A pair of American League Central rookies share a commonality: Both are left-handed hitters, both finished the past week amongst the top 10 hitters in terms of fantasy points scored, and — most importantly — both remain available in a vast majority of ESPN leagues. It’s time to remedy that latter trait.
Travis Bazzana, 2B, Cleveland Guardians (28.1.% rostered): In the wake of Jose Ramirez‘s left hamate fracture (an injury that will keep him out beyond the All-Star break at the earliest), the Guardians are in search of someone — anyone — who can lead their offense in the veteran’s stead. Bazzana, the first overall selection in the 2024 draft, made his case over the past week, scoring 34 fantasy points behind .429/.520/.952 hitting rates and three home runs with two of them coming in the team’s 8-1 Saturday victory in Houston. The rookie continued to demonstrate his elite strike-zone judgment (his 12.1% walk rate places in the 80th percentile) and his spike in contact quality (he had a 55.6% hard-hit rate for the week) was a good sign that he’s beginning to develop into a run producer.
Bazzana has handled the leadoff chores for the Guardians in 22 of their past 25 games, including six against a left-handed starter, a role he should maintain for the remainder of the season (even after Ramirez’s return). Between that and his plate approach, he’s an ideal skills fit for our standard league point scoring system.
Carter Jensen, C, Kansas City Royals (32.0% rostered): One of the top bets for American League Rookie of the Year honors entering the season, Jensen’s 2026 got off to a rocky start, as he posted a .657 OPS and 30.2% strikeout rate through his first 59 games. In the 12 contests since, he has finally seemed to click, batting .375/.407/.708 with three home runs, 11 RBIs and, in most encouraging fashion, a 14.8% strikeout rate. That included a 4-for-4 performance including a home run in Washington on Wednesday, as well as his having hit safely in all 12 games.
Jensen continues to get near-everyday at-bats in an effective catcher/designated hitter rotation with Salvador Perez, and the rookie has seized the team’s leadoff role against right-handed pitchers (12 consecutive starts against that side). Jensen’s contact quality remains excellent (he has a 51.1% hard-hit rate in June) and the regular role gives him added value as a fantasy catcher-eligible. It’s not difficult to envision him being a top-10 fantasy catcher with top-five upside the rest of the way.
Bazzana and Jensen aren’t the only left-handed AL Central rookies who have emerged as viable points-league performers. Also consider adding:
Sam Antonacci, 2B/3B/OF, Chicago White Sox (18.2% rostered): Like his freshmen AL Central brethren, Antonacci has elevated to the leadoff role in recent weeks, starting each of the White Sox’s past 32 games against a right-handed starter. Antonacci’s fantasy production might not yet have risen to the level of Bazzana’s or Jensen’s in June, but the White Sox rookie’s .316/.426/.521 hitting rates this month indicate his seemingly getting comfortable at the game’s top competitive level. Don’t underrate this fiery White Sox offense, which ranks fifth in baseball in runs per game over the past six weeks (5.06). As long as this team keeps performing, you’ll want their contact-oriented leadoff hitter in your fantasy lineup.
Injury return/two-start pickup
Shane Bieber, SP, Toronto Blue Jays (28.0% rostered): Bieber is a tough read for fantasy: a pitcher who might’ve already been stashed on an injured spot in your league, or perhaps about to become its top weekly pickup if your league has rules prohibiting adding injured players before their activation. Whatever the rules stipulate, his Tuesday season debut will be among the day’s most watched games, as the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner returns from right elbow inflammation in time to face the Houston Astros at home. That aligns Bieber for a two-start week with the second start coming at home against the Texas Rangers, with both of those offenses middling against right-handed pitchers. Considering Bieber’s minor league rehabilitation stint numbers were only so-so (6.88 ERA in five starts), he’s probably a better pitcher to stash and evaluate rather than immediately activate, but his rest-of-season upside is great enough to make sure he’s rostered everywhere.
Deeper league pickups
Deep (12-team mixed): Endy Rodriguez, 1B/C, Pittsburgh Pirates (0.9% rostered): A “deepest leagues” pickup recommendation five weeks back, Rodriguez elevates to universal-mixed-league status this week, thanks in large part to the Pirates’ decision on Thursday to trade the rehabbing Joey Bart to the Atlanta Braves. Rodriguez has affirmed himself a solid catching partner to Henry Davis, albeit with far greater offensive potential than the defensively oriented Davis. If Rodriguez had the requisite plate appearances, his Statcast contact-quality metrics — average exit velocity, Barrel rate, expected wOBA — would all place in the 80th percentile or better, and he’s faring better behind the plate than expected. There’s enough here with the Bart trade that Rodriguez needs to be rostered in any league starting 24-plus catchers.
Deeper (15-team mixed): Matt Shaw, 3B/OF, Chicago Cubs (3.0% rostered): He returned from a back injury on June 9, and the Cubs’ subsequent decision to pull the plug on the Moises Ballesteros-at-designated-hitter experiment on Thursday vaults Shaw back into a starting role, as the right fielder who bumped Seiya Suzuki back to DH. Now a likely regular for the foreseeable future, Shaw’s 6-for-21, two-triple, one-homer performance over the past week, as well as his above-average contact and power potential, makes him worth adding in any league of this depth or greater.
Deepest (AL- and NL-only leagues): Joshua Baez, OF, St, Louis Cardinals (2.2% rostered): A stash rather than a straight-to-the-lineup add in leagues of this depth, Baez needs to be rostered in only leagues based upon both his recent minor league performance as well as the Cardinals’ struggles filling left and center field thus far (24th-ranked .295 combined wOBA). A 2021 second-rounder, Baez enjoyed a four-homer game on Tuesday, and hit another five home runs in the 16 June games that surrounded it (for nine homers in 17 total). He’s hitting .347/.385/.878 with 14 homers and 35 RBIs in 23 games over the past four weeks alone, and should earn a recall in the near future.
