5 days agoDetroit Tigers relief pitcher
Jason Foley earned his 10th save of the season in Monday's 6-5 win over the Marlins. Foley came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by one and delivered a 1-2-3 outing with a strikeout. After starting the season as the team's closer, the Tigers have mixed up their bullpen usage over the past couple of weeks. However, Foley has been the team's best reliever, converting all but one save opportunity with a 2.20 ERA, an 8.27 K/9 rate, and a 3.86 BB/9 rate. He still seems like the pitcher to roster for fantasy purposes and may be able to earn the closer's role back if he can string together several solid performances.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoThe Chicago Cubs are reportedly trading infielder Jake Slaughter to the Seattle Mariners for relief pitcher
Tyson Miller, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. The 28-year-old Miller was designated for assignment and will join the Cubs in the bullpen. He put together strong numbers in limited action with the Mariners, compiling a 3.09 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and 26.7% strikeout rate in 11 2/3 innings pitched. The 27-year-old Slaughter had slashed .297/.392/.486 with five home runs, 17 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 130 plate appearances with Triple-A Iowa. Neither player should be on the fantasy radar until their roles are established.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: Jeff Passan - Twitter.com
5 days agoChicago Cubs first baseman prospect
Matt Mervis hit his eighth home run of the season and third in his past two games on Sunday for Triple-A Iowa. The 26-year-old is hitting .474 (9-for-19) in the last five games since being sent back to Triple-A. Unfortunately, the left-handed hitter hasn't hit well during his time with the big league club, going 15-for-90 (.167) in 2023 and 3-for-26 (.115) in 2024. With
Michael Busch excelling and blocking him at first base, Mervis was used as designated hitter while with the Cubs, but they decided to give
Miles Mastrobuoni a shot when they sent Mervis back down. Mastrobuoni hasn't seen any more success, hitting .150 over 20 at-bats. If Mervis can keep it up, it's probably not the last time we see him in Chicago this year.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
5 days agoSeattle Mariners second baseman
Jorge Polanco (hamstring) exited Monday's game against the Royals in the fifth inning with right hamstring tightness, per the team's Twitter account. Polanco went 1-for-2 with a single, a walk, and a strikeout before being replaced in the field by
Luis Urias. Fantasy managers should look for further updates on Polanco's status once the game has ended. The 30-year-old has struggled with injuries throughout his career, so hopefully this one will not be serious.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: Seattle Mariners Communications Department - Twitter.com
5 days agoDetroit Tigers first baseman
Spencer Torkelson swatted his first home run of the season on Mother's Day and followed up with his second dinger in Monday’s 6-5 win over the Miami Marlins. Despite the Tiger's winning record, it's been a tough go for the 24-year-old first basemen this season, sporting a .225 batting average with only two home runs and 16 RBI. With a career batting average of .222, don't expect too much improvement in that department during the season, but after slugging 31 homers in 2023, one can only hope the last two days mean he finally found his power stroke and can keep it up moving forward. Torkelson has a great outlook over the next two days, with southpaws
Ryan Weathers (4.54 ERA) and
Trevor Rogers (6.57 ERA) toeing the rubber.
--Joey Inglese - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoHouston Astros third basemen
Alex Bregman torched Oakland A's pitching, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, four RBI, and three runs scored. He started his big day with a solo home run in the fourth inning, another solo shot in the seventh, and then capped off his night with a two-run double as the Astros beat the A's 9-2. It's been an underwhelming start to the season, with his slash line at .218/.288/.327 and his demotion to the seventh spot in the batting order. Hopefully, Bregman will look to carry the momentum from Monday into the following three games against the A's pitching staff to finally get out of the early season funk he has been in.
--Joey Inglese - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoNew York Mets shortstop prospect
Luisangel Acuna went 2-for-5 with a walk, two runs scored, and two stolen bases on Sunday for Triple-A Syracuse. The pair of singles extended the 22-year-old's hit streak to nine games, although he isn't exactly knocking the cover off the ball during the streak with a .273 average and no home runs. The right-handed hitter has four doubles, three triples, and two home runs on the season, but even the last nine games could only bring his season batting average to .233. It's part of the reason that Acuna dropped 22 spots on MLB.com's most recently updated Top-100 prospects list, going from 58 to 80. The speed is still there though, totaling 13 stolen bases through 34 games.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoHouston Astros right-hander
Hunter Brown will start a game against the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend, according to manager Joe Espada. The Astros are officially moving to a six-man starting rotation. Brown is most likely to start the series opener against Milwaukee on Friday, but fantasy managers in most leagues are going to want to avoid him after he has opened the 2024 season by going 0-4 with a 7.79 ERA (5.08 FIP) and 2.01 WHIP with 18 walks and 36 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings over eight appearances (seven starts). Brown looked better in a long-relief role over the weekend for the Astros, so hopefully he can carry that momentum over to his eighth start of the season. If Brown struggles again this weekend against the Brew Crew, he could find himself right back in the bullpen.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Chandler Rome
5 days agoPhiladelphia Phillies outfielder/designated hitter
Kyle Schwarber (back) will return to the starting lineup on Tuesday against the New York Met on the road at Citi Field, according to manager Rob Thomson. Schwarber was pulled late in Friday's win over the Miami Marlins with back soreness and was held out of the starting lineup on Monday for the third straight game, although he did come in to strike out as a pinch-hitter late in Monday's contest. The 31-year-old left-handed slugger's injury was never considered serious, but they wanted to hold him out for a few games as a precaution. After striking out in his pinch-hitting appearance on Monday, Schwarber is now hitting .216 on the year with a .718 OPS, nine home runs and 25 RBI in 40 games. He's leading baseball with 59 strikeouts and is going to be a drain on your team's batting average, but you can't argue with his elite power.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: NBC Sports Philadelphia - Corey Seidman
5 days agoUpdating a previous report, Milwaukee Brewers first baseman
Rhys Hoskins (hamstring) said that he will undergo an MRI exam on Tuesday after leaving Monday's 8-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates with a hamstring injury. We'll have a better idea of how much time Hoskins might have to miss once his MRI results are known, but fantasy baseball managers should be preparing for a potential trip to the injured list. Before hitting the showers early on Monday, Hoskins singled in his only at-bat to raise his batting average to .233 with an .814 in his first year in Milwaukee. The former fifth-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014 out of Sacramento State has provided plenty of power (nine home runs) and run production (27 RBI) after missing all of 2023 with a torn ACL in his knee. Check back on Tuesday for Hoskins' MRI results.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Todd Rosiak
5 days agoChicago Cubs catching prospect
Moises Ballesteros has moved into MLB.com's most recently updated top-100 list. He is the Cubs' seventh-ranked prospect and is slashing .293/.371/.489 at Double-A Tennessee as a 20-year-old with four home runs, 19 RBI, 14 runs scored, and a solid 11:14 BB:K over 28 games. The left-handed hitter hit 10 home runs across two levels in 2022 as an 18-year-old and 14 home runs across two levels in 2023 as a 19-year-old, so he's showing some promising power. MLB.com projects his major-league debut won't come until 2026, but dynasty fantasy managers would be wise to keep tabs on the diminutive catcher.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 days agoTampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that the team used relief pitcher
Jason Adam to close out the 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday because closer
Pete Fairbanks (finger) was unavailable due to a small cut on his right index finger. The hope is that Fairbanks will be good to go on Tuesday for the second game of the series in Boston. Adam came on and pitched a hitless and scoreless ninth inning on Monday with a walk and three strikeouts to pick up his third save of the year, but there's a good chance Fairbanks will be available for a save situation on Tuesday if it arises. The 30-year-old Fairbanks recently returned from the injured list due to a nerve issue in his right arm. It's been a tough start to the year for him after starting 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA, a 2.00 WHIP, three saves and 11 strikeouts in eight innings pitched.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
5 days agoChicago Cubs third baseman
Christopher Morel (toe) left the team's game on Monday early against the Atlanta Braves with a toe injury on his left foot after he fouled a ball off his foot late in the contest. Morel also injured his right knee on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates and is dealing with some bumps and bruises, so it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see him sit out of Tuesday's game in Atlanta. The 24-year-old walked off with a trainer and was seen wincing after fouling a ball off his foot. Before leaving late in Monday's game, Morel went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts to drop his season average to .223 and his OPS to .747. If Morel needs more than just one day off because of his bumps and bruises, both
Miles Mastrobuoni and
Nick Madrigal would be candidates to mix in at the hot corner for the Cubbies.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Chicago Sun-Times - Maddie Lee
5 days agoAtlanta Braves right-hander
Reynaldo Lopez (back) was pulled from his start early on Monday against the visiting Chicago Cubs due to back tightness. Before leaving, Lopez threw five scoreless innings with two hits allowed while walking two and striking out four to lower his season ERA to a sparkling 1.34. The 30-year-old did not get a decision in his latest strong performance before leaving early due to an injury. For now, fantasy managers should consider Lopez to be day-to-day, and the Braves currently don't think that his injury is serious enough to keep him from making his next scheduled start. Lopez has been a revelation for the Braves and for fantasy managers in deeper leagues that took a chance on him after he hadn't started a game since 2022 with the Chicago White Sox.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - David O'Brien
5 days agoAtlanta Braves third baseman
Austin Riley's (side) MRI exam on Monday showed only inflammation in his side and he's considered day-to-day. Riley was pulled from Sunday's loss to the New York Mets with an injury to his left side and didn't play in the series opener on Monday versus the Chicago Cubs as a result. The 27-year-old shouldn't need a trip to the 10-day injured list after his MRI exam came back negative, but there's no guarantee that he'll be back in the starting lineup for the second game of the series against Chicago on Tuesday. With Riley out on Monday,
Zack Short got the start at third base and was hitting ninth in the batting order. Riley is hitting .245 (36-for-147) on the year with three home runs and 18 RBI but has been hot so far in May, going 10-for-32 (.313) with a homer and four RBI in nine games.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - David O'Brien
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