Olivares had been hitting well before hitting the IL, drawing plenty of walks this month (.370 OBP). Coming off a tough 2021, he’s rebounded nicely, having already set career highs in several categories, while batting over .300. Expect Olivares back early next week, and consider him a nice second half sleeper.

He racked up a ton of steals at Double-A, earning a recent promotion to Triple-A, where he’s continuing to put up total bases. When you consider that Carroll missed all of 2020 because there was no season, and most of last year with an injury, what he’s done this season is beyond amazing. This dude headlines one of the game’s best farm systems, and given his current trajectory, we wouldn’t be surprised to see him make his MLB debut later this season.

He’s gotten better each season, and is at least as good as an MLB replacement level player, with clear upside. Depending how long Severino is out, Schmidt could be a surprisingly useful second-half asset.

Azocar had been operating as a part-time player, but he’s going to play every day for a while after Profar landed on the IL thanks to a concussion. Azocar hasn’t done much lately to warrant your attention, but he is batting .300 in limited duty this month, so in very deep NL-only leagues let’s see what he can do with regular at-bats. He’s hit changeups very well, but has struggled with fastballs and sliders.

While Minter is having the better season, Smith has a much longer track record as a closer, and he bounced back nicely in June after a somewhat rough May. While Smith is still seeking his first win of the season (he’s never had a winless campaign in his career), he has managed this year to consolidate his ERA improvements from 2021. We think these gains are real based on him trimming both his flyball and line drive rates.