4 hours agoAtlanta Braves outfielder
Jarred Kelenic will hit in the leadoff spot for the first time this season. Due to the injuries of
Ronald Acuna Jr. (knee) and recently
Michael Harris II (hamstring), Kelenic may earn a permanent role in the leadoff spot going forward. The former top prospect has begun to find his footing in the batter's box with a .275/.326/.475 slash line since May 29. Overall, in his first season in Atlanta, the former sixth overall pick holds a .259/.305/.401 line with four home runs and one swiped bag. While Kelenic may have disappointed through the early part of the season, he has begun to string together a few solid performances and will now see even more opportunities batting in the top spot of a strong Braves lineup. He has a tough matchup Saturday afternoon against
Ryan Pepiot, who carries a stellar 1.01 WHIP.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
5 hours agoBaltimore Orioles starting pitcher
Kyle Bradish (elbow) was placed on the 15-day injured list on Saturday with a right UCL sprain. Bradish left his start on Friday afternoon with right elbow discomfort and previously missed the opening month of this season with a UCL sprain. As a result, the 27-year-old is expected to be sidelined for longer than the minimum 15-day stint. Baltimore promoted southpaw
Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move. Through 39 ⅓ innings this season, Bradish performed well with a 2.75 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 53 strikeouts. While Bradish remains sidelined, rookie
Cade Povich should be expected to remain in the starting rotation making him an excellent waiver wire option this weekend.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Baltimore Orioles
5 hours agoPhiladelphia Phillies outfielder
Brandon Marsh (hamstring) was activated from the 10-day injured list on Saturday and will start in left field and bat seventh against
Grayson Rodriguez and the Baltimore Orioles. Marsh has been sidelined since June 2 with a right hamstring strain. Before the injury, Marsh carried a solid .265/.344/.426 slash line with six long balls and eight swiped bags. He currently holds a stellar 51.8% hard-hit rate and 92.1 mph average exit velocity, which suggests he could be in store for a big summer. Marsh is always worth a look in DFS, batting in the middle of an excellent Phillies lineup. Even though his matchup Saturday afternoon is difficult against Rodriguez, who carries a 7-2 record and 3.27 ERA, Marsh will have several prime RBI opportunities batting behind players like
Alec Bohm and
Bryce Harper.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Todd Zolecki
5 hours agoMilwaukee Brewers pitcher
Jared Koenig will serve as the opener on Saturday afternoon as the Brewers continue a three-game set against their division rival Cincinnati Reds.
Bryse Wilson will follow Koenig in long relief. Koenig enters Saturday with a strong 1.72 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and a 6:26 BB:K ratio through 31 ⅓ innings this season. He has been exceptional since May 17, as he has allowed just six hits and three free passes and has not surrendered a run. The 30-year-old southpaw should be expected to pitch at least two innings and could potentially remain in the game for the third frame if he is doing well. Koenig could be worth a look in DFS this afternoon, but select him with caution as he may only log a couple of innings.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Curt Hogg
5 hours agoToronto Blue Jays outfielder
Kevin Kiermaier (knee) is back in the starting lineup on Saturday after missing the past two games with a bruised knee. The 34-year-old has posted a disappointing .200/.248/.317 with two home runs and through 50 games this season. While he is on pace to have the worst batting average of his career, he is still stealing bases at a high rate and already has four swiped bags through the earlier part of the season and is currently ranked in the top 87th percentile among hitters in sprint speed. He will bat in the nine-hole on Saturday afternoon, as he usually does, and will face 37-year-old
Carlos Carrasco, who enters this game with a hefty 5.50 ERA and could be a sneaky play in DFS today with this great matchup.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Shi Davidi
5 hours agoCleveland Guardians All-Star third baseman
Jose Ramirez will miss the rest of the series in Toronto against the Blue Jays this weekend after being placed on the paternity list ahead of the birth of his second child. Outfielder
Johnathan Rodriguez has been called up from Triple-A Columbus to take Ramirez's spot on the roster. Fantasy managers will need to take J-Ram out of their lineups for the rest of the weekend, but he should be back for the start of a series on Tuesday against the visiting Seattle Mariners. With Ramirez out on Saturday,
Daniel Schneemann is starting at third base and batting seventh. The 31-year-old Ramirez is still one of the better position players in the big leagues. He's currently slashing .269/.330/.534 with an .864 OPS, 18 home runs, 62 RBI, 11 stolen bases and 51 runs scored in 264 at-bats in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Cleveland Plain Dealer - Joe Noga
6 hours agoToronto Blue Jays infielder/outfielder
Davis Schneider is out of the starting lineup on Saturday versus the visiting Cleveland Guardians. With Schneider getting a breather, rookie
Spencer Horwitz is playing second base and batting leadoff, while rookie
Addison Barger will man third base and bat seventh against Guardians right-hander
Carlos Carrasco.
Daulton Varsho is also in left field and is batting fifth. Schneider is hitting only .230 (45-for-196) but has already matched his career-high in home runs with eight that he set in his rookie campaign in 2023, and he's also seen run in the leadoff spot this year with
George Springer struggling. The lefty-hitting Horwitz has been hot in his first six games in 2024 for Toronto, going 7-for-19 (.368). He'll be an interesting DFS sleeper in the leadoff spot against Carrasco.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Sportsnet.ca - Shi Davidi
6 hours agoToronto Blue Jays shortstop
Bo Bichette (calf) is dealing with a bit of right-calf soreness, according to manager John Schneider, and is out of the starting lineup on Saturday against the visiting Cleveland Guardians. The Blue Jays will keep an eye on how Bichette feels on Saturday and into Sunday. In addition to now being dinged up, Bichette has hit .204 (10-for-49) with no homers, four doubles, three RBI and 10 strikeouts in 13 games so far in June. Along with most of the Blue Jays hitters, he's disappointed in 2024 to the tune of a .237/.286/.342 slash line in 257 at-bats with only four homers, 28 RBI and four stolen bases. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now. With Bichette resting his calf on Saturday,
Isiah Kiner-Falefa is starting at short and batting eighth against Guardians right-hander
Carlos Carrasco. He has never faced Carrasco in his career.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Sportsnet.ca - Shi Davidi
6 hours agoChicago Cubs infielder
Michael Busch is not in the team's starting lineup on Saturday against the visiting division-rival St. Louis Cardinals. Busch will take a seat in favor of
Cody Bellinger, who is playing first base and hitting third in the order. Rookie
Pete Crow-Armstrong gets the start in center field and is batting eighth against Cardinals right-hander
Andre Pallante. The 26-year-old Busch is currently in the midst of a four-game hitting streak and is batting .333 (9-for-27) with no homers, no RBI and two doubles in 11 games since the calendar flipped to June. Still, Busch was much hotter to start his first season in Chicago and hasn't homered since May 28. Busch typically is in the lineup against righties, but Pallante has been much better against lefty hitters.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6 hours agoSt. Louis Cardinals rookie catcher
Pedro Pages is making another start behind the plate on Saturday and will bat in the nine-hole against the division-rival Chicago Cubs and left-hander
Shota Imanaga at Wrigley Field. Pages hit his first home run in the big leagues on Friday and will get a third straight start as a result. Regular catcher
Ivan Herrera is serving as the designated hitter and will bat sixth. The 25-year-old has seen an uptick in playing time of late, but he's gone just 4-for-32 (.125) on the season with the one home run, seven RBI and four runs scored in 16 games played in his first year in the majors. With
Willson Contreras (forearm) getting closer to a return from a fractured forearm, Pages is running out of time to impress the Cardinals.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
6
hours
agoOakland
Athletics
catcher
Shea
Langeliers,
second
baseman
Zack
Gelof
and
outfielder
Seth
Brown
are
all
getting
the
day
off
on
Saturday
against
the
hosting
Minnesota
Twins.
Kyle
McCannread more...
6 hours agoHouston Astros right-hander
Justin Verlander (neck) has been scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday versus the visiting Detroit Tigers due to "neck discomfort." Rookie right-hander
Spencer Arrighetti will now make the start in his place. Fantasy managers will want to check back soon for updates on why Verlander isn't making his scheduled start. The 41-year-old veteran hasn't looked great in his two starts in June against the Cardinals and Angels, allowing a combined eight earned runs on 14 hits (three homers) while walking two and striking out only seven. It's possible that he may not be fully, in which case the Astros could consider placing him on the injured list to rest him for a while. In any event, make sure to pull him out of your lineups for Saturday. Arrighetti hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in his last four starts and will have a nice matchup against Detroit.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Julia Morales
6 hours agoMinnesota Twins outfielders
Byron Buxton and
Max Kepler are both out of the lineup on Saturday against the visiting Oakland Athletics. Both Buxton and Kepler are swinging hot bats at the moment, but the Twins will give them a day off in the third game of the series. In his last four starts, Buxton has gone 7-for-15 with a homer, triple, six RBI and four runs scored. Kepler, meanwhile, has gone 4-for-7 with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored in the first two games of the series.
Manuel Margot is starting in center field and is batting eighth, while
Trevor Larnach is in right field for the Twins and in the two-hole against A's right-hander
Joey Estes.
Austin Martin also draws into the lineup in left field and will bat ninth. None of Margot, Larnach or Martin has ever faced Estes in their career.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
8 hours agoPhiladelphia Phillies third baseman
Alec Bohm went 3-for-5 with two RBI in Friday's 5-3 win over the Orioles. The first two hits were singles, but the last was a two-run double in the top of the 11th inning that would prove to be the game-winner. Bohm had been scuffling coming into the contest, having gone 4-for-33 (.121) over his last eight games, but overall is having the best season of his young career so far. The 27-year-old owns a .292-6-54-31-2 line with a .350 wOBA and 127 wRC+ on the season, while striking out at a low rate (13.7%) and leading all of baseball in doubles with 24.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
9 hours agoPhiladelphia Phillies reliever
Seranthony Dominguez earned his first save of the season in Friday's 5-3 victory over the Orioles. Dominguez picked this one up in the 11th inning after usual closers
Jose Alvarado and
Jeff Hoffman had already been used. After starting the season with a 7.71 ERA and 1.64 WHIP over his first 16 appearances, Friday's outing marked the righty's 10th straight scoreless appearance in which he's posted a 0.00 ERA, 0.52 WHIP, and a 2:7 BB:K. Dominguez has been good of late, but don't count on too many more save chances unless something were to happen to Alvarado and Hoffman.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
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