Frank is on a well-earned vacation, so this is Dan Schneier handling the newsletter this week. Some of the biggest news to come out of Monday were two of Fantasy Baseball's biggest stars headed to the COVID-19 list. Yankees SP Gerrit Cole and Brewers RP Josh Hader will soon be placed on the Covid IL. Cole will even miss his scheduled Tuesday start. We'll dive into that and more. Without further ado, let's get right into it.

Of course, as always, you can subscribe to make sure you get the latest episodes of Fantasy Baseball Today right when they drop on Apple and Spotify.

Yankees SP Gerrit Cole will in fact miss his Tuesday start and will also soon be placed on the COVID IL. He tested positive for COVID-19. Cole was one of the first two pitchers selected in most drafts but hasn't been as dominant this season as he was in the past two. The single best closer in baseball, Brewers RP Josh Hader, was also placed on the COVID IL. Hader also had a positive test.

As Angels OF Jo Adell continued to tear up the minor leagues -- specifically over the last 10 days or so -- we started to wonder if Los Angeles was purposely keeping him down as a clear case of service time manipulation. Then we got the good news on Monday with Adel recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake where he's hitting .289/.342/.592 this season with 23 homers and eight bags. That's the good news. Of course, as has been the case for Adell throughout his career, he has a whopping 29.2% strikeout right. The last time the Angels called up Adell, he struggled with the strikeouts. Justin Upton could sit against righties for Adam Eaton moving forward in an attempt to get Adell some more at bats.

Adell has been a top-20 prospect for three straight years. This is the type of high-upside bench stash you should be looking to make. He's a must-add in any five OF leagues and a prospective add elsewhere.

One of the biggest stories of Monday surrounded a player who is currently on the IL and has been for all but 10 games this season and it was focused around his future with his current team. Royals general manager Dayton Moore hinted during a radio spot that Kansas City couldn't count on Mondesi (currently dealing with his second oblique injury) as an everyday player for the 2022 season.

"No," explained Moore, on 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City. "You can't. ... We're learning that we're going to have to manage his workloads in ways that he may not be a guy that plays more than 100 games. ... We can't count on him as an everyday player." 

You don't expect to hear a GM say this, specifically about future plans, but it's not all that surprising given Mondesi's injury history. The 26-year-old is uber talented but has had shoulder surgery that has required a procedure in addition to oblique and hamstring injuries. His entire career thus far has been littered with injuries.

Chris talked this offseason about how buying into injured players is one way to gain an edge since injuries are often hard to predict and wrought with recency bias. But then, as he concedes, there are some players like Mondesi, who suffer recurring injuries and just can't seem to stay on the field. At this point, it seems like the Royals are going to make him prove he can be an everyday player.

Mariners 2B Ty France went 3 for 4 on Monday and he seems to be collecting hits quite often despite flying somewhat under the Fantasy Baseball radar. Chris feels like he has been better than his overall numbers suggest. With the exception of May when he batted .190 while dealing with issues, he's been a consistent source of average with some surprising pop. 

France hurt his wrist area at the end of April -- his batting average plummeted almost 100 points and he went on the IL. Since coming back, he's batting .298 with an .814 OPS and seven home runs. We're confident he's a stable source of batting average. How different is France than Bryan Reynolds or Jeff McNeil? These are solid startable options.

• Phillies 1B Rhys Hoskins (groin) struck out as a pinch hitter.
• Brewers OF Christian Yelich (COVID-19) could be cleared to return Thursday.
• Mets OF Brandon Nimmo (hamstring) was a late scratch, missed his third straight.
• Rangers designated OF David Dahl for assignment.
• Phillies OF Andrew McCutchen (knee) was placed on IL.
• Mariners OF Jake Fraley (COVID-19) returned from IL, went 2 for 4 with two RBI
• Giants 3B Evan Longoria (shoulder) could go on rehab assignment this week
• Rays SP Chris Archer left his rehab start after just one inning with a hip injury.
• Pirates SP Steven Brault will make season debut vs. MIL on Wednesday
• Pirates SP Chad Kuhl was placed on the COVID-19 IL.
• Spencer Howard could make his first start for Texas Thursday -- could piggyback with Taylor Hearn.
• Astros 3B Alex Bregman was scratched from Monday's lineup after leaving Sunday with hamstring injury.
• Phillies SP Vince Velasquez was placed on the IL with blister on pitching hand.
• Braves SP Huascar Ynoa (hand) threw 51 pitches in his first rehab start.
• Yankees 3B Gio Urshela will be placed on the IL with a hamstring injury after missing four games.

Five on the rise

• Athletics 1B Matt Olson
• Padres OF/2B Bryan Reynolds
• Brewers SS Willy Adames
• Mariners SP Patrick Sandoval
• Reds 2B Jonathan India

Five losing value

• Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger
• Yankees SS Gleyber Torres
• Padres SP Chris Paddack
• Blue Jays 2B Cavan Biggio
• Phillies 3B Alec Bohm