Justin Mason | Sun, Jul 26th 2026, 7:00am EDT

20 Things to Watch This Week in Fantasy Baseball (2026)

With the fantasy baseball season in full swing, it is important to look at some key storylines and aspects this week to stay ahead of the curve and gain an edge on your leaguemates.

20 Fantasy Baseball Things to Watch

1. Week Schedule Notes

No teams have just five games this week!
The following teams have seven games this week:
- Tampa Bay Rays at TOR, vs CLE
- Toronto Blue Jays vs TB, at BOS
- Cleveland Guardians vs MIN, at TB
- Detroit Tigers at CHC, vs KC
- Kansas City Royals vs SF, at DET
- Minnesota Twins at CLE, vs ATH
- Atlanta Braves vs SD, at BAL
- St. Louis Cardinals at LAA, vs ARI (1), vs CIN
- Arizona Diamondbacks vs ATH, at STL (1), at WAS
- San Diego Padres at ATL, at MIA

2. Shohei Ohtani (DH/SP – LAD)

Ohtani has not pitched in a game since the beginning of July, and while he still has a lot of value just as a hitter, he definitely takes a hit in value even in formats where you can use both his hitting and pitching. He is supposed to throw another bullpen session this week, and we need to watch for updates.

3. Trades!

We are a week away from the MLB trade deadline, and this is shaping up to be an active one. With a lot of teams looking to compete in the AL and fewer in the NL, there should be a good amount of cross-league trades, which will have a big effect for fantasy.

4. The Wild Card Race Teams

With the trade deadline approaching, we need to be keeping an eye on the teams that are in the Wild Card race. Some of them may fall out of it this week and become sellers, while others may get hot and become buyers.

5. Clay Holmes (SP – NYM)

Holmes is expected to come off the IL this week for a start before the deadline. He was amazing before breaking his leg after being hit with a comebacker. We need to see if he is going to go back to being great or if he struggles. He is likely a trade candidate as well, so this may determine whether he leaves the Mets or not.

6. Max Scherzer (SP – TOR)

Scherzer is returning from the IL this week and has a two-start week that I wouldn’t use him for, but I want to watch and see how the future Hall of Famer looks. We need to see if he will be usable down the stretch or if it’s time for retirement.

7. Brandon Pfaadt (SP/RP – ARI)

Pfaadt has been fantastic since returning from the minors, throwing 27 innings over his last five starts with a 2.33 ERA and 14 strikeouts. He has had nice matchups outside of a game at the Dodgers, and the strikeouts have been sparse, so we need to see if he is for real or if this was a hot streak that is fraudulent. He has a tough matchup against the Pirates, which is a great test.

8. Nick Lodolo (SP – CIN)

Lodolo is expected to return from the IL this week after dealing with a blister issue. He struggled for the first half of the season, throwing 62.2 innings with a 4.60 ERA. However, the skills are not in question, and we need to see if this IL stint helped get him back on the right track.

9. Diamondbacks Closing Chaos

Paul Sewald has struggled lately and could be at risk of losing his job. There isn’t a great option behind him right now to take over, but it would likely be Jonathan Morillo or Kevin Ginkel until Justin Martinez returns.

10. Marlins Closer Chaos

Pete Fairbanks has struggled this season as the Marlins closer and may be close to losing his job. If he does, then Calvin Faucher or Michael Petersen may be the next men up.

11-14. Streaming Options

Trevor Rogers (BAL) at DET – Rogers has been fantastic since the beginning of June and has a nice matchup.

Connor Prielipp (MIN) at SEA – Prielipp is back off the IL and has a matchup in a good park against a team that has been the worst in baseball versus left handed pitching.

Shane Drohan (MIL) at SF – Drohan has been great this season and is facing a selling Giants team in San Francisco that has been bad versus lefties this season.

Mitch Bratt (ARI) at CLE – The Guardians have struggled offensively versus lefties this season, and Bratt has great command and a full arsenal.

15-20. 2-Start Options

Sandy Alcantara (MIA) vs PHI, at NYM – Alcantara has been up and down all season and pretty much became a low-upside innings eater. However, he has two really nice matchups this week, so you are using him.

Brandon Sproat (MIL) at SF, at LAA – Sproat really struggled to start the season, but he has been much better as of late, throwing 23 innings over his last five starts with a 2.74 ERA and 28 strikeouts. It is a high-risk profile as he tends to struggle with command and control, but there is a ton of upside, and he has very good matchups this week.

Colin Rea (CHC) at STL, vs NYY – Rea has struggled this year, and on the surface, it may look weird that he is being recommended. However, he has two great matchups this week versus two teams that have been struggling offensively over the last 30 days. The Yankees are the 29th best team in xOBA over this time frame, and the Cardinals are the 23rd. There is risk, but it is one worth gambling on.

Walbert Urena (LAA) vs HOU, vs MIL – Urena has been very good this season, throwing 87.1 innings with a 2.78 ERA and 83 strikeouts. However, he has struggled with control, which has led to a 1.31 WHIP. He is usable in most formats where you do not have any issues with your ratios, especially your WHIP.

Justin Wrobleski (LAD) vs SEA, vs BOS – Wrobleski has been fantastic this year, but most of the season, his underlying skills didn’t support it. However, over his three starts, the strikeout stuff has been there, and he has racked up 27 strikeouts over this three game stretch. With the better skills and the Dodgers offense behind him, you are starting him everywhere.

Landen Roupp (SF) vs MIL, at SD – Roupp has been great in his two starts since the break, throwing 13 innings, allowing just two earned runs. He can struggle with control at times, but when he attacks the zone, he pitches like an ace. He has a tough start to begin the week, but a great one at the end, making him a very good play this week.

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