6 days agoAtlanta Braves catcher
Sean Murphy (oblique) went 1-for-3 with a 449-foot home run, two runs scored and a walk in his first minor-league rehab game on Tuesday night for Triple-A Gwinnett while playing seven innings behind the plate. Not only was it a good sign to see the 29-year-old hit a no-doubt blast to straightaway center field in this one, he also stayed in the game longer than expected at catcher, so he must be feeling pretty good after suffering a Grade 1 left-oblique strain on March 29. In addition to his monstrous long ball, Murphy threw out the only runner that attempted to steal on him. Murphy will get Wednesday off before starting again on Thursday. He's likely to play in a couple more rehab games before coming off the injured list later this weekend. Murphy will probably be eased back in with the Braves, but his impending return is going to mean less playing time for
Travis d'Arnaud.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Milb.com
6 days agoKansas City Royals outfielder
Hunter Renfroe will head to the bench for Wednesday's contest as the Royals go for the sweep against the visiting Detroit Tigers in the series finale. Renfroe has gone 6-for-24 (.250) with a homer and five RBI in his last seven games since May 12, but overall he's been bad this year with a .160/.236/.282 slash line with four home runs, 18 RBI and 15 runs scored in 144 plate appearances over 43 games played in his first year in KC. With Renfroe on the bench,
Dairon Blanco is getting the start in right field and will bat seventh against Tigers left-hander
Tarik Skubal. Blanco has three hits and two RBI in six career at-bats against Skubal. The 31-year-old Cuban outfielder has been useful for his speed this year in AL-only leagues, as he has 11 thefts in just 44 at-bats in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Kansas City Royals
6 days agoLos Angeles Angels catcher
Logan O'Hoppe is getting a breather on Wednesday in the series finale against the Astros in Houston.
Matt Thaiss will do the catching for left-hander
Tyler Anderson and will hit sixth in the batting order versus Astros right-hander
Hunter Brown. With a scheduled off day coming for the Halos on Thursday, expect O'Hoppe to be back in action on Friday for a series opener back at home against the visiting Cleveland Guardians. The 24-year-old backstop has been solid offensively for the Angels so far this year, slashing .257/.317/.392 with four home runs, 22 RBI and 18 runs scored in 148 at-bats. Thaiss, a former first-rounder, has gone just 7-for-35 (.200) with no homers and three RBI in limited playing time as the backup to O'Hoppe in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoNew York Mets third baseman
Brett Baty is back on the bench on Wednesday in the series finale in Cleveland against the Guardians against a right-handed pitcher.
Mark Vientos is getting another start at the hot corner in his place and is hitting sixth against Guardians right-hander
Triston McKenzie. Baty, who is hitting .228 (31-for-136) on the year with three home runs and 15 RBI, is quickly losing playing time at third base to Vientos, who homered on Tuesday night, amidst his offensive struggles. The 24-year-old left-handed hitter has just two hits and 12 strikeouts in his last 26 plate appearances in nine games since May 10. At this point, not even Baty's stellar defensive play at third can save him from losing playing time. It's still early in the year but Baty currently has lost the hold on the starting job at third in New York.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Newsday - Tim Healey
6 days agoWashington Nationals catcher
Keibert Ruiz is taking the day off during Wednesday's matinee contest for the series finale against the visiting Minnesota Twins. With Ruiz on the bench,
Riley Adams will do the catching for right-hander
Jake Irvin and bat eighth against Twins rookie right-hander
Simeon Woods Richardson. Ruiz dealt with a pretty serious illness early this year that caused him to lose over 10 pounds, so perhaps that's why he's been such a disappointment so far in 2024. The 25-year-old switch-hitting Venezuelan backstop is slashing .160/.198/.236 with only two home runs, seven RBI and seven runs scored in 106 at-bats. Adams has been slightly better, going 16-for-69 (.232) with two home runs and six RBI. The 27-year-old will be a low-upside sleeper in DFS at catcher.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Washington Post - Andrew Golden
6 days agoColorado Rockies shortstop
Ezequiel Tovar had a big night despite his team losing on Tuesday night versus the Oakland Athletics. The 22-year-old went 2-for-5 on the evening with both of his hits being solo homeruns. Tovar has had a rollercoaster of a season, but has caught fire over the past two week with 18 hits over his last 54 at-bats to go along with four homers and nine RBI. Tovar is aggressive at the plate and draws his fair share of strikeouts, but he has also been making good contact. The Rockies will be home for six straight games after their series with the Athletics on Thursday and should be all lineups as he continues to swing a hot bat.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoTexas Rangers starting pitcher
Jon Gray (groin) will undergo an MRI after being removed early from Tuesday's start with a right-groin injury. The veteran tossed five innings on 75 pitches before being pulled from the game. Manager Bruce Bochy said that Gray was experiencing tightness in his right groin and it wasn't worth it to keep pushing Gray and potentially injure him more. It seems like the move to remove Gray was more of a precaution than anything, but his MRI will determine the true extent of his injury. Bochy expect Gray to be able to make his next start versus the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. If Gray does miss time,
Jack Leiter would be an option for a spot start.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoHouston Astros outfielder
Kyle Tucker put together a monster game against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday evening. Tucker went 2-for-4 with three runs, one walk and two homeruns to help lead the Astros to their 22nd victory of the season. The Astros have struggled this season, but Tucker has been doing his part for the club and fantasy managers. On the season, Tucker has hit .293 with 17 homers, 36 RBI and nine stolen bases to go along with a shiny 1.074 OPS. Tucker is putting up some of the best numbers of any player in the game this season and has the most homeruns in the league. He should continue to make fantasy managers happy moving forward.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoChicago Cubs second baseman
Nico Hoerner returned to the lineup on Tuesday after missing the previous six games with a hamstring injury and made an immediate impact versus the Atlanta Braves. Despite only having one hit in five at-bats, it was a huge one in the bottom of the 10th inning to walk it off for the Cubbies with a RBI single. Hoerner is a strong middle infield option with ability to help across the board with a .267 batting average accompanied by two homers, 13 RBI and five stolen bases. He will look to keep things going in Game 2 of Chicago's series versus the Atlanta Braves and
Max Fried on Wednesday.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoPittsburgh Pirates shortstop
Oneil Cruz had a big night in Tuesday's victory versus the San Francisco Giants. Cruz went 3-for-5 on the evening with two doubles, one single and a RBI. The 6'7 shortstop brought plenty of thunder with the bat as his three hits were recorded at 121.5 mph, 120.4 mph, and 116.3 mph. Cruz has been hitting the ball hard this season, but has been up and down in the production department. Overall, Cruz has hit .260 with seven homers, 19 RBI and four stolen bases. Cruz has the ability to help across the board and Tuesday's showing is a perfect example of that, he just needs to be more consistent. Regardless, he remains a starting shortstop in most formats moving forward.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoSan Francisco Giants starting pitcher
Logan Webb posted his eighth quality start of the season in a no-decision versus the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday. The right-hander tossed six frames and allowed six hits, two runs and one walk with six strikeouts. With the strong outing, Webb now has a solid 3.03 ERA. Webb opened the month of May with a hiccup when he allowed five runs (four earned) versus the Philadelphia Phillies, be he has bounced back with four earned runs allowed over his past four starts. As one of the more consistent pitchers in the sport, Webb is worth starting in all matchups moving forward. Next up for the right-hander will be a date with the New York Mets on Sunday.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoKansas City Royals shortstop
Bobby Witt Jr. continued his strong season with a big performance in Tuesday's victory against the division-rival Detroit Tigers. Witt went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two homers and six RBI. He also stole his 16th base of the season in the contest. His first home run was a big three-run blast in the bottom of the second inning, and he then followed that up with a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth inning for good measure. The superstar shortstop now has a mini five-game hitting streak going and continues to be one of the top fantasy producers across the board. For the season, Witt is hitting .304 with seven homers and 31 RBI.
--Daniel Burdeen - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoMinnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan (3-3) hurled seven shutout innings, picking up the win, collecting six strikeouts, and allowing three hits and two walks in a 10-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. The seven scoreless innings lowered the right-hander's ERA to 3.15 on the season, giving him five quality starts in his last six outings. Ryan looks like he's breaking out in his age-27 season with career-best 3.15 ERA and 0.98 WHIP totals on the season thus far. He will look to sustain his early season success on Monday against the Kansas City Royals, whom Ryan last faced on Opening Day, allowing one run in 5 1/3 innings pitched.--Joey Inglese - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
7 days agoPhiladelphia Phillies relief pitcher
Jose Alvarado picked up his ninth save of the season in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Rangers. Alvarado came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by three. He got the first out on a ground-out, had a runner reach on a throwing error and allowed a single, and ended the game with back-to-back strikeouts. The 29-year-old has pitched well overall this season, converting all of his save opportunities with a 3.54 ERA, an 8.85 K/9 rate, and a 3.10 BB/9 rate in 22 appearances. However,
Jeff Hoffman, who pitched in the eighth inning of this game, has also pitched well and has converted three of six save opportunities. Alvarado appears to have more fantasy value of the two, but his overall value may remain in the mid-tier if Hoffman continues to see somewhat frequent save chances.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
7 days agoPhiladelphia Phillies starting pitcher
Ranger Suarez continued his outstanding season in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Rangers. Suarez pitched seven innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts. The 28-year-old has now won every start except for his first of the season and is 9-0 with a 1.36 ERA, a 9.27 K/9 rate, and a 1.64 BB/9 rate in 66 IP. His performance is reminiscent of when he first came onto the fantasy scene in 2021 after slotting into the Phillies rotation. Suarez may not finish the season with such an elite ERA, but he is still a top fantasy contributor. He will be on the road at the Rockies in his next start, but he has simply been too good to bench, even in Coors Field.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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