2 mins agoThe San Francisco Giants activated shortstop
Nick Ahmed (wrist) from the 10-day injured list on Friday and optioned infielder
Casey Schmitt to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move. Shortstop prospect
Marco Luciano (hamstring) was also activated from the IL, but the Giants chose to send him back to Sacramento for more seasoning. Now that Ahmed is back in the fold, he should split playing time at the 6 with
Brett Wisely, who has been a nice surprise in the Bay Area this year. The 34-year-old Ahmed has been out for over a month with a sprained left wrist. Fantasy managers in NL-only leagues shouldn't expect much from him offensively. He's never been much of a threat with the lumber and was hitting .236/.274/.291 with no homers and 11 RBI in 36 games before injuring his wrist.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Andrew Baggarly
11 mins agoThe San Francisco Giants activated shortstop prospect
Marco Luciano (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list on Friday and optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento. The Giants also activated shortstop
Nick Ahmed (wrist) from the IL and optioned infielder
Casey Schmitt to Sacramento, so Ahmed and
Brett Wisely will split shortstop duties in San Fran moving forward. The 22-year-old Luciano, the team's top prospect per MLB Pipeline, will head back to the minors despite hitting .375 (9-for-24) in a small sample size of just 10 games with the Gigantes in 2024. Luciano has hit .286/.375/.397 with no homers and just one RBI in 24 total big-league games since debuting in 2023. The Giants are still hoping he's the answer in the long term at the 6, but they aren't going to rush his development. Still, it would be a mild surprise if we didn't see him back in the majors again this year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Andrew Baggarly
30 mins agoThe Toronto Blue Jays announced on Friday that they recalled outfield prospect
Addison Barger from Triple-A Buffalo and designated first baseman/designated hitter
Daniel Vogelbach for assignment in a corresponding move. The team's No. 6 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, Barger will make his return to the majors after going 1-for-8 with six strikeouts in five games in his first taste of major-league pitching earlier this year. The 24-year-old is not in Friday's starting lineup against the Cleveland Guardians, and there's no clear path to playing time for him right now, so fantasy managers in redraft leagues would be wise not to spend too much FAAB money to acquire him off the waiver wire. The former sixth-rounder in 2018 has hit .256 (46-for-180) with eight homers and 34 RBI in 50 games for Buffalo this year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Kaitlyn McGrath
35 mins agoToronto Blue Jays outfielder
Kevin Kiermaier (knee) is out of the starting lineup on Friday against the visiting Cleveland Guardians and left-handed starter Logan Allen. It's the second straight game that Kiermaier will miss due to a bruised knee that he suffered on Tuesday. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues will need to check back to see if the 34-year-old veteran is feeling good enough to play on Saturday.
Daulton Varsho is in center field and is batting eighth on Friday versus Allen. In four career at-bats against Allen, Varsho has yet to record a hit. Kiermaier still brings a solid glove on defense in Toronto, but he's hitting just .200 (24-for-120) on the year with only two home runs, nine RBI, four stolen bases and 13 runs scored.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Toronto Blue Jays
40 mins agoNew York Mets outfielder
Harrison Bader will take the day off on Friday against the visiting San Diego Padres. With Bader on the bench,
Tyrone Taylor will handle center-field duties and will bat sixth for the Mets against Padres right-handed knuckleballer
Matt Waldron. In 10 games so far in June, Bader has hit .241 (7-for-29) with two home runs and nine RBI. He's been decent in his first year with the Mets over 60 total ballgames, slashing .267/.317/.380 with four home runs, 25 RBI, eight stolen bases and 23 runs scored. Taylor is coming off a four-hit game in his last appearance on Wednesday but is hitting a mediocre .250/.276/.367 with only two home runs, 16 RBI and six stolen bases in 50 games in his first year with the team. Taylor has never faced Waldron in his career.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
45 mins agoChicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that left-hander
Jordan Wicks (oblique) left his start early on Friday against the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals with an oblique injury. Wicks only made it through 1 2/3 innings before being pulled with the injury. He didn't allow a run on two hits while walking none and striking out two before hitting the showers early. The team won't know more on Wicks until later on Friday, but it's a good bet that he'll go back on the injured list after just returning last weekend. The 24-year-old southpaw was set to get a run in the rotation with
Ben Brown (neck) also hurt, so the Cubs will now most likely have an opening to fill in their rotation. Veteran right-hander
Kyle Hendricks came out of the bullpen to replace Wicks on Friday and could be an option to make a start or two moving forward.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Watch Marquee Sports Network
50 mins agoBaltimore Orioles first baseman/designated hitter
Ryan O'Hearn is not in the starting lineup on Friday against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies with a left-hander on the mound.
Adley Rutschman will serve as the designated hitter and will bat second, while
James McCann will do the catching for the O's and will hit eighth against Phillies left-hander
Ranger Suarez. It's not a big surprise that O'Hearn is sitting out against a southpaw, especially one of the best in the league in Suarez. The 30-year-old is hitting a strong .282/.337/.475 with nine home runs, 24 RBI and 25 runs scored for Baltimore this year, but he has just one hit in 11 at-bats against left-handers. O'Hearn has been great so far in June, going 13-for-37 (.351) with two homers, two doubles and six RBI in 11 games.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MASN Sports - Roch Kubatko
55 mins agoThe Miami Marlins recalled right-hander
Shaun Anderson from Triple-A Jacksonville on Friday and designated right-hander
Burch Smith for assignment in a corresponding move. Anderson will be making his first start of the year and first in the big leagues since his rookie campaign in 2019 with the San Francisco Giants on Friday against the hosting Washington Nationals. The 29-year-old started the year with the Texas Rangers and allowed two earned runs on six hits while walking one and striking out three in 3 1/3 relief innings. In his six starts at the Triple-A level in 2024 over 28 2/3 innings, Anderson has a 2.51 ERA, 31 strikeouts and four walks. Even against the rebuilding Nationals, Anderson is a pretty poor streaming option with limited upside on Friday.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Miami Marlins
58 mins agoThe Houston Astros released struggling first baseman
Jose Abreu from their major-league roster on Friday, according to general manager Dana Brown. The team will announce a corresponding move later on Friday. Abreu was already optioned to the minors recently to work on his swing, but he went 7-for-42 (.167) with two homers, four RBI and 10 strikeouts in 13 games since returning to the big leagues on May 27. The 37-year-old veteran hit a miserable .124 (14-for-113) with two homers, seven RBI, only four walks and 28 strikeouts in 120 plate appearances over 35 games in his second year in Houston and will now hit the open market. The former American League MVP should latch on with another team, but there's no guarantee he'll be any better. The biggest winner in Houston at first base moving forward should be
Jon Singleton.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Houston Astros
3 hours agoNew York Mets starting pitching prospect
Christian Scott tossed 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Thursday evening. He struck out six and allowed four hits and one free pass. The Florida product made his major-league debut earlier this season but was optioned back to Triple-A on May 31 in an attempt to manage his inning count. In 27 2/3 innings at the major-league level, Scott held his own with a 3.90 ERA, and 1.08 WHIP. However, his elite strikeout potential has yet to show in the majors as it has in the minor leagues. Nonetheless, the 55th-ranked prospect on MLB.com is worth holding onto in deeper redraft leagues, as he should rejoin the major-league roster fairly soon.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
3 hours agoChicago Cubs rookie right-hander
Ben Brown (neck) has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his back, and it sounds as though he'll be out longer than his 15-day injured list stint. "We're still trying to figure out how long and what it means and what he can do. It's a unique injury for a pitcher, so we're trying to just get some more opinions," manager Craig Counsell said. With the 24-year-old now out until the second half of the season, left-hander
Jordan Wicks will get some run in the Cubs' rotation and will make the start in Friday's series opener against the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals. Brown has allowed a lot of hard contact in his first year in the big leagues, but he's also fanned 28.8 percent of the batters he's faced. He's gone 1-3 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with 19 walks and 64 K's in 55 1/3 innings covering 15 outings (eight starts).
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Chicago Tribune - Paul Sullivan
3 hours agoChicago Cubs rookie outfielder
Pete Crow-Armstrong is not in the starting lineup on Friday for the series opener against the visiting division-rival St. Louis Cardinals. Crow-Armstrong will take a seat on the bench to open the weekend despite starting in each of the team's last four games. In his absence,
Mike Tauchman will play center field and will hit leadoff against Cardinals right-hander
Kyle Gibson. Tauchman has been a solid performer for the Cubs this year and will have some nice DFS appeal on Friday, but he's also gone hitless with one RBI in 10 career at-bats against Gibson. The 22-year-old Crow-Armstrong is a better defender than he is a hitter in just his second season in the big leagues. He's typically hitting at the bottom of Chicago's batting order and has gone just 19-for-89 (.213) with a homer, 10 RBI and nine steals in 35 games played.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Chicago Cubs
3 hours agoColorado Rockies starting pitching prospect
Sean Sullivan continued his incredible stretch with an eight-inning gem on Thursday evening. He allowed just one earned run, four hits, no walks and struck out seven. Since allowing six earned runs on May 17, the former second-round pick has held an impressive 1.52 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, and 2:30 BB:K ratio. Sullivan opened the season with High-A and held an overall 2.42 ERA and 0.87 WHIP through his first 63 ⅓ innings at this level. The southpaw could push for a Double-A debut later this summer, which could open the door for a 2025 major league debut. Dynasty managers should continue to monitor Sullivan, as he has been one of the best starting pitchers in the minor leagues through the early part of the season.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
3
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agoSt.
Louis
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outfielder
Michael
Siani
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not
starting
on
Friday
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against
the
division-rival
Chicago
Cubs.
Siani
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take
a
seat
to
begin
the
series
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Cubbies
after
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3 hours agoThe Kansas City Royals reinstated infielder
Adam Frazier from the bereavement list on Friday and optioned infielder
Nick Pratto to Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. After missing a few days for a personal matter, the 32-year-old veteran second baseman will return to the Royals on Friday for the start of a series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Frazier was an All-Star in 2021 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres, but he's not an everyday player with the upstart Royals and is merely hitting .225 (29-for-129) with two home runs, 10 RBI and 16 runs scored in 50 games this year. He was never much of a power hitter (career-high 13 long balls in 2023) and doesn't play enough to warrant fantasy attention outside of AL-only leagues as middle-infield depth.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Kansas City Royals
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