9 hours agoChicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch played the hero in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Padres. Busch went 2-for-4 with a single, a walk-off home run, and a strikeout. The 26-year-old has cooled off at the plate but is still slashing a respectable .262/.316/.500 with seven HR and 19 RBI in 136 plate appearances. Hopefully, he can get things firing on all cylinders again.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoChicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga continued his stellar start to the season in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Padres. Imanaga pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits (including a two-run home run) and a walk with eight strikeouts. The 30-year-old has been everything fantasy managers could have hoped for and is now 5-0 with a 1.08 ERA, a 9.29 K/9 rate, and a 1.08 BB/9 rate in seven starts and 41 2/3 IP. His next scheduled start will be a tougher one at the Braves, but Imanaga has pitched too well to sit.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoNew York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo played his part in Tuesday's 10-3 win over the Astros. Verdugo went 3-for-5 with two singles, a three-run home run, and four RBI. The 27-year-old has brought more pop than expected and is slashing .275/.362/.450 with five HR and 17 RBI in 141 plate appearances. His fantasy value would be boosted if he continues to hit for power and average in a strong lineup.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoHouston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander did not have his good stuff in Tuesday's 10-3 loss to the Yankees. Verlander pitched five innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits (including three home runs) and three walks with two strikeouts. The veteran pitched well in his first three starts but this one brought his ERA all the way up to 4.43, and his 6.04 K/9 rate and 4.03 BB/9 rate leave room for improvement. Verlander should have an opportunity to find it in his next scheduled start, which is a favorable matchup at the Tigers.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoLos Angeles Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe had a nice day at the plate in Tuesday's 9-0 win over the Pirates. O'Hoppe went 4-for-5 with four singles and two RBI. The 24-year-old backstop has put together a decent offensive campaign so far and is now slashing .279/.330/.404 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 113 plate appearances.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoLos Angeles Angels starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval improved to 2-5 in Tuesday's 9-0 win over the Pirates. Sandoval pitched seven innings, allowing just three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. The 27-year-old has provided plenty of strikeouts but has been erratic and now owns a 4.85 ERA with a 10.38 K/9 rate and a 3.92 BB/9 rate in eight starts and 39 IP. His next scheduled start is a middling matchup against the Royals. Fantasy managers may want to keep him on the bench if possible until he can provide that he can pitch well consistently.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoPhiladelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez turned in his best start of the season in Tuesday's 10-1 win over the Blue Jays. Sanchez pitched seven innings, allowing one run on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts. The 27-year-old hasn't had the most exciting start to the season, but he is now 2-3 with a 3.22 ERA, an 8.42 K/9 rate, and a 3.72 BB/9 rate in seven starts and 36 1/3 IP. He will look to build on his success in his next scheduled start, which will be a decent matchup at a middling Mets lineup.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoPhiladelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper extended his home-run streak to three consecutive games in Tuesday's 10-1 rout of the Blue Jays. Harper went 3-for-3 with two singles, a grand slam, and a walk. The 31-year-old has started to find his offensive stride and is now slashing .263/.389/.534 with nine HR and 28 RBI in 144 plate appearances. Hopefully, he can continue to extend his hot streak in the coming days.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoToronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios hit his first snag of the season in Tuesday's 10-1 loss to the Phillies. Berrios pitched 3 2/3 innings, allowing eight runs on seven hits (including two home runs) and two walks with seven strikeouts. He also hit two batters. Despite the rough outing, the 29-year-old has pitched well this season with a 4-3 record, a 2.85 ERA, a 7.23 K/9 rate, and a 2.85 BB/9 rate. Things won't get easier for him in his next scheduled start at the Orioles, but hopefully, Berrios can pitch more in line with his season numbers.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoArizona Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald (oblique) saw his first action of the season in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Reds. Sewald was activated from the 15-day injured list earlier in the day after recovering from an oblique strain. He pitched the bottom of the ninth inning up by five and allowed a solo home run with a strikeout. The result wasn't great, but the encouraging thing is that Sewald is now a fantasy-relevant closer once again. He accumulated 34 saves last season with a 32.1% strikeout rate, so he should be slotted right back into fantasy manager's lineups.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoArizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zac Gallen continued his strong season in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Reds. Gallen pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and three walks with six strikeouts. The 28-year-old has looked like a fantasy ace, going 4-2 with a 2.84 ERA and a 9.71 K/9 rate in seven starts and 38 IP. His next scheduled start will be a test at the Orioles, but Gallen is a must-start fantasy option at this point.Source: MLB.com
10 hours agoArizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll had a stellar night at the plate in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Reds. Carroll went 2-for-5 out of the leadoff spot with a single, a three-run home run, five RBI, and a strikeout. The power display was a nice sight, as the 23-year-old has slashed just .211/.300/.278 with two HR, 12 RBI, and eight stolen bases in 150 plate appearances. Hopefully, he can start to get things back on track for fantasy managers.Source: MLB.com
11 hours agoDetroit Tigers infielder Andy Ibanez went yard twice in Tuesday's 11-7 win over the division-rival Cleveland Guardians, piling up four hits and four RBI in the high-scoring affair. Ibanez took Guardians left-hander Logan Allen deep to open the game, tagging the southpaw for another long ball to score three more runs in the second frame. The 31-year-old utility man raised his average by nearly 100 points with the four-hit attack, now batting .364 (12-for-33) with two big flies, one double, seven RBI, and seven runs scored across 13 games. With top prospect Colt Keith scuffling at the plate to begin his major-league career, Ibanez could push for more playing time at the keystone with continued hot hitting. Ibanez gets another date with Cleveland on Wednesday. In 17 career games versus the Guardians, Ibanez is now hitting a ridiculous .441 (26-for-59) with nine extra-base hits and 15 RBI.Source: MLB
12 hours agoSan Francisco Giants outfielder Rayner Arias (wrist) is dealing with a left-wrist sprain after diving for a ball in the outfield recently while playing for the team's rookie-ball affiliate in the Arizona Complex League. It's an injury worth watching after the young outfielder broke the same wrist on a similar play in 2023. Arias is only 18 years old but has looked impressive in back-to-back spring training appearances. If the team's No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, can get past his recent wrist injury before the ACL season ends in July, he could be promoted to Single-A San Jose to finish out the 2024 campaign. In the long term, Arias profiles as a big, physical corner outfielder with heart-of-the-order power potential. But he's still at least several years from being a candidate for the major-league roster, and he's going to need to stay healthy to realize his potential.Source: FanGraphs - Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice
12 hours agoTampa Bay Rays infielder Junior Caminero is slashing a gaudy .324/.378/.662 with six home runs, five doubles, 16 RBI, and 12 runs scored over 68 at-bats (17 games) with Triple-A Durham this season, but Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times believes it's unlikely that Caminero will get called up anytime soon, barring an injury to a key player. The Rays want to make sure Caminero is ready physically, with both the bat and glove, and that he fits somewhere on the current team before promoting him. They also don't want a repeat of young top prospects with other teams who have struggled this season, including Jackson Holliday, Jackson Chourio, and Wyatt Langford. The 20-year-old Caminero is MLB Pipeline's No. 4 prospect for 2024, and RotoBaller's Eric Cross still ranks Caminero as the top prospect to stash in redraft fantasy leagues and expects Tampa to elevate him in May.Source: Marc Topkin - Tampa Bay Times