6 days agoArizona Cardinals closer
Paul Sewald (oblique) is back in Arizona working with the medical team to determine whether he will need another minor-league rehab assignment or if he's ready to rejoin the D-backs. Manager Torey Lovullo said Sewald is "getting extremely close" to returning from the 15-day injured list. The 33-year-old made his first rehab appearance on Tuesday with Triple-A Reno and gave up an unearned run on two hits while walking one and striking out two, and that may be all he needs before returning to Arizona's bullpen. He has yet to pitch in the big leagues in 2024 due to a strained left oblique, but when he's back, he will operate as the team's full-time closer. Make sure he's not available for some reason on the waiver wire in your fantasy league.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Arizona Republic - Theo Mackie
6 days agoSt. Louis Cardinals outfielder
Alec Burleson is out of the lineup on Wednesday with the team facing left-hander
Jordan Montgomery and the Arizona Cardinals. It's no surprise, as Burleson will continue to ride the pine when the Cardinals face a southpaw. With the 25-year-old out and
Jordan Walker being optioned to Triple-A Memphis,
Brendan Donovan is in left field and hitting leadoff, while rookie
Michael Siani gets the nod in center field and will bat ninth. With Walker in the minors for a bit, Burleson's fantasy stock in deeper leagues is going up, as he should play more regularly against right-handers now. The former second-round pick in 2020 out of East Carolina is still searching for his first home run in 2024 while batting .255 (13-for-51) with two RBI and two runs scored.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoSt. Louis Cardinals catcher
Willson Contreras (hand) is back in the team's lineup on Wednesday, serving as the designated hitter and batting second against Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander
Jordan Montgomery.
Ivan Herrera is doing the catching and is hitting fifth. Left-hand soreness caused the Cardinals to lift Contreras from Tuesday's game early, but manager Oliver Marmol said the decision to pull Contreras had more to do with the lopsided score. Still, the 31-year-old veteran's hand issue is something to keep an eye on. It hasn't affected him at the plate so far, as he's currently hitting .292 (19-for-65) with three home runs and eight RBI in 19 games. He's gone hitless in eight career at-bats against Montgomery, but fantasy managers in single-year leagues need to get him back into their lineups.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoSt. Louis Cardinals outfielder
Jordan Walker has been optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday. The former 21st overall pick in 2020 will head to the farm after opening the 2024 campaign with a weak .155/.239/.259 slash line with no home runs, four RBI, six walks and 18 strikeouts in 67 plate appearances over 20 games for the Red Birds. The 21-year-old will surely be back in St. Louis at some point, but he's going to need to work on some things in the minors first.
Brendan Donovan is in left field and hitting leadoff on Wednesday, while rookie
Michael Siani is in center field and batting ninth against Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander
Jordan Montgomery. With Walker now in the minors,
Alec Burleson and
Ivan Herrera could see some more playing time in the outfield moving forward.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Katie Woo
6 days agoArizona Diamondbacks outfielder
Corbin Carroll is starting in center field but has been moved to the seven-hole on Wednesday for the matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander
Kyle Gibson. The 23-year-old will be down near the bottom of the D-backs' lineup for the first time this year as manager Torey Lovullo looks to get last year's National League Rookie of the Year going at the plate. After making his first All-Star team and leading Arizona to the World Series last fall, Carroll has come out cold at the plate in 2024, slashing .215/.324/.269 with a homer, five RBI and eight stolen bases in his first 23 games. While the drop in the batting order is likely just a temporary thing to try and help Carroll get going offensively, it's not what fantasy managers want to see. Outfielder
Pavin Smith is hitting leadoff after driving in six on Tuesday.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Arizona Diamondbacks
6 days agoChicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that X-rays on outfielder
Cody Bellinger (rib) were negative, but the team has to see how he is on Wednesday before they can determine how long he might be out. Bellinger left Tuesday's game early with a right-rib contusion not long after he ran into the wall in center field at Wrigley Field tracking a ball down. Fantasy managers will want to check back to see if Bellinger is in the lineup against the Houston Astros on Wednesday, but most likely he will not be, and he could miss more time beyond that. For now, consider the 28-year-old lefty hitter to be day-to-day. Rookie outfielder
Alexander Canario replaced Bellinger in center field on Tuesday night and could see more playing time there moving forward if Bellinger is forced to miss time.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: ESPN Chicago - Jesse Rogers
6 days agoChicago Cubs outfielder
Mike Tauchman went 2-for-3 with a walk and four RBI in Tuesday's victory against the Houston Astros. Both of the outfielder's hits were home runs, his first and second of the season. Tauchman has been on a heater lately and has nine hits over his last 20 at-bats. For the season, Tauchman is hitting a respectable .283 with two homers and seven RBI to go along with 13 runs scored. With
Seiya Suzuki (oblique) sidelined, Tauchman has gotten every day reps and has taken the most of the opportunity. As long as he keeps hitting, he is worth a look in deeper leagues. The outfielder will look to stay hot on Wednesday in a rematch against the Astros and rookie starting pitcher
Spencer Arrighetti.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoArizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Logan S. Allen received his first career save in Tuesday's 14-1 rout against the St. Louis Cardinals. Allen tossed the final three innings to earn the save and looked good. The lefty allowed one hits, no runs, one walk and struck out two on the evening. Allen is in the swingman role for Arizona and it may be a while until he sees another save opportunity. He can safely remain on the waiver wire in all formats.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoArizona Diamondbacks first baseman/outfielder
Pavin Smith started as the designated hitter on Tuesday versus the St. Louis Cardinals and had himself a big game. Smith went 2-for-5 with two runs, a home run and six RBI. His home run was a grand slam against
Zack Thompson in the top of the sixth inning. Smith was recalled on April 19 and was 0-for-5 entering Tuesday's contest. Smith has shown power in the past, but that is about it and without regular playing time, he can remain on the waiver wire.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoMilwaukee Brewers middle infielder
Brice Turang went 1-for-2 with a walk and two stolen bases on Tuesday versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Turang's two stolen bases lifts his total to 12 on the season. He is also hitting a respectable .319 with two homers and nine RBI. Turang is unlikely to help much in the power department, but he has been playing every day and so far, has held his own. His true value comes in the speed department and managers looking to improve in that category should consider Turang. He is now tied with
Elly De La Cruz for the league lead in stolen bases and will look to take sole control of the lead on Wednesday versus the Pirates.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoSt. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher
Steven Matz got rocked in Tuesday's loss versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. The left-hander tossed 4 1/3 innings and got hit hard for six hits, seven runs and three walks. He also had four strikeouts on the evening. Matz has really struggled to open the 2024 campaign and has allowed 16 runs (13 earned runs) over his last three outings. He has also failed to get past 5 1/3 innings on the season. Matz has a lot that needs to be figured out and can be avoided in all formats, even with a favorable matchup against the Detroit Tigers to begin next week.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoCleveland Guardians starting pitcher
Ben Lively put together a strong outing against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. It was his second outing of the season and both have come against the Red Sox. On Tuesday, Lively tossed 6 1/3 innings and allowed five hits, one run, zero walks and struck out seven on the evening. The 32-year-old has now allowed just three runs with 14 strikeouts and one walk over 11 1/3 innings. The Guardians always seem to have a pitcher factory churning and Lively could be the latest diamond in the rough for the franchise. It is still very early and both his starts have come against a injury plagued Red Sox lineup, but if Lively can toss another gem against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, he will be worth rostering in most formats.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoChicago Cubs relief pitcher
Yency Almonte recorded his first save of the season in Tuesday's victory against the Houston Astros. Almonte got the final four outs of the contest with one strikeout and no hits or walks allowed. The Cubs bullpen has been a bit of a mess in the early goings with closer
Adbert Alzolay struggling to open the season, but managers should not expect Almonte to be the new closer with Alzolay still in the picture and
Mark Leiter Jr. and
Hector Neris ahead of him. Almonte can safely remain on the waiver wire.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoChicago White Sox starting pitcher
Erick Fedde suffered a tough luck no-decision on Tuesday versus the Minnesota Twins. Fedde tossed six innings for a quality start and allowed three hits, one run, no walks and struck out a career-high 11 batters. Unfortunately for Fedde, his hard work went to waste as the White Sox bullpen blew a big lead and eventually the game. Despite the White Sox having a very tough season, Fedde has been one of the lone bright spots and boasts a respectable 2.73 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP in his first five starts. Fedde won't get many wins for managers, but he can help in other categories. He is worth a look with his next matchup coming against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoDetroit Tigers closer
Jason Foley stayed perfect in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Rays, earning his seventh save. Foley came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by two and delivered a 1-2-3 performance with a strikeout. The 28-year-old has had a spotless start to the season, converting all of his save opportunities with a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA, a 9.00 K/9 rate, and a 4.91 BB/9 rate. The walk rate is higher than fantasy managers would prefer, but everything else has been fantastic.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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