5 days agoTampa Bay Rays infielder Jonathan Aranda (finger) joined Triple-A Durham on Friday to begin a rehab assignment. The 25-year-old sustained a fracture in his right finger during spring training, which has kept him out of the 2024 season so far. He underwent surgery on March 21 and has not faced any setbacks. Aranda posted a .230/.340/.368 stat line last season with two home runs and 13 RBI in 34 games. When he returns to Tampa Bay, he should slot in as a utility infielder and is worth looking into in deeper formats.Source: MLB.com
5 days agoNew York Mets outfielders Harrison Bader and Starling Marte are both out of Saturday's lineup. As a result, Tyrone Taylor will play in center field and bat seventh, and DJ Stewart will man right field and bat fifth. Bader has put up a solid .267 AVG during his first month in Queens but will get a breather since he has not registered a hit in his past three games. Marte, who has been off to a great start with a .288 AVG and four home runs, will miss his first game of the season. Both Taylor and Stewart have a tough matchup today as they will face Sonny Gray, who enters Saturday with a dominant 1.04 ERA and 0.87 WHIP, and both will be popular fades in DFS.Source: MLB.com
5 days agoBoston Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta (elbow) is scheduled to throw live batting practice on Saturday and will throw 50 pitches. As long as Pivetta doesn't suffer any setbacks with his elbow during the session, he should embark on a minor-league rehab assignment next week. It remains to be seen how many rehab starts the Red Sox want him to make, but he's clearly making progress and could be back in the team's starting rotation sooner than later. The 31-year-old has been sidelined since early April with a right-elbow flexor strain but was looking great before his injury. In his two starts for Boston in early April, Pivetta had a 0.82 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 13 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched while going 1-1. Fantasy managers that drafted him need to hang onto him with his return around the corner.Source: MassLive.com - Christopher Smith
5 days agoBaltimore Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish (elbow) looked much better in his latest rehab start for Triple-A Norfolk on Friday, allowed an earned run on five hits while walking one and striking out six in five innings to pick up a win. He threw 77 total pitches in the outing, 49 of which were strikes. Although his fastball velocity isn't quite where it needs to be, this was an encouraging outing for the 27-year-old after he allowed four earned runs while walking three in 3 1/3 innings in his last rehab start. It remains to be seen if the O's want him to make another rehab start as he recovers from an offseason UCL sprain, but after his breakout in 2023, fantasy managers in mixed leagues should scoop him up if he's still on the waiver wire. Bradish is getting close to returning to Baltimore.Source: Milb.com
5 days agoCincinnati Reds outfielder TJ Friedl (wrist) is working out at the team's complex in Arizona while he ramps up his baseball activities. Manager David Bell said Friedly could start playing in games this weekend as a defensive player only. If he continues to progress, he could start bunting in games this weekend. By the middle of next week, he could be ready to start a minor-league rehab assignment by joining Triple-A Louisville when they visit St. Paul. Bell projected Friedl would need between one and two weeks before being ready to return. The 28-year-old former undrafted free agent has yet to make his 2024 debut with the Reds because of the injury. In a career-high 138 games in 2023, he hit .279/.352/.467 with 18 home runs, 66 RBI and 27 stolen bases in 556 plate appearances.Source: MLB.com
5 days agoCincinnati Reds outfielder Jake Fraley (illness) was available to come off the bench on Friday night against the Texas Rangers, according to manager David Bell. Fraley has been sidelined with an illness since Sunday. "He's back," Bell said. "I wanted him to go through a full day of work today and not start him. But, he's available off the bench, available to start tomorrow." The 28-year-old left-handed hitter should be back in the starting lineup on Saturday when the team faces Rangers right-hander Michael Lorenzen, but fantasy managers will want to check back for Cincy's lineup. The former second-rounder of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016 out of LSU typically starts against righties for the Reds and was hitting a strong .362 (17-for-47) with a homer, four RBI and five steals before his illness.Source: MLB.com
5 days agoArizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen (hamstring) left his start early on Friday against the Seattle Mariners with hamstring tightness, but after the game, both manager Torey Lovullo and Gallen were optimistic that it was just a cramp or spasm. Gallen thinks he might even be able to make his next start. "I didn't feel like it was really too severe, honestly," Gallen said. His next test will come Monday, when he's scheduled to throw his between-starts bullpen session. It's good news that both Gallen and the team don't think his injury are very serious, but it doesn't mean he won't eventually land on the injured list. The 28-year-old gave up three earned runs in five-plus innings on Friday and now has a 3.38 ERA in six starts. If he does make his next scheduled start next Wednesday against the Dodgers, he'll be extra risky in fantasy in a tough matchup.Source: MLB.com - Steve Gilbert
5 days agoBoston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers (knee) has returned to third base on Saturday against the visiting Chicago Cubs, which has allowed outfielder Masataka Yoshida to return to the lineup as the designated hitter against right-hander Ben Brown. Devers is hitting in the two-hole, while Tanaka is batting sixth for the BoSox. Devers missed five games with a knee injury recently but has been hot at the plate since returning, going 7-for-13 with a homer, double, two RBI and three runs scored in three games. He's a must-start anytime he's active. Tanaka, meanwhile, returns to the fold after missing the last four games, although he has appeared as a pinch-hitter. The 30-year-old left-handed hitter has essentially become a DH only for Boston and is hitting .233 (17-for-73) with two homers and 10 RBI to start the year.Source: WEEI - Rob Bradford
5 days agoToronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer and utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa are both out of the starting lineup on Saturday against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers. This will be Springer's first off day since April 19. The 34-year-old veteran has gone 7-for-28 with a home run since then to drop his season line to .228/.322/.356 with three home runs, five RBI, three stolen bases and 11 runs scored in 101 at-bats. With Springer sitting on Saturday, rookie Addison Barger will make just his third major-league start, playing in right field and batting ninth against Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow. Barger, the former sixth-round pick in 2018, has yet to get a hit in his first eight MLB at-bats and won't be a recommended DFS option in the nine-hole in a tough matchup.Source: Toronto Blue Jays
5 days agoLos Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, shortstop Gavin Lux and outfielder Josh Outman, who all hit left-handed, are out of Saturday's lineup against left-hander Yusei Kikuchi and the Toronto Blue Jays.read more...
6 days agoSan Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey blasted his third home run of the year in Friday's 3-0 win over the Pirates. It was Bailey's only hit in the game but it came at the right time. In a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the ninth, Pirates closer David Bednar walked the first batter he saw, then gave up a single, bringing Bailey to the plate. The 24-year-old deposited a four-seam fastball over the right field wall for the 3-0 walk-off win. Bailey is having a solid season at the plate thus far, slashing .297/.365/.516 with five doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, six runs scored, and a stolen base in 75 plate appearances. For fantasy, however, those numbers don't really move the needle and he can be left to the waiver wire for now.Source: ESPN
6 days agoSeattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger smacked a grand slam in Friday's 6-1 win over the Diamondbacks. It was his lone hit on the day, but it was a big one that broke the game open. It came after starter Zac Gallen left the game and with Mariners up just 2-1. It was the 33-year-old's fourth home run of the year and he's now up to 18 RBI, although the batting average sits at just .244. There was hope the veteran would return to some semblance of his 2021 form with a return to Seattle but it hasn't come to fruition to this point. The good thing is it's a long season and so far he's still healthy. Regardless, until he shows signs of a breakout he's probably only worth a roster spot in deeper leagues.Source: ESPN
6 days agoMilwaukee Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz hit his first career home run in Friday's 7-6 victory over the Yankees, and also drove in the winning run with a walk-off single in the 11th inning. It was all part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate that included a sacrifice fly and four runs batted in. The 25-year-old is now batting .264 on the year with a double, a triple, a HR, seven RBI, and a solid .355 OBP thanks to his eight walks (ten strikeouts). Still, he's probably best left to the waiver wire but can be an interesting value play in DFS depending on the matchup.Source: ESPN
6 days agoChicago White Sox starting pitching prospect Jake Eder tallied eight strikeouts across six innings of two-run ball on Friday. Eder allowed just four hits and two free passes. This was the 25-year-old best performance of the season, lowering his ERA to 5.12 and WHIP to 1.66. The southpaw is once again averaging over a strikeout per inning this with 24 in 19 ⅓ innings, as he has done every season of his professional career. Eder struggled in Double-A last season and the early part of this year, but it looks like he is beginning to turn the corner after a strong showing on Friday. The tenth-ranked prospect in the Chicago system will have to continue to post outings like this to reach Triple-A this summer. If he can do so, he could be in contention to reach the major leagues towards the end of the season.Source: MiLB.com
6 days agoCincinnati Reds starting pitching prospect Rhett Lowder threw six innings, allowed one unearned run, three hits, one free pass, and struck out nine on Friday. The 22-year-old has been one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues this season, and Friday was just another example of that. The number two prospect in the Reds system has posted a dominant 1.86 ERA,0.98 WHIP, and 20 strikeouts in 19 ⅓ innings. The 31st overall prospect in baseball should be in Double-A very soon and could push for a late-season call-up to the majors to join the Reds for the stretch run. Lowder should be rostered in all dynasty leagues and could be worth looking at in redraft formats if he reaches Double and Triple-A soon.Source: MiLB.com