Photo via:Chargers/Facebook
This is the time of year when fantasy owners tend to get desperate, so make some trade offers. You might get a steal from an owner that has to win this week.
Alright, let's see which free agents are still available. Keep in mind the owner % mentioned is for 10-team standard ESPN leagues. Some of these players below are good for the short-term, while others have more long-term value. You have to make the call on what your team needs. Immediate help to start this week, or a player to stash on your bench and hope he breaks out. Let's get started.
QB
Josh Allen: Last week I advised anyone that needed a QB to stash Josh Allen. If you didn't do that, now is the time. He gets the Dolphins this week. FIRE HIM UP! He's available in about 50% of 10-team leagues.
Gardner Minshew: He had a tough game last week, but gets the Bengals in his next matchup. He's rostered in about 54% of leagues.
Matthew Stafford: This week's matchup against the Vikings is tough, but he gets the Giants and Raiders after that. He's coming off a bad game, but overall he's been pretty good this year. He's also rostered in about 50% of ESPN standard leagues.
Kirk Cousins: If you're in a deeper league, Cousins looks like a good bet with the Vikings throwing the ball more. He plays the Lions this week, and he's 26% owned in 10-team leagues.
RB
Jamaal Williams: He rushed for over 100 yards against the Lions, and the Packers will continue to use him and Aaron Jones. Finding a RB off waivers is tough, so he's probably the best option out there. At least he plays in an offense with Aaron Rodgers.
Darrell Henderson: He won't do much when Gurley returns, but Gurley is no lock to stay healthy. He's out there in almost 98% of standard leagues and Malcolm Brown didn't do much with his opportunities.
Mark Walton: He's on the Dolphins so you can't feel very good about him, especially with Kenyan Drake taking touches away from him. If you're desperate, he is getting touches and the Dolphins have never fully committed to Drake. He does have a tough matchup against the Bills this week.
Alexander Mattison: He's more of a handcuff, but he could be a league winner if Dalvin Cook goes down. He's available in 85% of leagues.
WR
Phillip Dorsett: Josh Gordon is banged up and Dorsett's hamstring injury shouldn't keep him out of the lineup much longer. He's the best long-term option at WR, and he's only rostered in 27% of standard ESPN leagues.
Jamison Crowder: With Sam Darnold back Crowder is very usable for fantasy. He almost had 100 yards last week against a Cowboy defense that's been stout for most of the season. I'd rather have Robbie Anderson, but Crowder should be solid in PPR.
Auden Tate: Tate also had almost 100 yards receiving this week, so he could continue to be a decent starter until A.J. Green returns. Hell, Green may never play for the Bengals this year, so Tate could be good long-term as well. He's only rostered in 21% of ESPN leagues.
TE
Hunter Henry: He's actually available in almost half of ESPN standard leagues. Grab him immediately if he's out there. All his production came in garbage time, but who cares? He could be a league winner with TE being so terrible for fantasy this year.
T.J. Hockenson: He might have been dropped so you may be able to get him. He's rostered in 56% of ESPN leagues. He wasn't very good against the Packers, but he did drop a TD, so he's in the mix.
Chris Herndon: We he gets healthy, he could come in handy. He's available in about 80% of leagues. Darnold is giving this offense some life.
DEFENSE
The 49ers and the Bills have great matchups this week. There's a good chance the 49ers are owned, but the Bills are coming off a bye and were likely dropped.
If you have any questions, feel free to hit me up on Twitter. Be sure to check out my show MoneyLine with Jerry Bo on ESPN 97.5FM. We're on every Sunday morning from 10-noon, and we'll talk a lot of fantasy football and NFL gambling getting you ready for kickoff every Sunday.
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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*ChatGPT assisted.
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