4 days ago
Philadelphia Phillies right-handed pitching prospect
Mick Abel is expected to earn the call from Triple-A and start Thursday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. As a result,
Taijuan Walker will shift to the bullpen. When
Aaron Nola (ankle) hit the 15-day injured list, the Phillies promoted Abel to make a spot start but expected Walker to operate as the full-time replacement. During his first career outing in the majors, Abel looked quite comfortable, tossing six shutout innings with five hits and nine punchouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, Walker has allowed nine earned runs over his last 12 innings and will return to a relief role. Given his impressive MLB debut, fantasy managers in standard formats should consider adding Abel as he could have a path to remain in the rotation until Nola returns.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Matt Gelb
4 days ago
Athletics catcher
Shea Langeliers is not in Sunday's lineup when they conclude a series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Langeliers has started each of the past five games. During this stretch, the 27-year-old has gone 3-for-19 at the plate, with a double and a home run. Fantasy managers should expect Langeliers to return to the starting nine on Monday when they begin a series against the Minnesota Twins. This afternoon, the Athletics will give
Willie MacIver the nod behind the dish. He will bat in the eight-hole. MacIver was promoted to the majors on May 23. Through his first taste of MLB action, the 28-year-old has gone 1-for-5 at the plate with one strikeout. Given his lack of experience, he is best to fade in DFS facing Toronto right-hander
Kevin Gausman.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 days ago
The Toronto Blue Jays have placed outfielder
Daulton Varsho (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list due to a left-hamstring strain. Varsho exited Saturday's contest against the Athletics due to this injury. In a corresponding move, the Blue Jays promoted
Davis Schneider to the majors from Triple-A Buffalo. Varsho missed the start of the campaign as he was recovering from shoulder surgery and will now make his second stint on the injured list. Through his first 24 games of the campaign, the 28-year-old flashed high power as he launched eight home runs. However, he posted a low .207 AVG with a high 31.0% strikeout rate. Under the hood, he generated an elite 17.2% barrel rate with a 75.1 mph average bat speed. With Varsho sidelined, fantasy managers should expect
Myles Straw and
Nathan Lukes to share time in center field.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Toronto Blue Jays
4 days ago
The Milwaukee Brewers have activated left-handed pitcher
Jose Quintana (shoulder) off the 15-day injured list prior to his start on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Quintana has been sidelined since May 14 due to a left shoulder impingement. Before his injury, Quintana was enjoying a solid start to the campaign, posting a 2.65 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP across 34 innings of work. The left-hander struck out just 24 batters but allowed just 11 free passes. Under the hood, he generated a high 4.32 xERA and a .271 xBA, which place him in the 33rd and 24th percentiles among qualified pitchers. With Quintana returning to the rotation, fantasy managers should expect either
Chad Patrick or
Quinn Priester to transition to a full-time reliever. Quintana is best to fade in DFS facing a potent Philadelphia lineup.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Milwaukee Brewers
4 days ago
New York Mets outfielder
Brandon Nimmo is not in Sunday's lineup when the Mets look to complete the three-game sweep over the Colorado Rockies. Nimmo has started each of the past five games. During this stretch, Nimmo enjoyed a surge at the plate, posting a .421/.476/.632 slash line with one double and one home run. This afternoon,
Starling Marte will shift to left field and bat in the two-hole. Fantasy managers should expect Nimmo to return to the starting nine on Monday when they begin a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Through the first 54 games of the campaign, Nimmo has held a .232/.294/.419 line with nine long balls. However, under the hood, he has generated a strong .271 xBA with a .475 xSLG, which suggests he should see some positive regression later this summer. The Mets are a top stack facing Colorado southpaw
Carson Palmquist in DFS.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 days ago
The Boston Red Sox have placed right-handed pitcher
Justin Slaten (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. The 27-year-old has not made an appearance since May 28. In a corresponding move, the Red Sox promoted left-handed pitcher
Luis Guerrero from Triple-A Worcester. Through the first two months of the season, Slaten has been an effective high-leverage relief option in the Boston bullpen. Through 23 1/3 innings of work, the 27-year-old has posted a 3.47 ERA with a stellar 0.90 WHIP. He has tallied three saves and four holds. Under the hood, he has generated an elite 2.50 xERA and has allowed hard contact at a 34.3% rate. With Slaten sidelined, fantasy managers should expect
Aroldis Chapman to remain the primary closer with
Garrett Whitlock operating as a primary setup man.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 days ago
San Francisco Giants outfielder
Jung Hoo Lee is taking a seat on Sunday when the Giants conclude a series against the Miami Marlins. With southpaw
Ryan Weathers getting the start for the Marlins, Lee will cede center field duties to right-handed bat
Luis Matos. Through the opening two months of the season, Lee has made only 14 starts against southpaws. Over his last 11 contests, Lee has been swinging a hot bat, posting a .279/.354/.326 line with a 5:4 K:BB and two stolen bases. Fantasy managers should expect the 26-year-old to return to the starting nine on Monday when they begin a series against the San Diego Padres. This afternoon, Matos and the Giants are best to fade in DFS facing Weathers, who enters this game holding a stellar 1.15 ERA.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 days ago
Seattle Mariners shortstop
J.P. Crawford is putting together a nice series at the plate against the Minnesota Twins. Crawford registered two hits and a walk in the series opener and continued his success on Saturday. The left-handed slugger smacked a two-run home run off right-hander
Jorge Alcala to give the Mariners the lead. He would finish this game 3-for-4 with a double, homer, two RBI, and a walk in the win. This season, Crawford is slashing .267/.386/.377 with four homers, 22 RBI, and two stolen bases. Crawford isn't offering a ton of value right now, but is worth a look in deep leagues.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
4 days ago
Seattle Mariners catcher
Cal Raleigh continued his power surge at the plate during Saturday's game against the Minnesota Twins. Raleigh took what looked like an unhittable pitch and smacked it over the wall for a two-run home run off right-hander
Bailey Ober in the fourth inning. He was quiet the rest of the game as Raleigh finished 1-for-4 with a homer, two RBI, and a walk in the win. Raleigh is slashing .264/.382/.630 with a league-leading 22 home runs on the season. The strikeouts numbers aren't good for Raleigh, but he's still one of the best fantasy players in baseball right now.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
4 days ago
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder
Andrew McCutchen was tough to keep off the bases during Saturday's game against the San Diego Padres. McCutchen has seen his power numbers take a dip this season, but he was able to go yard on Saturday. The veteran outfielder took right-hander
Dylan Cease deep for a solo home run in the fifth inning. He finished this game 2-for-4 with a single, homer, one RBI, and a walk in the win. He's slashing .265/.370/.388 with four homers, 16 RBI, and one stolen base this season. He might have some deep league value, but isn't worth rostering in most fantasy formats.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
4 days ago
Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder
Randal Grichuk got a rare start against a right-handed starting pitcher on Saturday. This was only the second time that Grichuk was started against a righty pitcher this season. The veteran outfielder didn't seem to have any problems in this one. Grichuk smacked a two-run home run off right-hander
Jackson Rutledge in the sixth inning. He would finish this game going 3-for-4 with two singles, a homer, and two RBI in the loss. Grichuk has done a nice job in a part-time role this season. That being said, Grichuk has limited fantasy value because he's mainly only playing against left-handed pitching.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
4 days ago
Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman
Josh Naylor continued his hot stretch of play during Saturday's game against the Washington Nationals. Naylor went deep off right-hander
Michael Soroka in the fourth inning, but sadly it wasn't enough as the D-Backs took the 11-7 loss. Naylor finished the game 2-for-4 with a double, home run, and two RBI in the loss. He extended his hitting streak to nine games, which includes four straight multi-hit games. Naylor has been unbelievable at the plate lately and needs to be rostered and started in all fantasy formats.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
4 days ago
Los Angeles Dodgers catcher/outfielder
Dalton Rushing achieved a milestone in his career during Saturday's game against the New York Yankees. In the eighth inning, Rushing sent the ball over the wall for a three-run home run, which was the first of his career. He would finish the game 1-for-2 with a homer and three RBI in the blowout win. Since being called up, Rushing is slashing .273/.304/.455 with one homer and seven RBI in 23 plate appearances. Sadly, Rushing isn't seeing enough playing time to warrant rostering in most fantasy formats.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
4 days ago
Los Angeles Dodgers infielder
Hyeseong Kim was unstoppable at the plate during Saturday's game against the New York Yankees. Kim had no problems as he went 4-for-4 with a double, home run, two RBI, and walk in the blowout win. The rookie infielder reached base five times he came to the plate during Saturday's contest. Kim is slashing .422/.458/.600 with two homers, seven RBI, and four stolen bases on the season. Sadly, Kim doesn't offer great fantasy value right now given he's not playing everyday at the moment.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
4 days ago
Miami Marlins relief pitcher
Calvin Faucher was tasked with taking the mound with a one-run lead in the ninth inning on Saturday. Faucher didn't have too many issues in this one as he worked around a two-out single to record his fourth save of the season. The Marlins have been going closer by committee lately, which has been a headache for fantasy managers. Faucher isn't a great option given he has blown three chances and converted only four saves. The right-hander could be worth a look in deep leagues or NL-only formats, but probably not much more value outside of that.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
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