21 mins agoSan Diego Padres catcher
Luis Campusano is taking the day off for the series opener on Friday in Atlanta against the Braves. With Campusano taking a day to rest,
Kyle Higashioka will do the catching for right-handed knuckleballer
Matt Waldron while hitting ninth against Braves left-hander
Max Fried. The 25-year-old Campusano has been solid for the Padres in his first full season as their primary catcher. Through his first 40 games in 2024, he's hitting .267 (36-for-135) with three home runs, 24 RBI and 18 runs scored in 144 plate appearances. He'll almost certainly be back behind the plate for the second game of the series on Saturday. Higashioka isn't much of a hitter and should be avoided in DFS formats. The former Yankee backstop has gone 6-for-33 with a homer and two RBI so far this year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
27 mins agoSeattle Mariners shortstop
J.P. Crawford (hand, oblique) has a locker room in Baltimore for the team's series this weekend against the Orioles, but he did not make the trip with the club on Thursday as originally planned. Crawford was still experiencing swelling and soreness in his right hand after getting hit by a pitch in his final minor-league rehab game on Wednesday. It appears as though the Mariners plan on the 29-year-old coming off the injured list to play this weekend, but it won't happen on Friday for the series opener at Camden Yards.
Dylan Moore is making another start at the 6 and will hit leadoff against Orioles left-hander
John Means. When Crawford does return, he'll return to his starting duties at shortstop while moving Moore back to a utility role. Crawford has started the year hitting under .200 with just two homers and nine RBI in 86 at-bats.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Daniel Kramer
32 mins agoSeattle Mariners catcher
Mitch Garver (back) has returned to the starting lineup on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles and left-hander
John Means, serving as the designated hitter while batting third in the order. The 33-year-old veteran backstop will return to action after being scratched from Tuesday's lineup with back spasms. He's gone hitless in only three career at-bats against Means and is slashing just .174/.287/.347 with five home runs, 13 RBI and 13 runs scored in 143 trips to the plate and 36 games in his first season in Seattle. Garver has picked things up in May, though, going 9-for-37 (.243) with two doubles, two home runs, six RBI and five runs scored in 11 games played. He's also been better against lefties than righties in 2024, making him a DFS sleeper at the position on Friday against Means.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
37 mins agoSeattle Mariners second baseman
Jorge Polanco (hamstring) remains out of the starting lineup on Friday versus the Baltimore Orioles. It will be Polanco's third straight missed game due to right-hamstring soreness. The 30-year-old is considered day-to-day and will next have a chance to return to the lineup on Saturday. In his absence,
Josh Rojas will make another start at second base and will bat sixth, while
Luis Urias starts at the hot corner and bats ninth against Orioles left-hander
John Means. Polanco has yet to get going at all really in 2024 with a slash line of just .192/.298/.308 with five home runs and 13 RBI in 146 at-bats. Rojas is exceeding everyone's expectations offensively this year and has gone 16-for-46 (.348) in 12 games in May. However, he's had only 11 plate appearances against lefties in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Seattle Mariners
54 mins agoTampa Bay Rays outfielder
Jose Siri is being rested on Friday in Toronto as the club takes on the Blue Jays.
Jonny DeLuca will get back into the starting lineup in center field and will bat ninth against Blue Jays right-hander
Chris Bassitt. Siri had started in five of the team's last seven games after a short stretch where DeLuca was pretty much starting every day. The 28-year-old Siri hasn't done much offensively for the Rays this year, going 19-for-109 (.174) with three home runs, 13 RBI and six stolen bases, so he could continue to lose playing time to DeLuca in center field. Meanwhile, DeLuca has hit a much better .281 (9-for-32) with a home run, 10 RBI and two stolen bases. The 25-year-old former Dodger won't have much DFS appeal out of the nine-hole for Friday's action, though.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
1 hour agoWashington Nationals second baseman
Luis Garcia Jr. (heel) has been scratched from the starting lineup on Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies after injuring his right heel in Chicago. Garcia thinks he'll be fine to play on Saturday.
Ildemaro Vargas will replace Garcia at the keystone on Friday and will hit fifth against Phillies right-hander
Zack Wheeler. Fantasy managers should consider Garcia day-to-day for now and check back on Saturday to see if he's put back in the lineup. Garcia is in the midst of the best season of his MLB career in 2024 and is currently hitting .283/.336/.433 with three home runs, 20 RBI and seven stolen bases in 37 games, so fantasy managers are hoping he's back on Saturday after also missing Wednesday's series finale against the Chicago White Sox. Vargas is merely a low-ceiling DFS sleeper in a tough matchup.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MASN Sports - Mark Zuckerman
1 hour agoAtlanta Braves third baseman
Austin Riley (side) remains sidelined for Friday's series opener against the visiting San Diego Padres.
Zack Short will make yet another start at the hot corner in Atlanta and will hit in the nine-hole versus Padres right-hander
Matt Waldron. Riley is missing his fourth straight game after being pulled from Sunday's game early against the New York Mets with a left-side issue. The 27-year-old's MRI exam earlier this week showed only inflammation, so there's still hope he can avoid a trip to the injured list. Still, if Riley cannot play at all in the weekend series against the Padres, things could change. Since joining the Braves, Short has gone 4-for-10 with two doubles and two RBI in just four games, but he's hitting .192 (5-for-26) on the year as a whole and is a career .175 hitter in 193 big-league games. Avoid him in DFS.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Justin Toscano
1 hour agoTampa Bay Rays infielder
Jose Caballero is taking the day off on Friday for the start of a series in Toronto against the Blue Jays. With Caballero starting on the bench,
Amed Rosario will start at shortstop and hit seventh against Blue Jays right-hander
Chris Bassitt. This will only be Caballero's fifth game on the bench to start a game for Tampa this year, as he's been the team's primary shortstop in 2024 in the wake of
Wander Franco's off-the-field issues. The 27-year-old from Panama doesn't have much power and is hitting just .252/.309/.360 in 139 at-bats, but he's useful in fantasy leagues for his speed (17 steals in his first 40 games with the Rays). Rosario isn't in an ideal lineup spot for those in DFS, but he is sporting a .300 average (42-for-140) on the year with two homers, 18 RBI, five stolen bases and 12 runs scored.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
1 hour agoNew York Mets outfielder
Brandon Nimmo (illness) remains out of the starting lineup on Friday for the start of a series in Miami against the Marlins. Nimmo was scratched from Thursday's lineup against the Philadelphia Phillies due to a stomach bug and clearly is still not feeling well a day later. The 31-year-old should be considered day-to-day. Check back on Saturday to see if he's back in the Mets' lineup.
Tyrone Taylor will make another start in left field and will head leadoff against Marlins left-hander
Jesus Luzardo. Taylor has two hits and two RBI in just three career at-bats against Luzardo. However, Taylor is also hitting just .191 (4-for-21) with no homers and seven strikeouts in his 10 games played in May. Because he's hitting out of the leadoff spot, he'll have slightly more appeal as a DFS sleeper.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
2 hours agoToronto Blue Jays designated hitter
Justin Turner (illness) is back in the lineup on Friday, serving as the DH and batting cleanup against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays and left-hander
Tyler Alexander. Turner missed a few games this week while feeling under the weather, but he's back in there for the start of a series against the Rays. The 39-year-old veteran should be returned to starting fantasy lineups in redraft leagues. He's gone hitless in his last 16 plate appearances over four games but does have two home runs and five RBI in five career at-bats against Alexander. On the year, Turner has slashed .246/.317/.405 with four home runs, 16 RBI and 17 runs scored in 126 at-bats.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Toronto Blue Jays
2 hours agoBaltimore Orioles outfielder
Cedric Mullins remains out of the starting lineup on Friday against the visiting Seattle Mariners and right-hander
Bryce Miller. It's the third time in the last five games that Mullins has started on the bench for the Orioles. Rookie
Colton Cowser is in center field and is hitting sixth on Friday, while
Kyle Stowers is starting in left field and batting eighth against Miller. Mullins' fantasy stock is obviously down with his loss of playing time coming due to his .183/.234/.349 slash line on the year with six home runs, 18 RBI and six stolen bases in 126 at-bats. Since April 22, Mullins has gone 5-for-59 (.085) with a home run, three RBI, two stolen bases, four walks and 19 strikeouts in 63 plate appearances over 18 games played. Fantasy managers in redraft leagues need to keep Mullins on their bench until he starts producing again.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: BaltimoreBaseball.com - Rich Dubroff
2 hours agoWashington Nationals outfielder
Jacob Young is not in the team's starting lineup on Friday against the Phillies in Philadelphia.
Victor Robles will take over for the Nationals in center field and will hit ninth against Phillies right-hander
Zack Wheeler. Young had started in eight of the team's last nine games, with six of them coming out of the leadoff spot. The 24-year-old has held his own with a .257 average (54-for-210) in his first 67 major-league games, dating back to his debut in 2023, but he's still searching for his first home run while driving in 20 and stealing 27 bases. The former seventh-round pick in 2021 out of Florida should continue to be valuable for his speed in all fantasy formats, especially if he continues to hit atop the order. Robles has very little DFS upside at the bottom of the order in a tough matchup on Friday.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 hours agoChicago Cubs right-hander
Yency Almonte (shoulder) is shut down from throwing and is in a strengthening program. However, the hope is that his strengthening program will be relatively short and he can start throwing again next week. The 29-year-old reliever was placed on the 15-day injured last week with a right-shoulder strain but he shouldn't be out for too much longer, barring a setback. The former 17th-round selection by the Los Angeles Angels in 2012 was 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA (3.31 FIP), a 1.08 WHIP, one save, eight walks and 20 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings out of the Cubs' bullpen this year before going on the IL. Almonte isn't really on the fantasy radar in any formats and holds a career 4.44 ERA (4.41 FIP) and 1.30 WHIP with three saves in 223 innings out of the bullpen.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: CHGO Sports - Ryan Herrera
3 hours agoThe Washington Nationals reinstated first baseman/outfielder designated hitter
Joey Gallo (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list on Friday and optioned rookie infielder
Trey Lipscomb to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move. It remains to be seen if Gallo will be included in Friday's starting lineup against the Philadelphia Phillies and right-hander
Zack Wheeler. The 30-year-old left-handed slugger has recovered from a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder and should play mostly in right field or as the DH on most days against right-handed pitching for the Nats, at least until
Lane Thomas (knee) returns from his injury. Gallo has elite power but struggles to make consistent contact at the plate. He's returning to a .122/.286/.311 slash line with three homers and five RBI in the 23 games he's played in this year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Washington Nationals
3 hours agoThe Los Angeles Dodgers acquired left-hander
Anthony Banda from the Cleveland Guardians on Friday in exchange for cash considerations. Banda will head to the Dodgers after posting a 2.12 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with six walks and 25 strikeouts in 17 relief innings for Triple-A Columbus this year. The 30-year-old southpaw will likely report to Triple-A Oklahoma City now and will operate as left-handed relief depth for the Dodgers moving forward. Banda was originally a 10th-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2012 out of San Jacinto College. He made his big-league debut back in 2017 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and has pitched in the majors with seven different teams since then. Overall, he has a 5.69 ERA and 1.63 WHIP with one save, a weak 19.9% strikeout rate and an 8.9% walk rate.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: GuardsInsider
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