RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The steady flow of exciting hitters continues, as Kaelen Culpepper and Zac Veen were promoted in the past week, joining the likes of Max Clark and George Lombard Jr., who made their debuts in the vicinity of the MLB Trade Deadline.
Things are far less exciting on the pitching side, as we haven’t seen the emergence of exciting new starters and the closer situations on many of baseball’s weakest teams are as clear as mud. Wise fantasy baseball managers will invest in the new hitters while streaming starters with favorable matchups.
Hitters to add
Mickey Moniak, OF, Rockies, 38%: Not only is Moniak having a terrific season (.862 OPS), but the Rockies remaining schedule virtually guarantees stretch-run success for their hitters. Starting on Monday, the team will play 22 of their final 38 games at Coors Field, where the team thrives and Moniak has a spectacular lifetime .997 OPS. And among the 16 road contests, four will be played against a Washington pitching staff that ranks 27th in ERA and three will come at power-inducing Yankee Stadium. Moniak and fellow outfielder Cole Carrigg (26%) should each see their roster rate surge by 20%.
Zac Veen, OF, Rockies, 12%: The fantasy community added another member to a deep pool of appealing Colorado outfielders when Veen was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday. The 24-year-old had a cup of coffee in the majors last year (34 AB) but had spent the entirety of 2026 in the Pacific Coast League, where at the moment of his promotion he ranked 1st in OPS (1.037), 2nd in homers (24), 2nd in RBI (87) and 4th in runs (82). He also chipped in 18 steals. Given his five-category skill set and the hitter-friendly nature of Coors Field, Veen will have immense upside if given a full-time role.
Kaelen Culpepper, SS, Twins, 8%: Perhaps it’s the fact that George Lombard Jr. (49%) plays in a major market, or perhaps it’s that Lombard was promoted a few days earlier, but we now see a 41% gap in the roster rate of two rookie shortstops who have similar skill sets and minor league numbers. In a nearly identical number of minor league contests this season, Culpepper tallied 31 HR+SB while Lombard accumulated 26. Culpepper hit .271 with 64 strikeouts, while Lombard batted .284 with 76 whiffs. Managers who missed out on Lombard should pivot to Culpepper, who will be the regular shortstop on a team that has scored more runs than the Yankees.
Zack Gelof, 2B/3B/OF, Athletics, 40%: Gelof returned from the IL on Monday and will hopefully reclaim the skill improvements that he had previously shown this year. Strikeouts have always held back the infielder from showcasing his power and speed skills, but by cutting his whiff rate to 25.5% this year, he has hit .280 with 13 homers and eight steals in 239 at-bats. There is plenty of infield playing time available on an injury-impacted Athletics roster, which will help to keep Gelof in the everyday lineup.
Cam Smith, OF, Astros, 19%: Those in deep formats can give a fresh opportunity to Smith, who has shown significant improvement (.791 OPS) in the second half. The youngster has dealt with poor luck this season (.264 BABIP) and his expected stats are all notably better than his actual marks. Smith could stand to improve on his 24.4% strikeout rate, but it isn’t a terrible mark, and his 11.4% barrel rate ranks in the 76th percentile. Smith is still figuring out how to maximize the benefit of his 99th percentile bat speed and should continue to improve down the stretch.
Pitchers to add
J.T. Ginn, SP/RP, Athletics, 34%: Ginn has been the most consistent starter who cannot seem to raise his roster rate past the 50% threshold this season. The right-hander has logged solid ratios (3.41 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) and in two starts since returning from a brief IL stint, he has allowed four earned runs over 12 innings. Ginn has thrown at least six innings in 11 of his past 16 starts, and his ability to work deep into games has allowed him to rack up eight wins over that stretch. It’s especially advantageous to limit his reliance on an Athletics bullpen that has posted a 5.80 ERA.
Sean Manaea, SP/RP, Mets, 29%: Through the rubble that is the Mets 2026 season, Manaea has reemerged as a valuable starter. The lefty was surprising sent to the bullpen at the end of spring training before recovering his rotation spot on June 13 as a deep group of starters was slowly depleted by injuries. In 11 starts, Manaea has logged a 3.50 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 61:18 K:BB ratio, and he punctuated those solid numbers when he struck out 11 Pirates across seven innings of one-run ball last time out. He has more upside than any starter with a sub 30% roster rate.
Clayton Beeter, RP, Nationals, 17%: Although it happened almost four months too late for those who drafted Beeter, he has finally emerged as the Nats closer. The trendy late-round pick in March drafts started slowly and endured a forearm strain that caused him to be dropped in most leagues during April and May. But since the All-Star break, Beeter has collected five of the team’s six saves, while blowing just one opportunity.
He’s now an option in 12-team leagues, as he misses enough bats to overcome his mediocre control skills. And although I still pin my hopes on the upside of new Pirates reliever Luke Weaver, Pittsburgh’s recent slump has prevented us from determining Weaver’s role, which makes Beeter the preferable option for those who need saves right now.
Hitters with favorable weekend matchups
Jake Burger, 1B, Rangers, 21%: A powerful right-handed hitter, Burger typically fares best against lefties (.815 OPS) and away from his pitcher-friendly home park (.731 OPS). He should thrive at homer-happy Sutter Health Park this weekend, when the Athletics will roll out two southpaw starters. Burger and his teammates should also excel late in games against a bullpen with a 5.80 ERA.
Henry Bolte, OF, Athletics, 4%: On the other side of the same series, Bolte is in perfect position to continue his August surge (.8...
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