6 days agoCincinnati Reds first baseman
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (wrist) remains out of the starting lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the San Diego Padres. The 24-year-old underwent an MRI which didn't reveal any significant damage. The hope is that Encarnacion-Strand can return at some point during the week. In the meantime,
Jeimer Candelario will cover first base and bat seventh versus right-hander
Yu Darvish.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoDetroit Tigers starting pitcher
Jack Flaherty put together a brilliant performance against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday. The right-hander recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts over 6 2/3 scoreless innings during Tuesday's no-decision. Flaherty struck out seven straight batters to open up the contest. Sadly for Flaherty, the Tigers bullpen coughed up the lead in the ninth inning, which cost him his first victory of the season. He'll take a 4.00 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 50/5 K/BB into his next start against the Cleveland Guardians. Flaherty's strong start to the season has made him an attractive early-season waiver-wire pickup.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoBaltimore Orioles relief pitcher
Craig Kimbrel (back) is uncertain for Tuesday's game against the New York Yankees. The veteran reliever left Sunday's game due to back tightness. He is currently considered as day-to-day. Orioles' manager Brandon Hyde said he was unsure if Kimbrel would be available for Tuesday's game. The right-hander will likely throw pregame before the team decides on his availability. If he's out,
Yennier Cano figures to remain the closer in Baltimore for at least one more night.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: Roch Kubatko
6 days agoLos Angeles Angels outfielder
Mike Trout (knee) is expected to undergo surgery on his knee in the near future. This comes as a shock, considering there was no word of Trout dealing with a serious knee issue. The timetable for his return is unknown right now, but the injury isn't expected to be season-ending, so fantasy managers will need to stash him for now. There should be more details on this situation in the coming days. Fantasy managers should prepare to be without Trout for the foreseeable future. With Trout out, former first-rounder
Mickey Moniak should serve as the Angels' everyday center fielder.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: AIden Gonzalez
6 days agoHouston Astros outfielder
Joey Loperfido is starting in left field and is batting seventh in his major-league debut on Tuesday against the visiting Cleveland Guardians and right-hander
Carlos Carrasco. Loperfido, the Astros' No. 6 prospect per MLB Pipeline, could see a decent amount of at-bats between first base and the outfield after the team optioned struggling first baseman
Jose Abreu to the minors. The 24-year-old left-handed hitter was a former seventh-round pick in 2021 out of Duke and got the promotion to the majors after hitting .287 (29-for-101) with 13 home runs, 27 RBI and five steals in 25 games for Triple-A Sugar Land. Fantasy managers in deep-mixed leagues may want to hold off spending a bunch of waiver money on the youngster, but his power numbers at Sugar Land make him tempting as the Astros look to turn around their slow start in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoBoston Red Sox middle infielder
Vaughn Grissom (hamstring, illness) isn't coming off the 10-day injured list on Tuesday because he has the flu. Grissom was expected to be activated from the IL for the game against the visiting San Francisco Giants, but he's being delayed while under the weather. Whenever he eventually joins the Red Sox, the 23-year-old former 11th-round selection by the Atlanta Braves in 2019 should be the team's regular second baseman in Beantown. Given Grissom's power/speed abilities, fantasy managers should be looking to pick him up off the waiver wire if he's still available. In 64 major-league games with the Braves in 2022 and 2023, Grissom hit .287/.339/.407 with five home runs, 27 RBI and five stolen bases.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MassLive.com - Christopher Smith
6 days agoBoston Red Sox right-hander
Nick Pivetta (elbow) is expected to make a minor-league rehab start on Thursday, and barring any setbacks in that outing, the expectation is that he'll be ready to return to the Red Sox's starting rotation afterwards. Pivetta threw 50 pitches during a live batting practice session on Saturday and is expected to only need one rehab start before the Red Sox feel comfortable reinstating him from the injured list. If the 31-year-old doesn't have any setbacks on Thursday in the minors, he could make his next big-league start against the Atlanta Braves in their two-game series next week. That would be a matchup to fade Pivetta in fantasy, but the Canadian pitcher deserves to be rostered in pretty much all leagues after he started off the year with a 0.82 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 13 K's in 11 innings in his first two starts before getting hurt.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Boston Herald - Mac Cerullo
6 days agoBoston Red Sox outfielder/designated hitter
Masataka Yoshida (hand), who is out of the lineup on Tuesday against the visiting San Francisco Giants, is going for an MRI exam on his injured left hand on Wednesday. Yoshida is active on Tuesday but is unlikely to play. The 30-year-old jammed his hand in the game on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs and could miss additional time, depending on the results of his MRI. With Yoshida out on Tuesday,
Tyler O'Neill is serving as the designated hitter and batting third, while
Rob Refsnyder is in left field and hitting fifth against Giants right-hander
Logan Webb. Yoshida, who has basically been the team's full-time DH, is hitting a decent .275 (22-for-80) but with only two home runs and 11 RBI to this point through the first month of the season.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Boston Herald - Mac Cerullo
6 days agoNew York Mets outfielder
Harrison Bader is getting the day off on Tuesday as the team takes on the visiting Chicago Cubs.
Tyrone Taylor will replace him in center field and will hit sixth in the batting order against Cubs right-hander
Javier Assad. Bader has cooled off in his last 26 plate appearances, going 3-for-26 with one RBI and four strikeouts in his last seven games to drop his season slash line to .265/.291/.325 in 86 plate appearances. The former third-rounder of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015 out of Florida has just one home run on the year to go with seven RBI, five runs scored and 10 runs scored. Taylor is hitting .279 (17-for-61) with two home runs, 13 RBI and two steals on the year but will be a low-upside DFS sleeper toward the bottom of New York's batting order.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoAs expected, the New York Mets activated outfielder
Starling Marte from the bereavement list on Tuesday and optioned infielder
Mark Vientos to Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding move. However, Marte won't make the start on Tuesday versus the visiting Chicago Cubs, with
DJ Stewart in right field and batting seventh against Cubs right-hander
Javier Assad. The 35-year-old Marte will miss his fourth straight game but should be back in the lineup on Wednesday for the Mets. He's managed to stay healthy so far this year and is hitting a strong .288 (30-for-104) with four home runs, 12 RBI, six stolen bases and 16 runs scored in his first 25 games. Stewart has never faced Assad in his career and is hitting just .200 so far with three home runs for the Mets.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Post - Mike Puma
6 days agoKansas City Royals catcher
Salvador Perez (back) is playing first base and is batting cleanup for the Royals on Tuesday against right-hander
Jose Berrios and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Freddy Fermin is doing the catching and will bat sixth. Perez was scratched from Monday's lineup with back tightness, but he singled in a pinch-hit appearance late in the game and is back in the lineup a day later. Fantasy managers will want to get the 33-year-old All-Star back into their starting lineups immediately. Perez has been going off offensively with a .346/.404/.596 slash line with seven home runs in his first 29 games this year. He has a lot of experience against Berrios in his career, too, but he's hit just .214 with a home run and five RBI in 42 at-bats.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Kansas City Royals
6 days agoToronto Blue Jays outfielder
Daulton Varsho is not in the starting lineup on Tuesday with the team facing a left-handed pitcher. With Varsho getting the day off,
Cavan Biggio will make the start in right field for the Jays and will hit ninth in the batting order against Royals left-hander
Cole Ragans. Varsho has gone 5-for-17 (.294) with a solo home run against southpaws so far in 2024, but he also has just one hit in his last 14 at-bats over his last four games to drop his season slash line to .233/.324/.500. The 27-year-old left-handed slugger has added six home runs, 14 RBI and three stolen bases. Varsho should be back in Toronto's starting lineup on Wednesday. Biggio has very little fantasy upside in the nine-hole. He's hitting .229 (16-for-70) on the year with a homer and six RBI.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Toronto Blue Jays
6 days agoHouston Astros general manager Dana Brown said that the team and struggling first baseman
Jose Abreu have decided that he will be optioned to the Florida Complex League in West Palm Beach, Florida, effective on Wednesday "to get some at-bats and his timing back right." The 37-year-old right-handed slugger also got off to a slow start with the Astros last year, but his struggles this year have fallen to another level. He's currently slashing an embarrassing .099/.156/.113 with no home runs, three RBI, three walks and 18 strikeouts in 77 plate appearances over 22 games. Abreu was a virtual lock for 100 RBI each season during his time with the Chicago White Sox from 2014-22, but he's fallen on hard time in Houston and isn't a must-stash in mixed fantasy leagues.
Jon Singleton will see more playing time at first base now that Abreu is headed to the farm.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Chandler Rome
6 days agoMiami Marlins left-hander
Braxton Garrett (shoulder) will make another minor-league rehab start this week before possibly joining the big-league club. Garrett resumed his rehab assignment on April 26 with Triple-A Jacksonville and threw three-plus innings in a 59-pitch outing. He was on track for a return before experiencing "dead arm" during his April 15 bullpen session, which was unrelated to his previous left-shoulder impingement, according to manager Skip Schumaker. The 26-year-old southpaw has yet to debut in the big leagues in 2024 but should be picked up off the waiver wire and stashed in deeper mixed fantasy leagues if he's available after he broke out for the Fish in 2023. Given all of the injuries to Miami's starters this year, Garrett will undoubtedly be inserted into the rotation immediately when he comes off the injured list.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoMiami Marlins third baseman
Jake Burger (intercostal) will begin his minor-league rehab assignment on Tuesday with Triple-A Jacksonville, according to manager Skip Schumaker. Burger has been doing full on-field workouts since April 26 in Miami after exiting the top of the fourth inning in an April 14 game against the Atlanta Braves with a left-oblique strain. He suffered a left-oblique strain last year, and he said this injury felt similar to that one. Burger is expected to come off the injured list on the team's upcoming road trip, which begins in Oakland against the A's this Friday.
Emmanuel Rivera has been seeing regular playing time at the hot corner with Burger sidelined, but Burger should take over everyday duties when he returns. The 28-year-old was hitting .228 (13-for-57) with three home runs and 15 RBI at the time of his injury.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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