Justin Herbert Didn't Crumble Under Pressure On Deep Passes

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2020, also tied Baker Mayfield's rookie record for deep touchdown passes with 11. Herbert also had 415 passing yards and five touchdowns on deep passes when under pressure, both most in the NFL. He had five touchdowns on deep passes from […]

Charlie Blackmon Sits Out Second Game Of Twin Bill Thursday

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon won't play in the second half of Thursday's doubleheader against the New York Mets. In the first half of the twin bill, Blackmon went 0-for-3 while batting in the cleanup spot and playing left field. Through his first 151 at-bats of the season, Blackmon currently sports a .686 OPS, which […]

Raimel Tapia Takes A Seat In Second Game Of Doubleheader

Colorado Rockies outfielder Raimel Tapia won't play in the second game of Colorado's doubleheader against the New York Mets Thursday after going 0-for-3 while leading off and playing left field in the first game of the day. Tapia has struggled of late, slashing .151/.258/.226 over his last 15 games, with just one home run and […]

Ji-Man Choi (1B, TBR) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 8% of leagues ANALYSIS: Though he just made his 2021 debut last week after knee surgery in March kept him sidelined, Ji-Man Choi looks to be in midseason form. The 30-year-old has hit .345/.472/.655 with a pair of home runs, seven runs, and eight RBI in nine games. […]

Dominic Smith Starting Nightcap Thursday

New York Mets outfielder Dominic Smith (knee) is in the lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Rockies. Smith banged his knee trying to score on what would eventually be deemed a home run by Tomas Nido on Tuesday night and sat out the first game on Thursday after Wednesday's rainout. Smith […]

Josh Allen Improved On Deep Passes Last Year

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen improved his deep passing numbers last year with the help of wide receiver Stefon Diggs, finishing with the second-most deep completions to wide open receivers (10). Allen went from a -10.1 percent completion percentage over expectation in 2019 to +7.1 percent in 2020, the second-largest jump in the league behind […]

Kris Bryant Dominating Lefties In 2021

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant elevated his league-leading OPS against left-handed pitching to 1.557 with a home run in the first inning Thursday off Pittsburgh's Tyler Anderson. After a down year in 2020, Bryant is back to looking like one of the best hitters in baseball, with a 1.009 OPS and 11 homers on […]

Austin Voth Has 50-Pitch Limit Thursday

Washington Nationals pitcher Austin Voth will take over the pitching for the club as they resume their suspended game from Wednesday night. Voth is set to throw up to 50 pitches, according to manager Dave Martinez. Voth hasn't thrown more than three innings on the season, but he could be a strong option for fantasy […]

Rowdy Tellez Batting Sixth Versus The Yankees Thursday

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Rowdy Tellez is in the lineup and batting sixth against the New York Yankees and starting pitcher Domingo German. This represents a prime matchup for the lefty swinger, as Tellez has provided excellent power against right-handed pitching for his career, with 28 of his 35 career homers coming against righties. […]

Robert Tonyan Was Incredibly Efficient In 2020

Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan caught 52 passes on 59 targets last season, posting the highest catch-rate difference among all pass-catchers by a wide margin. Tonyan's 16.7 percent difference was the best in 2020 and the second-best in the history of the Next Gen Stats era, dating back to the start of 2016. […]

Aaron Hicks Will Miss Remainder Of Season After Surgery

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks (wrist) will miss the rest of the 2021 season, according to manager Aaron Boone. Hicks had initially been hoping to avoid the surgery, but eventually opted to go under the knife to repair a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. Hicks had not been performing up to expectations […]

Danny Jansen On Bench For Game 1 Of Doubleheader

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen is not in the starting lineup for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader at the Yankees. Reese McGuire will bat ninth and catch for Alek Manoah. The 26-year-old backstop should be behind the plate for the second game, but won't have much fantasy appeal as he's batting just .140 […]

Stefon Diggs Was Unstoppable Last Season

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs led the league in receiving yards (1,535) last year in his first season with the team. Diggs' 166 targets produced a league-high 127 receptions, and he was the only receiver to catch passes at a rate that was 11.7 percent higher than expectation. He had the most receiving yards […]

Rougned Odor Batting Second In First Game Of Doubleheader

New York Yankees second baseman Rougned Odor will bat second for the first time this season in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays. Odor has batted everywhere from fourth to ninth since joining New York, but will be near the top of the order today after Luke Voit (oblique) landed on […]

Clay Holmes Making Noise In Pirates Bullpen

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Clay Holmes has established himself as a go-to reliever for the Bucs and is making fantasy managers take notice. Holmes has pitched 23 1/3 innings this season at a 3.09 ERA, certainly a respectable stat line. However, Holmes' season-long numbers are skewed by a five-run outing back in April. Across his […]

Chris Godwin Saw Less Attention From Defenders Last Year

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin saw press coverage on just 10.5 percent of routes run in 2020, the fifth-lowest rate among receivers running at least 300 routes in the NFL. That was thanks to the presence of Mike Evans, Rob Gronkowski and eventually Antonio Brown last year. Once known for being primarily a […]

Ice-Cold Jorge Soler Dropped To Seventh In Batting Order

Kansas City Royals designated hitter Jorge Soler will bat seventh on Thursday in a day game against Tigers starter Matthew Boyd. Soler is batting this low for only the second time this season as the slugger is slumping badly. The 29-year-old has just one hit in his last 30 at-bats and has seen his season […]

Todd Gurley II Visiting With Lions

Free-agent running back Todd Gurley II is visiting with the Detroit Lions on Thursday, according to a source. If he were to sign with Detroit, Gurley would be reunited with quarterback Jared Goff and join the backfield with another former Georgia standout in D'Andre Swift. Gurley, a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro with […]

Tanner Rainey Could Be Activated Thursday

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Tanner Rainey could return to the active roster as early as Tuesday, according to MLB.com. Rainey has been on the COVID-19 injured list since May 19. The right-hander threw a 32-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday, and manager Dave Martinez said he shouldn't require a rehab assignment, as it's not uncommon for relievers […]

Davante Adams Is Extremely Versatile

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams averaged 3.1 receiving yards per route run last year, the most in the NFL with a minimum of 150 routes. Adams set a single-season high for percentage of routes run out of the slot at 29.9 percent. When in the slot, he caught 83.6 percent of his targets […]

Out Routes Helped Corey Davis Break Out In 2020

New York Jets wide receiver Corey Davis broke out in the final year of his rookie contract with the Tennessee Titans in 2020, racking up single-season highs in touchdowns (five) and receiving yards (984). Davis had a catch-rate difference of +9.7 percent last year, the fourth-highest rate among receivers. He had 218 yards on out […]

Danny Santana (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, BOS) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues ROSTERED IN: 27% of leagues ANALYSIS: Since Danny Santana was called up to the majors for the Boston Red Sox, manager Alex Cora has not stopped talking about the new dimension Santana offers the lineup with his speed.  When a manager sees that kind of value, the playing time […]

Yankees Call Up Estevan Florial, Albert Abreu

The New York Yankees have called up outfielder Estevan Florial and pitcher Albert Abreu from Triple-A. The call-ups are in response to the team placing both Corey Kluber (shoulder) and Luke Voit (oblique) on the 10-day injured list. Abreu will work out of the bullpen for the team, while Florial could see a decent amount […]

Falcons Have Offer Of First-Rounder For Julio Jones

The Atlanta Falcons have discussed an offer of a future first-round draft pick in exchange for All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones, according to sources. The Falcons are asking teams that are inquiring about Jones for a first-round pick. Atlanta has had talks with the Tennessee Titans, but a source described the Titans chances of landing […]

DJ LeMahieu Reinstated From Paternity List

The New York Yankees have reinstated infielder DJ LeMahieu from the paternity list. Expect to see him back at the top of the lineup for the team's doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. LeMahieu only missed one game while he was on the paternity list, thanks to Wednesday's game being postponed. It's been […]

Yandy Diaz Sitting Against Righty On Thursday

Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz is out of the starting lineup for Thursday's game against right-hander Brady Singer and the Kansas City Royals. Ji-Man Choi is getting the start at first base and batting third in the game. Diaz and Choi are in the midst of a bit of a platoon right now. […]

Amed Rosario Scratched On Thursday With Hand Contusion

Cleveland Indians shortstop/outfielder Amed Rosario (hand) has been scratched from Thursday's lineup due to a right hand contusion. Yu Chang is getting the start at shortstop and batting sixth as the team faces Matthew Boyd and the Detroit Tigers. This will be Rosario's second straight game out of the lineup. Rosario has started to turn […]

Jordan Luplow Dealing With Ankle Discomfort

Cleveland Indians outfielder Jordan Luplow (ankle) is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's game against Matthew Boyd and the Detroit Tigers. Recent call-up Bradley Zimmer is getting the start in center field and batting ninth in the game. Luplow is dealing with renewed left ankle discomfort, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Luplow […]

Franchy Cordero Optioned To Triple-A Worcester

Boston Red Sox outfielder Franchy Cordero was sent down to the minors following Wednesday night's marathon game against the Atlanta Braves. Cordero has struggled mightily to start the year, with a .179/.228/.274 slash line in 95 at-bats. The writing seemed to be on the wall after he didn't play against several right-handed starting pitchers over […]