The Mets made an aggressive decision to call up a top prospect on Monday — we’ll break down his Fantasy impact plus other players to add ahead of Tuesday’s games before wrapping up with some key takeaways from Monday’s action.
A.J. Ewing, OF, Mets (16%) – The Mets are calling up Ewing, one of their top prospects who only recently moved up to Triple-A. It’s an aggressive promotion, but not out of character – Carson Benge was called up after just 24 games at Triple-A, and it’s not like he tore the cover off the ball. The Mets have specific metrics and measures they are looking for, and apparently Ewing has checked those boxes off this season while hitting .339/.447/.514 across the top two levels of the minors. His most potent skill at this point is speed, as Ewing stole 70 bases last season and is already up to 17 in his first 30 games in 2026, though this isn’t necessarily a Chandler Simpson, one-dimension speedster profile. Ewing makes a lot of contact and has a patient approach at the plate, and he really didn’t look like he was being challenged in the minors. His lack of present-day power could lead pitchers to challenge him more aggressively in the majors, and he might not have the juice in his bat to make them pay, though many scouts do think there could be at least average power here eventually. If Ewing can avoid being a total non-zero power source, he could be a very productive player for Fantasy with his speed, and he’s worth adding in most Roto leagues just in case he hits enough to carve out an everyday role. If not, he’ll likely go back down whenever Luis Robert (back) is ready – though the fact the Mets accelerated Ewing’s timetable might be sign of where Robert is with this injury.
Henry Bolte, OF, Athletics (6%) – The A’s have a type, and it is “athletic outfielder with big tools and big questions about his ability to put those tools into play.” Lawrence Butler and Denzel Clarke have a new friend! Bolte is big and athletic, and you’re seeing that at play with 30 steals and 14 homers in his first 71 games at Triple-A going back to last season. But the speed has been there all along, and it’s the power that is new, with 12 of those 14 homers coming this season. He has also cut his strikeout rate to 22%, though less because his contact skills have dramatically improved and more because he is just swinging more aggressively overall. If he can do damage on balls in play, that’s a reasonable trade-off, and it’s certainly working down at Triple-A, though his 57% groundball rate should make you skeptical about the power translating in the majors. This feels like a profile with a razor-thin margin for error against major-leaguers, but the combination of elite speed and high-end exit velocities could be enough to make Bolte relevant in most Roto leagues if he can just avoid too much swing-and-miss in his game.
Peter Lambert, SP, Astros (60%) – I don’t think Lambert is a must-roster pitcher, but I do think he’s doing some interesting stuff right now. He’s got a pretty good fastball despite below-average velocity, and he’s missing a surprising number of bats with his entire arsenal. Monday, it was the changeup and slider that stepped up for a combined 10 of his 13 whiffs, but his cutter and four-seamer have had pretty good results on swings this season, too. After his seven, three-run innings Monday he’s up to 25 strikeouts in 28.1 innings while generating solid results on balls in play. Again, it’s not an impact arm, but I think he can be useful against the right matchups, and I think that could include an upcoming matchup against the Rangers in his next start.
Monday’s standouts
Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays vs. TB: 4.2 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 5 K – It seemed like Gausman just didn’t have the feel for his splitter in this one, as he landed it in the zone just 19% of the time, generating just a 13% called-plus-swinging strike rate. He had to lean on the slider a bit more often than usual and got hit hard with his four-seamer, but that just seems like the kind of thing that just happens to splitter-heavy pitchers sometimes. It’s a tough pitch to command, and it can lead to some inconsistency – Gausman was lights out to open the season but has allowed four or more runs in two of his past three outings. I think you chalk this one up to “stuff happens.”
Ryan Weathers, Yankees @BAL: 6.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K – How quickly can things go sideways for a pitcher? At the beginning of the seventh inning, Weathers hadn’t allowed a hit; by the time the inning ended, he was tagged for two runs and one of the most tough-luck no-decisions you’ll see. The headline here is that Weathers once again pitched incredibly well without elite velocity, though I’ll point out that his fastballs continue to get hit pretty hard. It hasn’t really held him back yet, but it’s a red flag in his profile – as is the 4.65 xERA backing up the 3.00 ERA. I remain fascinated to see what the Yankees opt to do with Weathers when Gerrit Cole is back from the IL, because they can’t pull him out of the rotation when he’s getting results like this, can they?
Michael Soroka, Diamondbacks @TEX: 6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K – You know, if you take out the one eight-run outing, Soroka has a 1.87 ERA for the season. Even including that one, it’s a 3.53 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 43.1 innings. I still think he’s too prone to those kinds of disasters to ever truly feel comfortable trusting him – and I certainly wouldn’t trust him in his next start in Coors Field. But the start after that? Against the Rockies in Arizona? Yeah, I think I’d be cool with that one. And he might get the Mariners in Seattle after that, making for a couple of interesting streaming weeks.
Joey Cantillo, Guardians vs. LAA: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – Cantillo found some success in this one despite not really having his changeup working, no small thing given how dependent he is on that pitch. I’m not really sure that’s a sustainable strategy, but he’ll have better days with his best pitch moving forward, so just be happy you survived this one. I generally think Cantillo is a pretty fringe-y pitching talent despite the solid ERA, so I’m not fully convinced he’s a must-roster pitcher in the long run. But he should be useful for another start against the Reds away from Cincinnati this weekend.
Roki Sasaki, Dodgers vs. SF: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K – I think we’re seeing some growth from Sasaki. The results still aren’t great, but I think this is the closest I’ve come to feeling actual optimism about him since he made it to the majors. The fastball is still bad despite good velocity, but he continues to do some interesting stuff with his splitter, which might actually be best categorized as two different pitches at this point. He’s got the slower splitter that comes in between 85-88 mph that he used exclusively before the past few starts, and then he’s got the harder version he introduced recently that comes in around 90 mph or harder and typically with 900-plus RPM of spin. The slower version is mostly used in putaway counts because he doesn’t command it as well, but the harder version has become more of an all-counts pitch. He still fell short of a quality start against a beatable matchup, and I’m not sure we’ll ever reach the point where I feel comfortable with Sasaki as a reliable starter. But he’s looked better over the past three starts than ever before in his MLB career, and I’ve actually added him in a few leagues just in case he can build on these signs.
Trevor McDonald, Giants @LAD: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K – The results could have been worse, given the matchup, but after a pretty interesting debut against the Padres last week, McDonald really didn’t give us much to be excited about in this one. He missed a decent amount of bats with his slider and changeup, but his sinker looks too hittable to buy into as anything more than a streamer, and I don’t think I want to trust it in Sacramento for his next matchup.
News and notes
Nathan Eovaldi was scratched from his start Monday due to left side tightness. He’s considered day-to-day, but I hope you were able to get him out of your lineup for this one.
Mookie Betts was activated and in the lineup batting second. Alex Freeland was optioned to Triple-A. Betts had a hit and a couple of hard-hit balls in his first game back, while Hyeseong Kim figures to continue to see playing time at second base alongside Betts.
Jeremy Peña will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A on Tuesday.
Ryan Helsley hasn’t been cleared to start a throwing program yet. He’s on the IL with right elbow inflammation.
Giancarlo Stanton will undergo tests on his injured right calf in hopes of ramping up to running this week. He’s probably still a few weeks away from returning.
Samuel Basallo was scratched from the lineup with left knee discomfort. He’s expected to avoid the IL, but is dealing with some aftereffects of a collision at the plate Sunday.
Jose Caballero was out of the lineup Monday due to a right middle finger injury. He’ll undergo an MRI, and if he has to miss time, this could be Anthony Volpe’s ticket back to the majors.
Addison Barger was placed back on the IL with right elbow inflammation. He just returned Friday after dealing with injuries to both ankles, so that’s a real bummer.
Well, this is annoying: Bryce Eldridge didn’t start Monday against a right, his second game in a row on the bench. Manager Tony Vitello mentioned Eldridge will receive a chance to pinch-hit in every game that he doesn’t start, but the Giants do want to have Rafael Devers and Casey Schmitt in the lineup everyday, which makes it hard to find a spot for Eldridge consistently. I don’t really see the point of having a 21-year-old top prospect on the roster if you aren’t going to play him everyday. Eldridge needs reps more than the Giants need to marginally increase their chances of getting a hit in a high-leverage spot late in games, which seems to be his primary role on the team.
