Each week in MLB is its own story -- full of surprises, both positive and negative -- and fantasy managers must decide what to believe and what not to believe moving forward. Perhaps we can help. If any of these thoughts come true... don't be surprised!
Don't be surprised ... if a pair of Tampa Bay Rays hitters finish among the top 10 in fantasy points
Rays 3B Junior Caminero boasts quite a power streak of late, as he has now slugged home runs in six consecutive games, and nine in his last eight games. This run of excellence isn't much of a surprise. After all, Caminero launched 45 home runs during the 2025 campaign, finishing 11th among all hitters in fantasy points. We know Caminero, 22, is one of the best hitters in baseball. What many do not know is that until this past weekend, he wasn't even the best Rays hitter in 2026 fantasy points!
Yes, 1B Yandy Diaz entered play on Wednesday hitting a league-leading .334 with 12 home runs, 53 RBIs and 46 runs, and his .928 OPS ranked seventh in baseball. Caminero had a sub-.900 OPS until his powerful weekend. Both of these Rays are fantastic, but Caminero gets all the notice. Look, he's awesome and certainly has MVP votes and perhaps MVP awards in his future. With this hot streak he is now on pace for another 45-HR campaign, just like last season. Caminero has more than doubled his walk rate (to 13.1%) and lowered his chase rate. This is a top-10 fantasy option in 2027 drafts and a player on an early Hall of Fame track.
Diaz, 34, somehow remains available in quite a few fantasy leagues, which is stunning. Sure, he is rostered in 91.7% of leagues, but that isn't nearly good enough! There are 46 hitters are more popular, including sputtering Seattle Mariners C Cal Raleigh (hitting .164) and Chicago Cubs 2B Nico Hoerner (hitting .213 with nary a home run since May 1). Diaz has been among the top 10 fantasy hitters all season. He averages 3.1 fantasy points per game because he doesn't make nearly as many outs as most. His is an elite contact rate, double-digit walk rate with low strikeouts and modest power. That tends to get overlooked, but it shouldn't be.
Diaz won the batting title during his best fantasy season of 2023 and he is on his way to a repeat performance. This may be his first campaign with 100 RBIs and 100 runs, too. First base has seen a bit of an offensive resurgence this season, with five of the top nine fantasy scorers playing the position and ESPN's shallow standard leagues ignore the typical corner infield spot. Diaz is clearly worthy of a regular lineup spot, though. He hit .385/.465/.479 in June and, for his career, the numbers have improved after the All-Star break. Diaz boasts an .857 OPS post-break, compared to .804 prior. Caminero may be the one making history, but Diaz has been underrated for years. Let's end that narrative!
Don't be surprised ... if Detroit Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal is a top five fantasy option the rest of the season
Perhaps this is counterintuitive, but don't be surprised when the Tigers keep Skubal, the two-time defending AL Cy Young award winner, through the trade deadline even though he can become a free agent at the end of this season.
The Tigers, who currently have a 38-49 record, are hardly assured to miss the playoffs. They went 15-11 in June and we saw as recently as last season that a team in the AL Central make up a double-digit game deficit over the closing months. It happened to the Tigers when the Cleveland Guardians achieved this. Plus, even as a pending free agent, what is the best pitcher in baseball worth?
Skubal dominated the Aaron Judge-less New York Yankees on Tuesday, permitting just one hit (a Ben Rice home run) over six innings, striking out nine with nary a walk for the second consecutive outing. Skubal missed six weeks after a procedure to remove loose bodies from his pitching elbow and he failed to impress in his first several starts back. Or did he? Yes, Skubal permitted six home runs over his first three June starts (two to Paul Goldschmidt), but that was about it. He fanned 30 and walked two for the month.
The Tigers were coy about how much time Skubal would miss and fantasy managers may have assumed his entire season would be compromised. That clearly is not the case. Skubal is back, and we saw on Tuesday how incredibly valuable he can be, throwing 61 of his 87 pitches for strikes and retiring 12 consecutive hitters following the Rice home run. Skubal earned 26 fantasy points for the evening -- the fourth time he has achieved 20 points in an outing this season.
We aren't going to get close to 30 starts from Skubal this season, so he will not finish among the top 10 fantasy hurlers, but he can certainly be among the best for the next three months. Trade for Skubal with confidence.
Don't be surprised ... if three Washington Nationals hitters finish among the top 25 in fantasy points
Fantasy managers know all about Nationals OF James Wood and SS CJ Abrams. These fellows have been among the top fantasy hitters all season long, igniting this surprising, league-leading offense and keeping the Nationals in the wild-card race. It sure isn't because of their pitching. Washington entered Wednesday ranked second in MLB in runs, one run behind the Los Angeles Dodgers -- and then surged into first with a 10-run outing in Boston.
Wood and Abrams carried this offense for two months. However, 2B/1B Luis Garcia Jr. was the one who carried the offense in June, hitting .306/.352/.776 with 11 home runs and 27 RBIs. The current NL Player of the Week homered six times in six games, knocked in nine runs and became one of fantasy's most-added players. Somehow, Garcia remains available in 47% of ESPN standard leagues. While he hasn't played second base this season, he retained that valuable eligibility from 2025.
Garcia, 26, offered surprising (and a bit understated) fantasy utility over the past two seasons, as he averaged 17 home runs, 68 RBIs and 18 stolen bases from the keystone, making contact but drawing few walks. He was mostly a platoon player who struggled versus left-handed pitching. The big difference this season -- or really in June -- was that both Garcia's exit velocity and launch angle significantly increased. The left-handed hitter has also been pulling the ball more to right field. We cannot assume more 11-HR months are pending, but these are assuredly positive signs.
This version of Garcia scored 103 fantasy points in June, averaging 4.0 points per game (nearly double the fantasy points of Wood and Abrams). The only hitters to score more fantasy points and average more per game were the great Shohei Ohtani and Cubs OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, the latter who seems likely to earn NL Player of the Month honors over Garcia. That's fine. Garcia was a useful fantasy option in recent seasons, but now he may become an indispensable one. Sure, we would like more walks, and he hasn't stolen a base since April, but 30 home runs and 106 RBIs (his current pace) are better. This Nationals offense is quite fun, but now it is more than merely two fellows.
One final thought: Wood entered Wednesday ranked sixth among all hitters in full-season fantasy points, on pace for 39 home runs, 97 RBIs and 136 runs. He is also on pace for 231 strikeouts, which would set a record. Wood whiffed 221 times last season, falling just short of former sluggers Mark Reynolds (223 K in 2009) and Adam Dunn (222 K in 2012). We have never seen anyone quite like Wood, who also has 13 stolen bases and leads the NL in walks. Strikeouts are a problem in points leagues, but if Wood could ever cut his rate down to, say 25%, while still providing power, speed and walks? He may end up as the best non-Ohtani fantasy option in the sport.