Joshua Baez tops fantasy baseball waiver wire stashes
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- Joshua Baez went deep four times in a single game this week, finishing his Triple-A stint with 23 homers in 63 games and a .277/.343/.621 line, positioning him as the top stash candidate with the surprisingly competitive Cardinals likely needing his bat soon.
- Luis Lara signed a $31 million extension with the Brewers, removing any service-time manipulation, and is hitting .319/.431/.460 at Triple-A — drawing a Sal Frelick comparison as he pushes for a call-up.
- Gage Jump delivered a seven-inning, one-hit shutout with seven strikeouts against a righty-heavy Angels lineup, generating whiffs on his four-seamer, curveball, and slider in his most impressive start since promotion.
- Sean Burke saw his fastball jump nearly 2 mph and reached 99.3 mph on his final pitch — only the fourth time he's hit that mark in the majors — striking out eight over 7.1 innings against the Yankees in a bulk relief appearance.
- Mick Abel is set to return from the IL this weekend against the Diamondbacks after a pre-injury run that included 16 strikeouts in 13 shutout innings, with his velocity reportedly ticking up on his rehab assignment.
- Matt Shaw should see more regular playing time after the Cubs sent Moises Ballesteros to Triple-A, having cut his strikeout rate to 17% this season while hitting .266/.319/.440 with MI, CI, and OF eligibility.
- Karson Milbrandt is the most obvious healthy arm for a Marlins rotation that has just two healthy starters, posting a 35.1% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate across 11 starts at two minor-league levels.
Why it matters: Fantasy players dealing with IL stashes for Aaron Judge and Jose Ramirez have concrete replacement options, with Baez offering plus power and 54 stolen bases from last season, Jump showing ace-level stuff, and Burke's velocity jump creating a potential breakout buy-low window before it normalizes.
