A healthy Logan Henderson (left) is a huge boost for the Milwaukee rotation. (CBS Sports)
This week, Milwaukee beefed up its pitching depth by trading for Lance McCullers Jr. and Colton Gordon; 11 AL hurlers totally shut down the NL in the All-Star Game; and Junior Caminero got a scare in the mid-season classic after getting hit by a pitch on the hand, but X-rays were negative. Other Fantasy baseball stories we’re following include…
Logan Henderson Returns
When the Milwaukee Brewers got off to a somewhat slow start last season, we had our doubts about them making the playoffs again.
By mid-May, that assertion looked accurate as Milwaukee was just 21-25, but that’s about when things turned around in a big way. The Brew Crew went 76-40 from that point on and not only made the postseason, but got back to the NLCS for the first time since 2018.
And even with the team losing its last three before the break and generally spinning its wheels over the last couple of weeks, Milwaukee is in an even better position this year, sitting 59-37 with a five-game lead over the Cubs as we begin the second half.
One of the biggest reasons for the Brewers’ first half success has been their pitching staff, which tops the NL in ERA. We all know about the super human performance of breakout stud Jacob Misiorowski, the surprise that has been Kyle Harrison and the stellar relief work of Abner Uribe.
But what about the kids? The Brewers have a pair of arms that are in the NL ROY discussion: Shane Drohan, who we recommended a couple of weeks ago; and Logan Henderson, who just returned last week after missing almost two months with a back strain.
Henderson was a revelation in his MLB debut last year, going undefeated in five starts with a microscopic ERA, so big things were expected from him this season. And he was looking pretty damned good before getting hurt (2-1, 2.74 ERA), but was expectedly a little rusty in his return to action last week, although was good enough to earn the win by recording strikes with two-thirds of his offerings. And we saw during his rehab that he could sure mow them down…
Okay, so Henderson has actually lost a game this season, and his ERA hasn’t been taken from a video game, but the results remain very strong. For the second half (which he’ll begin this weekend vs. Miami), we’d consider him a top 60 starter with upside. If Henderson was dropped in your league while on the IL, grab him if you can.
This righty was hyped for a reason – he can really rack up the Ks (and has such a fun leg kick to finish his delivery, as you can see above).
Matthew Boyd Helping Keep the Cub Rotation Afloat
The Chicago Cubs are the team trying to hunt Milwaukee down in the NL Central, and with a 6-4 mark over the last 10 they have pulled within five games to keep things interesting heading into the second half.
Heading into the 2025 season, we discussed how Chicago had slowly been improving, but were still trying to break a four-year playoff drought. Sure enough, the Cubs were able to take that next step last year, improving by nine wins and returning to the postseason.
They’re playing at a similar level this season and barring a collapse, should return to the playoffs again this fall.
Among the more interesting quirks about the Cubbies this year is that they are tied for eighth in homers in the bigs, but don’t really have a candidate to win the MLB home run crown, at least as per FanDuel.
Pete Crow-Alexander has spanked 21 dingers in the first half, good enough for a share of 13th place, so he’s not too far off the pack, but from there it drops quick, although there is depth, with five Cubs having hit 11 or more homers.
On the pitching side, when you look at the starters Chicago has on the IL (Cade Horton, Ben Brown, Edward Cabrera, Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon), how huge has Matthew Boyd been since he returned from his own injury (suffered while playing with his kids) just three weeks ago?
Boyd was someone we recommended way back in 2018, and it was a good call as he enjoyed a career year and was even better the following season before running into some injury issues.
He wasn’t at his best on Sunday in his final start before the break, but still hung around for his longest outing of the season (6 1/3 IP) to earn his fifth straight win. Boyd lost his season opener, but has done nothing but win since, recording ERAs of 3.00 in May, 2.79 in June and 2.92 so far this month.
He racked up a career-best 14 wins last year and has already won five times in just nine starts this season. Okay, so Boyd’s 4.50 ERA isn’t very pretty, but with a 3.58 FIP, it’s obvious he’s pitched much better than his bottom line results suggest. And he’s clearly trending in the right direction, with just seven earned runs allowed over four starts and 22 frames since coming off the IL.
Boyd has generally never been much of a strikeout pitcher (notwithstanding 2019), yet he ranks 20th in SwStr% this season. Go figure.
Waiver Wire Pick of the Week
Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks (ESPN: 1.7 per cent; CBS: 25 per cent): No. 44 on our Top 100 Prospects list for 2026, Waldschmidt has mostly underwhelmed as a rookie. He’s hit decently, but where is the power we expected? However, with Jordan Lawlar (hamstring) still out and Tommy Troy (shoulder) joining him on the IL, Waldschmidt has a glorious opportunity to grab the CF job in Arizona and run with it. Waldschmidt desperately needs to rein in the strikeouts, but his pedigree is too good to ignore, so he could be a major second half sleeper.
RotoRob Tune of the Day
English drummer Keef Hartley was active from the 1960s until 1975, dying at age 67 in 2011. Under the Keef Hartley Band, in 1971 he released Little Big Band, recorded live at the Marquee Club in London, England. From that effort comes “Me and My Woman,” a Gene Barge-penned tune that was originally released on The Battle of North West Six.