6 days agoAtlanta Braves closer
Raisel Iglesias converted his seventh save of the season in Monday's 3-0 win over the Marlins. Iglesias came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by three and delivered a 1-2-3 outing with a strikeout. The 34-year-old veteran has converted all of his save opportunities with a 2.16 ERA, a 6.48 K/9 rate, and a 1.08 BB/9 rate. The strikeouts have been down, but Iglesias should continue to be a higher-end fantasy option serving as the closer on one of baseball's best teams.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoAtlanta Braves catcher
Travis d'Arnaud continued his power surge in Monday's 3-0 win over the Marlins. d'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with a single, a two-run home run, and a strikeout. The 35-year-old veteran has hit five HR in his last four games, bringing his season numbers to a .273/.344/.636 slash line with 14 RBI in 61 plate appearances. d'Arnaud should be a viable fantasy option in at least two-catcher leagues as long as he continues to hit while
Sean Murphy (oblique) is on the injured list with an oblique injury.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoColorado Rockies prospect
Hunter Goodman went 1-for-5 for Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday, extending his current hit streak to five games. After going 10-for-42 (.238) with no home runs over his first 11 games, Goodman has now gone 11-for-36 (.306) with six home runs over his last eight games. The 23-year-old has played catcher, first base, right field, and DH for the Isotopes this season. In 2023, he played first base, right field, and DH during his 23-game audition with the big league club, so it remains to be seen where he'll fit in on the diamond. The right-handed hitter belted 36 home runs in 2022 over 134 games and 34 home runs over 106 games in 2023, so there's plenty of pop in that bat, although he hit just one during his short time in Colorado last season. Assuming he gets another shot with the Rockies in 2024, he could be a sneaky source of power for homer-needy fantasy teams.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
6 days agoSt. Louis Cardinals second baseman
Nolan Gorman played the hero in Monday's 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks. Gorman was called upon to pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied 3-3, no outs, and a runner on first. The 23-year-old crushed the first pitch he saw deep into the right-field seats to end the game. Fantasy managers expected power from Gorman this season, but he has struggled with a .179/.238/.372 slash line, three HR, and 10 RBI in 84 plate appearances. Hopefully, this HR can help get him going.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoSan Diego Padres closer
Robert Suarez moved to a perfect 8-for-8 in save opportunities in Monday's 3-1 win over the Rockies. Suarez came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by two. He allowed a leadoff double, got the first out on a flyout, allowed a single, and got the final two outs on a ground-ball double play. Despite several off-season bullpen acquisitions, the 33-year-old has emerged as one of fantasy's top closers for the Padres with a 0.84 ERA and a 7.59 K/9 rate.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoSan Diego Padres starting pitcher
Dylan Cease turned in another stellar start in Monday's 3-1 win over the Rockies. Cease pitched very well in Coors Field, tossing seven innings of one-run ball on one hit and no walks with eight strikeouts. The 28-year-old has settled in with his new team nicely, going 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA, 10.62 K/9 rate, and 3.34 BB/9 rate in his first five starts. He will face a tougher matchup in his next start against the Phillies.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoPittsburgh Pirates closer
David Bednar picked up his third save of the season in Monday's 4-2 win over the Brewers. Bednar came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by two. He got the first out on a flyout, allowed a single, and got the final two outs on another flyout and a strikeout. The 29-year-old has now only converted half of his save opportunities with a 10.13 ERA, but his strikeout numbers have been solid with a 12.38 K/9 rate. Fantasy managers shouldn't panic this early in the season given Bednar's track record over the past couple of seasons.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoPittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher
Jared Jones turned in another strong start in Monday's 4-2 win over the Brewers. Jones pitched six innings, allowing one run on four hits (including a solo home run) and two walks with seven strikeouts, one of which was true highlight material. The 22-year-old rookie has been excellent to start the season, going 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA, a 12.10 K/9 rate, and a 1.24 BB/9 rate in five starts and 29 IP. He should have a chance to turn in another solid outing in his next scheduled start at the Giants.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoSan Diego Padres outfield prospect
Jakob Marsee went 0-for-4 on Sunday for Double-A San Antonio, bringing his season batting average down to .138. So far, the reigning Arizona Fall League MVP has failed to carry over the success he had last fall into 2024, with just one home run, four RBI, and nine runs scored over 15 games. On the bright side, he has worked 12 walks and stolen eight bases thus far, which were two of his calling cards during his tenure in the minors over the last two seasons. In 2022, Marsee had a BB:K of 30:25 and 15 steals in 31 games, while in 2023 he had a BB:K of 98:97 and 46 steals in 129 games. The 22-year-old has an ETA of 2024 per MLB.com's top prospect list, but he'll need to pick up the pace for that to happen, especially with no Triple-A at-bats to his name yet.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
6 days agoMinnesota Twins starting pitcher
Chris Paddack earned his first win of the season in Monday's 7-0 game against the White Sox. Paddack took advantage of a favorable matchup, pitching seven innings while allowing six hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts. Despite this good start, the 28-year-old's return to the starting rotation has not been very successful. He is now 1-1 with a 5.57 ERA in his first four starts. While he was a fantasy prospect early in his career, fantasy managers should wait to see more consistency from him before trusting him. Paddack will look to build on his success in a decent matchup at the Angels.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoCincinnati Reds starting pitcher
Hunter Greene pitched deep into his start Monday but came away with a loss in Monday's 7-0 game against the Phillies. Greene pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts. The 24-year-old is now 0-2 with a 4.55 ERA, an 11.71 K/9 rate, and a 3.92 BB/9 rate in his first five starts. The strikeout skills are evident, but Greene is still looking to take the next step toward becoming a consistent fantasy contributor. That may be difficult in his next scheduled start, which will be a tough matchup at the Rangers. This may be a matchup fantasy managers want to avoid.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoPhiladelphia Phillies starting pitcher
Ranger Suarez continued his hot streak in Monday's 7-0 win over the Reds. Suarez pitched seven innings, allowing just two hits and a walk with five strikeouts. The 28-year-old is now 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA, an 8.73 K/9 rate, and a 1.36 BB/9 rate in five starts. He has been a top fantasy performer early on and will look to continue his stellar performance in his next start at the Padres.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoMilwaukee Brewers first baseman prospect
Tyler Black went 2-for-4 with a home run for Triple-A Nashville on Sunday. He also had four RBI, a walk, and a run scored in the contest. The 23-year-old keeps making his case for a promotion to the big league club, now with a .315-2-13-14-2 line on the young season. With
Rhys Hoskins splitting his time between DH and 1B, and
Jake Bauers and
Owen Miller doing nothing of note with their time manning first base, Black could get the call to the Show sooner rather than later. The lefty could instantly add a boost to the offense with his power-speed combo after belting 18 home runs and stealing 55 bases last season between Double and Triple-A in just 123 games. Fantasy managers with an open bench spot could stash him ahead of his call-up.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
6 days agoArizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said that right-hander
Merrill Kelly (shoulder) is "most likely" headed to the injured list to make room for the call-up of left-hander
Tommy Henry, who will start on Tuesday on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals. Kelly was scratched from his scheduled start on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants and is now most likely going to have to miss the next couple weeks at the very least due to a shoulder strain. The 35-year-old veteran should be stashed in most fantasy leagues while he's on the injured list, as he's currently 2-0 with a strong 2.19 ERA (3.82 FIP) and 0.93 WHIP with six walks and 21 strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings over his first four starts. Henry should fill in in Arizona's rotation in the short-term, but the soft-tossing southpaw has minimal fantasy upside and was sporting a 6.87 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in his first four starts before being optioned to the minors.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Arizona Republic - Theo Mackie
6 days agoSeattle Mariners right-hander
Bryan Woo (elbow) tossed three shutout innings with no hits allowed, no walks and five strikeouts in his first minor-league rehab start for Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday. It was a great first rehab start for Woo, who could be ready to make his 2024 debut in Seattle's starting rotation in early May. The 24-year-old threw 35 pitches in the outing and wasn't quite there with the velocity on his fastball, but nonetheless it was a good first outing in the minors. We'll keep you in the loop on how he does in his next minor-league start as he continues to build his pitch count up. Woo, a former sixth-rounder in 2021, should have a spot in the rotation waiting for him after he went 4-5 with a 4.21 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with 93 strikeouts in 87 2/3 innings over 18 starts in his first taste of the big leagues last year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Milb.com
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