Last Updated on May 20, 2025 7:07 am by Anthony Kates | Published: May 20, 2025

Every Tuesday I take a look at and review the previous week’s fantasy performances. We crown the top ten hitters and top ten pitchers, cover injury news and transactions that impact the fantasy landscape, review noteworthy performances from across the league and check in on the state of the relief corps.

Top 10 Fantasy Hitters of the Week

Top 10 Fantasy Pitchers of the Week

Injury News

1. Rangers SS Corey Seager was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday with a right hamstring strain, retroactive to May 11th. Bruce Bochy, Rangers manager, expects him to miss more than the minimum time this time around. Seager has already spent time on the IL for this same injury and only played one game for the Rangers before they decided to place him back on the IL. Expect them to make sure he is 100% healthy and ready to get back on the field before he’s back in the lineup. I’d guess the beginning of June would be the earliest we’d see him, but there is no timeline right now.
2. The Cubs placed OF Ian Happ on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday with an oblique injury, retroactive to May 10th. Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty said that Happ will be joining the Cubs on their road trip to Miami and Cincinnati this week, which is usually a sign that the player is close to returning. May 20th would be the minimum 10 days, but if he was to return during this road trip, I could see him waiting until the series in Cincinnati before returning to the field.
3. SP Tanner Houck was placed on the 15-day IL by the Red Sox on Wednesday, retroactive to May 13th, with a right flexor pronator strain. An MRI on Friday cleared him of structural damage, but the Red Sox have shut him down from throwing for the time being. He will spend more time on the IL than the minimum 15 days and the Red Sox have provided no timeline for him to return as of yet.
4. The Mariners placed SP Bryce Miller on the 15-day IL on Wednesday, with right elbow inflammation. He received a cortisone shot on Tuesday to treat the elbow and the Mariners believe he will be able to return after just the minimum stint. That would place him back in the rotation on May 27th, when the Mariners will be kicking off a homestand against the Nationals.
5. The Twins placed both SS Carlos Correa and OF Byron Buxton were placed on the 7-day concussion injury list on Friday, after they collided with each other during Thursday’s game against the Orioles. The earliest they could return is May 23rd and they should both be back on the field then, barring any setbacks.
6. The Phillies placed scuffling SP Aaron Nola on the 15-day IL with a right ankle sprain, on Friday. The Phillies have stated that he suffered the injury two starts ago, which might help explain his absolutely two most recent starts (8.2 innings, 13 runs allowed). He is eligible to return on May 30th, but there is no timeline currently. I’m sure the Phillies will not re-instate him until he is back to 100%, so keep your eyes on our blurb feed for updates.
7. SP Seth Lugo was placed on the 15-day IL on Saturday with inflammation in his right middle finger. The move is retroactive to May 14th and will involve him missing three totals starts (he missed his start Saturday, but that was expected). If he misses the minimum amount of time, he can be re-instated on May 30th for the Royals series against their division rivals, the Tigers.
8. When it rains, it pours, and there are rain clouds over Kansas City right now. After placing Lugo on the IL, the Royals also had to place staff ace, SP Cole Ragans, on the 15-day IL with left groin tightness. Ragans exited his start against the Cardinals on Friday with the issue and was immediately placed on the IL on Saturday. There is no news of a timeline, but fantasy managers have to hope it is only a minimum stay and he’ll be back by June 1st.
9. A few days after losing Corey Seager for a multi-week IL stay, the Rangers have placed young OF Evan Carter on the IL with a Grade 2 right quadriceps strain. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy expects him to miss at least the next couple of weeks and there is no timeline for his return.
10. OF Tyler O’Neill has been placed on the 10-day IL with a left shoulder impingement. The Orioles don’t seem to think the injury is a serious concern, so he may just be out for the minimum time, but this is the second IL stint of the year for the oft-injured O’Neill, so best to monitor the blurbs for any updates before we assume he misses just the minimum amount of time.
11. The Marlins made the decision to place SS Xavier Edwards on the 10-day IL with a mid-back strain, on Sunday. He sat out both Friday’s and Saturday’s games, so the move is retroactive to May 15th, so he will have at least eight more days of rest ahead of him. The Marlins don’t sound nervous about the IL stint, but I’d still keep an eye out for any updates before we put him back in our lineups next week.
12. The Dodgers bullpen will be a little thinner (and the saves situation a bit more decided), as they placed RP Kirby Yates on the IL with a right hamstring strain on Sunday. They expect him to be out for a couple of weeks, so he can be dropped pretty much anywhere you’ve been using him for holds and/or as a saves vulture.

Want to get access to the rest of Anthony’s article? You’ll need to have an MLB FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up!
Premium Access Required

Come join us at SportsEthos by filling out an application by clicking here
Click here to join us on Discord!
Follow us on X by clicking here
Follow us on Bluesky by clicking here
Follow Anthony on X at @akfantasybb
Follow Anthony on Bluesky at @akfantasybb.bsky.social
Follow Anthony on Bluesky at @akfantasybb.bsky.social
Follow Anthony on Bluesky at @akfantasybb.bsky.social

• About the Author
• Latest Posts

Anthony Kates

• Anthony's Fantasy Baseball Week in Review - May 12th - May 18th
• Fantasy MLB Today: Just in the Nick of time
• Early Week Streamers for May 19th - May 22nd