6 days agoCincinnati Reds first baseman
Christian Encarnacion-Strand (hand) is missing yet again from the team's starting lineup in the series finale against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. Encarnacion-Strand is missing his fourth straight game after being hit by a pitch on his left hand. With a scheduled off day coming on Thursday, hopefully the 24-year-old will be able to return on Friday for a series opener against the Baltimore Orioles. On top of his injury, CES has hit just .196/.222/.314 with two home runs and 16 RBI in his first 102 at-bats of the season.
Jeimer Candelario is at first base on Wednesday and is batting seventh, while
Santiago Espinal gets the start at third and hits sixth against Padres right-hander
Joe Musgrove. Neither Candelario nor Espinal have ever faced Musgrove in their careers.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoPittsburgh Pirates outfielders
Andrew McCutchen and
Michael Taylor are not in the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics. With both players out,
Bryan Reynolds will serve as the designated hitter and bat second, while
Jack Suwinski will cover center field and hit eighth against A's right-hander
Ross Stripling.
Connor Joe is manning left field and batting third in the order. The veteran McCutchen has gotten off to a slow start in 2024, hitting just .190 (15-for-79) with three home runs, seven RBI and one steal. Taylor has been a bit better with a .253 average (19-for-75), but he has yet to go deep with six RBI and three stolen bases. Reynolds is a daily must-start in season-long fantasy leagues, while Joe is a nice low-cost DFS play with an average just under .300 in his first 89 at-bats in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Pittsburgh Pirates
6 days agoOakland Athletics outfielder/designated hitter
Brent Rooker will take a seat on the bench on Wednesday versus the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. Catcher
Shea Langeliers will move to designated hitter and will bat cleanup, while
Kyle McCann will do the catching while hitting seventh against Pirates right-hander
Quinn Priester. The 29-year-old Rooker will get the day off after starting in each of the team's last 11 games since coming off the 10-day injured list on April 19. In those 11 contests, he's gone 8-for-38 (.211) with three home runs, two doubles, eight RBI and a stolen base. Rooker has five dingers so far in 2024 and has added 13 RBI in his 68 at-bats. Langeliers is hitting just .176 (16-for-91) but does have six long balls, which makes him attractive in DFS at the weak catcher position while in the cleanup spot against a young pitcher.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Oakland A's Communications
6 days agoKansas City Royals outfielder
Hunter Renfroe will retreat to the bench on Wednesday as the team faces the Toronto Blue Jays.
Adam Frazier will get the nod in right field for the Royals and will hit eighth against Blue Jays right-hander
Chris Bassitt. Renfroe has gone 1-for-12 in the last four games to drop his season line to a weak .150/.218/.268 in 80 at-bats. The 32-year-old veteran right-handed slugger has added just two home runs, 10 RBI and seven runs scored for the Royals and could lose playing time moving forward unless he turns it around soon. Frazier hasn't been much better at all, though, and should be avoided in DFS formats on Wednesday. The left-handed batter is hitting .185 (12-for-65) with no homers, five RBI and one stolen base.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Kansas City Royals
6 days agoTampa Bay Rays outfielder
Jose Siri has been hit with a three-game suspension from Major League Baseball for his role in Tuesday night's benches-clearing incident with the Milwaukee Brewers. Siri will appeal his suspension, but he's out of Wednesday's lineup anyway due to some minor soreness in his left thigh as a result of getting hit by a pitch on Tuesday. The 28-year-old was intentionally hit by a pitch from right-hander
Freddy Peralta in the sixth inning before getting in a dust-up with reliever
Abner Uribe in the eighth inning after he grounded out. Uribe threw the first punch before Siri retaliated. After a scheduled off day for the Rays on Thursday, Siri should return to the starting lineup on Friday for the series opener against the New York Mets while his appeal is heard.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Bally Sports Florida - Ryan Bass
6 days agoAfter the Milwaukee Brewers' benches-clearing brawl against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, pitchers
Freddy Peralta (five games) and
Abner Uribe (six games) and manager Pat Murphy (two games) have been suspended. Both Peralta and Uribe are appealing their suspensions and won't have to sit out immediately for the series finale against Tampa on Wednesday. Peralta is being suspended for intentionally throwing at Rays outfielder
Jose Siri. The 27-year-old was ejected as a result. Since he's appealing, he should be able to make his next scheduled start on Sunday versus the Chicago Cubs. Uribe incited the benches-clearing incident when he threw a punch at Siri after he grounded out in the eighth inning. The 23-year-old reliever has three saves on the year but also a 6.75 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in 13 appearances for Milwaukee.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Adam McCalvy
6 days agoThe Detroit Tigers optioned right-hander
Matt Manning back to Triple-A Toledo after the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals. Manning served as the team's 27th man for the doubleheader and picked up a no-decision when he allowed four earned runs on seven hits (one home run) while walking two and striking out seven in 4 2/3 innings against St. Louis. He's now made three spot starts for Detroit this year. The 26-year-old threw 5 2/3 shutout innings in his first appearance but has now allowed eight earned runs in his last two outings despite striking out 14. We'll likely see Manning again at some point, and if any of the Tigers' regular starters are injured, he'll be the first to take their rotation spot.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Tigers PR
6 days agoDetroit Tigers pitching prospect
Jackson Jobe (hamstring) was pulled from his start early on Wednesday with Double-A Erie in the middle of the fourth inning after he was seen flexing his left leg and grabbing around his hamstring after delivering a pitch. The 21-year-old right-hander entered his start on Wednesday with a 2.63 ERA and 1.17 WHIP while walking nine and striking out 19 in 13 2/3 innings over his four starts for Erie. It's unclear how serious the injury is, but it's worth keeping an eye on for the Tigers' No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder has a nasty slider to pair with a mid- to upper-90s fastball. Even if his leg injury isn't serious enough to require a stint on the minor-league injured list, Jobe is probably unlikely to make his big-league debut in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Jason Beck
6 days agoSt. Louis Cardinals left-hander
Steven Matz (back) is set to undergo an MRI exam on Thursday after pitching through a back issue on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday. Matz went just 3 1/3 innings against Detroit on Tuesday and allowed seven hits (one home run) and four earned runs while walking two and striking out only one. The Cardinals will wait for the results of the MRI before deciding what to do next with the 32-year-old veteran southpaw. Fantasy managers that have Matz rostered in deeper leagues should prepare for the possibility that he will go on the injured list. After his poor start on Tuesday, he's now 1-2 on the year with a 6.18 ERA and 1.73 WHIP while striking 17 in 27 2/3 frames over his first six starts in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Katie Woo
6 days agoTampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that
Josh Lowe (hamstring, oblique), whose expected return last Saturday from an oblique strain was further delayed by right-hamstring tightness, will resume a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Thursday and then be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. It was a minor setback for the 26-year-old. As long as he doesn't suffer another setback, he could make his season debut with Tampa at some point this weekend or early next week. There's no reason that Lowe should be available on waiver wires after he slashed .292/.335/.500 with an .835 OPS, 20 home runs, 83 RB, 32 stolen bases and 71 runs scored in 501 plate appearances over 135 games for the Rays last year.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
6 days agoThe Miami Marlins recalled rookie right-hander
Roddery Munoz from Triple-A Jacksonville on Wednesday, and he will make the start against the visiting Colorado Rockies with left-hander
Jesus Luzardo (elbow) on the injured list. The Marlins optioned right-hander
Emmanuel Ramirez to Jacksonville in a corresponding move. Munoz made his major-league debut on April 20 in a start against the Chicago Cubs and was handed a no-decision when he allowed two earned runs on two hits (two home runs) while walking one and striking out seven in five innings. He's been pretty bad in the minors, though, sporting an 8.62 ERA with 14 walks and nine strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings with Jacksonville. The matchup is about as good as it gets for Munoz in his second career start, but the 24-year-old is as risky as they come as a deep-league streamer.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Christina De Nicola
6 days agoAtlanta Braves catcher
Travis d'Arnaud is getting the day off in the series finale on Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners. With d'Arnaud riding pine,
Chadwick Tromp will catch left-hander
Chris Sale and will bat ninth for the Braves against Mariners right-hander
Emerson Hancock. With
Sean Murphy (oblique) on the injured list, d'Arnaud has become Atlanta's primary catcher and has thrived with the opportunity. The 35-year-old veteran is currently hitting .282 (20-for-71) with five home runs, 16 RBI and 12 runs scored in his first 25 games of the year. With a scheduled off day on Thursday before a showdown on the road in LA against the Dodgers, d'Arnaud should be back behind the dish on Friday. Tromp is one to avoid in DFS formats in the nine-hole.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 days agoThe Baltimore Orioles activated left-hander
John Means (forearm) from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday. We knew that the O's planned to activate Means at some point this week, but now it's official. The 31-year-old southpaw will take the rotation spot of the injured
Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder) for now, but eventually one of
Albert Suarez or
Cole Irvin will get booted from the rotation when right-hander
Kyle Bradish (elbow) returns this week. It's unclear yet when Means will make his season debut for the O's. If it doesn't come in the series finale on Thursday against the New York Yankees, it should come this weekend in a series against the Reds on the road in Cincinnati. He struck out eight hitters and threw 95 pitches in his final minor-league rehab start, so Means shouldn't be limited at all from a pitch-count perspective.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB Network - Jon Morosi
6 days agoThe Baltimore Orioles placed right-hander
Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday with right-shoulder inflammation and activated left-hander
John Means (forearm) from the injured list in a corresponding move. Rodriguez just picked up his fourth win of the season on Monday, when he tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings over the New York Yankees, so this news is highly disappointing for the Orioles and his fantasy managers. The 24-year-old already has three quality starts on the season while going 4-1 with a 3.71 ERA (3.58 FIP) and 1.41 WHIP with 12 walks and 37 strikeouts in 34 innings over six starts in his second MLB season. Rodriguez has allowed two runs or fewer in all but one of his starts. He needs to remain stashed in an IL spot while he's out.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB Network - Jon Morosi
6 days agoMinnesota Twins catcher
Ryan Jeffers is taking a day off on Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox in the series finale. Jeffers has played a big part in the Twins' current nine-game winning streak, but he'll get a blow in this one with a scheduled off day coming on Thursday. The 26-year-old had started each of the team's last seven games and has swung a hot bat so far in 2024, going 26-for-88 (.295) with five home runs, 17 RBI, a stolen base and 15 runs scored in 26 games. He's clearly become Minnesota's primary catcher over
Christian Vazquez, who is behind the dish on Wednesday and batting ninth against White Sox right-hander
Chris Flexen. Vazquez will be a low-upside catching option in DFS contests in the nine-hole. He has a hit in two career at-bats against Flexen.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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