The Oakland Athletics are set to recall first base/outfield prospect Lawrence Butler from Triple-A Las Vegas. Butler performed well enough in the Cactus League to break camp with the club, but struggled mightily and was demoted on May 14. In his time with Las Vegas, Butler hit .255 with four homers and nine RBI in 110 at-bats. Butler takes the spot of infielder J.D. Davis, who was designated for assignment. Butler hits the ball hard and offers pop and speed, but it hasn't translated in his two stints as a big leaguer thus far. The 23-year-old still can remain on the waiver wire for now, but he is worth watching as he should get a good opportunity to prove himself on a developing Athletics roster.

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Minnesota Twins outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez (thumb) was placed on the 7-day injured list on June 7 and remains sidelined at Double-A Wichita. Rodriguez was having a nice season at Wichita with a .298 average, eight home runs, and 20 RBI to go with a 1.100 OPS. He has added nine stolen bases. The No. 3 prospect in the Twins' system has shown good plate discipline (46 strikeouts, 40 walks) and possesses 60-grade power. Unfortunately, the injury has stalled some of his progress but he could still be looking at a promotion to Triple-A at some point this season. The 21-year-old is likely looking at 2025 for a major-league debut but his hitting profile makes him one of the top young outfielders for fantasy purposes.

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Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch homered in Monday's 7-6 loss at the San Francisco Giants, his first dinger since going deep on May 28. Busch's ninth homer was a two-run shot in the sixth inning that gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead. He is hitting .324/.425/.471 with a .896 OPS in June. Overall, Busch is slashing .255/.350/.450 with a .800 OPS with 26 RBI and 31 runs scored. Busch is a solid second-tier first baseman whose value increases in leagues that use OBP or OPS as a category.

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Minnesota Twins outfield prospect Walker Jenkins (hamstring) returned to Single-A Fort Myers on June 4 and has driven in eight runs in his eight games back from a hamstring injury. During those eight games, the 19-year-old switch hitter has more walks (six) than strikeouts (five). Jenkins is Minnesota's top overall prospect, and his five-tool profile makes him one of the top young players in the minors. The hamstring injury dampened some of his excitement this year, and he has yet to hit a home run in 2024. However, the buzz is still there whenever this young superstar is able to take the field. At 19, Jenkins will likely get a few more years of seasoning in the minors before he debuts at Target Field. We could be looking at a fantasy superstar for years to come.

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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher James Paxton (7-1) struck out eight over seven innings during Monday's 9-5 win at the Colorado Rockies. Paxton also recorded his sixth quality start, allowing two hits, one earned run, and one walk while picking up his seventh win of the season. Overall, Paxton has a 3.65 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP, striking out 43 and walking 33 in 66 2/3 innings. Fantasy managers of Paxton will have to wait until next Monday for his next start, an ideal matchup at the White Sox, where he is projected to square off against Chicago ace Garrett Crochet.

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Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman recorded five walks and two runs scored during the team's 9-5 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday. The veteran slugger also reached base when he recorded a single in his final plate appearance; the first time in his career, Freeman reached base six times. He is slashing .302/.412/.504 with 10 homers, 43 RBI, and 47 runs scored. Freeman has been lethal in June to opposing pitchers as he is hitting .373/.500/.725 with four homers, 10 RBI, and 15 runs scored, along with a 1.225 OPS. One of the elite players at his position, Freeman continues to be an easy plug-and-play for fantasy managers.

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New York Mets shortstop prospect Jett Williams (wrist) underwent surgery in early June and will be sidelined until at least August. Limited to 11 games at Double-A Binghamton this season, Williams has hit .179 with no homers, and two RBI to go with two stolen bases. A pure-hitter with excellent speed, the 20-year-old drew 104 walks and stole 45 bases across three levels of the minors last season while hitting .263. The injury will sap a good portion of his 2024 but the future is still bright for the first-round pick in the 2022 draft. If he can return from his wrist surgery at some point at the end of this season, he could still be on track to make a big-league debut sometime next season. His recovery is worth tracking for fantasy managers with an eye toward the future.

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Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani had three hits during Monday's 9-5 win at the Colorado Rockies, his third multi-hit game in the last four. Ohtani had two doubles, a single, and a walk, as he also scored twice and drove in a run. He has recorded seven hits in his last 15 at-bats and is hitting .314/.388/.601 with 19 homers, 47 RBI, 55 runs scored, and 16 stolen bases. Ohtani is competing with New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge for fantasy MVP honors, and his fantasy managers are thriving behind his numbers.

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Houston Astros outfield prospect Jacob Melton (wrist) is back in action for Double-A Corpus Christi. In his first action since May 22, Melton is 1-for-6 in two games since his return to the lineup. The speedy 23-year-old has hit .264 with five home runs and 24 RBI to go with 10 stolen bases at Double-A this season. The Astros top prospect slugged 23 homers and stole 46 bases across two levels of the minors last season. The second-round pick in the 2022 draft out of Oregon State has the power-speed combination that will catch the eye of fantasy managers for years to come. A debut in Houston this season is not out of the question, but next year is the more likely scenario.

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Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ homered and drove in three runs in Monday's 7-6 loss at the San Francisco Giants. Happ's eighth home run was a three-run shot in the top of the seventh inning that gave the Cubs a 6-3 lead as he finished with two hits and a walk in four plate appearances. He is slashing .229/.340/.400 with 36 RBI, 34 runs scored and six stolen bases. Happ is hurting fantasy managers with his batting average but makes up for it with his power and speed as he is on pace for 18 homers and could approach 15 steals.

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San Francisco Giants second baseman Thairo Estrada hit a three-run, walk-off homer to lift them to a 7-6 win over the Chicago Cubs on Monday. Estrada's homer was his ninth and capped off a night that saw him finish with two hits, four RBI, and a walk in five plate appearances. The home run snapped a string of 20 consecutive games where Estrada had not gone deep. He is slashing .243/.277/.401 with 39 RBI and 37 runs scored. Estrada's versatility as a middle infielder offers some value and remains a solid fantasy option in leagues with 12 or more teams.

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Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Rhett Lowder has been very good in three June starts for Double-A Chattanooga. The 22-year-old right-hander has a 3.29 ERA this month with 12 strikeouts and two walks in 13 2/3 innings. The seventh overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Wake Forest is known for his excellent control and his devastating changeup. Lowder has the feel, the savvy, and the stuff to contribute at the big-league level this season. He will need to continue to show consistency at Double-A. If he does, he could find himself in Cincinnati and firmly on the fantasy radar by the end of the season. The top prospect for the Reds and one of the top pitching prospects in baseball would warrant immediate waiver-wire attention should he get the call this season.

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The Detroit Tigers haven't indicated a timetable for outfielder Kerry Carpenter's (spine) return after he went on the injured list on May 29 (retroactive to May 27) with what the Tigers called lumbar-spine inflammation. Carpenter had been dealing with a lingering back issue and underwent tests the previous evening. The Tigers recently altered his diagnosis to a lumbar-spine stress reaction, which has been described by doctors as a crack in the bone that tends to appear clearly on MRIs and CT scans. It can take six weeks or three months for a stress fracture to settle down, so Carpenter's return isn't on the horizon. Before his injury, the 26-year-old had a 1.004 OPS against right-handed pitching, good for seventh in MLB. Carpenter should be able to return to full strength once the injury is healed, but he remains without a timetable and has yet to resume baseball activities.

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Detroit Tigers shortstop Javier Baez (spine) said he plans to leave on Thursday to visit doctors in Florida, and there's no clear timetable for his return, although the Tigers are expecting his absence to be longer than the minimum 10 days on the injured list as he recovers from lumbar-spine inflammation. Baez, who said he dealt with back pain last year, has already had an MRI exam and is expected to undergo more testing. Most fantasy managers have moved on from the once bright start that is Baez. The 31-year-old has continued to decline in each of his three years in Detroit and he was hitting just .183 (34-for-186) with a homer, 25 RBI, six stolen bases and 42 strikeouts in 196 plate appearances at the time of his injury. With Baez on the mend and Detroit not rushing him back, shortstop duties will be split by Zach McKinstry and Ryan Kreidler.

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Boston Red Sox corner infield prospect Blaze Jordan performed well in his first week since recovering from a fractured finger. The 21-year-old has been sidelined since May 11. From June 12 to June 16, the infielder held a .333/.360/.625 slash line with two long balls, eight RBI, one swiped bag, and a 1:2 BB:K ratio. In this stretch, he posted three multi-hit games. Jordan has remained with Double-A Portland since last season and holds a strong .293/.346/.455 slash line at this level this summer compared to a .254/.296/.402 line he posted last summer. The former 2020 draft pick is ranked as the number 19 prospect in the Boston system on MLB.com and is projected to reach the majors sometime next season. He could become a name to stash in dynasty leagues if he continues to perform well at Double-A and reach Triple-A later this season.

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Pittsburgh Pirates infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae (wrist) took part in live batting practice at PNC Park on Monday and worked defensively every day during the team's last road trip. "I would say we're probably getting close to a rehab assignment," manager Derek Shelton said. Barring a setback once Bae goes out on a minor-league rehab assignment, he should be able to return from the injured list before the end of this month. The 24-year-old South Korean utility man will be a bench option for the major-league roster when he's ready to return. He has played in only eight games so far in 2024 and has gone 5-for-24 (.208) with no home runs, two RBI, two stolen bases, two walks and seven strikeouts. Bae carries a .238/.304/.315 slash line with only two homers in 129 big-league games, but he did steal 24 bases in 111 contests in 2023.

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The Toronto Blue Jays signed free-agent right-hander James Kaprielian (shoulder) to a minor-league deal. Kaprielian was formerly a 16th overall pick in 2015 out of UCLA by the New York Yankees. All four of his big-league seasons have been with the Oakland Athletics, though, going 15-20 with a 4.61 ERA (4.67 FIP) and 1.35 WHIP with 282 strikeouts and 133 walks in 318 innings pitched over 66 appearances (58 starts). The 30-year-old veteran had surgery last August to fix the posterior labrum in his right shoulder and hasn't pitched in a live game yet in 2024. It's unclear if Kaprielian is a realistic option to return to the big leagues for the Blue Jays this year, but at the very least, he'll serve as organizational pitching depth in the second half of 2024.

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Kansas City Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (foot) looked good in his first minor-league rehab start in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Monday, tossing four scoreless innings while giving up two hits and no walks with six strikeouts. Given Wacha's strong performance, it seems likely that the Royals will now clear him to return from the injured list to make his next start in the big leagues. The 32-year-old veteran has been recovering from a non-displaced fracture in his left foot. If he does make his next start in the big-league rotation, it will likely come this weekend in a tough matchup on the road against the defending World Series-champion Rangers. Although he has a weak 19.8% strikeout rate, Wacha has been serviceable in deeper fantasy leagues as a streamer with a 4.24 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP and a 56:20 K:BB in 68 innings over his 12 starts in his first year in KC.

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Tampa Bay Rays starting pitching prospect Yoniel Curet has had a rough time pitching at High-A but may have begun to settle in at this level. After allowing seven earned runs on June 5, Curet has now posted two consecutive shutout performances. On June 11, he turned in his best start of the young season with seven two-hit frames, with one free pass and 11 punchouts. Then, in his next start on June 16, the right-hander tossed four innings where he allowed four hits, two free passes, with three punchouts. Still, despite his recent turnaround, the 21-year-old is carrying a 4.79 ERA and 1.30 WHIP through 56 innings at High-A this season. Curet could make his Double-A debut later this summer if he continues this nice run.

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Detroit Tigers outfield prospect Max Clark went 4-for-8 during a doubleheader Sunday with a home run and four RBI for Low-A Lakeland. The 19-year-old is hitting up in June, hitting .283 this month with two homers and eight RBI with five stolen bases. That has raised his season-long batting average to .277 with a .755 OPS. The five-tool mega-prospect was recently passed by Jackson Jobe for top prospect status with the Tigers. However, the 2023 first-round draft pick has loads of potential. His major league ETA is likely a few years away, but he continues to turn heads with his 70-grade speed and plus hitting tools. Clark is someone to stash in dynasty leagues with an eye toward the future.

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