Whether you’re chasing a championship, fighting for a Wild Card, or watching your fantasy season end early, now is the perfect time to track late-season trends and hot streaks for next year’s drafts. It may feel early to think about 2026, but veteran managers don’t check out in August and September.
Summer brings two intriguing prospects, call-ups — an arm and a bat — that could shake fantasy lineups. The Cubs promoted MLB’s No. 36 overall prospect, outfielder Owen Caissie, to The Show. He debuted on Thursday, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Strikeouts are a blemish, but he crushed 22 homers and hit .289 in 93 Triple-A games this year. Caissie even slotted into the five-hole to start his MLB career, though he’ll wait at least until Saturday for his first big-league hit.
On the mound, the Mets will start No. 3 overall prospect RHP Nolan McLean against the Mariners on Saturday. McLean features a five-pitch arsenal, with his sinker and four-seamer doing most of the work. The sinker runs hard arm-side and pairs with a nasty sweeper/curveball combo. His “cutter” also moves arm-side and acts as a strikeout pitch. With the Mets spiraling, they hope their young arm sparks a turnaround.
The season’s ebb and flow hit fantasy managers again with Astros closer Josh Hader’s shoulder capsule injury. Hader will be shut down for three weeks, with Houston barely fending off a surging Mariners squad atop the AL West. He’ll be reevaluated afterward, but his 2025 outlook looks grim.
Padres ace Michael King (knee) returned to the 15-day IL. King has been excellent when available, but a prior shoulder issue sidelined him for over a month, and now he’ll miss more time (retroactive to Aug. 11). Meanwhile, Reds prospect Chase Burns (elbow) deals with a flexor strain. Manager Terry Francona says Burns could miss only a few weeks and resume throwing soon. Thankfully, no serious injury is expected. The rookie has been electric at times, striking out 10 batters in four of eight starts.
Giants third baseman Matt Chapman (hand) heads to the 10-day IL, with Casey Schmitt manning third and Kristian Koss at second. Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (oblique) also lands on the IL. The team expects him back in 2025, though he may not provide meaningful fantasy value.
This column assumes point formats and highlights players with roughly 50% ownership or less on Yahoo! A player appears twice only if they keep performing in consecutive weeks. Happy hunting!
Waiver Adds
Ramon Laureano, OF - San Diego Padres (47% Owned)
Ramon Laureano has been quietly raking in 2025. Since May, he hasn’t hit below .295 in a single month, and has only gotten hotter since joining the Padres at the deadline. At 31, Laureano is showing flashes of the electric playmaker he was in his early Oakland days — and fantasy managers should be paying attention.
Despite hitting near the bottom of San Diego’s order, Laureano is forcing the issue. Since Aug. 1, he’s slashed .333/.400/.600 with nine runs and 10 RBI — all while batting no higher than sixth. That doesn’t even include his 7-for-11 tear just before the trade. The Padres are 9-3 since acquiring him, including five straight wins.
Laureano’s surge isn’t just luck. His average exit velocity hasn’t jumped much, but his hard-hit rate is up nearly eight points to a career-best 48.4%. Pair that with a career-low 24.1% strikeout rate, and the profile looks more like a real breakout than a fluke.
Isaac Collins, OF - Milwaukee Brewers (42% Owned)
Isaac Collins’ ownership more than doubled after last week’s feature, and he’s kept raking. Milwaukee placed him on the Paternity List on Friday, likely sidelining him until early next week. The short pause isn’t ideal for fantasy managers, but it could cool his roster-percentage surge and make him easier to grab.
Collins is raking in August, batting .364 (16-for-44) with a 1.136 OPS in 11 games — impressive for someone with less than a full season under his belt. Milwaukee has batted him second or third in seven straight contests. In that span, he’s collected six extra-base hits, five RBI, seven runs, and a steal.
After a brief cup of coffee in 2024, Collins has leveled up. Maybe he’s a late bloomer — and it’s worth finding out.
Blaze Alexander, 2B/3B/SS - Arizona Diamondbacks (29% Owned)
With Eugenio Suarez heading to the Mariners, Blaze Alexander has taken over as Arizona’s everyday third baseman. He’s delivered, slashing .333/.444/.667 over his last 13 games. Hitting near the bottom of the D-Backs’ lineup, he’s still performing like a top-of-the-order bat.
The Florida native hasn’t shown much career power in 96 games, but he’s flashed it recently, hitting all four of his long balls in the past two weeks. In 2022, he smashed 20 homers in just 98 games. Since then, he hasn’t topped 10 in a season.
Strikeouts remain a concern for Alexander, so if that’s a major red flag, tread carefully. Otherwise, he’s a solid source of average for the rest of the year. His hot streak appears real: Alexander’s average exit velocity has jumped to 91.6 MPH, and he’s barreling the ball at the 85th percentile (13.6%)—comparable to Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Ryan Mountcastle, 1B - Baltimore Orioles (24% Owned)
Ryan Mountcastle has been a steady contributor for the Orioles over the past few years. After a slow 2025 start and a hamstring injury in late May, he’s back on track, already matching his first 200 PAs’ home run total of two.
When healthy, the 28-year-old is a reliable mid-to-high .200s hitter with solid pop. While he hasn’t reached his 30-homer peak from 2021, he typically delivers around 20 doubles and has a slightly higher barrel rate than last year. His .250 August average isn’t eye-catching, but an .854 OPS marks his best stretch of the season.
Baltimore is all but out of the playoff race, but the Orioles’ former first-round pick is still playing every day. Grab him while he’s hot.
Kyle Manzardo, 1B - Cleveland Guardians (19% Owned)
Kyle Manzardo started the year hot but cooled off, hitting just .196 in April and May. A brief stint on the Family Medical Emergency list and a limited June role had fantasy managers down, but he’s rebounding as summer progresses.
Since returning from leave, Manzardo has gone 28-for-96 (.292) with eight home runs. He’s earned regular playing time only in the past week, though all of Cleveland’s matchups have been against right-handed starters—coincidence or platoon strategy, it’s unclear.
The Guardians face lefty Joey Wentz of the Braves on Saturday, making Manzardo’s lineup status an easy call for next week.
Deep League Adds
Joey Ortiz, 3B/SS - Milwaukee Brewers (10% Owned)
Joey Ortiz has been scorching in August, hitting .391 (18-for-46) with seven multi-hit games, including three straight two-hit efforts last Friday. Power remains limited—just one homer in the second half for a season total of seven—but he’s posted his best slugging and OPS marks of the year. The Brewers moved him up to the two-hole over the weekend, which could spike his run production. Despite a below-average walk rate, Ortiz keeps strikeouts in check at 15.2%.
Two-Start Pitchers
Jacob Lopez, LHP - Athletics (52%/73% Yahoo!/CBS)
Jacob Lopez has been a revelation for the Athletics, posting a 0.83 WHIP and allowing zero earned runs over 24 innings across four starts since July 21. The southpaw has struck out 19 batters while issuing no walks in his last two outings and has gone seven-plus innings in both. Lopez faces the Twins first, who rank eighth-worst in runs per game (4.17) and strike out frequently (8.26 per game), before taking on a tougher Mariners lineup. He’s a rare, high-upside two-start option.
Lopez will face the Twins next week, squaring off against Joe Ryan. Minnesota could be tricky, but they rank eighth-fewest in runs per game (4.17) and strike out often (8.26). The Mariners are tougher—they had an eight-game win streak before dropping two straight—but they strike out the fourth-most per game (8.85). Lopez has limited hard contact and should remain a strong option.
Good luck in your upcoming matchups!
