4 weeks agoLos Angeles Dodgers first baseman
Freddie Freeman (ankle) is not in the starting lineup for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday at Citi Field against the New York Mets. Max Muncy will shift over to first base and bat sixth, while
Enrique Hernandez will start at the hot corner and bat fifth against Mets left-hander
Jose Quintana. Rookie
Andy Pages is in center field and is hitting eighth. Freeman has been battling a right-ankle injury since the final week of the regular season and also was held out of one game during the NL Division Series against the Padres. Despite being less than 100%, Freeman has gone 7-for-27 (.259) with an RBI, a walk and a steal in seven playoff starts. Hernandez has homered twice while hitting .333 (7-for-21) this postseason, and he also has a homer and three RBI in 16 career at-bats against Quintana.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Los Angeles Times - Mike DiGiovanna
4 weeks agoCleveland Guardians right-hander
Gavin Williams will make the start in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Friday at Progressive Field against the New York Yankees. Williams made only 16 starts due to an elbow injury for the Guardians during the regular season and went 3-10 with a 4.86 ERA (3.67 FIP) and 1.37 WHIP with 79 strikeouts and 32 walks in 76 innings in his second big-league season, so he'll be a true wild card and a risky DFS option on Thursday against the Bombers in what will be his first start since Sept. 22. In his lone start against the Yankees in the Bronx on Aug. 22, Williams took the loss, allowing three earned runs on four hits (one homer) while walking four and striking out five in 4 1/3 innings of work. The 25-year-old was also worse at Progressive Field in 2024, sporting a 6.55 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in his seven starts.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Mandy Bell
4 weeks agoCleveland Guardians catcher
Bo Naylor is not in the starting lineup for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday at Progressive Field against the New York Yankees. Instead,
Austin Hedges will do the catching for left-hander
Matthew Boyd and will hit eighth against Yankees right-hander
Clarke Schmidt. Naylor has gone hitless in his first 14 plate appearances in the postseason this year with four strikeouts, so the Guardians will go in another direction as they look for an offensive spark while down two games to none in the series. Hedges hit just .152 (20-for-132) with two homers, 15 RBI and 12 runs scored in a backup role during the regular season, so he's unlikely to do much offensively. Like Naylor, he's hitless this postseason in nine plate appearances with five strikeouts. Cleveland's catching situation is looking bleak.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 weeks agoCleveland Guardians rookie outfielder
Daniel Schneemann will make the start in right field and will hit sixth against New York Yankees right-hander
Clarke Schmidt in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday at Progressive Field as the Guardians look to climb out of 2-0 hole in the series. The Guardians will try Schneeman over both
Will Brennan and
Jhonkensy Noel with a right-hander on the mound to try and jump-start their offense. The 27-year-old Schneeman struck out in his only postseason at-bat in Game 1 of the ALCS earlier this week. In 193 at-bats in his first big-league season, he slashed .218/.303/.368 with a below-average .671 OPS, five home runs, 22 RBI and 17 runs scored in 73 games played. He won't be a popular option in DFS formats for Thursday's slate.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 weeks agoNew York Yankees catcher
Austin Wells will retreat to the bench for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday at Progressive Field against the Cleveland Guardians with left-hander
Matthew Boyd on the bump.
Jose Trevino will do the catching instead and will be in the nine-hole in the batting order. Wells has hits in his first two career playoff games in the AL Division Series against the Kansas City Royals, but since then he's gone hitless in 17 plate appearances with eight strikeouts. He also hit under .200 with none of his 13 home runs and 21 strikeouts in 66 trips to the plate against lefties in 2024. This will be Trevino's first postseason appearance this year. In 23 plate appearances in the playoffs in 2022, he went just 1-for-22 with an RBI and six strikeouts. Trevino has gone 1-for-2 with an RBI and three walks in his career against Boyd.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 weeks agoNew York Yankees first baseman
Anthony Rizzo is not in the starting lineup for Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday at Progressive Field against the Cleveland Guardians with left-hander
Matthew Boyd on the mound.
Jon Berti will get the nod at first base and will bat sixth in the order. Rizzo fractured two fingers on his hand in the second-to-last game of the regular season and sat out of the AL Division Series against the Kansas City Royals. In the first two games of the ALCS, he went 3-for-7 with a double, a walk and a run scored. Berti will be appearing in the ALCS for the first time after going 2-for-7 with a walk and a strikeout in the ALDS. He has never faced Boyd in his career and went 7-for-27 (.259) with no homers or RBI in 30 plate appearances against southpaws in limited action during the regular season.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 weeks agoLos Angeles Dodgers infielder
Max Muncy went 2-for-2 with a single and a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Mets. The 34-year-old also walked three times in the contest, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. Muncy has now homered in back-to-back games and it was his third home run of this postseason. If the 2x All-Star plays versus the LHP
Jose Quintana on Thursday, he's had success against him in the past, going 2-for-9 with a home run and four walks against the veteran southpaw.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 weeks agoLos Angeles Dodgers designated hitter
Shohei Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk and a three-run home run in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Mets in Game 3 of the NLCS. It was his first postseason home run since Game 1 of the NLDS versus the Padres back on October 5. It was a 4-0 game when Ohtani hit the towering shot in the eighth inning of the contest, putting the game even further out of reach for New York at 7-0. After hitting .310 during the regular season, Ohtani has underwhelmed in that category during the postseason, hitting just .226 through eight games thus far, although the 4x All-Star still has maintained a rock solid .351 OBP. The Dodgers will face
Jose Quintana on Thursday who Ohtani has yet to face in his career, but the 2x MVP still had good numbers versus LHP this season, slashing .288/.349/.518 against them.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
4 weeks agoBoston Red Sox pitcher
Michael Fulmer (elbow) has begun to throw off of a mound and is on pace to be ready for spring training, barring any setbacks. Fulmer last pitched in the majors in 2023, missing all of the 2024 season after undergoing UCL surgery. The 31-year-old was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2016 but missed all of 2019 after having Tommy John surgery that year. While he came into the league as a starter, more recently he's worked as a reliever, and that is where he's expected to help Boston next season should he make the team in the spring. He's currently signed to a minor-league deal with the team.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: Rob Bradford - WEEI.com
4 weeks agoBoston Red Sox designated hitter
Masataka Yoshida underwent shoulder surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder on Wednesday. The team is targeting an Opening Day return for the 31-year-old. Yoshida was solid over the 108 games he played this season, especially in the second half when he posted an .823 OPS (.698 in the first half), a .359 wOBA (.310 first half), and a 131 wRC+ (96 first half), but missed all of May and part of June with a thumb injury. If he can manage to stay healthy next season, look for numbers more in line with his 2023 totals of .289-15-72-71-8.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: Ian Browne - MLB.com
4 weeks agoSan Diego Padres infielder
Luis Arraez (thumb) had surgery on his thumb on Wednesday to repair a torn left thumb ligament. Having all offseason to recover, the 27-year-old is expected to be ready to go on Opening Day. The 3x All-Star was a key piece to the Padres' run to the playoffs after coming over from the Marlins in May, hitting .318 with a .324 wOBA and 111 wRC+ on his way to a third batting title with his third different team. While he's one of the best contact hitters in all of baseball, he doesn't move the needle all that much for fantasy as he doesn't hit for power which also results in low RBI numbers, and for someone who always seems to be on base, he does not swipe many bags.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: Daniel Alvarez-Monte
4 weeks agoNew York Yankees pitcher
Nestor Cortes (elbow) threw a live session on Wednesday in what the hurler described as a hybrid workout, with about half (10-15 pitches) coming in the bullpen and the other half coming versus live batters. The team will see how he feels afterward and if all goes well the expectation is that the southpaw will face live batters again this coming weekend. The assumption at this point is that he should be ready by the World Series were the Yankees to advance and that the 29-year-old would be deployed as a reliever rather than a starter. Cortes had a solid regular season with a 3.77 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 17.3% K-BB%, but only a handful of innings came in relief. For his career, the lefty has a 3.56 ERA and 1.11 WHIP as a starter (467 2/3 IP) compared to a 4.93 ERA and 1.44 WHIP as a reliever (100 1/3 IP).
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: Greg Joyce - NY Post Sports
4 weeks agoNew York Mets manager
Carlos Mendoza said that right-hander
Kodai Senga is scheduled to pitch in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Citi Field on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and he could be used in a relief role. "At what capacity, we'll see," Mendoza said. The Mets may be rethinking using Senga to start Game 5 after he labored in the Game 1 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday by allowing three earned runs on two hits while walking four and striking out none in just 1 1/3 innings. He also allowed a solo home run while walking one and striking out three in two innings in his start in Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Due to multiple injuries, the Japanese hurler managed to make just one start during the regular season. DFS managers should stay away in Game 5 in New York.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Newsday - Tim Healey
4 weeks agoNew York Mets infielder/outfielder
Jeff McNeil is not in the team's starting lineup for Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Wednesday at Citi Field against the Los Angeles Dodgers. McNeil fractured his right wrist in early September and wasn't on the team's roster for the Wild-Card Series or the NL Division Series, but he rejoined the roster for the NLCS against the Dodgers. In the first two games of the series in LA, the 32-year-old former batting champion only saw one pinch-hitting appearance and lined out. He'll start on the bench with the team facing right-hander
Walker Buehler, who McNeil has gone 1-for-9 against in his career with a walk and two strikeouts. McNeil didn't look anything like a former batting champion at the plate in 2024 and might just serve as a bench bat for the Mets for the remainder of the postseason.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 weeks agoLos Angeles Dodgers shortstop
Miguel Rojas (hernia) said he is dealing with a sports hernia and will require surgery in the offseason. Rojas lobbied to be on the team's roster for the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, but he understood the team's decision not to include him. His injury "is about the same" and he remains hopeful of being available to play if the Dodgers advance to the World Series. Our guess is Rojas will remain off the roster if the Dodgers advance. Since aggravating his injury in the NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres,
Tommy Edman has moved to the 6, which has opened up playing time for
Enrique Hernandez and rookie
Andy Pages. The 35-year-old Rojas is known more for his glove work, but he hit a strong .283 in 307 regular-season at-bats with six homers, 36 RBI and eight steals.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Los Angeles Times - Mike DiGiovanna
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