When the Marlins returned Eury Perez from the IL last week, I expected it to be a couple of weeks before he would truly be worth using for Fantasy. After all, he made a much quicker-than-expected return from that hamstring injury, returning to the majors after just one minor-league rehab start where he threw just 51 pitches. He would need to be worked in slowly, and he was in his first start back.
But the Marlins gave him a surprisingly long leash Tuesday against the Rockies, allowing him to pitch into the sixth inning in just his second start back from the IL. You could argue the Marlins left Perez out there a bit too long – two of his four walks on the night came in the sixth inning before he was pulled with one out – but in the context of his return from injury and the specifics of this game against the Rockies, it actually made sense. The Marlins were up 8-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, so why not take the chance to give Perez some low-stress reps?
The upshot of all that is Perez got to 86 pitches and should be viewed as more or less stretched out moving forward. It's been a frustrating season for Perez, but he remains an intriguing talent, as shown by eight strikeouts in 5.1 innings in Coors Field Tuesday. And in his past four starts – two before and now two after his IL stint – Perez has a 1.33 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts in 20.1 innings of work.
That doesn't mean Perez will be great the next time out. He's still more likely to end up going fewer than five innings than more than six in any given start at this point in his career, but with Perez's pitch count built back up and his performance at a high, I think it's time to trust him back in our lineups moving forward. And there's a chance he's about to really take off and become the pitcher we've always hoped he could be.
Pre-game Lineup Card
Here's what you might have missed from CBSSports.com's MLB coverage in recent days:
Rankings Movers. Luis Garcia is having one of the best stretches of his career, but there's only so high he can move in the rankings, Scott says.
Bullpen breakdown. Scott White goes through all 30 MLB teams' ninth-inning situations to try to figure out who is going to get the next save.
Power Rankings. The Phillies have disappointed this season, but they're finally making their move.
Mid-season grades. Dayn Perry hands out mid-season grades for every AL team, with the surprise White Sox at the top of the class.
Rumor roundup: The Orioles 'going for it.' And what will the new A's GM do after they fired Perry Minasian?
Hitting the Wire
The top waiver-wire targets from Tuesday's action:
Cade Cavalli, SP, Nationals (57%) – Two pitchers have had at least 13 strikeouts in a game this season and have had double-digit strikeouts in at least two starts in a row. The first one is Jacob Misiorowski, and yeah, that makes sense. He might be the best pitcher in baseball right now. And then there's … Cade Cavalli? Really? That knuckle-curve is nasty, but it was actually the for-seamer that carried the day Tuesday, generating 15 of his whopping 25 swinging strikes en route to 13 strikeouts. It was a heck of a start, and Cavalli has, on multiple occasions now, flashed the kind of upside we dream of seeing from pitchers on the waiver wire. It's tough to trust him, but Cavalli does have a 3.57 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 70.2 innings of work over his past 13 starts, so he's been more useful than not lately. Why not add him and see if he can build on this? The upside is certainly there.
Dansby Swanson, SS, Cubs (72%) – It's been real feast-or-famine days for Swanson lately. He had that bonkers stretch last week where he drove in 15 runs over three days and had four straight multi-hit games in a row, and then he followed that up with four hitless games in a row where he struck out six times in 16 trips to the plate. That might just be life with Swanson, but he got back on track with two hits Monday and then put up another huge game Tuesday, this time adding a couple of homers to his three-hit day. Swanson finished June with six homers and five steals and is basically on his usual 20-20 pace; if he was hitting .240-ish like he usually does, it would probably look like another pretty standard Dansby Swanson season. That isn't a hugely impactful player, but it's generally someone who is rostered more widely than 72%.
Hurston Waldrep, SP, Braves (20%) – It was kind of surprising that the Braves called Waldrep up last week to pitch out of the bullpen before he was fully stretched out, but it sounds like the plan is still for him to join the rotation sometime soon, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Waldrep had a breakout season in 2025, putting up a 2.88 ERA, and while the 3.99 xERA for the season doesn't necessarily back it up, it mostly comes down to control – he has strikeout upside thanks to his really excellent splitter and curveball, so if he can keep his walk rate around league average, there is real upside here whenever Waldrep returns to the rotation, and he's worth stashing in deeper leagues beforehand.
Tommy Edman, 2B, Dodgers (31%) – I'll admit, I have a hard time buying into Edman as a viable Fantasy option if he isn't going to be running much, and we haven't seen him attempt a steal yet in 11 games since returning from ankle surgery. Given the nature of this injury, maybe he'll never be much of a base runner again. But we shouldn't ignore when he's hitting well just because he isn't running, and he's been hitting extremely well since going on the IL, including a four-hit, four-RBI game with a homer Tuesday. He's still getting pretty regular days off, but he is hitting .395/.452/.579 and has eligibility at 2B and outfield, which is useful enough to make Edman worth adding at least in categories leagues.
Griffin Conine, OF, Marlins (4%) – Conine is a big, strong dude, and he hits the ball hard. He has struggled making the most of that thanks to injuries and contact issues in the past, but he homered Monday and then had four hits Tuesday, so he's enjoying a little heater right now. The sample size of success here is very limited, but in deeper leagues – say, where Esmerlyn Valdez is already rostered – maybe Conine can be worth a look.
Three Up, Three Down
Three big performances that have players trending up, and three that have the arrow pointing in the opposite direction.
Three Up
Justin Wrobleski showed flashes
Wrobleski is one of the weirdest pitchers in baseball. He's clearly overperforming with his 2.80 ERA – his estimators are all in the high-3.00s range at best, but he keeps having these flashes that show he might actually have another level he can reach. Tuesday was one of them, as he dominated the A's, even more than the line – three runs in seven innings – would make you think. With the Dodgers facing a bullpen day Wednesday and Wrobleski cruising, they decided to give him a little extra leash, hence his 110-pitch total through those seven innings. He had allowed just one run through six, and given the circumstances, I think we can excuse the extra couple of runs that came through, especially when Wrobleski struck out 11 and had 19 swinging strikes on 110 pitches. He's clearly capable of missing bats, especially with his legitimately very good fastball, and when he does, you can see the path to sustainable, difference-making production. If he could even be an average strikeout pitcher, Wrobleski could be even more valuable than he has been so far, even if (when) the ERA regresses. These flashes are one reason I am just a little hesitant to slap the "sell-high" tag on him.
Tarik Skubal looked like himself
Usually, that isn't noteworthy. But Skubal had been a bit off since coming back just six weeks after elbow surgery, allowing nine runs in 16.1 innings with six homers allowed in his first three starts. He still allowed one homer Tuesday against the Yankees, but it was the only damage on his line across six innings, and he was charged for just one earned run on one hit. Skubal struck out nine for the second start in a row, giving him 30 to just two walks in 22.1 innings since coming back, and I fully expect him to be one of, if not the, best starting pitchers in baseball moving forward.
Fernando Tatis Jr. homered – twice!
With the wind blowing out on a hot day at Wrigley Field, the circumstances were perfect for power hitting, and Tatis took advantage with his first two-homer game since April 14, 2025. Yeah, it's been a long time, but Tatis more or less looks like himself lately – he finished June hitting .318/.356/.509. I'd hope for more than four homers in a good month from Tatis (and expect a bit lower average), but generally speaking, I think that's the kind of production I'm looking for from him. I don't think it's reasonable to expect 30-plus homers from Tatis until and unless he fixes his swing, but his June pace is something like 25 homers, 30 steals, 95 runs, and 90 RBI with a very good batting average, and yeah, that's Fernando Tatis. It's not a first-round player anymore, let alone someone challenging for the top spot in Fantasy. But I still think that's a second or third-rounder. Hope you didn't sell low!
Three Down
Cam Schlittler finally stumbled
Schlittler's ascendance to the upper ranks of pitchers has happened so suddenly that it's reasonable to worry about the rug getting pulled out from under you. Schlittler had the worst start of his career Tuesday on the other side of Skubal in that matchup, and he's looked a lot more vulnerable of late, with seven homers allowed in his past six starts, compared to two in his first 12. And yet a "more vulnerable" Schlittler still ended June with a 3.38 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 32 innings of work, so I don't think it makes much sense to be worried here. There have been some mildly concerning velocity readings in recent starts – including some sub-95 mph fastballs toward the end of this one – but he has bounced back so far, and I don't see much reason to think he won't after this one.
Landen Roupp is still a work in progress
I'm a big believer in the advanced stats for pitching, and yet I don't really trust Roupp. This is a tough position to be in because the advanced metrics universally think he deserves to be one of the better pitchers in baseball. Here, just take your pick:
- xERA: 3.27 (13th in the majors)
- FIP: 2.94 (9th)
- SIERA: 3.67 (25th)
The most skeptical still has him as a solidly above-average pitcher, ahead of stalwarts like Kevin Gausman, Logan Webb, Sonny Gray, and George Kirby, among others. So what's my holdup? It's not really the 4.07 ERA – ERA holds very little predictive power – as much as it is the skill set and approach for Roupp. He relies heavily on a slow, looping curveball, a notoriously difficult pitch to command consistently (just as Tarik Skubal, who might be the most similar pitcher to Roupp from the opposite side of the mound). Roupp has expanded his arsenal this season, but still has iffy command at best, as he reminded us with six walks before being chased in just 2.2 innings Tuesday against the Diamondbacks. If you want to buy into Roupp, I think that's reasonable, and there are certainly reasons to do so. But I just can't really get there with him.
We're done with Noah Cameron
I didn't really believe in Cameron last season, but I thought it was at least somewhat reasonable to draft him and see if maybe his 2.95 ERA (compared to his 4.07 xERA) was sustainable. You're usually better off betting against outliers, but they do exist, and Cameron was cheap enough coming into the season to take a late-round flier to see if he might not be one of those outliers. A half-season and his peripherals are even worse than they were last season, and he's not even outrunning them anymore, with his ERA spiking to 4.95 after he was tagged for six runs in 3.2 innings Tuesday against the Rays. There's no reason for Cameron to be rostered in 77% of CBS Fantasy leagues at this point.
Extra Innings
The Pirates hung Bubba Chandler out to dry
The Pirates did Chandler a disservice in asking him to go out for the seventh inning in this one – sure, his pitch count was low, but for a guy who has struggled as much as Chandler, there's something to be said for letting him leave a few batters too soon so he can go into the clubhouse with a good start under his belt. Even if he had gone for two runs in six innings (instead of five in 6.1), this wouldn't have been as promising a start as I would like, as Chandler had just seven whiffs on 97 pitches. For a guy whose stuff looks as good as Chandler's, he just doesn't miss nearly as many bats as he should. The control has improved, and he's starting to find some success, but it's hard to buy in fully until we see him consistently missing bats, and that just hasn't been there yet.
