5 days agoCincinnati Reds second baseman
Jonathan India (migraine) is not in the starting lineup on Thursday with a migraine. He was also held out of Wednesday's lineup for the same reason. The 27-year-old should still be considered day-to-day. As a result,
Santiago Espinal will get the starting nod at the keystone and bat in the eight-hole. Espinal has been swinging a hot bat as of late with a .400/.438/.600 line across his past five games with one home run. However, he has a tough task tonight in
Tyler Glasnow, who enters Thursday with a 2.53 ERA and 73 punchouts across 57 innings, and is best to fade him in DFS this evening.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoLos Angeles Dodgers backstop
Will Smith will be getting the day off on Thursday as the Dodgers open a four-game set against the Cincinnati Reds. Smith has started each of the past six games and holds an overall .315/.381/.479 line with four home runs. Instead,
Austin Barnes will serve as the catcher for
Tyler Glasnow and will bat in the nine-hole. The 34-year-old is best to fade in DFS as he enters Thursday with a .219/.359/.250 slash line with no home runs and has only appeared in 13 games this season.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoLos Angeles Dodgers third baseman
Max Muncy is not in Thursday's lineup while the team goes against Cincinnati Reds southpaw
Brent Suter. The 33-year-old has only made seven starts this season against left-handed pitchers. Muncy has been showcasing his elite power once again this season with nine long balls and a .475 SLG through 40 games. As a result,
Kike Hernandez will occupy the hot corner. Hernandez enters Thursday's game with a modest .220/.278/.305 line with just two home runs. However, Hernandez will bat in the five-hole and is worth considering in DFS as he will be right in the middle of a potent Dodgers lineup. He will face Brent Suter, who enters Thursday with a 3.86 ERA; however, he is only likely to pitch a few frames as he will serve as the opener in a bullpen game for Cincinnati.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoNew York Yankees shortstop
Anthony Volpe hit his sixth home run of the season and swiped his ninth base of the season on Thursday. The 23-year-old wasted no time as he launched a lead-off home run, which ended up being the game-winning run.
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5 days agoNew York Yankees starting pitcher
Clarke Schmidt tossed an eight-inning gem on Thursday afternoon as he kept the scoresheet clean and only allowed three hits with eight punchouts to clinch a series sweep over the Minnesota Twins. Schmidt never ran into any trouble, as all three hits were scattered throughout the afternoon. This was Schmidt's longest and most productive outing of the young season, which lowered his ERA to a solid 2.84 and his WHIP to 1.24. The 28-year-old has now won consecutive games and has struck out at least six batters through his three starts in May. Schmidt is rostered in just over half of fantasy leagues at 51% and should continue to be deployed in most matchups. He is tentatively scheduled to face the Seattle Mariners next Tuesday, May 21, which should be an excellent opportunity for Schmidt to continue to tally punchouts as the Seattle bats have struck out the most times in baseball.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoNew York Mets outfielder
Brandon Nimmo (illness) was scratched from Thursday's lineup against the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies due to a stomach bug. Fantasy managers should consider Nimmo to be day-to-day and check back on Friday to see if he's available to play in the series opener in Miami against the Marlins. With Nimmo out,
DJ Stewart is playing left field and is batting fifth, while outfielder Tyron Taylor is moving up to the leadoff spot with
Harrison Bader getting a day to rest. The move makes Taylor more attractive as a DFS sleeper play for Thursday's slate against Phillies right-hander
Taijuan Walker. Nimmo is hitting a disappointing .215/.361/.396 on the year with six home runs, 27 RBI and 21 runs scored in 149 at-bats, but his xwOBA of .422 means he's an excellent buy-low candidate who has been squaring balls up regularly without much to show for it so far in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Post - Mike Puma
5 days agoChicago Cubs middle infielder
Nico Hoerner (hamstring) remains out of the starting lineup on Thursday against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. Hoerner will miss a third straight game after being scratched from Tuesday's contest versus the Atlanta Braves with left-hamstring tightness. The 27-year-old remains day-to-day, but if his absence extends into the weekend against Pittsburgh, the Cubbies may have to consider placing him on the injured list. It would be bad news for Chicago's middle infield, as
Dansby Swanson (knee) is already on the shelf with knee soreness.
Miles Mastrobuoni is making another start at the 6 on Thursday and is hitting eighth against Pirates rookie right-hander
Jared Jones. Both Mastrobuoni and
Nick Madrigal, who is playing second, are weak DFS plays as middle infielders.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoTampa Bay Rays outfielder
Jonny DeLuca is out of the starting lineup again on Thursday against the Red Sox in Boston at Fenway Park.
Jose Siri is starting in center field again and is batting ninth against Red Sox right-hander
Cooper Criswell. DeLuca has now been on the bench in three of the last four games as the Rays mix Siri back into center field on a more regular basis. It hasn't helped that both
Josh Lowe and
Jonathan Aranda have returned to the Rays recently. The 25-year-old DeLuca recently started nine games in a row in Tampa's outfield and is hitting .281 (9-for-32) with a homer, 10 RBI and two stolen bases in just 12 games in 2024. DeLuca could get another shot if an injury opens up more playing time, but for now, he appears to be the odd man out.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoOakland Athletics first baseman
Tyler Nevin and catcher
Shea Langeliers are both getting a day off on Thursday in Houston against the Astros.
Tyler Soderstrom will start at first base and bat cleanup,
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5 days agoOakland Athletics left-hander
Ken Waldichuk (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday in Los Angeles with Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Waldichuk will miss the rest of the 2024 season and probably won't be a candidate to return to games until around midseason in 2025. The 26-year-old southpaw was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his left elbow last October and underwent a minor surgery last year with hopes that he could avoid Tommy John surgery. That didn't end up being the case, so Waldichuk will be shut down for the foreseeable future. The former fifth-round pick by the New York Yankees in 2019 out of Saint Mary's has recorded a 5.28 ERA (5.10 FIP) and 1.49 WHIP with 81 walks and 165 strikeouts in 175 2/3 innings over 42 appearances (29 starts) in his two major-league seasons in Oakland.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Martin Gallegos
5 days agoBaltimore Orioles infield prospect
Coby Mayo (undisclosed), the team's No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was removed from the game on Thursday with Triple-A Norfolk as a precaution after he collided with part of the third base dugout. It's unclear exactly what type of injury Mayo is dealing with, but it doesn't sound serious. Fantasy managers stashing Mayo in their leagues will want to check back for more information later on Thursday or on Friday. The 22-year-old former fourth-round selection by the O's in 2020 entered Thursday's game with a strong .282/.353/.594 slash line with a .947 OPS, 13 home runs, 37 RBI, three steals and 29 runs scored in 41 games for the Tides. Mayo has been pushing for his first big-league promotion, but this injury could set him back some. The stacked nature of Baltimore's big-league roster will make it hard for Mayo to carve out significant playing time if he does get the call at any point in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Jake Rill
5 days agoBoston Red Sox catcher
Connor Wong and outfielder
Tyler O'Neill will not be in the team's starting lineup on Thursday against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays.
Reese McGuire will catch
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5 days agoPhiladelphia Phillies middle infielder
Bryson Stott and outfielder
Johan Rojas will both retreat to the bench on Thursday against the visiting New York Mets. With Stott out,
Whit Merrifield will make the start
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5 days agoThe New York Mets optioned left-hander
Joey Lucchesi to Triple-A Syracuse after Wednesday night's game and recalled left-hander
Josh Walker from Syracuse in a corresponding move. In his spot start on Wednesday versus the division-rival, Lucchesi didn't fare well, allowing five runs over 4 1/3 innings of work while walking four and striking out two to take the loss. The 30-year-old southpaw was making his season debut for the Mets, but now he'll head back to the minors to serve as starting pitching depth for the organization. Walker, 29, will give the Mets' bullpen a fresh arm. He made his big-league debut last year and had an 8.10 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in just 10 innings. So far in 2024, Walker has tossed three shutout innings in relief while walking one and striking out three for the Mets.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Mets
5 days agoNew York Mets outfielder
Harrison Bader and catcher
Tomas Nido are both taking the day off on Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Tyron Taylor is getting the start in center field and is batting fifth, while
Omar Narvaez is doing the catching and will hit ninth against Phillies right-hander
Taijuan Walker. So far this month, Bader is 8-for-34 (.235) with a double, no RBI, four walks and 11 strikeouts in 11 games to drop his season line to .265/.312/.316. The former third-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015 out of Florida has been pretty mediocre offensively to this point, but he's been known to go on streaks and could heat up at any moment for the Mets. Taylor has a hit and an RBI in three career at-bats against Walker and has gone 22-for-81 (.272) in the early going with two homers and three steals.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Mets
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