6 days agoTampa Bay Rays outfielder
Josh Lowe (rib) left Friday's game in the fifth inning against the visiting Colorado Rockies with right-oblique discomfort. Lowe singled up the middle in the fifth inning but was seen wincing during his swing before jogging gingerly to first base. The 27-year-old left-handed hitter was visibly upset before being pulled and replaced by
Jose Caballero in right field. He missed time with an oblique injury in 2024 and has quickly developed an injury-prone label, so fantasy managers may want to prepare for an extended absence for an injury that will almost certainly land him on the injured list. Lowe has stolen 57 bags in the last two years but also had a strikeout rate over 30% last year.
Kameron Misner, who has shown a decent power/speed combination in the minors for the Rays, could see an elevated role in the outfield going forward if Lowe is forced to miss extended time.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Bally Sports Florida - Ryan Bass
6 days agoThe Arizona Diamondbacks announced on Friday that they signed right-hander
Brandon Pfaadt to an undisclosed five-year contract extension from 2026-30 with a club option for 2031 and a mutual option for the 2032 season. Pfaadt was previously set to hit free agency after the 2029 season. The D-backs are locking in one or their best young arms and buying out all of his arbitration years. The 26-year-old former fifth-round pick in 2020 out of Bellarmine University made his major-league debut in 2023 and has gone 14-19 with a 5.06 ERA (4.15 FIP) and 1.29 WHIP with 279 strikeouts and 68 walks in 277 2/3 innings over 51 appearances (50 starts) in his first two MLB seasons in the desert. On the surface, he disappointed with a 4.71 ERA in 32 starts in 2024, but he was a bit unlucky while improving both his strikeout and walk rates. Fantasy managers are hoping for a step forward in 2025.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: PHNX Sports - Jesse Friedman
6 days agoSeattle Mariners infielder
Dylan Moore (illness) wasn't in the Opening Day lineup on Thursday due to an illness but will return on Friday to play second base and bat eighth against the division-rival Athletics and left-hander
Jeffrey Springs at T-Mobile Park. Moore is a super-utility man for the Mariners who stole a career-high 32 bases in a career-high 135 games in 2024 in his sixth year with the team. However, he's barely hit above the Mendoza Line the last two seasons and is primarily attractive to Seattle because of his defensive versatility in both the infield and outfield. For fantasy managers in AL-only leagues, Moore is useful for his speed and the fact that he's eligible at shortstop, second base, third base and the outfield. He's a poor DFS play Friday evening and has one hit in just two career at-bats versus Springs.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoAthletics outfielder
Seth Brown will make the start in left field and will hit sixth on Friday against the division-rival Seattle Mariners and right-hander
Luis Castillo at T-Mobile Park.
Miguel Andujar, who made the start in left on Opening Day on Thursday, will retreat to the bench. Brown is expected to find himself on the A's bench more often than not in 2025, but he has hit .333 with a 1.012 OPS and a solo home run in 15 career at-bats against Castillo. The former 19th-round pick in 2015 out of Lewis-Clark State College is worthy of a bench spot for outfield in deep AL-only leagues, at best. The 32-year-old veteran lefty swinger hit .231/.283/.379 with a .662 OPS, 14 home runs and 44 RBI in his 124 games for the A's a season ago. We wouldn't recommend Brown for DFS lineups on Friday.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoArizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alex Thomas will make the start in center field over
Jake McCarthy on Friday in the second game of the season against the visiting Chicago Cubs and right-hander
Jameson Taillon at Chase Field. Thomas will bat seventh in the lineup. Thomas comes into 2025 looking to bounce back after a very disappointing 2024 campaign in which he played in only 39 games at the big-league level due to injuries and poor performance. In 103 plate appearances for Arizona, the 24-year-old left-handed hitter went just 18-for-95 (.189) with three home runs, 17 RBI and four stolen bases. Defense has been his calling card so far early in his career, but with a likely platoon role in Arizona's outfield this year, it's hard to get excited about him as anything more than outfield depth in NL-only leagues. Thomas is hitless in only two career at-bats against Taillon.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoArizona Diamondbacks catcher
Gabriel Moreno will retreat to the bench in the second game of the season on Friday against the visiting Chicago Cubs. Backup
Jose Herrera will make the start behind the dish and will bat ninth against Cubs right-hander
Jameson Taillon at Chase Field. Moreno had a nice Opening Day showing in the loss on Thursday, going 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. The 25-year-old should be back in the lineup on Saturday. Herrera, 28, hit .227/.290/.320 with a career-best .609 OPS, his first career home run and 13 RBI in 42 games played for the D-backs in his third year with the team in 2024 as a backup catcher. He's a defense-first catcher and should be avoided in DFS lineups on Friday. Herrera has never faced Taillon in his career.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoPittsburgh Pirates second baseman
Nick Gonzales (ankle) is going on the 10-day injured list on Friday after suffering a non-displaced left-ankle fracture in the Opening Day loss to the Miami Marlins on Thursday, according to manager Derek Shelton. In a corresponding move, the team is recalling infielder
Enmanuel Valdez from Triple-A Indianapolis. The 25-year-old Gonzales hit a two-run home run on Opening Day but was hobbling pretty badly while trotting around the bases and was immediately removed from the game. Pittsburgh's starting lineup for Friday's contest in Miami has yet to be announced, but veteran
Adam Frazier, who replaced Gonzales at the keystone on Thursday, will likely make the start at second base against right-hander
Connor Gillispie. There's no timetable for Gonzales, but fantasy managers should expect him to miss at least a month of action, if not more.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Alex Stumpf
6
days
agoNew
York
Mets
outfielder
Tyrone
Taylor
is
making
a
second
straight
start
in
center
field
and
is
batting
seventh
on
Friday
against
Houston
Astros
right-hander
Hunter
Brown
at
Daikin
Park
in
Houston.
In
the
early
going,
manager
read more...
6 days agoNew York Mets infielder
Brett Baty is starting at second base and batting eighth on Friday against the Houston Astros and right-hander
Hunter Brown at Daikin Park. In the Opening Day loss to the Astros,
Luisangel Acuna made the start at the keystone against left-hander
Framber Valdez. With
Jeff McNeil (oblique) on the injured list to begin the year, Baty and Acuna are expected to be in a platoon at second, with Baty facing righties and Acuna facing lefties. Especially after slashing .353/.441/.745 with four home runs in 20 Grapefruit League games during spring training, Baty is an interesting post-hype prospect for the Mets in the strong side of a platoon at second. However, hitting out of the eight-hole isn't great for his DFS upside. Baty comes into this one with one hit in three career at-bats against Brown.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoTexas Rangers catcher
Jonah Heim will make his first start of the year on Friday against the visiting Boston Red Sox and right-hander
Tanner Houck at Globe Life Field.
Kyle Higashioka will take a seat on the bench for the second game of the season. Heim is doing the catching for right-hander
Jack Leiter and is hitting eighth in the batting order. The 29-year-old left-handed-hitting Heim has lost a lot of fantasy appeal now that he's essentially in a timeshare with Higashioka after posting a disappointing .603 OPS in 2024. Meanwhile, Higashioka had a career year with the San Diego Padres last year, posting a .739 OPS with 17 home runs and 45 RBI in 84 games played. Higashioka went 1-for-4 with an RBI double on Opening Day in the loss to the Red Sox. Heim has gone deep once with three RBI in just five career at-bats versus Houck.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoHouston Astros infielder
Brendan Rodgers is making a second straight start over
Mauricio Dubon on Friday at second base and will bat eighth against the visiting New York Mets and right-hander
Tylor Megill at Daikin Park. All signs pointed to Dubon seeing most of the playing time at the keystone to open the 2025 season after the Astros decided to move All-Star
Jose Altuve to left field full time, but so far it's been Rodgers at the keystone in Houston. The 28-year-old former Rockies second baseman went hitless in four plate appearances with one walk in the team's Opening Day win over the Mets on Thursday. The Astros may actually prefer the oft-injured Rodgers at the keystone to begin the season, but if he's not producing, Dubon could get his opportunity sooner than later. Rodgers had extreme home/road splits while with Colorado and should only be rostered in AL-only fantasy leagues for the time being.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoBaltimore Orioles right-hander
Grayson Rodriguez (elbow) is throwing a bullpen session on Friday before the team's contest against the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Rodriguez is beginning to ramp up his throwing program after being shut down in early March in spring training due to right-elbow inflammation. Rodriguez will need a full build-up and basically has to repeat spring training, so fantasy managers should expect him to miss at least the first month of the regular season. A lat strain in August of last year put a damper on what had been a breakout season up to that point as well. Before his lat injury in 2024, the 25-year-old had gone 13-4 with a 3.86 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 130:36 K:BB in 20 starts over 116 2/3 innings. Rodriguez should be stashed in all fantasy formats.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Baltimore Banner - Andy Kostka
6
days
agoToronto
Blue
Jays
outfielder
Nathan
Lukes
will
make
his
first
start
of
the
season
on
Friday
against
the
visiting
Baltimore
Orioles
and
right-hander
Charlie
Morton
at
Rogers
Centre.
Lukes
will
be
in
center
field
and
will
read more...
6 days agoBaltimore Orioles infielder
Jorge Mateo (elbow) will make his 2025 debut on Friday against the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays and right-hander
Kevin Gausman, starting at shortstop and batting ninth.
Jackson Holliday, who started at the 6 on Opening Day on Thursday, will slide back over to second base, with
Ramon Urias starting on the bench.
Jordan Westburg will start at third base and bat third. Mateo, 29, only played in five spring training games after having UCL reconstruction on his left (non-throwing) elbow in the offseason, and he went 1-for-11 with an RBI, two walks and five strikeouts in Grapefruit League play. He entered Thursday's Opening Day win over Toronto as a defensive replacement but didn't make a plate appearance. Given his lack of spring action and the fact he's hit .125 in eight career at-bats against Gausman, Mateo is one to avoid in DFS lineups on Friday.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoSt. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect
Tink Hence (rib cage) is starting the 2025 season at Triple-A Memphis on the seven-day injured list with a right rib-cage strain, according to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. The team's No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, will now miss the start of the minor-league season, but it's unclear exactly how much time he might miss. The right-hander was drafted by St. Louis in the second round of the 2020 draft and has some of the best stuff among young pitching prospects. However, the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder hasn't been able to stay healthy so far on the farm and has yet to reach the 100-inning mark due to various arm ailments. Last year in 20 starts for Double-A Springfield, Hence had a nice 2.71 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 109 strikeouts and 26 walks in 79 2/3 innings but missed notable time with a shoulder injury. If he continues to struggle to stay healthy, perhaps he'll be moved to a relief role.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Belleville News - Jeff Jones
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