Texas Rangers infield prospect Justin Foscue (oblique) went 1-for-2 with two walks for Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday. The 25-year-old saw his rehab assignment moved to Triple-A as he continues to progress in his return from an oblique strain. Foscue had just gotten the call-up to the Rangers when he suffered his injury in early April. The No. 2 prospect for Texas is a pure hitter with good plate discipline. As he continues his rehab assignment it will be interesting to see if a spot opens for him at the major league level. First, he will have to show he is back to full health, but any potential return to the big leagues could be in a utility role.

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Milwaukee Brewers outfield prospect Garrett Mitchell (hand) was 2-for-4 with an inside-the-park home run for Triple-A Nashville on Thursday. On a rehab assignment, Mitchell is hitting .269 with three homers and six RBI in six games for Nashville. The 25-year-old is rounding back into form after missing a good portion of the season with a fractured bone in his left hand. If he has a few more games like the one on Thursday, he should push for a return to Milwaukee soon. His plus speed makes him an intriguing waiver-wire addition in leagues of all sizes upon his return to the Brewers.

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Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson earned his fourth quality start of the season versus the Tampa Bay Rays in a no-decision on Thursday. Woods Richardson tossed six innings and allowed four hits, two runs, two walks and struck out six on the afternoon. The former Top-100 prospect didn't have much hype entering the 2024 season, but he has become a member of the Twins rotation and performed well in the role. He has had some bumps in the road along the way, but overall is 2-1 with a respectable 3.26 ERA in 12 starts. The right-hander doesn't offer enough strikeouts to be a must-roster, but he can still be valuable in deeper mixed and strong streaming option in the right matchups. Woods Richardson is lined up to face the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday followed by the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox, giving him three favorable matchups before the All-Star break.

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San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a walk in Thursday's victory versus the Milwaukee Brewers. Machado's first hit of the game came in the bottom of the first inning when he sent a pitch from Bryse Wilson 348-feet for his seventh homer of the season. Machado has been a bit banged up this season, recently missing a few games with a hip injury. For the season, Machado is now hitting .253 with seven homers, 36 RBI and five stolen bases. Machado's .684 OPS is a career low for the six-time All-Star, with injuries likely the biggest cause for that. Regardless, Machado has still had a solid season and should remain rostered in all formats.

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San Diego Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth went 2-for-5 with two run and a home run in Thursday's victory versus the Milwaukee Brewers. Cronenworth's biggest hit of the night was the biggest of the game as he hit a 401-foot home run off Joel Payamps to the bleachers to win the contest. The versatile infielder has spent most of his time at second base this season and has recovered well after a disappointing 2023 campaign. He has now topped his home run total from last season and is hitting .254 with 11 homers and 47 RBI and should be rostered in most formats.

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San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. went 4-for-5 with two runs and a solo home run in Thursday's victory versus the Milwaukee Brewers. Tatis absolutely crushed a 446-foot homer off Bryse Wilson in the bottom of the fifth inning that had an exit velocity of 111.8 MPH. Tatis continues to be one of the best offensive players in the world, while putting a big smile on managers' faces that drafted him this season. On the year, Tatis is now hitting .280 with 14 homers, 36 RBI and eight stolen bases. Managers should continue to enjoy rostering one of the best players in the game.

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Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson continued him MVP campaign on Thursday versus the division rival New York Yankees. Henderson went 3-for-5 with a walk, three runs and RBI in a 17-5 victory. Unlike Corbin Carroll in Arizona, there has been no sophomore slump for Henderson and if anything, the 22-year-old has improved off his notable rookie campaign. Henderson wasn't a first-round pick in drafts coming into the season, but he has returned top-10 value with a .279 batting average that is accompanied by 22 homers, 50 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Henderson continues to not only be valuable in redraft leagues, but should be an asset for years to come in dynasty leagues.

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Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle went 3-for-6 with a walk in a 17-5 victory against the division rival New York Yankees on Thursday. The first baseman also drove in four runs in the contest. Mountcastle has never been a sexy name in the fantasy world, but he continues to put up solid numbers on a yearly basis. The 27-year-old got off to a slow start, but turned his season around as he has been on fire the past month with a .311 batting average to go along with five homers and 19 RBI. Mountcastle should continue to get the job done for managers, but he also makes for a good sell-high candidate as this stretch will probably be the best of his season. Regardless, Mountcastle should be rostered in most formats with the way he has been hitting the ball.

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Tampa Bay Rays shortstop prospect Carson Williams launched his first home run since returning from the injured list on Thursday. The 15th-ranked prospect in baseball on MLB.com was sidelined for just over a week due to a hand injury. Williams has performed very well in his first extended look at Double-A ball this season as he holds a .294/.380/.554 slash line with 11 home runs, 29 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. Last summer at High-A Bowling Green, the 20-year-old posted a .254/.351/.506 line with 23 home runs, 77 RBI, and 17 stolen bases. It is great to see Williams not just decline at Double-A but also improve on last year's production. MLB.com predicts the former 28th overall pick to reach the majors next season, but a late-season call-up is not out of the question due to how well he has performed.

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Seattle Mariners catching prospect Harry Ford has continued to perform well at Double-A Arkansas. Ford struggled in the first month of the season with a .218 AVG but has put those results behind him as he has posted a .287 AVG ever since. In his past seven games, the former 12th overall pick has held a stellar .409/.517/.409 slash line with three stolen bases and a 5:6 BB:K ratio. Overall, in his first look at Double-A ball, the number 27 overall prospect on MLB.com has stolen 18 bases, hit five home runs, and posted a .263/.388/.399 slash line. Ford spent the entirety of last summer with High-A and held a .257/.410/.430 line with 15 long balls and 24 stolen bases. While his power has yet to show at Double-A, his elite speed has. Ford is considered one of the best catching prospects in all of baseball and should make his major league debut next season.

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Toronto Blue Jays starting pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann (elbow) made his second rehab appearance on Thursday evening and is nearing the end of his recovery process from inflammation in his ulnar nerve. Tiedemann made his first appearance in the Florida Complex League on June 14 and recorded only one out with three earned runs and two hits. However, in his most recent outing on Thursday with Single-A, the top prospect in Toronto looked sharp as he tossed two clean innings with four punchouts. The number 38th ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline and second among left-handed pitchers has showcased elite strikeout potential throughout his time in the minors. Last season, he struck out 58 batters in 32 frames at Double-A and 54 in the 37 frames at High-A the year prior. The 21-year-old will most likely be optioned to Triple-A once completing his rehab assignment and should contend for a major league debut in the second half of the season. He should be rostered in all dynasty and keeper formats and could be worth stashing in deeper redraft leagues once he returns to Triple-A.

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Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder James Outman went 2-for-5 with a home run Thursday evening. In his past seven games at Triple-A Oklahoma City, the 27-year-old has launched three long balls and held a strong .594 SLG. The Sacramento State product was demoted to Triple-A on May 27 after getting off to a slow start in the majors. Through his time in the minors this season, Outman has performed exceptionally well with a .291/.419/.563, seven long home runs, five swiped bags, 18 RBI, and a 19:31 BB:K ratio. In 36 games in the majors in the early part of the season, Outman struggled with a .147/.250/.266 line, which is why he was optioned. However, with his recent play at Triple-A he could rejoin the Dodgers fairly soon and could be worth adding in deeper redraft leagues as he should provide a solid combination of power and speed.

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Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Chris Stratton came in for the last two outs of a 3-2 win over the Oakland Athletics, picking up his fourth save in the process. Stratton came in with runners at first and second with one out in the ninth and retired both A's hitters to escape the jam. Usual closer James McArthur was used to escape a jam in the seventh, so he was unavailable. Based on McArthur's recent usage, it looks like the Royals could be moving to a committee approach in their bullpen. McArthur would likely still be the most likely to get saves if that were to happen, but they would certainly be spread out more evenly and would make for a frustrating situation for fantasy managers.

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Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo was solid against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, pitching into the seventh inning and picking up his 12th quality start of the year in a 3-2 win. Lugo cruised through six innings before running into trouble in the seventh, where he allowed a two-out, two-run homer. The 34-year-old allowed six hits and three walks while striking out eight in his 6 IP. He hasn't been quite as good in June as he was in April and May, but he has still pitched at least six innings in all four June starts and has given up only two runs in two of those starts. He remains a solid pitcher for fantasy but should still be considered a sell-high, especially after a good start like this one.

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Kansas City Royals catcher Freddy Fermin had a huge day on Thursday, going 3-for-4 with a pair of solo homers in a 3-2 win over the Oakland Athletics. Fermin had Mitch Spence's number in this one, tagging him for homers in the second and fourth innings. The 29-year-old is actually putting together a pretty solid season, slashing .303/.352/.447 with four homers in 132 at-bats. The Royals have also been playing Fermin more lately, even opting to DH him today. If he can get consistent playing time he could be worth a look in two catcher leagues.

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Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ryne Nelson put together a very nice start on Thursday, earning his fifth win in a 5-2 victory over the Washington Nationals. Nelson tossed seven strong innings, allowing just three hits with two strikeouts and zero walks. The swing-and-miss stuff wasn't there in this one, but it is his second consecutive start of six-plus innings with two or fewer runs allowed. The 26-year-old still has poor numbers for the season and shouldn't be rostered in many leagues, but he could make for a decent streamer if the matchup is right. He is lined up to face the Minnesota Twins next week, so he won't hold much streamer appeal for that one.

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St. Louis Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan had a big game on Thursday, going 3-for-4 with a homer, a run, and three RBI in a 6-5 win over the San Francisco Giants. Donovan smacked a two-run homer in the first inning to put the Cards in front early, then singled home the game-winning run in the fifth. The 27-year-old has been alright this season, slashing .258/.327/.402 with 33 runs, seven homers, and 36 RBI in 271 ABs. Since he doesn't run much, his utility in category leagues is limited to deeper formats.

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San Francisco Giants outfielder Heliot Ramos went 1-for-5 with a homer, a run, and three RBI in a 6-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. Ramos has been electric since his call-up in early May, slashing .307/.382/.553 with 17 runs, 10 homers, and 35 RBI in just 150 at-bats. He has worked his way into an integral spot at the top of the Giants lineup and is unlikely to be moved out of that spot if he can keep hitting well. Selling high could be an option for fantasy managers, but his underlying metrics are excellent and outfield is a weak position, so hanging onto him and hoping this is who Ramos truly is could be the best option.

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St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley tossed a clean ninth inning to secure a 6-5 win over the San Francisco Giants. Helsley ran into a bit of trouble, allowing a walk and a single, but got out of it without damage. The 29-year-old now has a league-leading 25 saves and has blown only one, which came in his first opportunity of the season back in March. Helsley should continue to be an elite fantasy option and provide solid ratios, strikeouts, and plenty of saves the rest of the way.

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Oakland Athletics right-hander Paul Blackburn (foot) was scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Thursday, June 20, but there is still no timetable to return. This was the first time that Blackburn has thrown off a mound since being put on the injured list on May 13 with a right-foot stress reaction. The fact that there's still no timetable for his return means that fantasy managers in deeper leagues shouldn't expect him to return to Oakland's starting rotation until after the All-Star break in mid-July. The 30-year-old is going to need to throw multiple bullpens before facing live hitters and then going on a minor-league rehab assignment. Barring a setback, the former 56th overall pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2012 should be back before both Ross Stripling (elbow) and Alex Wood (shoulder). In eight starts (46 innings) before his injury, Blackburn had a 4.11 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 36 K's.

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