Oakland Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof continued to find his groove in Thursday's narrow loss to the visiting Kansas City Royals, clobbering his eighth home run of the year. It was also a third consecutive game with a homer for Gelof, who knocked a two-run shot to center field off Royals right-hander Seth Lugo to tie the game at two runs apiece in the seventh inning. It's about time for fantasy managers to think about adding Gelof from waiver wires where he may be available, considering the 24-year-old former top prospect was a second-half hero in 2023 and is now hitting a healthy .263 (15-for-57) with five round-trippers, four doubles, 10 RBI, and three stolen bases in the month of June to get his batting average back up over the Mendoza line (.202) on the season as a whole.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz made his ninth start with Triple-A Durham following Tommy John surgery on Thursday, striking out six over three scoreless innings of work. Baz did give up four hits and three walks on Thursday, but this was still an excellent follow-up performance to his last outing on Friday, when he punched out eight across six frames of one-run ball. The 25-year-old former top prospect looks to be ready to roll when the Rays inevitably recall him from the minor leagues later this summer, but the tricky part is trying to figure out when that might happen. Baz is a bit tougher to stash in redraft fantasy leagues, since he cannot be put on an injured-list spot at this point, and Tampa Bay seems to be comfortable with the five-man rotation they currently employ.

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Edward Cabrera (shoulder) made his first minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Jacksonville on Wednesday, throwing three innings with four strikeouts. Cabrera allowed one earned run on one hit and one walk on Wednesday, pouring in 30 of his 49 pitches for strikes. He's likely going to need at least another appearance or two in the minors before the Marlins think about activating him from the injured list, considering Cabrera produced a miserable 7.17 ERA and 1.59 WHIP over his five starts this season. The 26-year-old former top prospect can miss bats in bunches; he's got 31 punchouts through 21 1/3 innings. If Cabrera can sharpen up his control on the farm, he still has a chance at mixed-league fantasy relevance during the second half of the season.

Oakland Athletics left-hander Kyle Muller (shoulder) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Sunday, June 23. If all goes well during that 30-pitch session, Muller is expected to join Triple-A Las Vegas for the start of a minor-league rehab assignment the week of June 24. The 26-year-old southpaw began his throwing program all the way back on June 6 and is nearing game action as he attempts to return from the injured list and rejoin Oakland's bullpen around the end of this month. Thirteen of his 21 appearances last year came in a starting role, but all 13 of his outings this year before his injury came in relief. In his 33 2/3 innings, Muller allowed 16 runs (13 earned) and 33 hits (five homers) while walking seven and striking out 24. His well below-average career 17.8% strikeout rate makes him pretty useless in fantasy as a reliever.

Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said on Tuesday that outfielder Esteury Ruiz (wrist) is continuing to go through a strengthening program and is expected to begin baseball activities around 10 to 12 days after that. Ruiz sprained his wrist around a month ago and went on the injured list. He hasn't done much since then besides strengthening and isn't going to be back with the A's until July, most likely after the All-Star break in the middle of July. The 25-year-old speedster broke out in 2023 and led all of baseball with 67 stolen bases, but he's already been demoted to the minors in 2024 and is now dealing with a serious injury. In only 29 games to this point, he's hit .200 (11-for-55) with two homers, eight RBI and only five stolen bases. Ruiz won't be guaranteed regular playing time when he's fully healthy, either.