6 days agoBoston Red Sox infielder
Ceddanne Rafaela went 4-for-4 with a home run, seven RBI, and a stolen base in Saturday's 17-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Rafaela had a career performance on Saturday by driving in seven runs in Saturday's rout over Chicago. The 23-year-old had a sacrifice fly for his first RBI of the game. He smashed a three-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning and capped it off with a three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth frame. Rafaela is slashing .191/..225/.351 with two home runs, 17 RBI, 14 runs, and four stolen bases over 28 games in 2024. Rafaela will look to build on his performance in the series finale, and he has plenty of fantasy upside to be added to most leagues.
--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: MLB
6 days agoArizona Diamondbacks right-hander
Paul Sewald (oblique) will have his rehab slowed a bit due to soreness. He was scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday but was scrapped after feeling soreness during a rehab stint with Triple-A Reno. The 33-year-old has been sidelined all season with a strained left oblique. He was on track to return from the injured list soon, but Sewald needs more time to recover from his oblique strain.
Kevin Ginkel will continue to be Arizona's primary closer while Sewald is sidelined. Ginkel has been solid handling ninth-inning duties for the D-Backs, converting 4-of-6 saves while posting a 3.48 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and an 11:2 K: BB across 10 1/3 innings.
--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Jody Jackson
6 days agoThe Boston Red Sox, who earlier today acquired veteran infielder
Garrett Cooper from the Chicago Cubs, have moved slugging first baseman
Triston Casas (ribs) to the 60-day IL. This was done to make room on the 40-man roster for Cooper. Casas was diagnosed with a painful cartilage tear in his left ribcage Friday. The designation to the 60-day IL means Casas will miss at least two months of the season. He reported that he was having difficulty breathing due to the injury. Casas had been off to a good start at the plate, hitting .244 with six home runs and 10 RBI. Cooper figures to take over as the everyday first baseman in Boston while relegating
Bobby Dalbec to the bench.
--Mike Carter - RotoBallerSource: Boston Red Sox
6 days agoVeteran middle infielder Thairo Estrada (hamstring) reenters the lineup Saturday night for the San Francisco Giants, batting eighth and playing second base against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Estrada was forced out of the game on Wednesday night with hamstring tightness and missed Friday night with the aforementioned Pirates. Estrada is hitting .252 with three home runs and 12 RBI this season and is 4-for-16 with three runs in his last five games for the Giants. It appears Estrada has avoided serious injury by maintaining his spot in the lineup tonight.--Mike Carter - RotoBallerSource: Susan Slusser on X
6 days agoLos Angeles Dodgers closer
Evan Phillips earned his eighth save Saturday afternoon in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Phillips surrendered a hit and unearned run in the ninth inning to go along with two strikeouts. In 12 games this year, the veteran relief pitcher has eight saves, a .77 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 15 strikeouts in 11 innings. He is striking out 29.5% of batters while limiting opponents to an 83.7 MPH average exit velocity, which is the 96th percentile in all of MLB. Phillips has surrendered only one earned run in nine April appearances. Continue to use him with confidence in all fantasy formats.
--Mike Carter - RotoBallerSource: https://www.mlb.com/dodgers
6 days agoTampa Bay Rays outfielder
Josh Lowe (oblique) was expected to be activated this weekend, but reports surfaced on Saturday afternoon that he felt tightness in his right hamstring. Instead of joining the team in Chicago to play the White Sox, Lowe will fly back to Tampa instead and will undergo an MRI on Monday. Lowe has not played a game this season, as he has missed all of it while recovering from an oblique injury. Lowe was a pleasant surprise for the Rays last season, hitting .292 with 20 home runs, 83 RBI, and 32 stolen bases. More information should be available early next week after he has the MRI to determine the severity of the hamstring issue. Lowe stated he was afraid of further missed time if he tried to play through the situation.
--Mike Carter - RotoBallerSource: Marc Topkin
6 days agoMilwaukee Brewers outfielder
Sal Frelick is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's tilt with the New York Yankees. Frelick will sit against the Yankees' left-hander,
Carlos Rodon.
Joey Wiemer will take his place in left field and hit ninth. Frelick is hitting .267 with no home runs, five RBI, three stolen bases, and 14 runs scored. Frelick is only 2-for-18 since last Saturday. Frelick has 101 plate appearances thus far in 2024, and only eight of those have come against left-handed pitching. This appears to be the case Saturday night. Look for him back in the lineup Sunday afternoon when veteran right-hander
Marcus Stroman takes the mound for the Yankees.
--Mike Carter - RotoBallerSource: Milwaukee Brewers
6 days agoLos Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher
Tyler Glasnow (hand) exited Saturday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays with cramping in his hand. Glasnow had a dominant start, notching nine strikeouts in six innings while giving up only one run on two hits. At 95 pitches on the day it would have been likely that he'd exit after pitching six innings anyways. Given the 30-year-old's past history with injuries this should be something to keep an eye on, but hand cramps should be easier for him to overcome and the right-hander should be considered day-to-day. If Glasnow isn't forced to miss any time, his next scheduled start is slated for next Saturday at home against the Atlanta Braves.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: Fabian Ardaya
6 days agoCleveland Guardians second baseman
Andres Gimenez is back in the Guardians lineup and hitting second for Saturday night's game against the Atlanta Braves. Gimenez was out on Friday against Braves' southpaw
Chris Sale but gets a matchup today against
Charlie Morton. The lefty has never faced Morton in his career. He's hitting for a fairly average .664 OPS but has been hitting better on the road, increasing his OPS to .785 away from Progressive Field. Charlie Morton has fared much worse against lefties in 2024, putting Gimenez in a favorable matchup. Those looking for an option in DFS formats may want to entertain adding the Guardians' lefty into their lineup on Saturday night.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: Cleveland Guardians
6 days agoNew York Yankees designated hitter
Giancarlo Stanton is back in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. The slugger was given a rest day for Friday's game but still notched a go-ahead RBI double in extra-innings in the Yankees' 7-6 loss to the Brewers. Stanton has had a solid start to the season slashing .232/.284/.476 with five HR and 13 RBI. He'll get a matchup against Brewers right-hander
Joe Ross, who Stanton is 2-10 against with a HR. With Stanton hitting for an .829 OPS against righties (compared to .658 vs lefties) he should be a viable option in DFS formats.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: New York Yankees
6 days agoTampa Bay Rays first baseman
Yandy Diaz (hand) is not in the Rays lineup on Saturday night's game against the Chicago White Sox. Diaz was hit by a pitch in the 8th inning on Friday night and was subsequently removed. X-rays showed up as negative on his left hand so the veteran avoided major damage. Diaz should be available to use today if needed and may be used for a pinch hit opportunity. He should be avoided in all DFS formats for Saturday, but fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief that he won't be missing any time. His next potential start could come tomorrow against White Sox starter
Erick Fedde.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: Marc Topkin
6 days agoHouston Astros starting pitching
Ronel Blanco looks to continue his hot start to the season when he faces the Colorado Rockies in Mexico City on Saturday. Blanco has been one of the bigger surprises of the season so far, starting off with a bang by throwing a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays in his season debut. He's been the Astros' best starter, posting up a 1.33 ERA with 22 K in 27 innings pitched. His xwOBA of .232 ranks in the top 6% of the league, pointing to the fact that what we're seeing may be real results and Blanco hasn't been lucky. He'll face a tough test in Mexico City. Maybe not necessarily because of his bleak opponent, but because of the altitude at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu which sits nearly 2,000 feet higher than Coors Field. If he can keep control of his pitch mix then Blanco should keep on rolling on Saturday in what would normally be a very favorable matchup.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: Houston Astros
6 days agoSan Diego Padres center fielder
Jackson Merrill (groin) is back in the lineup on Saturday for a tilt against
Ranger Suarez and the Philadelphia Phillies. Merrill had been dealing with groin tightness and was scratched prior to Thursday's game against the Colorado Rockies. After missing two games the rookie appears to be in a better spot and his tightness has subsided. Merrill has had a solid start to the season, slashing .318/.378/.409 in 98 PA for the Padres. Expectations may need to be tempered in his return on Saturday, though, as Merrill has been much less effective against lefties. He should be avoided Saturday in DFS formats, but will have a string of right-handed matchups coming up over the next week that will make him a viable option in most fantasy formats.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: San Diego Padres
6 days agoThe Chicago Cubs traded first baseman
Garrett Cooper to the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations on Saturday. The Red Sox will be taking on the remainder of Cooper's $1.75 million salary for 2024. Cooper was designated for assignment by the Cubs earlier in the week. Boston has been decimated by injuries to start the season, including their starting first baseman
Triston Casas who suffered a torn cartilage in his ribs last week. That injury spurred the need for Boston to add a first baseman to the roster and Garrett Cooper appears to be their man, at least in the immediate future. Cooper slashed .270/.341/.432 in 41 PA for the Cubs, a line that easily exceeds the production the Red Sox are seeing from
Bobby Dalbec. Fantasy managers should grab Cooper off the waiver wire as he should be thrust into a starting role fairly quickly.
--Kevin Larson - RotoBallerSource: Craig Mish
6 days agoChicago Cubs left-hander
Justin Steele (hamstring) is moving on to the next step of his rehab and is likely to pitch for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, according to skipper Craig Counsell. The 28-year-old tossed 47 pitches in an extended spring game in Arizona on Friday and has seemingly come out of the outing feeling fine. The southpaw tossed 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Opening Day against the Texas Rangers but suffered a hamstring strain that has cost him significant time. Steele was in Cy Young contention for much of the 2023 season before struggling late in the year but still posted a 3.06 ERA and a 19.6% K-BB% on the back of an elite 5% BB% across 30 starts a season ago.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: Meghan Montemurro
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