Kevin Gausman hit a milestone in his worst start of the season. (Sportsnet)
This week, we learned that Scott Boras thinks his client Tarik Skubal will be back from elbow surgery sooner than anticipated; Mookie Betts (oblique strain) returned to action after being sidelined for five weeks; and Blake Perkins shook off a slump with a key two-run single to help the Brewers earn their first three-game sweep of the Yankees since 1989. Other Fantasy baseball stories we’re tracking include…
Kevin Gausman Hits 2K
The Toronto Blue Jays had an amazing turnaround last season (even greater than we expected), soaring from 74 wins in 2024 to 94 and falling just one win shy of earning their first World Series title since 1993.
This season, however, Toronto has regressed, and with back-to-back losses now finds itself 7.5 behind the second place Yankees and just a half-game up on the cellar-dwelling Red Sox.
In Monday’s loss, the good news was that Kevin Gausman, who entered the start needing just three more punch outs to reach 2K for his career, managed to record five strikeouts, but it was also likely his worst outing of 2026 as he allowed season-highs of seven runs (six earned) and 10 hits in only 4 2/3 IP against Tampa Bay.
So the celebration was certainly muted, although he did put himself in some rare company.
Gausman has been highly inconsistent so far this season, starting out with two superb outings (see video below for his season-opening gem) before finishing April with five meh starts. His first game of May was strong – against these same Rays – but they sure figured him out in a second look six days later.
That leaves Gausman with a 6.75 ERA for May after recording a 3.38 mark in April and 1.50 for March. Sensing a trend?
He has his first losing record since 2019, although the rest of his numbers have been normal or even better in some cases. Now remember, Gausman struggled for much of 2024 before a strong finish which was followed up by a very fine 2025, so we’ve seen him pull himself out of tailspins before.
He remains a very strong SP3 (or SP2 in a pinch) for Fantasy purposes and a top 25 SP for the remainder of 2026. Gausman is in the 98th percentile in fastball run value and 96th percentile for pitching run value, but with a breaking run value only in the 20th percentile we can see where he’s vulnerable.
Now 35, most of his stuff remains tremendous enough (especially his top notch splitter) for him to continue to be a force for the foreseeable future.
Minnesota Stops the Bleeding
Over in the AL Central, the Minnesota Twins are playing better lately, having won back-to-back games to pull within a game of the third place Tigers, but are also now in the cellar, a game back of red-hot KC.
Since last making the playoffs in 2023 based on an 87-win season, Minny has been in regression, dipping to 82 in 2024 and then just 70 last year. They’ve been slightly better this season, and FanDuel odds project them to win more than 70 (-225) but probably under 80 (+285).
On Sunday the Twins got help from an unlikely source as Kody Clemens recorded a season-high three hits, including two doubles, while scoring twice to lead the team to a 5-4 win and a series victory over division rival Cleveland.
Clemens has been around for a few years now, but has failed to make much of a Fantasy impact given that he’s generally an underperforming, part-time player. He’s on pace to match his career-high of 119 games played set last season, but his extra-base sock has regressed. The only saving grace for Clemens is that he already has matched a career-best with five steals, so we suppose if you’re absolutely desperate for speed in a very deep AL-only format, he could be somewhat useful.
The steals have helped him post 6.3 Yahoo Fantasy points per game, a total which has increased on a yearly basis. Clemens does qualify at first, second and outfield, so that’s something, but at this stage, he’s barely a top 500 player for the rest of the season.
Hey, at least he’s a solid defender at first, having recording two outs above average so far. So that’s something…
Waiver Wire Pick of the Week
Yariel Rodriguez, RP, Toronto Blue Jays (ESPN: 0.1 per cent; CBS: unowned): Back in mid-August 2024, we recommended Rodriguez as a wire pickup, but he scuffled for the rest of the month before a strong finish to the season. Last year, he was converted to the bullpen and was decent, with a nice record, solid WHIP, strong hit rates and 16 solds. This year, Rodriguez pitched decently at Triple-A, going undefeated through 11 appearances (one start) with a couple of holds and no saves. Now that he’s been promoted to Toronto, what excites us is his strikeout rate (25 over 13 2/3 IP) in the minors; that trend continued with his MLB season debut Monday of one hitless frame with two Ks. Could he work his way into a higher leverage role with that kind of stuff? At the very least keep an eye on Rodriguez.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
Einstürzende Neubauten’s lineup consists of Blixa Bargeld (founding member), N.U. Unruh (founding member), Jochen Arbeit (joined in 1997), Rudolph Moser (1997) and Josefine Lukschy (2026). Here’s “Nnnaaammm,” another track from Ende Neu.