3 days agoKansas City Royals first baseman
Vinnie Pasquantino (thumb) took batting practice at Nationals Park on Thursday before the team's series finale against the Washington Nationals. It's another step in Pasquantino's recovery after suffering a right-thumb injury that will keep him out through the end of the regular season this Sunday. The 26-year-old left-handed slugger needed surgery to fix a fractured right thumb, but it's good to see that he's already swinging a bat over three weeks removed from going under the knife. The Royals must first clinch a wild-card spot in the American League before the Royals will begin discussing whether Pasquantino has a shot to join them if they make a deep playoff run in October. Catcher
Salvador Perez has seen more time at first base for KC since Pasquantino's injury, with
Freddy Fermin filling in behind the dish.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Kansas City Star - Jaylon T. Thompson
3
days
agoSt.
Louis
Cardinals
outfielders
Alec
Burleson
and
Michael
Siani
are
both
out
of
the
lineup
for
Thursday's
series
finale
at
Coors
Field
against
the
Colorado
Rockies
and
left-hander
Kyle
Freeland.
read more...
3 days agoSt. Louis Cardinals third baseman
Nolan Arenado and infielder/outfielder
Brendan Donovan will both retreat to the bench for Thursday's series finale at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies.
Jose Fermin is handling the hot corner and batting eighth, while rookie
Thomas Saggese starts at second base and is hitting sixth against Rockies left-hander
Kyle Freeland. Neither Fermin nor Saggese have ever faced Freeland in their careers. Donovan will get the day off after starting in each of the team's last 12 games. Fermin has done little at the plate in 63 at-bats this year, going 9-for-63 (.143) with no homers, three RBI and two stolen bases. Saggese, meanwhile, was recently called up for the first time and has gone 8-for-38 (.211) with a homer, two doubles and four RBI in his first 14 major-league games for the Red Birds.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 days agoColorado Rockies second baseman
Brendan Rodgers (hamstring) remains sidelined for Thursday's series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field. Rodgers will be missing his third straight game this week due to tightness in his left hamstring. The 28-year-old should be considered day-to-day heading into the final series of the regular season, which begins on Friday at Coors Field against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers. With Rodgers out again, rookie
Aaron Schunk is making the start at second base and will hit in the nine-hole against Cardinals right-hander
Kyle Gibson. Schunk has never faced Gibson in his career and is a DFS option to avoid at the bottom of the Rockies' batting order. The 27-year-old is in his first year in the majors in 2024 and has hit .244 (20-for-82) with two homers, three doubles, six RBI and 26 strikeouts in 86 trips to the plate.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 days agoAfter returning to the lineup on Tuesday after missing the weekend series against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers due to a knee issue, Colorado Rockies outfielder
Brenton Doyle will get a day to rest for Thursday's series finale at Coors Field versus the St. Louis Cardinals.
Sam Hilliard is getting the starting nod in center field and is batting sixth for the Rockies against Cardinals right-hander
Kyle Gibson. The 26-year-old Doyle has been the most relevant fantasy player in the thin air of Colorado this year with a .262/.318/.450 slash line, .768 OPS, 23 home runs, 72 RBI, 29 stolen bases and 82 runs scored in 538 total at-bats. He should be back in there on Friday for the series opener versus the Dodgers at Coors Field. Hilliard has never faced Gibson in his career and enters the contest with nine long balls, 26 RBI and five stolen bases in his 130 at-bats in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3
days
agoChicago
White
Sox
outfielders
Gavin
Sheets
and
Andrew
Benintendi,
infielder
Nicky
Lopez
and
catcher
Korey
Lee
are
all
sitting
for
Thursday's
series
finale
at
Guaranteed
Rate
Field
versus
read more...
3 days agoLos Angeles Angels first baseman
Nolan Schanuel (leg) and outfielder
Jordyn Adams (knee) are both out of the lineup on Thursday for the series finale against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Schanuel fouled a ball of his right lower leg in Wednesday's loss to the White Sox and will miss at least one day of action as a result. The 22-year-old is considered day-to-day for now and will be hoping to play at some point in the final weekend series of the year against the division-rival Texas Rangers. Adams, meanwhile, has been out for a whole week with soreness in his right knee. At this point with just three games remaining, we may not see the 24-year-old again in 2024.
Brandon Drury is at first base and batting cleanup, while Gustavo Camero is in right field and is batting seventh for the Halos on Thursday against White Sox right-hander
Chris Flexen.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 days agoDetroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said on Thursday that it's "unlikely" that left-hander
Tarik Skubal would pitch in the season finale on Sunday versus the division-rival Chicago White Sox if the Tigers have already clinched a postseason berth but are still playing for seeding. Skubal is the front-runner for the Cy Young award in the American League this year, but the Tigers would rather save him for the first game of the wild-card series next week if they punch their ticket to the playoffs before Skubal's next turn in the rotation on Sunday. The 27-year-old southpaw has been an absolute beast on the mound this year for Detroit, leading the league in wins (18), win percentage (.818), ERA (2.39), strikeouts (228), ERA+ (170) and FIP (2.49) in 192 innings over 31 starts. Whichever team lines up to face the red-hot Tigers is going to find it difficult to produce offense against Skubal in Game 1 if the Tigers make the playoffs.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Cody Stavenhagen
3 days agoDetroit Tigers outfielder
Kerry Carpenter will start on the bench for Thursday's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park with a left-hander on the mound.
Matt Vierling is in left field and will bat cleanup, while
Andy Ibanez draws into the lineup at third base and will hit leadoff against Rays left-hander
Tyler Alexander. In just 84 games in his third big-league season, Carpenter has 17 home runs and is only four homers shy of setting a new career-high. However, he's really struggled against southpaws in 2024 in a small sample size, going 3-for-28 (.107) with one of his 17 home runs and 10 strikeouts in 32 plate appearances. Ibanez is in a nice lineup spot for DFS but still brings minimal upside with only five home runs and two steals in 216 at-bats this year. Vierling has hit .269 against lefties but with only three of his 16 long balls.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Detroit Tigers
3
days
agoTampa
Bay
Rays
infielders
Yandy
Diaz
and
Jose
Caballero
and
outfielder
Jonny
DeLuca
are
all
out
of
the
lineup
for
Thursday's
series
finale
against
the
Detroit
Tigers
at
Comerica
Park.
Diaz
is
on
read more...
3 days agoBaltimore Orioles outfielder
Cedric Mullins went 3-for-4 with a double, three runs scored, and a pair of stolen bases in Wednesday's 9-7 win over the Yankees, preventing New York from being crowned division champs for a little while longer. Mullins had a dismal first half, slashing .214/.256/.373 with 16 steals and a wRC+ of 77 through the season's first 85 games, but has slashed .258/.370/.460 with 16 steals and a 142 wRC+ in the 54 games since. The 29-year-old owns a .230-18-54-66-32 line on the season and fantasy managers hoping for a championship will hope he stays hot for a couple more games.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
3 days agoCleveland Guardians third baseman
Jose Ramirez fell a single shy of the cycle in a 3-for-4 night at the plate, collecting a double, a triple, and a home run in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Reds. The home run was his 38th of the season, while the switch-hitter collected three RBI and scored twice in the contest as well. The 6x All-Star has been one of the top fantasy performers this season due to his strong output in every offensive category, accumulating a .279-38-115-113-40 line. The 32-year-old shows no signs of showing down and will surely be responsible for sending many fantasy managers home with a championship this year.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
3 days agoSeattle Mariners starting pitcher
George Kirby kept his team's playoff hopes alive with six strong innings in Wednesday's 8-1 victory over the Astros, allowing one earned run on four hits and one walk while striking out six on the way to recording his 14th win of the season. It was the 26-year-old's third straight quality start and 20th of the year out of 33 starts. The righty finishes the season 14-11 with a 3.53 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 20.1% K-BB% thanks in part to an elite-level 3.0% walk rate. The 26-year-old has now posted three consecutive seasons of sub-4.00 ERA (and sub-4.00 SIERA) to start his career along with excellent command, proving he's one of the brightest young arms in the game and managers should expect similar results in 2025.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
3 days agoArizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher
Zac Gallen tossed six innings of one-run ball in Wednesday's 8-2 victory over the Giants, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out a season-high 11 batters on the way to earning his 14th win of the season. The 29-year-old has had another solid, albeit somewhat inconsistent, season for the D-backs, as he allowed one run or less in 13 of 28 starts but four runs or more on seven occasions. Nevertheless, the righty finishes the regular season on a high note and leaves his team one game up on the Braves for the final Wild Card spot with three games to go against the Padres. The former All-Star closes the 2024 regular season at 14-6 with a 3.65 ERA (3.86 SIERA), 1.26 WHIP, and a 16.4% K-BB%.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
3 days agoChicago White Sox outfielder
Andrew Benintendi went 2-for-5 in Wednesday's 4-3 extra-innings win over the Angels, with one of the hits coming in the bottom of the 10th inning as a walk-off RBI single. The win was their second straight and staved off history for the time being, preventing the Sox from becoming the team with the most losses in a single season in baseball history. They have another winnable matchup on Thursday with the Angels, but will face a hot Tigers team for the final three games of the season. Benintendi's futility at the plate before the All-Star break was just one reason the Sox underperformed this season, with the former first-rounder slashing .201/.258/.311 through July 14, but turned it around after the break, slashing a respectable .263/.330/.493 over the last 58 games.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
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