined since March due to a hamstring injury.
• Mets SP David Peterson is expected to miss up to two months due to an oblique strain.
• Reds RPsLucas SimsandTejay Antoneare expected to return near the end of July, per manager David Bell.
• Cleveland C Roberto Perez returned from the 60-day DL on Saturday. After hitting 24 homers in 2019 and emerging as a solid option in two-catcher leagues, Perez has been lost at the plate over the last two years, posting a .480 OPS in 97 at-bats last season while hitting just .125/.263/.281 in 64 at-bats this year.
• The Nationals acquired SS Alcides Escobar from the Royals over the weekend, and he's 4 for 8 with a double in his first two games with his new team with Trea Turner sidelined due to a finger injury.
• Angels unicorn Shohei Ohtani was voted into the All-Star Game as both a designated hitter and a pitcher, the latter of which is voted on by his peers. Expect to see him both hit and pitch in the Midsummer Classic next Tuesday.
  
• Rays SP Luis Patino was sent back down to Triple-A after giving up seven runs (five earned) in 5.1 innings during his start Friday.
• Padres SS prospect C.J. Abrams has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a fractured tibia and sprained MCL as the result of a collision with a teammate while attempting to field a ground ball. Awful news for someone regarded as arguably a top-10 prospect in baseball overall.
• Blue Jays C prospect Gabriel Moreno had surgery to repair a fractured thumb. He's been on a tear for Double-A New Hampshire in 2021, batting .373/.441/.651 with eight homers in 126 at-bats. The injury likely removes any chance of seeing him on the major-league level this year, but keep him on your dynasty radars.

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Fourth of July BBQ draft

And now for something completely different, and perhaps more controversial than Frank deciding to use a second-round redraft pick on Kyle Tucker: a Fourth of July food draft! I have to say, the FBT crew has some out there food takes -- and I'm mainly looking at Scott. This draft was something, that's for sure. Let's take a look:

• 1.01 Chris: Beer
• 1.02 Scott: Hot dog
• 1.03 Frank: Cheeseburger
• 1.04 Chris: Ribs
• 1.05 Scott: Corn on the cob
• 1.06 Frank: co*cktail
• 1.07 Chris: Pie
• 1.08 Scott: Watermelon
• 1.09 Frank: Pasta salad
• 1.10 Chris: Shrimp
• 1.11 Scott: Peach cobbler
• 1.12 Frank: King cone

I don't exactly hate any of the picks as much as I expected to, but pasta salad doesn't below in the top 12 at all let alone at No. 8 overall. Corn on the cob is also wildly too high on this last. Chris got the steal of the draft with grilled shrimp at 1.10 but it also strikes me as pretty fancy to have shrimp at a BBQ. Hot dogs, cheeseburgers, ribs -- give me all the grilled meats and the rest is gravy.

Week 15 sleeper hitters

*Rostered in 80% of leagues or fewer

For a complete breakdown of every sleeper hitter including which teams have the most favorable matchups, check out Scott's sleepers.Here's the rundown of hitters:

• Phillies OF Andrew McCutchen
• Mariners 1B/2B Ty France
• Reds 1B Joey Votto
• Reds 2B/3B Jonathan India
• Red Sox OF Hunter Renfroe
• Angels 2B/3B/SSDavid Fletcher
• Cleveland 1B Bobby Bradley
• White Sox 1B/OF Andrew Vaughn
• Cleveland SS/OF Amed Rosario
• White Sox OF Gavin Sheets

Best hitter matchups for Week 15

1. Phillies@CHC4, @BOS3
2. RoyalsCIN3, @CLE4
3. Indians@TB3, KC4
4. White Sox@MIN3, @BAL3
5. Tigers@TEX3, @MIN4

Worst hitter matchups for Week 15

1. MarlinsLAD4, ATL3
2. PiratesATL3, @NYM4
3. Nationals@SD4, @SF3
4. Yankees@SEA3, @HOU3
5. AstrosOAK3, NYY3

Week 15 sleeper pitchers

*Rostered in 80% of leagues or fewer

For a complete breakdown of every sleeper pitcher, check outScott's sleepers.Here's the rundown:

• Rockies SP Jon Gray
• Yankees SP Jordan Montgomery
• Pirates SP J.T. Brubaker
• Dodgers SP Tony Gonsolin
• Mariners SP Logan Gilbert
• Mets SP Tylor Megill
• Rangers SP/RP Kolby Allard
• Yankees SP Jameson Taillon
• Angels SP Patrick Sandoval
• Blue Jays SP Ross Stripling