May 18, 2025
The Minnesota Twins have officially promoted right-handed pitcher
Zebby Matthews from Triple-A St. Paul ahead of his season debut on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Twins also promoted outfielder
Carson McCusker. In a corresponding move, the Twins shifted infield prospect
Luke Keaschall to the 60-day injured list and placed left-handed pitcher
Danny Coulombe on the 15-day injured list with a left forearm extensor strain. Fantasy managers should consider adding Matthews in all standard formats as he could carve out a permanent role in the rotation going forward, with
Simeon Woods Richardson now in Triple-A. Through 32 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season, Matthews has posted a 1.93 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Minnesota Twins
May 18, 2025
Houston Astros shortstop
Jeremy Pena will receive his first day off of the season on Sunday when they conclude a series against the Texas Rangers. Pena has been in the starting nine in each of their first 45 games of the 2025 campaign. Through this stretch, the 27-year-old has been effective at the plate, posting a .301/.356/.451 slash line with eight doubles, six home runs, and six stolen bases. He has tallied 23 RBI and scored 23 runs. Under the hood, he has generated an elite .294 xBA (94th percentile) and struck out at an impressive 14.6% rate (88th percentile). This afternoon,
Mauricio Dubon will cover shortstop and bat in the nine-hole. Fantasy managers should expect Pena to return to the starting nine on Monday when they begin a series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Brian McTaggart
May 18, 2025
Cincinnati Reds infielder/outfielder
Gavin Lux (back) is returning to the starting nine on Sunday to face the Cleveland Guardians. Lux is slated to cover left field and will bat in the five-hole. Lux was scratched from Saturday's lineup with lower back spasms. However, this injury was relatively minor as he was cleared to return the following day. Through his first 42 games with Cincinnati, Lux has posted a solid .297/.368/.407 slash line with one home run and one stolen base. He has generated a .270 xBA, which places him in the 68th percentile among active hitters. Lux has also shown a strong eye at the plate, drawing walks at a 12.7% rate and striking out at a 22.3% rate. This afternoon, he is a strong play in DFS, facing Cleveland right-hander
Luis L. Ortiz.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Cincinnati Reds
May 18, 2025
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitching prospect
Mick Abel was officially promoted ahead of his MLB debut on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In a corresponding move, the Phillies optioned right-handed pitcher
Daniel Robert to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Abel is set to be the temporary replacement in the rotation for
Aaron Nola (ankle), who was placed on the 15-day IL earlier this week. However, veteran
Taijuan Walker is expected to take Abel's spot in the rotation next week. Through his first 46 1/3 innings this season at Triple-A, Abel has posted a solid 2.53 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP. He has struck out 51 batters and served up 19 free passes. Facing a struggling Pittsburgh offense, the No. 8-ranked prospect in the Philadelphia system does have deep-league streaming appeal this afternoon.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Philadelphia Phillies
May 18, 2025
The Baltimore Orioles are expected to place outfielder
Tyler O'Neill (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list prior to their contest against the Washington Nationals on Sunday. O'Neill was scratched from Friday's contest due to shoulder soreness. He was also unable to play on Saturday. Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner reported that the Orioles will promote outfielder
Dylan Carlson in a corresponding move. Over his last seven contests, O'Neill has posted a modest .067/.263/.067 line with a 6:4 K:BB and two stolen bases. Through his first 24 games in Baltimore, O'Neill has struggled, posting a .188/.280/.325 slash line with two home runs and two stolen bases. Under the hood, he has generated a strong 16.4% barrel rate. While he is sidelined,
Heston Kjerstad and Carlson should split time in right field.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Andy Kostka
May 18, 2025
Chicago Cubs shortstop
Dansby Swanson continued his hot month of May against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. Swanson started off his day with a single, steal, and a run scored in the second inning. He would later smack a solo home run off
Sean Burke in the fifth inning. Swanson would finish this game 2-for-3 with a solo homer, one RBI, two steals, and two walks in the win. The veteran shortstop is hitting .389 with three homers and eight RBI over his last 11 games. Fantasy managers should keep him in their starting lineups going forward.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
May 18, 2025
Philadelphia Phillies second baseman
Bryson Stott came into this game in a bad slump, but was able to have a productive game on Saturday. Stott connected on a solo home run off right-hander
Carmen Mlodzinski in the third inning. He did a little bit of everything in this game as he went 2-for-5 with a homer, three RBI, two runs scored, and a stolen base in the win. Hopefully this nice performance will help Stott get back on track. Despite his slump, Stott is still worth rostering and starting in most 12-team formats.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
May 18, 2025
Texas Rangers outfielder
Wyatt Langford put together a nice outing at the plate during Saturday's game against the Houston Astros. Langford got his team on the board with an RBI single in the third inning. He smacked a home run in the seventh inning to give his team another insurance run. Langford ended this game going 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBI, and a stolen base in the win. The 23-year-old doesn't have pretty slash line, but does have three homers over his last six games. Langford also has eight steals on the season, which does help his fantasy value. He does enough at the plate to be valuable despite a lackluster slash line.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
May 18, 2025
Los Angeles Dodgers utility man
Enrique Hernandez got on base in all five plate appearances in Saturday's 11-9 loss to the Angels, going 2-for-2 with his seventh home run of the year and drawing three walks. The 33-year-old recorded one RBI and scored three times in the contest as well. Since May 7, the veteran is 10-for-27 (.370) with a double, two home runs, three RBI, eight runs scored, and a 4:4 BB:K, hitting up and down the Dodger lineup and playing all over the field. His positional versatility (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, and OF on Yahoo!) makes him an appealing waiver add in season-long leagues while he's hitting well, and can be a cheap DFS option in good matchups. Speaking of which, the right-handed hitter will face off against lefty
Yusei Kikuchi in Sunday's series finale, whom he is 5-for-16 off of lifetime with a double, two walks, and zero strikeouts.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
May 18, 2025
Seattle Mariners catcher
Cal Raleigh continued his impressive stretch of play during Saturday's game against the San Diego Padres. Raleigh was fairly quiet at the plate until hitting a go-ahead home run off left-hander
Adrian Morejon in the seventh inning. He finished his day 1-for-2 with that solo homer and two walks in the win. Raleigh is putting together an impressive week at the plate. Over the last five games, Raleigh is 6-for-17 with three homers and six RBI. Raleigh is a great source of power with 15 homers on the season and plays excellent defense. He is someone that needs to be rostered and started in all fantasy formats.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
May 18, 2025
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder
Andy Pages went 2-for-5 in Saturday's 11-9 loss to the Angels, hitting his ninth home run of the season and driving in three runs in the game. The 6-foot-1 slugger got off to a slow start this year, but since a multi-hit game on April 22, he's hit .371 (36-for-97), and has now put together a .288/.341/.506 slash line with a .368 wOBA and a 136 wRC+ for the season, which puts the Dominican within the top 15 among outfielders in fantasy scoring. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up this type of production throughout the season, and hitting in the middle of the Dodger lineup should help, but with a 21st-percentile hard-hit rate, 37th-percentile average EV, and an xBA of .260, some regression may eventually be coming.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
May 18, 2025
Colorado Rockies shortstop
Ezequiel Tovar came up clutch for his team during Saturday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. This was Tovar's second game back after missing time on the injured list due to a hip contusion. It appears that injury is behind him as Tovar was hitting everything thrown at him on Saturday. He went 5-for-6 at the plate, which included a solo home run in the third inning. The five knocks was a career-high for Tovar as he also notched three singles and a triple in the win on Saturday. The 23-year-old figures to be a force in the middle of the Rockies batting order. Tovar should be rostered in most 12-team fantasy formats right now.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
May 18, 2025
Boston Red Sox outfielder
Jarren Duran singled and hit a two-run home run in a 2-for-5 day at the plate, collecting four RBI in the team's 7-6 win over the Braves on Saturday. It could have been an even more fruitful fantasy performance, but he was caught stealing once. The left-handed hitter has had a productive season thus far, hitting .262 with three home runs, 27 RBI, 24 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases, putting him in the top 24 in fantasy scoring among outfielders. Even with yesterday's home run, the 28-year-old is on pace for 10 home runs, far less than the 21 he hit last season, which will surely disappoint fantasy managers who were expecting more, but he's also on pace for 40 steals, which would be more than the 34 he swiped last year.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
May 18, 2025
Los Angeles Angels outfielder
Matthew Lugo has seen increased playing time over the last week or so. Lugo has started in each of the last three games and played in seven straight contests. Since being called up, Lugo is batting .381 with three homers and six RBI. He has collected five hits over the last three games, which includes a 2-for-5 performance with a solo homer on Saturday. He figures to continue seeing regular playing time until
Mike Trout (knee) returns to the lineup. Lugo isn't a great fantasy option, but is worth a look in deep leagues or AL-only formats.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: mlb.com
May 18, 2025
Colorado Rockies catcher
Hunter Goodman went 3-for-6 in Saturday's 14-12 win over the Diamondbacks, with a single, a double, and a home run in the contest. He collected four RBI and scored twice as well. The 25-year-old has five multi-hit efforts in his last eight games, which has pushed his season slash line to .300/.354/.506 with seven home runs, 29 RBI, and 24 runs scored in 43 games (175 PA). Somewhat surprisingly, the former fourth-round draft pick is the second-highest scoring catcher for fantasy right now, and should continue to be an RBI producer while he's hitting cleanup for Colorado. He can still be found on the waiver wire in over 30 percent of leagues, is OF eligible on Yahoo! as well, and has a seven-game homestand at Coors Field beginning Monday.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
RADIO
