Texas Rangers starting pitcher Tyler Mahle (elbow) threw 20 pitches off the mound on Wednesday. Mahle, 29, underwent Tommy John surgery last season as a member of the Minnesota Twins before signing with the Rangers this offseason. Mahle still has a long way to go, but it Wednesday was a big step forward for the right-hander in what should be a lengthy recovery. Mahle doesn't have a clear timetable for his eventual return, but he is unlikely to help managers much this season and should be a name for managers to remind themselves of in 2025 drafts.

Chicago White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two RBI in Thursday's victory versus the Seattle Mariners. The homer was his second in three games for the first baseman that has been swinging a hot bat of late. Vaughn was pretty much invisible for much of the season, but he has been on fire of late with 15 hits over his last 41 at-bats to go along with four homers and six RBI. On the season, Vaughn is now hitting .227 with eight homers and 25 RBI. Vaughn makes for a fine add for managers looking for a hot bat to insert into their lineup, but long-term, Vaughn doesn't hold much value.

Miami Marlins outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and stolen base in Thursday's loss versus the division rival New York Mets. Chisholm's home run came in top of the seventh inning to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead at the time, but it would not be enough to secure a victory. Chisholm is hitting .254 with 10 homers, 33 RBI and 15 stolen bases on the season and most importantly has maintained his health this season by playing in 67 of 68 games. A healthy Chisholm has shown he can help across the board, but managers also may want to see what the trade market is like as he hasn't over 97 games since the 2021 campaign.

In his first outing since returning from the injured list, New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz earned his second victory of the year. Diaz pitched the top of the ninth inning as the Mets were down 2-1 at the time and recorded a strikeout in what was otherwise a clean frame of work. The veteran would be awarded with the victory when outfielder J.D. Martinez hit a walk-off two-run home run off Tanner Scott in the bottom of the ninth inning. Diaz missed the previous 15 games with a shoulder impingement, but looked like his old self on Thursday. Moving forward, Diaz should remain one of the best closer options in the game.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan improved his record to 5-5 by defeating the Oakland Athletics on Thursday. Ryan tossed seven innings and allowed three hits, two runs, one walk and recorded five strikeouts. All of Ryan's runs came off a Tyler Soderstrom two-run homer in the top of the fourth inning. The right-hander has been putting together a strong season on the hill and remains a consistent option near the top of managers rotations. Ryan will carry a 3.24 ERA into his next start versus the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. Managers shouldn't hesitate to start Ryan when it's his turn in the rotation.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez continued his impressive season by earning his fourth victory of the season on Thursday versus a tough Baltimore Orioles lineup. The right-hander earned his eighth quality start of the season by tossing six scoreless innings of two-hit ball. He also issued one walk in the process of striking out eight batters. Lopez has been one of the biggest success stories this season and his conversion back to a starting pitcher has been a big success thus far in 2024. As good as Lopez has been, managers should be aware that the 69 1/3 innings he has thrown this more is already more than he has tossed in any season since 2019, a season in which he threw 184 innings. As big of a success story that he's been this season, managers should consider if his arm will be able to hold up for a full season as he makes for a good sell-high candidate. Next up for Lopez will be a date against a favorable Detroit Tigers offense on Tuesday.

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet was masterful against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, punching out 13 over seven innings in a 3-2 win. He allowed only two hits and two walks. Crochet was left with a tough-luck no-decision, but that doesn't change the fact that this was one of the most dominant starts from any pitcher this year. The lefty has been incredible since May, allowing only six earned runs in 48 IP while striking out a staggering 69. He should be regarded as an elite starting pitcher in fantasy for as long as the White Sox let him pitch.

New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's 11-5 win over the Royals. The home run was his sixth of the season, and the backstop now has 23 RBI, 17 runs scored, a .324 wOBA, and 112 wRC+. The 31-year-old has performed well when he's been in the lineup and has decidedly better numbers than Austin Wells, but they split time evenly (138 PA for Trevino, 132 for Wells) so for fantasy you probably prefer someone who gets more regular at-bats.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell went 1-for-4 in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Diamondbacks, with his lone hit being the 25-year-old's 12th home run of the season, which was a 434-foot blast that drove in three runs. Adell also walked once in the contest. The former first-round draft pick looked like he had finally put it all together during the first month of the season, slashing .316/.365/.614 with a palatable 22.2% K% in April. May saw that slashline drop to .144/.212/.389 with a high 33.0% K%, but June has seen lower lows with a .133/.212/.267 line with an astronomical 39.4% K%. His history suggests he won't turn things around and if there's a power outage, he'll offer little fantasy value. Hopefully fantasy managers were able to sell high on Adell when they had the chance.

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jose Soriano logged his second straight quality start in Wednesday's 8-3 victory over the Diamondbacks. The 25-year-old went eight innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five on his way to securing the win. It brings his record to 4-5 on the season, posting a respectable 3.48 ERA (3.90 FIP) and 1.18 WHIP, albeit with a low 7.47 K/9 and 10.8% K-BB%. He'll try to make it three quality starts in a row when the righty makes his next start on Monday at home against Milwaukee.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray generated a solid outing in Wednesday's victory over the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates, posting a quality start in his eighth win of the season. Gray fanned nine Pirates over seven innings of one-run ball on Wednesday, and it was the second time he lasted at least seven frames this year. The 34-year-old star right-hander has been his usual reliable self during his debut season in St. Louis, taking a 3.01 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 91:20 K:BB over 68 2/3 innings for the Cardinals into his next scheduled start on the road against the last-place Miami Marlins on Monday. Fantasy managers who got a bit of an injury discount back when he was hurt during draft season have to be loving the returns during the first half of the year, with Gray striking out batters at the highest clip of his career while keeping his control intact.

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (hamstring) ran the bases before Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox, which is one of the last major hurdles in his rehab program. Turner still needs to test out a few other aspects of baserunning, which he will do over the next few days. When asked if Turner is targeting a return during the club's upcoming homestand, manager Rob Thomson said: "I think so, yeah. And if it's sooner than that, that's great." This narrows down Turner's return timeline from a strained left hamstring, as it sounds like he'll either be ready as early as this weekend against the Baltimore Orioles or early next week when the Phillies return home for Monday's series opener against the San Diego Padres. The 30-year-old two-time All-star was returning early-round fantasy numbers before going down, batting .343 (47-for-137) with two home runs, nine RBI, 27 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases over 33 games.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger came up clutch in Wednesday's win over the hosting Tampa Bay Rays, blasting his ninth home run of the season. For a Cubs team that was just 5-15 over the last 20 games, Bellinger gave them a lift after crushing a go-ahead three-run homer off Rays left-hander Garrett Cleavinger to right-center field to give the team a 4-2 lead in the seventh inning. The 28-year-old star slugger is starting to look like his 2023 self over the past month or so, hitting .293 with three homers, 15 RBI, 14 runs scored, and three stolen bases in 32 games since returning from the injured list on May 7. Settled in as Chicago's everyday No. 3 batter, Bellinger sports five-category fantasy upside in this formidable lineup.

New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres launched his sixth home run of the season in Wednesday's win over the hosting Kansas City Royals, tallying three RBI in the lopsided victory. Torres hit a three-run homer off Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch IV to left field, extending the Yankees' lead to 11-2 in the seventh inning. It hasn't been an easy year for Torres, but the 27-year-old former top prospect is batting a respectable .267 with five long balls, 18 RBI, and 17 runs scored in his last 29 games over the past month since May 12. Torres isn't going to lead off for the Yankees anytime soon with the way Anthony Volpe is performing, but he still remains worth rostering in all fantasy leagues for his power upside at the keystone even in the lower part of New York's potent lineup.

Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jeimer Candelario played the role of hero in Wednesday's win over the crosstown-rival Cleveland Guardians, smashing his 10th and 11th home runs of the year with four RBI. After hitting a solo homer off Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee to center field in the first inning to make it 1-0 Reds, Candelario went deep once more for a three-run jack to right field in the sixth to score Will Benson and TJ Friedl and make it a 4-2 ballgame. The 30-year-old veteran switch-hitter is shaking off a slow start to the year to become one of fantasy's highest-added hitters in recent weeks, hitting .301 with seven round-trippers, 14 RBI, 11 runs scored, and two stolen bases in his last 18 games since May 22. As long as he's batting third at a hitter-friendly ballpark, Candelario will be worth riding in fantasy, though the impending return of former top prospect Noelvi Marte from suspension could soon complicate things.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas put together a good performance in Tuesday's no-decision versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mikolas earned his eighth quality start of the season with seven scoreless frames of one-hit ball. He also allowed a walk and struck out six on the evening. Mikolas started the season getting hit hard, but he come along lately with five quality starts over his last six starts. Mikolas doesn't rack up enough strikeouts to be a must-roster, but with the way he is pitching lately, he is worth a look as a backend starter or streamer. Next up for Mikolas will be a date with the rival Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward went 2-for-2 with a walk, double, home run and two RBI in Tuesday's loss versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. His home run would cut the Diamondbacks lead to two at the time, but it wouldn't be enough for the Angels to make a comeback. Despite the strong performance for Ward, he left the game early with lower back tightness and was replaced by outfielder Mickey Moniak in the top of the eighth inning. More should be known on Ward's status ahead of Wednesday's contest, but he can be considered day-to-day until more is known. On the year, Ward is now hitting .253 with 12 homers and 36 RBI. When healthy, Ward makes for a useful outfielder in all formats. Should Ward miss any time, Moniak would see more at-bats, but he can be left on the waiver wire for now.

Oakland Athletics prospect Jacob Wilson (knee) was placed on the injured list by the Las Vegas Aviators on May 18 with an undisclosed knee injury. It remains unclear when Wilson will return from the injured list. The shortstop played 28 games at Triple-A this season, hitting .438 with three home runs and 22 RBI. The 22-year-old has shown elite bat-to-ball skills, making him an enticing prospect and allowing him to rise to the No. 1 overall prospect status in Oakland's organization. He has shown that he is a pure hitter, and if the power develops a bit more, he could be a big-time fantasy contributor in the future at the shortstop position. In a short sample size at Las Vegas this year, he demonstrated what he can do in a best-case scenario. A late-season call-up would make him noteworthy in the fantasy landscape. If not, a 2025 major league debut is likely if he returns to full health.

Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman put together a big performance in Tuesday's victory versus the Texas Rangers. The slugger went 3-for-4 on the evening with three runs and a solo home run. Freeman was one of five Dodgers to go yard in a 15-2 routing of the defending World Series champs. On the season, Freeman is now hitting .297 with nine homers, 41 RBI and three stolen bases. At age 34, Freeman has shown no issues of slowing down and hitting behind Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani may be the spot in any lineup in baseball. The veteran remains one of the safest and most consistent option at the first base position moving forward.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez continued his strong season with another home run in Tuesday's victory versus the Texas Rangers. Hernandez went 1-for-3 with a walk and two-run homer on the evening. The home run would be his 17th of the year to go along with his 50th RBI and a solid .266 batting average. The 31-year-old was a huge bargain for the Dodgers this offseason as he signed a one-year contract. Hernandez hit a career-high 32 homers in 2021 with the Toronto Blue Jays and he could surpass that with the way he his hitting this season. Entrenched in the No. 5 spot of the order, Hernandez remains a great option for managers moving forward.