April 27, 2025
Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher
Cade Smith was called upon in the ninth inning of the first game of Saturday's doubleheader with the Boston Red Sox. Fellow relief pitcher
Emmanuel Clase (shoulder) has been banged up and struggled in the early part of the season. That being said, Smith has been given more chances in the ninth inning lately. On Saturday, Smith tossed a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit, one walk, and struck out a batter to earn his third save of the season. Smith figures to remain in the mix for saves throughout the season, so fantasy managers should keep an eye on him.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
April 27, 2025
Detroit Tigers relief pitcher
Will Vest was called upon in the eighth inning to hold a one-run lead against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. The right-hander struck out two batters over 1.1 scoreless innings to record his third save of the season. Vest has tossed an impressive 11 straight scoreless innings as he's looking like the best option in the Tigers bullpen right now. He holds a 0.75 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, and 14/4 K/BB ratio across 12 innings this season. Vest is worth snagging in fantasy formats where saves matter as he appears to be the top closer option right now.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
April 27, 2025
Cincinnati Reds closer
Emilio Pagan picked up his seventh save of the season on Saturday, securing the 6-4 victory over the Rockies. The righty struck out the first two batters he faced before allowing a walk and a double that would result in one run scored, but would get the final batter to strike out as well to end the game. The 33-year-old has filled in admirably as the Reds' closer this season, with Saturday being just the third time in 14 games that he's allowed a run to score, producing a 2.70 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, and a 2:14 BB:K (25.5 percent K-BB%).
Alexis Diaz pitched the eighth inning, so Pagan should be the closer so long as he remains effective.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
April 27, 2025
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher
Yusei Kikuchi imploded in Saturday's game against the Twins after he allowed 13 base runners to reach (nine hits, four walks) in only two innings, resulting in four earned runs, and Minnesota would go on to win 5-1. Just over half of the lefty's 66 pitches were thrown for strikes, and he was unable to record even one strikeout in the contest. The performance comes on the heels of two good efforts over his previous couple of starts, but so far, this season is not looking anything like 2024. Last year, the southpaw posted a 4.05, 1.20 WHIP, 12.8 percent swinging-strike rate, and a 22.0 percent K-BB%; however, this year has produced a 4.31 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 8.5 percent swinging-strike rate, and a 7.1 percent K-BB%. Those stats don't typically generate fantasy-worthy numbers, so managers may have to carefully choose which spots in which to deploy the veteran.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
April 27, 2025
Jonathan Cannon earned the win in Saturday's 10-3 victory over the Athletics, allowing three earned runs in seven-and-two-thirds innings on six hits and two walks while striking out five. It was Cannon's first win of the season, now the owner of a 1-3 record, 4.50 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and a 7.0 percent K-BB%. The 24-year-old has a career ERA of 4.49, a WHIP of 1.35, and a 6.79 K/9. That, combined with pitching for the White Sox, means wins may come few and far between for the righty, and good performances like Saturday's will be hard to forecast (the A's were heavy favorites in this one), so Cannon isn't an appealing streamer or DFS option despite Saturday's effort.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
April 27, 2025
Seattle Mariners third baseman
Ben Williamson went 2-for-4 with a double, four RBI, and a run scored in Saturday's 14-0 win over the Marlins. The former second-round draft pick has hit safely in nine of the first 11 games of his career, now with a five-game hit streak and a stretch of seven games in which he's scored at least one run. The right-handed hitter owns a .310/.356/.429 slash line and doesn't appear to be overmatched yet, striking out at a batter-than-league-average rate of 17.8 percent thus far. The 24-year-old never displayed much home run power in the minors but showed some speed, swiping 19 bags at Triple-A in 2024, although he's yet to run in the majors. Fantasy managers in AL-only and deeper leagues could look to Williamson for production at the hot corner, and he's still available in nearly all leagues.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
April 27, 2025
Chicago White Sox outfielder
Luis Robert Jr. went 1-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run, three runs scored, and a stolen base in Saturday's 10-3 win over the Athletics. The home run was his third of the season, and he's now up to eight steals, but it has been another disappointing season so far for the former All-Star. The 6-foot-2 slugger has had one multi-hit performance in 2025, and it came way back in March, currently slashing .148/.269/.273 with a 33.0 percent strikeout rate, .250 wOBA, and 59 wRC+. With his offensive potential, fantasy managers probably need to exercise patience in hopes he eventually turns it around, but leaving him on the bench for now could be a wise move.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
April 27, 2025
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder
Garrett Mitchell was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique. Mitchell exited Friday's contest early due to oblique tightness, and Saturday's MRI confirmed the strain. The 26-year-old could use the time on the IL to reset, as he was off to a very slow start at the plate, slashing .206/.286/.294 with no home runs, a .264 wOBA, and a 65 wRC+ over 25 games. The former first-round pick has battled various injuries already in his short major league career, and has yet to log more than 69 games in a season, so hopefully this won't keep him out longer than expected, and maybe he can get back on track offensively.
Daz Cameron was recalled from Triple-A Nashville to take his place, but hasn't offered much in the way of fantasy production during his previous stints in the majors, so is probably best left to the waiver wire for now.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: Milwaukee Brewers
April 27, 2025
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher
Luis Castillo (3-2) dominated the Miami Marlins on Saturday, tossing six scoreless innings in a 14-0 win. Castillo allowed just one hit and two walks while punching out five. The 32-year-old was coming off two outings where he allowed 23 baserunners in just 9 ⅓ IP, so a start like this one was sorely needed. He improves to (3-2) with a 3.62 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 28 strikeouts in 32 ⅓ IP. Fantasy managers will hope he can build off this start next Saturday when he is projected to face the Texas Rangers on the road.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
April 27, 2025
Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto showed off his power-speed combo on Saturday, going 3-for-4 with a homer and three steals in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Neto is now hitting .300 with a .990 OPS, five runs, three homers, five RBI, and three steals in 30 at-bats. The 24-year-old is only a week into his season as he returned from shoulder surgery on April 18, but so far, so good. He popped some impressive numbers last season, including 23 homers and 30 steals, and if the Angels' shortstop can build on those, he should be a stud in fantasy. Neto is still available in some leagues but should be rostered in all leagues now.--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
April 27, 2025
Cincinnati Reds outfielder
Austin Hays continued his torrid start to the season on Saturday, smashing two homers in a 6-4 win over the Colorado Rockies. Hays has been incredible in a small sample size for the Reds, as he is now hitting .386 with a 1.222 OPS, 12 runs, five homers, 11 RBI, and a steal in 44 at-bats. The 29-year-old appears to be a great fit in Cincy, and it looks like he will have ample playing time. Hays should be rostered in all standard-size leagues at this point, and makes for a great waiver wire pickup with seven home games next week.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
April 27, 2025
Seattle Mariners designated hitter/third baseman
Jorge Polanco went 2-for-4 with two home runs, a walk, and an additional run scored in Saturday's 14-0 win over the Miami Marlins. Polanco has four homers in his last four games as he continues to play some of the best ball of his career. The 31-year-old has been studly for the M's this year, hitting .354 with a 1.085 OPS, 10 runs, seven homers, 18 RBI, and a stolen base in 65 at-bats. The only issue for Polanco right now is that he isn't playing every day, but at this point, he should still be rostered in most fantasy leagues, at least until he cools off.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
April 27, 2025
Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers went 3-for-7 with a homer, a double, two walks, two RBI, and two additional runs scored in Saturday's doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians. Devers is now hitting .210 with a .722 OPS, 18 runs, three homers, and 16 RBI. So far, it has been a disappointing season for the 28-year-old star, who came into Saturday without a hit in his last five games (15 at-bats). The good news for fantasy managers is that Devers is severely underperforming his expected stats and will likely regress to his usual self soon, so hold steady and don't sell low.--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
April 27, 2025
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman
Eugenio Suarez became the 19th player in MLB history to hit four homers in a game on Saturday. Suarez could not be stopped in this one, hitting a homer in each of his plate appearances and collecting five RBI. Unfortunately for him and the D-backs, they still ended up losing 8-7 to the Atlanta Braves. The 33-year-old is now hitting .202 with 17 runs, 10 homers, 20 RBI, and a stolen base. After a massive hot streak to start the season, Suarez had been extremely cold coming into this game, hitting only one homer over his last 21 games and seeing his OPS drop from 1.492 to .690 in that stretch. Fantasy managers will hope that this game ignites him into another heater.
--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
April 26, 2025
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher
Hunter Greene earned his third win of the season on Saturday by allowing just three runs on seven hits over six innings against the Rockies in Denver. He gave up all three runs on a pair of home runs, but worked around any other trouble while raising his total strikeouts on the season to 43 in 36 2/3 innings. He improves to 3-2 on the year in his six starts with a 2.70 ERA and 3.46 FIP. The win and the strikeouts were enough to make this a solid Coors Field outing despite the two long balls. He'll look for even better results next time out, when he is scheduled to face the Cardinals at home on Thursday afternoon.
--Zach Thompson - RotoBallerSource: ESPN.com
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