Yankees' Aaron Boone Hints All-Star Swing-Off Could Come to 'Regular Season Mix'
The New York Yankees are coming away from the All-Star festivities with some memorable moments, but a win for the American League in the Midsummer Classic itself wasn't among them.
After Jazz Chisholm Jr. logged an underwhelming round in the Home Run Derby, he and teammates Aaron Judge and Carlos Rodon, plus manager Aaron Boone, were part of a thrilling All-Star Game that saw the National League win in historic fashion.
"After finishing nine innings all tied up, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game was decided by a swing-off for the first time, with the National League emerging victorious after blowing a six-run lead over the final three innings," Jesse Yamtov, Gabe Lacques and Bob Nightengale reported for USA Today. "Trailing 3-1, (Philadelphia) Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber came through in the clutch, homering on all three of his swings to put the NL ahead."
The tiebreaker capped off what is being praised as a significant win for Major League Baseball, as other sports leagues struggle to generate fan interest in their own All-Star events. And the tiebreaker format was so successful that Boone suggested it could be implemented in regular season games as well.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 14: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees looks on during workouts for MLB All-Star Week at Truist Park on July 14, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by New...
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 14: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees looks on during workouts for MLB All-Star Week at Truist Park on July 14, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by New) More
Yankees/Getty
"It will be interesting to see where it goes," Boone said after the game, according to the USA Today team. "There's probably a world where you could see that in the future, where maybe it's in some regular season mix. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if people start talking about it like that."
MLB has made some changes to the conclusion of tied games in recent years, adding an automatic base runner at second base beginning in the 10th inning for regular season matchups. It has also floated the possibility of a "golden at-bat" that would allow teams to pick their best hitters for an extra plate appearance in certain situations.
Though bringing the swing-off into the regular season might be a bridge too far for some fans, the success that the format enjoyed in the All-Star Game could lend credence to the idea.
More MLB: How Inaugural Swing-Off Brought 2025 MLB All-Star Game To Life
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Newsweek
9 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Braves Predicted To Cut Ties With $14 Million Pitcher In Trade Deadline Deal
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Hamilton Spectator
38 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Why the Hockey Canada sex assault verdicts hinge on the legal meaning of one word
The first two lines of the Crown's opening statement in April at the high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault trial clearly articulated what would become the dominant issue in a trial that captivated the country's attention. 'This is a case about consent,' Crown attorney Heather Donkers said. 'And, equally as important, this is a case about what is not consent.' It's an issue that will be finely parsed by Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia when she delivers her verdicts Thursday in the case of five professional hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a young woman in a London, Ont. hotel room in 2018. Whether the judge finds the woman consented is yet to be decided; both sides have argued over what happened that night, and what it means with respect to Canadian law. If nothing else, the case has shone a spotlight on consent, as experts believe it has driven home some key messages about what consent looks like, while also raising questions about the steps required to confirm a person's consent. 'I think it goes to the broader importance of education on healthy sexual relationships,' said Kat Owens, interim legal director at LEAF, a prominent legal organization advocating for the equality of women. Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote, all members of the 2018 Canadian world junior championship team, have pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the then-20-year-old woman in a room at the Delta Armouries hotel in the early hours of June 19, 2018. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to being a party to a sexual assault for allegedly encouraging his teammates to engage in sexual activity with the complainant when he knew she wasn't consenting. Group text messages between some members of the 2018 world junior hockey championship team after they learned about an internal Hockey Canada investigation. (The texts appear in a multi-page court exhibit and have been excerpted by the Star to fit in a single image.) The woman had met McLeod at Jack's Bar earlier that evening while the world juniors were in London to attend the Hockey Canada Foundation's annual Gala & Golf fundraising event and to receive their rings for winning the championship. Now widely known to the public as E.M., as her identity is covered by a standard publication ban, the woman returned to McLeod's room where they had a consensual sexual encounter, only for multiple men to come in afterward, some prompted by texts from McLeod. The Crown has alleged that McLeod had intercourse with the complainant a second time in the hotel room's bathroom; that Formenton separately had intercourse with the complainant in the bathroom; that McLeod, Hart and Dubé obtained oral sex from the woman; that Dubé slapped her naked buttocks, and that Foote did the splits over her head and his genitals 'grazed' her face — all without her consent. While some of the accused players told police that E.M. was repeatedly demanding to have sex with men in the room — similar evidence was given by some of the Crown's player witnesses at trial — E.M. herself said during nine days of testimony that she only went through the motions as a way of protecting herself in a room full of men she didn't know while she was drunk and naked. While she never said no nor resisted, she did not consent, she testified. The Crown's case for sexual assault 'does not look the way it often does in the movies or on television,' prosecutors said in written closing arguments. 'The reality of what happened to E.M. is more nuanced. But it is equally a sexual assault, because she did not voluntarily agree to the sexual activity that took place in that room.' Cal Foote does the splits at Jack's Bar in London on the night of June 18-19, 2018, while teammates Brett Howden (on the far side of Foote, in white with a lighter-coloured backwards ball cap) and Dillon Dubé (in white on the near side of Foote) clear space on the dance floor. Regardless of the findings made by the judge on the facts of this particular case, Owens said she believes the trial showed the public that the idea of 'implied consent' — that because a person didn't say no or resist, they must have consented — isn't recognized in law. Consent needs to be 'active, ongoing and communicated,' she said, voluntarily given by words or actions to each new sexual act at the time the person is engaging in it with each new sexual partner. 'I think that's come through from the trial, which is valuable in terms of what we learn about consent,' she said. 'We need to shift from that only 'no means no' framing to that 'yes means yes' framing.' A person needs to be consenting in their mind at the time of the sexual activity, what's known as subjective consent, said Lisa Dufraimont, a professor at York University's Osgoode Hall law school. And they can't give 'broad advance consent,' meaning giving consent to future, undefined sexual activity, she said. Nor can consent be given retroactively for past sexual activity, Dufraimont added — 'There's no such thing as post-event consent, period.' The trial spent some time on that point, given that McLeod recorded two videos of E.M. saying she was OK and that 'it was all consensual.' Michael McLeod films a selfie video with the complainant on the dance floor inside Jack's Bar. Was complainant's apparent consent cancelled out? The Crown has argued that E.M. either wasn't consenting or her consent was 'vitiated' — effectively cancelled — by the fear of being in a room full of men she didn't know. E.M. testified that her mind went on 'autopilot' and she went along with everything in the room as a way to keep herself safe, later telling police and prosecutors that she adopted the 'persona' of a 'porn star' as a coping mechanism . 'The complainant's fear need not be reasonable, nor must it be communicated to the accused in order for consent to be vitiated,' Donkers and co-counsel Meaghan Cunningham argued in written materials. The defence teams have maintained that E.M. was consenting throughout the night. They pointed to testimony that E.M. was repeatedly demanding to have sex with the men, calling them 'pussies' and becoming upset when many of them refused. And they suggested that her 'terror narrative,' that she was afraid to be in the room, was cooked up in 2022 as part of her $3.5-million sexual assault lawsuit against Hockey Canada, which the organization quickly settled for an undisclosed sum. When she first reported to London police in 2018, E.M. didn't mention being scared, but rather maintained she was too drunk to consent. As the Star first reported in May, police declined to lay charges , in part because of surveillance footage that raised doubts about her level of intoxication. (At trial, the Crown didn't argue that E.M. was too intoxicated to consent.) It was only after news broke of the Hockey Canada settlement that London police reopened their probe in 2022 , under intense public pressure. What does having a 'consent video' mean, when it comes to a trial? McLeod filmed two short videos of E.M. on his phone while in the hotel room that night, about an hour apart, with the second one being filmed shortly before she left. E.M. said she wasn't even aware she was being filmed in the first clip, in which McLeod asks her off-camera if she's 'OK with this' and she responds: 'I'm OK with this.' The second clip shows a smiling E.M. wrapping herself in a towel and saying: 'Are you recording me? OK, good, it was all consensual. You are so paranoid, holy. I enjoyed it. It was fine. It was all consensual. I am so sober, that's why I can't do this right now.' E.M. conceded in her testimony that McLeod had been asking her at other times if she was fine , but that she just told him what she thought he wanted to hear. The Crown pointed out that recording someone after the fact saying they consented is not evidence that they actually consented at the time of the sexual activity. But experts say there can still be value in such 'consent videos' in a sexual assault trial. A video could support an inference that a complainant was, in fact, consenting, depending on other evidence in the case and the circumstances surrounding the making of the video, said Lisa Kerr, a law professor at Queen's University. 'It would be very strange to suggest that a video that purports to record an agreement may not serve as at least some evidence of that agreement, even if there may also be more to the story,' she said. And a video could be used to make determinations about the complainant's demeanour close in time to the alleged offence, Dufraimont said. 'That would be a good example of a permissible use of that evidence.' For instance, the defence has argued that E.M.'s demeanour in the videos — smiling, speaking coherently — casts doubt on her claims she was intoxicated and terrified, which would affect her credibility as a witness. 'What he captured is critical evidence that she was happy and was fine with what was happening,' David Humphrey, McLeod's lawyer, said in his closing arguments. 'Time has proven that Mr. McLeod was right in his instinct to get some recorded confirmation of her consent and of how she appeared at the time.' Consent videos can 'cut both ways,' Owens with LEAF said. 'People might say it can be helpful to the defence if the person says they were intoxicated or upset, but they don't appear intoxicated or upset,' she said. 'But on the other hand, a person could ask: If you engage in consensual sexual activity, why do you feel the need to film after the fact?' Hart offered up an answer to that question when he was being cross-examined by Cunningham during his testimony in May , an answer the Crown did not probe further: 'Lots of professional athletes have done those things before.' Should the judge find that E.M. wasn't consenting, an accused player could still be acquitted if Carroccia finds he had what's called an honest but mistaken belief in communicated consent. For that defence to be available to an accused, the person must have taken reasonable steps to ascertain the complainant's consent, something the Crown argues the players did not do. Prosecutors argued the 'reasonable steps requirement' was heightened in the 'highly unusual circumstances' of this case, given that everyone involved could be assumed to have consumed alcohol, E.M. was a complete stranger, and was naked surrounded by clothed men she didn't know in a small room. Hart, for example, testified that he asked the complainant for 'a blowie, meaning a blowjob,' that she said 'yeah' or 'sure,' and then moved toward him and helped pull down his pants before performing oral sex for about 30 seconds to a minute. Even if the judge accepts that version of events, the Crown argues Hart needed to do more to confirm E.M.'s consent. For example, taking her aside in the bathroom to ask her more questions privately, such as her name, what led up to this situation, whether this was something she truly wanted, or probe her desires. Hart's lawyer, Megan Savard, argued that the Crown was asking the judge to 'extend the law beyond what the leading cases permit' regarding reasonable steps — 'I'm not aware of any case saying you have to isolate a member of a group sexual encounter in order to get their consent.' The entrance to room 209 is seen at the Delta Armouries hotel in London, Ontario on April 25, 2025. There was also some evidence that, in response to the complainant's repeated demands for sex, Formenton said he would do it, but not in front of everyone else; he then followed E.M. into the bathroom. Again, the Crown says this was insufficient. 'Had any of the men had a one-on-one conversation with her at the time of the impugned sexual activity, and she said she truly wanted the specific sexual activity with that man, it may not have meant she was actually consenting or enjoying it, but it would have meant that the accused had taken reasonable steps to ascertain her consent and thus had an available defence to the charge,' the Crown says in its written materials. The Crown's arguments raise the question as to just how many steps a person is supposed to take to ascertain consent; experts say there's no exhaustive list of reasonable steps, nor a required number. 'It's a really challenging issue, because it's so context-specific,' Owens said. A couple in a long-term relationship may have developed specific ways of demonstrating their consent to sexual activity between them, she said, versus a woman in a room full of men she's just met that night. The law suggests that 'more care and caution is required' in terms of reasonable steps in a situation where the parties are largely unknown to each other, or where the accused knows the complainant has been drinking alcohol, Kerr said. 'Having said that, if the trial judge accepts in this case that Carter Hart asked for oral sex and the complainant agreed, or that the complainant asked for sex and Alex Formenton agreed to do it provided they could do so privately, I would think that these are the kinds of words and actions that could suggest reasonable steps were taken,' Kerr said. 'Verbal discussion of willingness to engage in sexual activity is typically a stronger indication of reasonable steps than, say, relying on mere body language or physical actions.' And a consent video may actually help to invoke this defence, Kerr said. 'It is obvious that discussing consent in a video or other recording may show that an accused was attempting to check on consent,' Kerr said. 'The key question in terms of the impact of the video will be whether it is sufficiently detailed and whether it appears to be a voluntary collaboration or, in contrast, if it appears to be something more like an attempt to cover up a wrong.' If the Crown is found to be right on the question of reasonable steps, criminal defence lawyer Monte MacGregor wonders just how far a person needs to go. 'The thing about this case that I find a little bit alarming is it appeared these accused men did everything you could do to obtain valid consent: they checked in multiple times, they listened to her, she made assertions, they videotaped a couple of comments,' said MacGregor, who is not involved in the case. 'What would be necessary if a standard like this leads to guilt? Does it mean you have to confirm with a written statement? That you have to videotape every interaction? Have a witness? 'It can't get to the point where it necessitates such a rigid set of rules to obtain consent.' Error! 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NBC Sports
39 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Zebby Matthews returns, Caleb Durbin remains hot
Welcome to Waiver Wire Watch, where I review my favorite waiver wire adds and drops for each week of the MLB season. The premise is pretty straightforward. I'll try to give you some recommended adds each week based on recent production or role changes. When I list a player, I'll list the category where I think he'll be helpful or the quick reason he's listed. I hope it will help you determine if the player is a fit for what your team needs. For a player to qualify for this list, he needs to be UNDER 40% rostered in Yahoo! formats. I understand you may say, 'These players aren't available in my league,' and I can't help you there. These players are available in over 60% of leagues and some in 98% of leagues, so they're available in many places, and that can hopefully satisfy readers who play in all league types. Matthew Pouliot, THERE WILL BE A FAIR AMOUNT OF SIMILARITY BETWEEN THIS WEEK AND LAST WEEK SINCE WE'VE ONLY HAD TWO GAMES PLAYED BETWEEN THE TIME OF THOSE ARTICLES. JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND. MUCH OF LAST WEEK'S ANALYSIS WILL HOLD TRUE BECAUSE WE CAN'T LET TWO GAMES DRASTICALLY CHANGE OUR OPINIONS. Waiver Wire Hitters Otto Lopez - 2B/SS, MIA: 38% rostered (POWER BOOST, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) During the All-Star break, I wrote an article highlighting some hitters that I think are in for much better second halves than what we saw from them in the first half. Lopez was one of the hitters I mentioned there. He's been pretty good already this season, slashing .249/.318/.393 with 10 steals and a surprising 10 home runs. The power is not something I expected from a guy with just an 88 mph average exit velocity; however, his xSLG of .495 is much higher than his current slugging percentage, and his Pull Air% is not great, but better than anything he's posted before. His 8.8% barrel rate is the best of his career, and his .293 xBA might be closer to what we see from him in the second half. Max Muncy - 2B/SS/3B, ATH (6% rostered) was another player I highlighted, who is mostly relevant in deeper formats. Over his last 16 games, Muncy is slashing .267/.313/.517 with four home runs, eight runs scored, seven RBI, and a 13.6% barrel rate. If you use Statcast's Swing Path data, you can see that Muncy's Ideal Attack Angle has skyrocketed to nearly 60% in July. Some of that could be tied to adjusting how far out in front of the plate he's making contact and also how wide his stance is, opening it up slightly after closing it off a lot in June. This could all be nothing, but we've seen young players adjust as the season goes on, so maybe that's what Muncy is doing. Chandler Simpson - OF, TB: 36% rostered (RETURN FROM MINORS, SPEED WINNER) Simpson is back up because, I guess, he became a much better defender in three weeks in the minors. Since being recalled, Simpson is hitting .371/.400/.443 with nine runs scored and eight steals in 20 games. People will tell you that fantasy managers misunderstand Simpson's actual value, and it's not really that high, but his speed is a legit issue. He's going to hit for a strong batting average and post elite stolen base totals. If Tampa Bay keeps running hot like this, he'll chip in some runs even from the bottom of the order. Colt Keith - 1B/2B, DET: 31% rostered (FULL-TIME JOB PROSPECT GROWTH) A couple of weeks ago, I covered Colt Keith as a potential breakout thanks to his impressive Process+ score, which ranks 6th in all of baseball since June 1st. Process+ is a Pitcher List stat that shows 'The combined value of a hitter's Decision Value, Contact Ability, and Power.' At that point, he was rostered in 7% of leagues, and the stats hadn't shown up yet, but his process has been rewarded. Over his last 20 games, Keith is hitting .299/.368/.478 with two home runs, 11 runs scored, and six RBI, and his roster rate has shot up. We know prospect growth isn't linear, so it's time to jump back on board with Keith. Jac Caglianone - 1B/OF, KC: 27% rostered (PROSPECT GROWTH, POWER UPSIDE) We've seen a bunch of prospects this year start slow and then begin to figure it out. Cam Smith and Nick Kurtz are just two of the most recent examples. Caglianone's two mammoth home runs the week before the All-Star break could signal that he's the next one. I recorded a video on him last week explaining my thoughts, but I would add him if he's been cut in your leagues. Carlos Narvaez - C, BOS: 20% rostered (BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE, PLAYING TIME UPSIDE) Narvaez remains a fringe option in one-catcher formats because he plays regularly on a good offense, but he is a must-roster in two-catcher leagues. He cooled a bit in the middle of June, but over his last 16 games, he's hitting .267/.303/.417 with two home runs, eight runs scored, and eight RBI. He's been solid for Boston all year long and could be a solid option while they're running hot. If you're looking for an option in a two-catcher format, you can go with Victor Caratini - C/1B, HOU (11% rostered), who has continued to play regularly in Houston with Yordan Alvarez suffering a setback in his rehab from a hand fracture. In his last 25 games, Caratini has seven home runs and 23 RBI to go along with a .283/.293/.543 slash line. I'm not sure how long the power will remain this helpful, but he's making a lot of contact, and the home park can help. A final option is Adrian Del Castillo - C, ARI (1% rostered), who was called up on Friday and served as the designated hitter for both games, going 5-for-8 with two RBI and two runs scored. The Diamondbacks don't seem to want him to catch, even with Gabriel Moreno hurt, which could hurt Del Castillo's playing time when Pavin Smith is back. However, we saw how impactful his bat could be last year. He battled injuries this season and has played just 14 games in the minors, but he seems healthy now and could eventually be a regular part of this lineup if the Diamondbacks trade away players at the deadline. Austin Hays - OF, CIN: 20% rostered (POWER UPSIDE, EVERY DAY JOB) Austin Hays continues to produce when healthy this season, going 2-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI, and four runs scored in two games against the Mets since the All-Star Break. On the season, he's slashing .290/.338/.546 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI in 49 games. He hits in the middle of the order every game he plays in, and the ball is going to carry in these hot months in Cincinnati. Evan Carter - OF, TEX: 18% rostered (POST HYPE PROSPECT, HOT STRETCH) Kennedi Landry had a good piece on Evan Carter a few weeks ago, highlighting some of the changes that have led to his strong performance since coming off the He admitted to putting a lot of pressure on himself after his injury, and cited playing looser and feeling like he had a better mental approach at the plate. Since June 1st, Carter has hit .283/.372/.453 in 38 games with three homers, 15 RBI, 19 runs scored, and nine steals. The batting average hasn't carried over into July, but those stolen bases are great to see with the injuries he's had in the past, and Carter has a real five-category skillset. He's unlikely to play against many lefties, but he can be a really solid option in all fantasy leagues. If you're looking primarily for speed in the outfield, you could turn to Jake Mangum - OF, TB (7% rostered), who is playing most days and hitting third for Tampa Bay. I'll admit that I've never been a huge Mangum believer, and I'm still not, but he is hitting .297/.333/.396 over his last 25 games with 7 RBI, 11 runs scored, and four steals. That's not doing a ton to help you outside of batting average, so I think he's more of a deep-league play, but he's making a lot of contact and has 14 steals on the year, so there is a case to be made for adding him. Tyler Freeman - SS/OF, COL: 16% rostered (REGULAR STARTING ROLE, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) Colorado still start the week off in Coors, but even apart from games at home, Freeman has been valuable in fantasy. He's hitting .340/.415/.436 over his last 25 games with 12 runs scored and seven steals. The stolen base value is a bit surprising given his previous results, but he has 12 steals this season while hitting leadoff for the Rockies. Freeman had a solid enough season last year for Cleveland, and moving to Colorado should help him. Freeman makes a lot of contact, but the hard contact is limited, and his BABIP has been low in years past. Coors Field tends to boost BABIP, so Freeman could emerge as a .270 hitter with some decent speed and multi-position eligibility. Freeman is also 15th in Process+ since June 1st, so the stats are backed up by a strong approach. You could also look to add his teammate, Mickey Moniak - OF, COL (11% rostered), who has taken playing time from Brenton Doyle by hitting .357/.400/.757 over his last 21 games with six home runs, 13 runs scored, 17 RBI, and three steals, The former number one overall pick may have found a home and a home environment that suits his skillset and covers up some of his contact issues. Caleb Durbin - 2B/3B/SS, MIL: 15% rostered (BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE, HOT STRETCH) Durbin has turned it on of late, hitting .366/.430/.524 over his last 25 games with three home runs, 13 RBI, 18 runs scored, and four steals. As I mentioned with Caglianone, it takes rookies some time to adjust to the big leagues, and we're now seeing Durbin start to get a bit more comfortable in the box. I would like to see more steals than the nine he has on the season right now, since that's been Durbin's calling card in the minors, but it's nice to see the rookie adjusting to MLB pitching and starting to get on base more often. I think the steals will come. A deeper league multi-position option is Mauricio Dubon - 1B/2B/3B/SS/OF, HOU (4% rostered). Dubon can play pretty much anywhere, and with the injury to Isaac Paredes on Saturday, it seems like Dubon is going to basically play every day for the Astros by shifting around the field. Since June 20th, Dubon has had only three fewer plate appearances than Jose Altuve and has hit .254/.293/.451 with three home runs, 10 runs scored, and five RBI in 22 games. That's a little bit of production in four of the five offensive categories, and while he won't carry your team, he's a great bench piece to fill in anywhere you have a gap in your lineup. Masataka Yoshida - OF, BOS (7% rostered) (RECENT IL RETURN, BATTING AVERAGE UPSIDE) Yoshida came back from the IL the week before the All-Star break and has gone 6-for-19 with two doubles, an RBI, a run scored, and one steal in his first six games of the season. He's a career .286/.343/.433 hitter in Major League Baseball with just a 13% strikeout rate in 254 games. He's going to provide a great batting average and the potential for solid counting stats while hitting near the middle of Boston's lineup. Well, we think. When the Red Sox bring back Yoshida, they will have only four lineup spots for Yoshida, Ceddanne Rafaela, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, and Wilyer Abreu. They have managed it so far by rotating days off, but I think a trade has to be coming. Another platoon bat I've always been a fan of is Jesus Sanchez - OF, MIA (6% rostered). He's hitting just .261 on the season with eight home runs, but his 112 Process+ from May 12th on is well above the 100 league average mark. He has a 92 mph average exit velocity and 11.7% barrel rate, so he's making tons of strong contact. He is also chasing far less outside of the zone and making a career-high 76% contact rate. It would not surprise me if we see a power surge from Sanchez in the second half. Andrew Vaughn - 1B, MIL: 7% rostered (POTENTIAL STARTING JOB, APPROACH CHANGE?) With Rhys Hoskins landing on the IL for the next six to eight weeks, Andrew Vaughn is emerging as a starting option in Milwaukee, and I'm intrigued by an approach change he made in the minors since being traded. I recorded a video this week explaining why I think Vaughn might be a decent gamble in deeper formats. Another deeper league corner infield target is Otto Kemp - 1B/2B/3B/OF, PHI (1% rostered). Now that Alec Bohm is headed to the IL, it seems like Kemp is going to be the starting third baseman in Philadelphia. He's hitting .250/.324/.348 in 28 games so far with just one home run and one steal, but he had 14 home runs and 11 steals in 58 games at Triple-A, so there is power and speed in this profile. He's 6-for-23 (.261) to start July, so maybe he's starting to settle in a bit more. There will always be strikeouts, but this is an offense that you want a part of. Ha-Seong Kim - SS, TB: 6% rostered (RETURN FROM IL, SPEED UPSIDE) Kim returned from the IL the week before the All-Star break, suffered a calf cramp, but returned and has emerged as the starting shortstop of Tampa Bay. He's gone 7-for-28 in eight games with one double, one home run, three runs scored, three RBIs, and two steals. I think his value will be primarily in stolen bases, but I recorded a video on Kim last week, so you can check it out for my detailed thoughts. Josh Bell - 1B, WAS: 5% rostered (HOT STREAK, POTENTIAL TRADE CANDIDATE) Bell has a Process+ score of 116 since June 15th, which is far better than the league average score of 100. Over that stretch, Bell is hitting .308/.379/.451 with two home runs, eight runs scored, and 11 RBI in 27 games. The power numbers aren't great there, but we have seen Bell be a consistent 20 home run hitter before, so maybe the ball starts to fly a bit in the summer, or he gets traded into a better lineup. Brady House - 3B, WAS: 5% rostered (HOT STREAK, PROSPECT GROWTH) Another prospect starting to figure it out a little bit is Brady House. The rookie has gone 14-for-48 (.292) in July with two home runs, six runs scored, and seven RBI. Since being promoted, he has 23 strikeouts in 25 games with a 17.5% swinging strike rate, so I'm a little concerned about the contact, but it hasn't bit him yet. While his first two MLB home runs just came the Saturday before the break, he had 13 in Triple-A this season with a 46% hard hit rate, so there is some power in that bat. I have liked his approach of late, and the results are solid for deeper formats. If we're just using Process+, we should note that Hose's teammate, Daylen Lile - OF, WAS (0% rostered), has a Process+ score of 112 since June 15th, which is pretty solid work from a young rookie. Over that span, he's hitting .244/.293/.349 in 24 games with two home runs, 12 runs scored, and three steals, but he also has just 13 strikeouts to six walks in that span. The process is there, and the contact has been there, so maybe the results will also start to tick up in the coming months. Nick Gonzales: 2B/SS, PIT: 4% rostered (BATTING AVERAGE ASSET, STARTING JOB) Gonzales was another hitter I highlighted in my article over the break as a potential batting average asset. His 110 Process+ from May 12th on tells us that Gonzales could be a batting average asset in the second half of the season. In July, Gonzales has taken a pretty drastic opposite field approach, making contact -4.4 inches behind the front of the plate after being out over 10 inches in front of the plate earlier in the season. That has led to a massive spike in his Ideal Attack Angle%, and while it will limit his power ceiling, it could mean more line drives and hits fall in. If you wanted another multi-position option for deeper leagues, Lenyn Sosa - 1B/2B/3B, CWS (4% rostered) has jumped on the Process+ leaderboard with a score of 107 since June 15th, which is above the league average of 100. Over that same stretch, he's hitting .274/.317/.505 with five home runs, 14 runs scored, 17 RBI, and one steal in 26 games. That's not bad production across the board in deeper formats. Tommy Pham - OF, PIT: 2% rostered (STARTING JOB, HOT STREAK) We all talked a lot about Max Muncy's glasses, but perhaps we need to pay attention to Tommy Pham's contacts. There is a great video from Logan Arblaster that shows Pham discussing a difficult situation with his contact lenses based on a rare eye condition that he has. The video was taken on June 23rd, and Pham mentions in the video that he has made contact lens changes throughout the year, but has 'felt better the last week.' If we take Pham's stats from June 16th, we see that he's hitting .359/.394/.609 in 20 games with four home runs, nine runs scored, and 17 RBIs. That will play in any league type. A name to keep an eye on in deeper leagues is Nathan Lukes - OF, TOR (1% rostered). Lukes has recently moved into the leadoff spot against right-handed pitching and is hitting .325/.400/.500 in 12 games in July with one home run, seven runs scored, and seven RBI. His role may change when Daulton Varsho comes back in a couple of weeks, so I'm not saying this is a breakout for the 31-year-old, but his approach is great for a leadoff hitter, and the Blue Jays have been playing really good baseball lately, so perhaps this is a solid multi-week add. Dominic Canzone - OF, SEA: 2% rostered (PLAYING TIME OPPORTUNITY, POWER UPSIDE) Canzone has been putting up tremendous production since being called up and ranks 14th in Process+ among all hitters with at least 200 pitches faced since June 15th. Over that stretch, he's hitting .347/.364/.613 with five home runs, nine runs scored, and eight RBI in 23 games. Canzone is not going to play against lefties, and he doesn't have quite the track record of success, but Canzone has always made impressive quality of contact throughout his MLB career, so there is some upside here in deeper formats. Another option would be Isaac Collins - OF, MIL (2% rostered), who has been on a bit of a heater since June 1st, hitting .300/.413/.500 in 34 games with five home runs, 22 runs scored, 17 RBI, and four steals. He has good plate discipline overall and is pulling the ball near 50% of the time, mostly on the ground and on a line, which is good for his batting average but might cap the overall power upside. His average exit velocity is also only 88.5 mph over that span, so this is not a hitter you're adding for power, but he has a solid approach that should lead to plenty of doubles and decent counting stats, hitting fifth or sixth in Milwaukee. Waiver Wire Pitchers Zach Eflin - SP, BAL: 44% rostered Eflin is technically rostered in too many leagues to count for this article, but I wanted to highlight him here because I think he's being overlooked due to some early-season struggles. Eflin has been a solid starter for the last few years, posting an ERA of 3.59 or better in each of the last two years and keeping his ERA under 4.00 most years. He had a lat injury earlier in the season and then a back injury that landed him on the IL, but I think he can be a solid starter in the second half if he's healthy and may even be traded into a slightly better situation since he's a free agent at the end of the season. If you're open to a longer-term stash, I like Spencer Arrighetti - SP, HOU (30% rostered). The right-hander is beginning his rehab assignment next week and will likely begin at around 40-50 pitches. Unlike pitchers like Shane McClanahan and Cristian Javier, Arrighetti has not had any arm issues this season; he's on the IL due to a broken thumb suffered when he was hit by a batted ball during batting practice. He might need three or four rehab starts, but if you can wait until early August, he should be back and healthy. Edward Cabrera - SP, MIA: 36% rostered I have to mention Cabrera here because I'm a big fan of what he's doing this year, but I'm worried about his injury. I know he was cleared to pitch next week, but being removed from the game last week with a shoulder injury doesn't give me warm and fuzzy feelings, especially with his injury track record. I'm not dropping him yet if he's on my team, but I'm also probably not starting him against the Padres next week since I have some questions about his health. Emmett Sheehan - SP, LAD: 29% rostered Sheehan started on Saturday and wasn't his best, but I still believe in the talent. I'm not sure if he will continue to piggyback with Shohei Ohtani once the Dodgers get back into their normal schedule, and with Blake Snell also nearing a return and Ohtani getting closer to being ready to pitch a full five innings, there may not be many weeks left of Sheehan in this rotation. However, even when that happens, the Dodgers could decide to limit Clayton Kershaw's workload to save him for the playoffs. At this point, I'm not ready to drop Sheehan from fantasy rosters just yet; his upside is too high. Zebby Matthews - SP, MIN: 26% rostered I wrote about Zebby Matthews as a pitcher I think could end the season in the top 25 starting pitchers, so clearly I've been in the bag for him all season. He looked really good in his rehab start last Sunday, sitting 97.4 mph on his fastball and striking out nine batters in four innings, so I'm not going to let a rough first start back in Coors Field put me off of bidding on him in fantasy leagues. He has also deserved better in his big league innings with a 12.1% SwStr% and 20.5% K-BB% in 19 innings since May 15th. That has helped him post a 3.39 SIERA despite his 5.21 ERA. He looked electric in his Triple-A rehab start last week, and I'd be stashing him now. Brandon Walter - SP, HOU: 18% rostered Walter is another pitcher I covered in that article on second-half breakouts and breakthroughs. In that article, I said: 'Walter is another pitcher I wrote about earlier this season, and I've been impressed with what he's done so far. He's registered just an 11.9% SwStr% but a 23% K-BB% and 2.98 SIERA in 40.2 innings this season. He relies more on command and deception than overpowering stuff, which makes him a bit riskier than some of the other names on this list, but I think his spot in the rotation is rather secure, and I could see him being a streamer in 12-team leagues and a locked-in option in deeper formats.' Blake Treinen - RP, LAD: 11% rostered Trienen has made two rehab performances during this week and looks pretty good, commanding the zone while sitting 96 mph on his sinker. He seems healthy and could be called up after the weekend. With Tanner Scott struggling to close out games, Treinen could emerge as an option in a closer committee in Los Angeles. Joey Cantillo - SP, CLE: 9% rostered Cantillo was another pitcher I had mentioned in my article from earlier in the week. He seems to have a rotation spot locked up with Luis L. Ortiz undergoing an MLB investigation for a gambling infraction. Since coming back as a starter, Cantillo has a 14.9% SwStr% and 20.7% K-BB% in 12.2 innings with a 3.33 SIERA. His changeup can be a truly dominant pitch, and he gets elite extension on his fastball, so there is enough here to tie up right-handed hitters and make Cantillo a good high-upside play for the second half. Richard Fitts - SP, BOS: 3% rostered I'm also fully in the bag for Fitts and have been since he showed increased velocity and an expanded pitch mix this spring. Since coming off the IL, he has been sitting 97 mph on his four-seam fastball with his secondaries starting to get more consistent. He's posted a 13.2% SwStr% in 16.2 innings since May 15th, with a 3.84 SIERA that is much better than his 5.40 ERA. I think he was done a disservice by the Red Sox rushing him back from the IL, and it wouldn't shock me if he keeps his rotation spot for the remainder of the season. The schedule isn't great for him next week, but that might be a way you can get some really cheap exposure to him. STREAMING STARTER PITCHERS MUST BE 40% ROSTERED ON YAHOO OR UNDER (ranked in loose order) Week of 7/21 Strong Preference Fairly Confident Some Hesitation Desperate / Uncertain Health
