Fantasy managers should always be searching for pickups with the potential to leap two or three tiers in the rankings in the foreseeable future, prioritizing those types over those with shorter-term appeal (with a few, schedule-oriented, exceptions). Monday’s recommended pickups follow this elevated-upside theme, beginning with a Toronto Blue Jays hitter who might be an unfamiliar name to most.
Addison Barger3B/OF, Blue Jays (available in 83.9% of ESPN leagues): One of the year’s most under-the-radar improved hitters, Barger’s emergence has earned him starts in 27 of the Blue Jays’ past 29 games (with appearances in all 29) and has kept him in the lineup despite the healthy return of Andres Gimenezthe man he initially replaced. Since Barger’s May 8 arrival as a Blue Jays regular, his 81 fantasy points have been exceeded by only 23 hitters, his seven home runs exceeded by just 15, and his 57.7% Statcast hard-hit rate exceeded by a mere seven.
Barger’s arrival as a fantasy-relevant hitter traces back to the adjustments he made entering 2025, including widening of his stance, flattening his swing path and adding a full 1.5 mph to his average bat speed this season compared to last. He’s making much harder contact on pitches in the zone, with the collective sum of his tweaks elevating his fantasy value to being worthy of speculation in all formats.
Lance McCullers Jr., SP, Houston Astros (available in 78.8%): Considering his extensive injury history — he didn’t throw a single professional pitch in 2019, 2023 or 2024 and has made 12 trips to the IL since his May 18, 2015 MLB debut — McCullers is a tough pitcher to trust in fantasy leagues, no matter how well he’s throwing. When pitching at full health and at his skills peak, however, he can be one of the better sources of strikeouts in the game, which is why his performance over his last three starts warrants attention. During that time, he has a combined 27 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings and a 39.1% K rate.
McCullers’ knuckle-curve was responsible for nine of those 27 strikeouts, and a 60% miss rate on swings — the latter reminiscent of the 38% career rate he had with the pitch leading up to that three-start hot streak. The league as a whole, by the way, has only a 32% miss rate on curveballs this season. If he has truly recaptured the feel for his secondary pitches just 10 professional starts (covering both the minors and majors) into his return from flexor tendon surgery, he could deliver top-25 positional fantasy numbers on a per-start basis. That’s well worth a speculative add in all formats.
Jack ladderSP, Texas Rangers (available in 80.7%): A fellow pitcher who works his home games in the state of Texas, Leiter’s upside isn’t far off that of a healthy McCullers, but he’s much less the injury risk between the two. Blisters cost Leiter three rotation turns in April, which is a concern since his father, Al, struggled with blisters as well early in his own career. However, in Jack’s past five starts, he has managed a solid 2.10 ERA.
Leiter has also averaged an elevated 97.4 mph with his four-seam fastball (throwing 17 of them at 98 mph or faster) in his last two starts alone — a signal that his improved velocity during spring training has returned. The 2021 No. 2 overall pick now appears to be a mainstay in the Rangers rotation following the demotion of Kumar Rocker. The past high regard from scouts for Leiter’s skill set make him worthy of a pickup in all formats.
Rotisserie-style player to add
Andres Gimenez, 2B, Blue Jays (available in 56.4%): Barger’s emergence hasn’t completely stunted Gimenez’s fantasy utility, though it has pushed the former Guardian to the bottom third of the Toronto lineup and into more of a matchups-oriented role. Nevertheless, Gimenez’s lofty contract (four years and nearly $90 million remaining), along with his defensive chops and a contact-oriented approach at the plate should still earn him fairly regular at-bats. He’s 4-for-13 (.308 BA), without a strikeout and with only five total swings-and-misses in his four games since being activated. Rotisserie league managers should appreciate his contributions in the stolen base department, as he’s well within range of a third consecutive season with 30-plus steals.
Deeper-league pickups
Kyle TeelC, Chicago White Sox (available in 96.0%): Kiley McDaniel’s No. 4 catcher and No. 33 overall prospect in his midseason rankings updateTeel joined the White Sox on Friday to presumably serve in a catcher/DH tandem alongside fellow rookie Edgar I want. Teel hit .295/.394/.492 with eight home runs and seven stolen bases in 50 games for Triple-A Charlotte to begin the season and his balanced skill set should make him a particularly attractive No. 2 fantasy option for rotisserie league managers.
Jerar IncarnationOF, San Francisco Giants (available in 99.8%): Initially headed towards being the Giants’ Opening Day DH, Encarnacion instead fractured his hand while trying to make a catch in a March 21 game, forcing him to miss the season’s first two months. Now healthy, he rejoined the Giants last Monday and he could quickly claim that DH job following LaMonte Wade Jr.‘s release (Wilmer Flores could move to first base in that scenario). Encarnacion had a quiet first week back, going hitless in 11 at-bats, but he has the combination of above-average pop and an ability to get on base — his career Triple-A walk rate is 13.0% — that should appeal to fantasy managers in larger mixed and NL-only leagues.
Ronny Mauricio2B, New York Mets (available in 95.6%): A longtime Mets top prospect who enjoyed a cup of coffee with the 2023 team, Mauricio got the call again last Tuesday, following the placement of Mark winds on the IL. Mauricio should see a good share of the playing time at third base in Vientos’ absence, where he’ll bring a balanced categorical skill set for fantasy managers in rotisserie leagues, having hit .306 with 26 home runs and 28 stolen bases in his 125 career games at the Triple-A level. He could even figure into the second base mix following Vientos’ return.
