1
week
agoPittsburgh
Pirates
first
baseman
Rowdy
Tellez,
catcher
Joey
Bart
and
infielder
Jared
Triolo
are
all
on
the
bench
for
the
start
of
Saturday's
contest
against
the
division-rival
Cincinnati
Reds
at
Great
American
Ball
read more...
1 week agoTampa Bay Rays infielder
Jose Caballero and outfielder
Jonny DeLuca are both out of the starting lineup on Saturday at Tropicana Field against the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays.
Taylor Walls will make the start at the 6 for Tampa and will hit ninth, while
Jose Siri starts in center field and bats seventh against Blue Jays rookie right-hander
Yariel Rodriguez. Caballero does lead the league with 44 stolen bases (and also 14 times caught stealing), but he has only nine home runs and 44 RBI on the year in 133 games in his first year in Tampa and has struggled at the plate of late. The 28-year-old Panama native has gone 11-for-49 (.225) in 18 games in September with no homers, two doubles, three RBI, seven steals and 17 strikeouts in 53 plate appearances. Walls and Siri have four combined at-bats against Rodriguez this year and have gone hitless.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
1 week agoMiami Marlins middle infielder
Xavier Edwards and outfielder
Kyle Stowers are out of the starting lineup on Saturday at LoanDepot Park against the division-rival Atlanta Braves with a left-hander on the mound.
Javier Sanoja is starting at shortstop and is batting sixth, while
Derek Hill will make the start in left field and bat cleanup for the Fish versus Braves left-hander
Max Fried. Edwards will retreat to the bench after starting each of the team's last seven games. The 25-year-od switch-hitter has been one of the bright spots in Miami in 2024, hitting .318/.385/.386 with a .771 OPS and 30 stolen bases in just 233 at-bats. Stowers, on the other hand, has really struggled since being acquired at the trade deadline from the Orioles, as he's hit .203/.269/.322 with a .591 OPS, two homers, 15 RBI and 54 strikeouts in his 45 games in Miami.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
1 week agoThe Baltimore Orioles will option rookie infielder
Coby Mayo to Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday, according to a source, which likely means that veteran infielder
Ramon Urias (ankle) is coming off the 10-day injured list.
Jordan Westburg (hand), who is recovering from a fractured hand, is likely not far behind Urias. With both Urias and Westburg out of late, the O's had been using a combination of Mayo and
Emmanuel Rivera at the hot corner. Mayo, the team's top prospect per MLB Pipeline, went 3-for-24 with 12 strikeouts in 10 games since being brought up from Norfolk at the beginning of September. The 22-year-old still has a bright future in the big leagues, but he clearly isn't ready for big-league pitching and could use some more seasoning on the farm. Expect the O's to use a combination of Urias and Westburg at third the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MASN Sports - Roch Kubatko
1 week agoNew York Mets shortstop
Francisco Lindor (back) received a facet shot for his lingering back issue on Thursday and showed signs of progressing on Friday. A facet shot is an injection of a mixture of anesthetic and steroids into the facet joints of the spine to help relieve pain and reduce inflammation. "It was always trending in the right direction but it didn't feel like I could get back sooner rather than later. And with the injection, they said there was a possibility that that could happen," Lindor said. He played catch, ran and took batting practice on Friday and said he was "feeling good." However, Lindor couldn't put a percentage of improvement on the results yet, and it remains to be seen if he'll play this weekend against the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies. Lindor missed his fifth straight game and continues to be replaced by infield prospect
Luisangel Acuna, who has looked good since his call-up from the minors.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Post - Bridget Reilly
1 week agoCincinnati Reds infielder/outfielder
Spencer Steer is not in the team's starting lineup for Saturday's contest at Great American Ball Park against the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates. With Steer taking the day off, the left-handed-hitting
Will Benson will get the start in left field for the Reds and will bat ninth against Pirates rookie right-hander
Jared Jones. Steer has really struggled in the month of September, batting .191 (12-for-63) with a homer, four doubles, two triples and 14 strikeouts in 18 games, so the Reds have elected to give him a day to clear his head. The 26-year-old right-handed slugger has hit just .230 (127-for-552) in 152 games this year, but he has recorded a 20-20 campaign for the first time in his career in just his third season with the Reds after falling five steals short in 2023. Benson has never faced Jones in his career and is a low-upside DFS sleeper who is hitting .189 (63-for-333) on the year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Cincinnati Reds
1 week agoThe Washington Nationals are optioning shortstop
CJ Abrams to the minor leagues on Saturday, according to sources. Abrams had a breakout first half and was named to the National League All-Star squad, but he has struggled in the second half. Since the All-Star break, the former first-rounder has hit just .203 (38-for-187) with five home runs, eight RBI, 17 RBI, 10 walks, 48 strikeouts and 16 stolen bases in 49 games played to drop his season line to .246/.314/.433. The 23-year-old has still produced his first 20-20 season in his second full season in D.C. with 20 home runs and 31 stolen bases in 138 games after hitting 18 dingers and stealing a career-high 47 bags in 2023. It's an odd move, to say the least, especially with the minor-league seasons concluding on Sunday. Abrams did have four hits on Thursday and has hit .271 (13-for-48) with two homers, three doubles, three RBI and four steals in September.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Britt Ghiroli
1 week agoCleveland Guardians third baseman
Jose Ramirez went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base in Friday's 5-1 win over the Cardinals. It was the 40th steal of the season for the 32-year-old, but with just seven games to go, it looks like he'll fall just shy of a 40/40 season. That's not to say it hasn't been a great year for the 6x All-Star, it has, as he's amassed a .274-36-109-108-40 line, making him one of the most coveted multi-category-producing fantasy assets in 2024.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoTampa Bay Rays infielder
Jonathan Aranda didn't hit your prototypical walk-off home run, but his solo shot in the sixth inning proved to be the game-winner in a tight 1-0 win over the Blue Jays on Friday. Aranda has now hit safely in 10 of the last 11 games he's started, going 12-for-40 (.300) over that stretch with three doubles, three home runs, four RBI, and seven runs scored. During his time in the minors, the 26-year-old has proven he's got some pop in his bat, including a 25-homer season at Triple-A in 2023, but for fantasy managers navigating the fantasy playoffs, there are probably better upside options out there on the waiver wire.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoPhiladelphia Phillies third baseman
Alec Bohm went 4-for-5 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs scored in Friday's 12-2 win over the Mets. The 28-year-old missed a couple weeks with a hand injury and was 2-for-15 in the four games prior to Friday after being activated but certainly looked fully healed in the four-hit effort. Before going down with the injury, Bohm was having a great season, even leading the majors in doubles at the time and still only trails the new leader (
Jarren Duran, 45) by just one despite missing time. The 2024 All-Star has a .290-15-94-62-5 line for the season with a .347 wOBA and 123 wRC+ and will look to help carry the Phils to a division crown as the season draws to a close.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoSeattle Mariners outfielder
Julio Rodriguez stayed hot in Friday's 8-2 win over the Rangers, belting a pair of home runs in a 3-for-5 day at the plate while collecting five RBI and scoring twice. Both home runs came off of Rangers reliever
Jack Leiter and it was the 23-year-old's fourth multi-hit effort in his last seven games. The glaring part of Rodriguez's game that's been missing this season has been his power, but he's knocked five home runs so far this month, the most in any single month this season. The former A.L. Rookie of the Year should still hit the 20-homer plateau before the season is out despite the slow start, putting him on track for a 20/20 campaign, now authoring a .268-18-59-68-22 line with a .317 wOBA and 113 wRC+.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoCincinnati Reds catcher
Tyler Stephenson greeted
Mitch Keller with a solo home run in the first inning of Friday's 8-3 win over the Pirates, then collected two more hits off of the righty before Keller departed in the bottom of the fourth, ultimately being charged with eight earned runs in the outing. The other two hits were a single and a double, as Stephenson finished 3-for-5 with five RBI and three runs scored in the contest. It was the 28-year-old's third multi-hit game in his last four, and overall he's been a Top-10 option at catcher for fantasy. The former first-round draft pick owns a .265-19-64-67-1 line on the season with a .347 wOBA and 117 wRC+.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoPittsburgh Pirates outfielder
Oneil Cruz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Friday's 8-3 loss to the Reds. The home run was his 20th of the year, giving the 25-year-old his first 20/20 season of his young career. Despite the achievement, Cruz is slashing just .196/.281/.357 in September after a hot August in which he slashed .389/.449/.537. Overall on the season, the Dominican has been productive even with a high strikeout rate (30.9%), putting together a .267-20-75-70-22 line over 138 games with a .336 wOBA and 113 wRC+, making him a solid multi-category contributor for fantasy.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
1 week agoBaltimore Orioles outfielder
Cedric Mullins (neck) was unavailable for Friday's 7-1 win at Camden Yards against the visiting Detroit Tigers due to neck discomfort stemming from his collision on Thursday, according to manager Brandon Hyde. Mullins collided with outfielder
Austin Slater on Thursday and was held out of Friday's action as a result. Until we know more on the severity of his injury, fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day and check back to see if he's available on Saturday.
Colton Cowser got the start in the outfield on Friday with Mullins out and went 2-for-4 with two home runs, two RBI, two runs scored and two strikeouts in the win. Mullins has hit just .228 (95-for-417) on the year with a .300 on-base percentage, with the majority of his value coming from his speed yet again with 30 thefts in 140 games. He needs five more steals in the final week to set a new career-high in that category.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Baltimore Banner - Andy Kostka
1 week agoBoston Red Sox third baseman
Rafael Devers (shoulder) will undergo an MRI exam on his right shoulder on Saturday, and when asked if he is OK, manager Alex Cora said, "No, he's not... Probably this is it for him." The skipper said that Devers injured his right shoulder while taking swings in the cages before the contest at Fenway Park against the Minnesota Twins. The 27-year-old went 1-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts on Friday night and was replaced at third base by
Vaughn Grissom in extra innings. Devers has dealt with injuries to both of his shoulders this year, but with Boston looking unlikely to make the playoffs and with just over a week left in the regular season, it appears that Devers' 2024 campaign will come to a close a bit early. If this is indeed it for Devers this year, he'll finish with a .272/.354/.516 slash line with 28 homers and 83 RBI.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Boston Globe - Alex Speier
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