News flash: A Cy Young Award winner and two-time, top-15 overall fantasy point scorer, was back on the mound on Friday, doing Cy Young things.
That particular pitcher, by the way, finds himself out there in 56.1% of ESPN leagues, with five weeks to play in the season.
Shane Bieber (SP, Toronto Blue Jays) is that pitcher, acquired at the trade deadline from the Cleveland Guardians, and looking pretty close to his peak form following his return from April 2024 Tommy John surgery. In Friday’s outing, the right-hander averaged 92.7 mph with his fastball, his highest rate in any individual start since Aug. 14, 2022. He struck out nine Miami Marlins and got 15 swings-and-misses, including seven on his slider and four on his changeup.
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This isn’t to declare Bieber officially his 2020 Cy Young self, as pitchers coming off the surgery often take time — months, in many cases — to fully recapture the feel for their stuff. As the old Tommy John surgery axiom says, velocity typically returns first, then command. Bieber’s command seemed plenty sharp in his 2025 big-league debut, and reports from his six start minor league rehabilitation stint (excluding one May start when he had some elbow soreness) reflected the same and resulted in a combined 2.03 ERA and 32.7% strikeout rate.
It remains to be seen how the Blue Jays will use Bieber come playoff time. For now, though, they’ll utilize (at least in the short term) a six-man rotation that spaces out his appearances. That’s a negative for fantasy purposes. However, considering his past history of handling big workloads, his current status as a 90-pitch starter (nearly a full-time starter already), and the relative ages of the remainder of the team’s rotation, Bieber almost assuredly will handle a regular starter’s pattern over these final five weeks.
More mixed-league players to add
Note that Sam Basallo (C/1B, Baltimore Orioles), the top recommendation in this space last week and a new eight-year, $67 million man, remains available in a whopping 87.4% of ESPN leagues. Go get him now!
Carson Williams, SS, Tampa Bay Rays (available in 95.0% of ESPN leagues): Another of the many prominent prospects to have been recalled for their major league debuts over the past two weeks, Williams is one whose star seemed to begin fading due to his lackluster .213/.318/.447 rates in 111 games for Triple-A Durham this year, but who generated a good share of weekend buzz thanks to his 3-for-7, one-homer, one-steal performance in Friday and Sunday starts.
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To be fair to Williams’ fantasy potential, he did hit 23 homers and stole 22 bases while with Durham, making him a 20/20 minor leaguer for three consecutive seasons (and he was one homer shy in 2022 of making it four in a row). His power/speed combo might have made him a more logical pickup in rotisserie leagues, but Williams’ penchant for drawing walks — he has never walked in fewer than 10.9% of plate appearances in any professional level — makes him an appealing mixed-league pickup as well. Be aware that the Rays will give him days off across their final 32 games in order to keep him below the 130 at-bat maximum to retain 2026 Rookie of the Year eligibility.
Brett Baty, 3B/2B, New York Mets (available in 94.2%): If what you seek is a potential high-ceiling power hitter who qualifies at two infield positions, Baty’s your man. Since the All-Star break, he’s a .283/.350/.500 hitter with six home runs in 28 games, quietly emerging as an everyday player while even earning starts out of the No. 6 slot in the lineup.
While it might feel like Baty has been around for long enough that he’s incapable of taking another step offensively, his 12.9% Barrel and 47.6% hard-hit rates (per Statcast) are not only personal bests, but they’re also in at least the 75th percentile among all players. In fact, his 56.1% hard-hit rate this month is 15th-best among 222 hitters (min. 59 PA).
Deeper-league pickups
Kyle Teel, C, Chicago White Sox (available in 97.2%): Predictably, not much attention has been paid to the 47-83 White Sox this season, but Teel, one of the primary pieces coming their way in the winter’s Garrett Crochet trade, has put forth a beneath-the-radar strong rookie stat line. Teel has been on a tear since the All-Star break, batting .322/.378/.500 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 26 games, establishing himself as an effective everyday player as part of a catcher/DH rotation with fellow rookie Edgar Quero.
Teel’s underlying metrics aren’t quite at the level of a clear ESPN standard starting catcher — he has below-average power and patience — but he’s a surefire add in any deeper league. He’s also a prospective breakthrough player for 2026.
Jeremiah Jackson, SS/3B/OF, Baltimore Orioles (available in 98.8%): Recalled following the Orioles’ July 31 trade bonanza, Jackson has made the most of his opportunity, earning starts in right field, third base and at DH, while delivering six multi-hit efforts over his first 19 MLB contests. While he’s lacking in any one elite skill, he’s hitting with enough authority to stick in the lineup for the remainder of the year, and his multi-positional eligibility is useful in 12-team mixed leagues or deeper.
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Kyle Bradish, SP, Orioles (available in 94.3%): Like the aforementioned Bieber, Bradish is on the mend from Tommy John surgery, and is tentatively aligned to return on Tuesday. Bradish’s minor league rehabilitation results are nowhere near as sparkling, as he has a 4.91 ERA in six starts, but he pitched effectively in his past two for Triple-A Norfolk (9 2/3 innings, three runs, 12 K’s combined) and was one of the American League’s better pitchers in 2023 and in the first month-plus of 2024.
He’s a speculative pickup in larger leagues, but keep your closest tabs on his velocity following his activation, as he averaged 94.5 mph with his four-seam fastball in 2023 and 95.3 mph with the pitch last year.
Parker Messick, SP, Cleveland Guardians (available in 98.6%): Like Nolan McLean the week before him, Messick debuted with an outstanding performance this past Wednesday, displaying the command of a clear big-leaguer. He walked only one of the 26 batters he faced, and had 84.6% first-pitch strike and 56.6% zone rates. Messick’s changeup was outstanding, and provides the key to his making an impact in deeper mixed and AL-only leagues.
He’s likely to see more starts for the Guardians down the stretch, as he’s nowhere near his pro-best 133 2/3 innings of 2024, having totaled only 105 1/3 frames so far this year.
