1 hour agoTampa Bay Rays first baseman prospect
Xavier Isaac went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run for High-A Bowling Green on Wednesday. The home run was his ninth of the season, and the powerful lefty is now slashing .279/.367/.544 on the year, even chipping in nine stolen bases along the way. The former first-round draft pick is ranked No. 46 overall on MLB's Top Prospects list and No. 3 in the Rays' system. Although seemingly ready for his shot at Double-A pitching, it will be a couple years until we see him in the majors, but he should already be on the minds of dynasty managers.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
1 hour agoColorado Rockies starting pitcher
Ty Blach threw seven strong innings in Wednesday's victory over the visiting Cleveland Guardians, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts for his second win of the campaign. After giving up two runs on three hits and two walks in the first inning for the brunt of the damage to his ledger, Blach found a groove with six scoreless innings from that point on. The 33-year-old veteran left-hander will bring an ordinary 4.15 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and a 17:7 K:BB across 34 2/3 innings (five starts) into his next scheduled start against the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field on Tuesday. Severely lacking swing-and-miss stuff, Blach is nothing more than a low-upside fantasy streamer under the most favorable conditions.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
1 hour agoNew York Yankees starting pitcher
Gerrit Cole (elbow) is scheduled to toss live batting practice again on Thursday in Tampa Bay, manager Aaron Boone said prior to Wednesday's game against the hosting Los Angeles Angels. It'll be Cole's third session facing hitters, with a two-inning, 30-pitch outing set to follow on Saturday. Cole still has a chance to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list sometime in June as long as he starts a minor-league rehab assignment sometime in the next week or two. The 33-year-old reigning American League Cy Young Award winner is obviously a must-stash fantasy asset, but the Yankees will have a tough decision to make regarding the odd man out when their ace returns from right elbow discomfort. Right-handers
Clarke Schmidt and
Luis Gil have done an admirable job in New York's rotation, and they remain close to must-roster players at this point in time.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: Bryan Hoch
2 hours agoToronto Blue Jays closer
Jordan Romano logged his eighth save of the year with one strikeout in the ninth inning of Wednesday's win over the hosting Chicago White Sox, but not before he allowed a solo home run in the victory. Romano served up a solo homer to White Sox catcher
Korey Lee, but he still locked down the save fairly comfortably on Wednesday. The hard-throwing 31-year-old right-hander has gone 8-for-9 on save chances this season, but fantasy managers will want to see him sharpen up on his 6.59 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 13:4 K:BB over 13 2/3 innings after the hurler's late start to the campaign due to injury. While Romano is still Toronto's preferred ninth-inning man, he'll need to cut down on the homers if he wants to avoid losing out on save opportunities, as he's already given up four long balls.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
2 hours agoPhiladelphia Phillies shortstop prospect
Aidan Miller went 2-for-3 with a walk for Single-A Clearwater on Wednesday. Miller's two hits both went for extra bases, one for a double and the other for a grand slam, finishing the day with four RBI and two runs scored. The 19-year-old is having a fine season thus far, slashing .319/.437/.569 with five home runs, 25 RBI, 25 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases. The 2023 first-round draft pick appears poised for a promotion, although he won't see the big leagues for a couple of years. Still, with a good power-speed combo, dynasty managers need to have him on their radar.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
2 hours agoChicago White Sox catcher
Korey Lee accounted for the entirety of the team's offense in Wednesday's loss to the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, smashing his fifth home run of the season in the defeat. Lee skied a solo homer to left field off Jays closer
Jordan Romano to score Chicago's first run of the evening in the bottom of the ninth inning, but it wasn't enough to spark a rally. The 25-year-old former first-round pick has stolen three bases over 41 games this year, but his uninspiring .274/.309/.427 triple-slash line with five round-trippers, 12 RBI, and 11 runs scored for the White Sox render him a deep-league fantasy option at best. Lee doesn't have a ton of upside on this last-place club, so fantasy managers can do better.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
2 hours agoWashington Nationals starting pitcher
MacKenzie Gore tallied double-digit strikeouts for the second time this year in Wednesday's victory over the division-rival Atlanta Braves, allowing a lone run on six hits and one walk over 5 1/3 innings for his fourth win of 2024. It was a dominant outing from Gore, who shut down the vaunted Braves offense on Wednesday. Over his past four appearances, the 25-year-old former No. 3 overall pick owns a 2.19 ERA with a scintillating 30:5 K:BB for the Nationals. Gore lines up to get the ball next on Monday at home against the visiting New York Mets, a team he owns a 2.40 ERA and 15:8 K:BB over three starts against in his career. He's a must-roster fantasy player with the way he's throwing right now.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
2 hours agoArizona Diamondbacks shortstop prospect
Jordan Lawlar (thumb) began his rehab assignment on Wednesday with the team's Arizona Complex League affiliate, going 0-for-2 with a walk in his first game of 2024. The 21-year-old will be eligible to come off the injured list in a couple weeks but may begin with Triple-A Reno once activated. The former first-round pick hit well enough in Double-A and Triple-A last season to earn a promotion to the big-league club but wasn't able to do much with his playing time. He went 4-for-31 (.129) in 14 games, even picking up a pair of plate appearances during the postseason for Arizona (0-for-1 with a walk). Lawlar ranks as the team's top prospect and ninth overall prospect in all of baseball. Despite the initial showing in the majors, he still has offensive upside and should continue to be stashed where possible.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
2 hours agoWashington Nationals outfielder
Lane Thomas filled up the box score in Wednesday's win over the division-rival Atlanta Braves, going 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, a double, a walk, two runs scored, and two stolen bases in the victory. Before making an awesome sliding catch in right field to retire Braves second baseman
Ozzie Albies in the fifth inning, Thomas hammered a three-run homer to left field to give the Nationals a 3-1 lead in the top of the frame. Although the speedy 28-year-old right fielder is still slashing a poor .210/.273/.330 with three big flies, 13 RBI, and nine runs scored over 100 at-bats overall this year, he's stolen 13 bases across 25 outings overall and gone 5-for-13 with four-extra base hits since returning from the injured list. The buy-low window in fantasy appears to be swiftly closing.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
2 hours agoMinnesota Twins outfielder/infielder
Willi Castro collected three hits in Wednesday's loss to the division-rival Kansas City Royals, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in the defeat. The three-hit attack should help get Castro back on track after he went hitless in five of his past six outings. With
Royce Lewis (quad) sidelined, the 27-year-old switch-hitter has taken on a more pronounced role across the diamond for the Twins, slashing a respectable .258/.332/.419 with four home runs, 16 RBI, 27 runs scored, and seven stolen bases across 208 plate appearances (55 games) in 2024. Castro is worth holding in the majority of fantasy leagues for his speed and positional eligibility until Lewis returns from his minor-league rehab assignment.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
2 hours agoTampa Bay Rays outfielder
Jose Siri played the role of hero in Wednesday's victory over the visiting Oakland Athletics, ripping a single to left to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was a banner evening out of Siri, who also robbed a home run from A's second baseman
Zack Gelof in the top of the ninth before delivering the game-winning knock for the Rays. The speedy 28-year-old center fielder has taken a step back following his breakout 2023 campaign, slashing a paltry .180/.272/.289 with three long balls, 15 RBI, 16 runs scored, and seven stolen bases over 128 at-bats (44 games) overall this season. Consistently batting ninth in Tampa Bay's lineup in a platoon for at-bats, Siri isn't worth rostering outside of deep AL-only fantasy leagues at the moment.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
3 hours agoMiami Marlins pitching prospect
Thomas White was promoted to High-A Beloit on Tuesday. White was the 35th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and is currently the team's third-ranked prospect (MLB No. 88). So far this season at Single-A, the 19-year-old has made eight starts, posting a 3.18 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and a 44:17 K:BB over 34 innings pitched. The 44 strikeouts equate to a good 28.0% K%, but the walks settle at a 10.8% BB%, so that's something he could try to improve on at the next level. MLB.com's Top Prospects list gives him an ETA of 2027, but the southpaw has the makings of a front-of-the-rotation starter, so dynasty managers should be keeping close tabs on his ascent.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MLB Pipeline
3 hours agoCleveland Guardians outfield prospect
Chase DeLauter (toe) finally returned to game action on Tuesday after missing a month with a fractured left foot. The Guardians' top prospect made two plate appearances, going 0-for-1 with a walk, before leaving the game with a sprained toe. The 22-year-old injured his right toe on the outfield wall while making a play on a fly ball. The former first-round draft pick is considered day-to-day for now, and while it may not cause him to miss too much time, he was absent from Wednesday's lineup for Double-A Akron. There was a shot DeLauter could make his big-league debut this season, but injuries are pushing that debut further down the road. Hopefully he can bounce back from this one quickly and at least get on track to make the jump to Triple-A before season's end.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MLB Pipeline
4 hours agoDetroit Tigers outfielder/infielder
Matt Vierling was busy on Wednesday, going 4-for-8 with two home runs, three runs scored, and five RBI across two games of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Vierling increased the Tigers' lead with a fifth-inning, three-run homer in Game 1, later continuing his hot hitting with a solo home run in the third inning of Game 2. The big day raised his triple-slash line to .289/.320/.503 with seven homers, 28 RBI, and 22 runs scored through 159 at-bats this year. The 27-year-old utility man is worth riding in fantasy while he's hot at the dish, but Vierling doesn't seem like much of a long-term solution in Detroit's low-scoring offense.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
4 hours agoLos Angeles Dodgers catcher
Will Smith put on a power display in Wednesday's blowout win over the hosting New York Mets, going 3-for-5 with two solo home runs. Smith launched his eighth and ninth homers on Wednesday, first belting a solo home run to left field to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the second inning and later smacking a go-ahead home run to left-center field to give the team a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning. The 29-year-old slugging backstop is now slashing .296/.360/.516 with nine home runs, 14 doubles, 36 RBI, and 32 runs scored over 186 at-bats (49 games) as LA's primary option behind the dish. Continue to roll with Smith in all fantasy leagues.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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