5 days agoAtlanta Braves pitcher prospect
Spencer Schwellenbach made his Double-A debut on Wednesday and was impressive in his first start. Schwellenbach began the season in High-A and registered a 2.53 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 32 innings. His strong showing was enough for the Braves to promote their No. 3 prospect. In his debut for Double-A Mississippi, Schwellenbach tossed six scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and struck out a career-high nine batters with one walk. The 23-year-old is very athletic and was a potential two-way player coming out of Nebraska in 2023. The right-hander has already recovered from Tommy John surgery and offers an impressive four-pitch arsenal that includes a fastball in the mid-90's. The right-hander has impressed early in his professional career and is a name for managers in dynasty leagues to keep an eye as he is likely a year or two away from making an impact at the big-league level.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: Milb.com
6 days agoBoston Red Sox third baseman
Rafael Devers cranked his fifth home run of the year in Wednesday's loss to the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays, but it wasn't enough to lift his team to victory. Devers lined one over the wall in center field for a 431-foot solo homer off Rays right-hander
Phil Maton in the sixth inning. The 27-year-old All-Star slugger is slashing a robust .281/.383/.488 with five round-trippers and 10 doubles through 32 outings (121 at-bats) as Boston's everyday third baseman this season, but he's not getting the job done for fantasy managers in the RBI department (15) after plating 100 for the BoSox a season ago. Each of Devers' five blasts have come against right-handed pitching in 2024, and he'll get righty
Zack Littell in Thursday's series finale against Tampa with a chance to deliver more counting stats.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoNew York Mets designated hitter
J.D. Martinez smashed his second home run of the season in Wednesday's loss on the road to the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies, but it wasn't enough as his team fell in the blowout defeat. Martinez smacked his second homer of the year to make the score 10-3 in the eighth inning. Even though the 36-year-old veteran slugger isn't setting off fantasy fireworks to this point, he's slashing a serviceable .295/.338/.459 with two bombs, four doubles, and six RBI over 61 at-bats (18 games) in his first year with the Mets. He might have a decent chance to pop for a big day at the plate in Thursday's series finale against Philadelphia and right-hander
Taijuan Walker, since Martinez is 7-for-14 with a homer, a double, and three RBI in 14 plate appearances against Walker in his career.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoHouston Astros starting pitcher
Framber Valdez dominated in Wednesday's victory over the division-rival Oakland Athletics, tossing seven two-hit innings of scoreless ball on two walks with eight punchouts. Staked to an early-two run lead, Valdez cruised past Oakland on Wednesday for his second straight quality start and third win of the campaign. The 30-year-old fantasy mainstay now sports a rock-solid 2.95 ERA and 1.20 WHIP while fanning 31 and walking 11 over six starts (36 2/3 innings) for Houston this year. Valdez is slated to get the ball next during Monday's series opener against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. In three appearances versus the Angels since 2023, Valdez is 2-0 with a 2.53 ERA and a sublime 32:3 K:BB across 21 1/3 frames and will be locked-in fantasy starter.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoChicago Cubs outfielder
Seiya Suzuki went yard in Wednesday's win over the Atlanta Braves on the road, adding a double in the victory. Suzuki's homer came as an insurance run in the eighth inning off Braves right-hander
Jesse Chavez, traveling 433 feet to deep center. It's been a great first quarter of the year for the 29-year-old slugger, who's slashing .280/.337/.488 with four big flies, 15 RBI, 15 runs scored, and one stolen base across 92 plate appearances (20 games) as Chicago's everyday right fielder. A four-game series with the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates is on deck starting on Thursday. Over 15 games versus the Pirates since 2023, Suzuki is hitting .323 with one tater, seven doubles, 12 RBI, and 12 runs scored and will be a set-and-forget fantasy option.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoNew York Yankees starting pitcher
Marcus Stroman posted a scoreless outing in Wednesday's victory on the road over the Minnesota Twins, firing six inning of two-hit ball with three walks while fanning three. After surrendering four runs in 5 2/3 innings during his previous start against the Houston Astros, Stroman rebounded with his first scoreless showing since April 5. While the soft-throwing 33-year-old right-hander holds a respectable 3.33 ERA with 42 strikeouts through 48 2/3 frames this season, he's also walked 25 and recorded a troublesome 1.42 WHIP over nine starts. He'll get a pretty good matchup at home against the Seattle Mariners in his next scheduled appearance during Monday's series opener, when Stroman will be worth deploying in the majority of fantasy leagues on the heels of this strong performance.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoMinnesota Twins starting pitcher
Pablo Lopez did his part to keep his team in the game during Wednesday's defeat to the visiting New York Yankees, registering a quality start with 6 1/3 innings of three-run ball on a season-high 10 hits and no walks while fanning a season-low three batters. Lopez only threw two clean innings on Wednesday, but he did a great job of limiting the damage for his third straight quality start to begin the month of May. The 28-year-old fantasy stalwart takes a solid 3.93 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 58:8 K:BB over 50 1/3 innings (nine starts) for the Twins into his next scheduled appearance during Monday's series opener against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Although it's a favorable matchup on paper, Lopez yielded five runs across four innings in one start against Washington a year ago.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoNew York Yankees outfielder
Aaron Judge powered his team to victory on the road on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins, rapping a home run with three doubles and two RBI in the win. Judge first clobbered a 469-foot homer off Twins right-hander
Pablo Lopez before doubling in each of his next three at-bats, with the third scoring
Juan Soto in the seventh inning. The 32-year-old fantasy superstar appears to have put his early-season swoon to bed at this point, now batting an absurd .444 with five long balls, seven doubles, 11 RBI, and 11 runs scored over his last 10 outings. He'll draw a tough matchup during Thursday's series finale against Minnesota with
Joe Ryan taking the bump, as Judge is just 1-for-7 with one walk in his eight career plate appearances against Ryan.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoSan Francisco Giants designated hitter
Jorge Soler (shoulder) began a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday. Soler is slated to play in two games in the minors and will likely be back with the Giants on Friday for the series opener against the division-rival Colorado Rockies if everything goes well there. Before hitting the injured list with a strained right shoulder, the 32-year-old slugger slashed a disappointing .202/.294/.361 with five homers, four doubles, and eight RBI through 119 at-bats (34 games) as San Fran's everyday DH. Despite those shortcomings, Soler would have a great opportunity to jump-start his season while facing off with a Rockies team that entered Wednesday’s action ranked last in team ERA (5.16) and WHIP (1.53) in 2024.
--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: Alex Pavlovic - NBC Sports Bay Area
6 days agoSeattle Mariners shortstop
J.P. Crawford (oblique, hand) exited Wednesday's minor-league rehab game at Triple-A Tacoma after getting hit in the hand by a pitch. Making his first appearance on his rehab assignment on Wednesday, Crawford was hit in the right hand and immediately needed to come out of the contest in the fifth inning. The M's expected Crawford to be ready to rejoin the major-league roster by the time Friday's series opener against the Baltimore Orioles rolled around, but the 29-year-old's return from a strained right oblique may be delayed depending on the severity of this setback with his hand. Look for Seattle to provide for clarity on Crawford's status sometime following the game, and the infielder should be considered day-to-day until more is known.
UPDATE: It sounds like the Mariners have a low concern with Crawford's injury, but it's unclear how it might affect his potential activation this weekend.--Joseph Barbati - RotoBallerSource: Mariners Minors on X
6 days agoChicago Cubs starting pitcher
Javier Assad stifled the Atlanta Braves for six sharp innings of four-hit baseball on Wednesday. Assad got the win, bringing his record to 4-0 while lowering his ERA to a sparkling 1.49, good for fourth-best in MLB. He had all of his pitches working Wednesday, tying a season-high seven strikeouts while allowing only one walk. Alongside lefty
Shota Imanaga, Assad has given the Cubs one of the best 1-2 punches in all of baseball, with neither pitcher allowing more than two earned runs in a game all season. Assad looks to keep the streak intact with another start against these Braves in Atlanta on Tuesday.
--Jay Skadooley - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
6 days agoOakland Athletics outfield prospect
Henry Bolte is a former second-round pick who signed an over-slot deal rather than attend the University of Texas. Bolte offers a rare blend of power and speed, using the latter trait to swipe plenty of bases and hold down the fort in center field. He also has a strong glove and a decent hit tool, though he definitely needs to cut down on strikeouts. Last week, Bolte went 7-for-24. While .292 isn't an elite batting average, Bolte worked to complement his hit total with an impressive two home runs, nine RBI, and two stolen bases. If the young outfielder can reduce his strikeout total, he could be shuttled through the minors and to the majors by this time next year.
--Andersen Pickard - RotoBallerSource: FanGraphs
6 days agoDetroit Tigers pitching prospect Andrew Sears was selected from the University of Connecticut during the 10th round of last year's MLB Draft. He's struggled with walks in the past but generally induces weak contact. His pitch repertoire is headlined by an effective fastball that clocks around 95 mph. Last week, Sears twirled five shutout innings. He allowed one hit, walked one batter, and hit one batter, all while recording a whopping nine strikeouts. It was his best outing of the 2024 season and also gave him a two-game streak with zero runs allowed. Don't be surprised if he gets elevated to High-A or Double-A soon.
--Andersen Pickard - RotoBallerSource: FanGraphs
6 days agoDetroit Tigers infield prospect
Hao-Yu Lee is a former international signing from Taiwan who was acquired from the Phillies at last summer's trade deadline. He was swapped for
Michael Lorenzen in a one-for-one trade, and so far, it looks like Detroit won that swap. Lee is a very polished hitter who gets good speed and strength behind his swings, works counts effectively, and hits to all parts of the field. There are also some indications that he may have some untapped (sneaky) pop. Finally, he's an above-average defender with good baseball IQ and reaction time. He'll likely play second base long-term, though he's looked solid on the left side of the infield before, too. Last week, Lee went 7-for-18 with two homers, 10 RBI, four walks, and four strikeouts. There aren't too many prospects who can hit for power while maintaining a respectable K/BB rate, but Lee is one of those players. He'll likely make his MLB debut in 2025.
--Andersen Pickard - RotoBallerSource: FanGraphs
6 days agoCleveland Guardians pitching prospect
Trenton Denholm was the club's 14th-round pick in 2021. At 24, he's on the older side for High-A prospects, but there's still plenty to like about his profile. His fastball velocity has fluctuated over the past few years, but he has ultimately shown that he can throw it in the mid-90s. He also gets plenty of breaking action on his curveball. There are concerns about his control, especially given that he's had difficulty locating his curveball. However, his 10.02 K/9 and 0.84 BB/9 this year are both great signs. Last week, Denholm tossed a seven-inning complete-game shutout. He held his opponent scoreless while surrendering just two hits and one walk. He also showed an ability to find the strike zone and miss bats, racking up an impressive nine strikeouts over seven frames.
--Andersen Pickard - RotoBallerSource: FanGraphs
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