17 hours agoKansas City Royals right-hander
Brady Singer will aim to stay consistent when he takes on the hosting Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. The 27-year-old has allowed just one earned run in four of his last five outings and two earned runs or fewer in eight of his 10 starts on the season. Add it up and Singer has tossed a 2.70 ERA across 10 starts and 56 2/3 innings of work on the season while going 4-2 in the process. It's a nice bounceback for the righty as Singer scuffled to a 5.52 ERA and a diminished 18.9% K% in 2023. The punchouts have jumped to a healthy 26.1% clip in the 2024 campaign, the highest single-season mark of his career. The Rays have some swing and miss in their game as they sit 24th with a 24.2% K% on the season.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
18 hours agoTampa Bay Rays first basement
Yandy Diaz is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's contest against the visiting Kansas City Royals. Diaz doubled as part of an 8-1 loss on Friday out of the leadoff spot but will take a seat to begin the weekend tilt.
Jonathan Aranda will take over at first base and hit out of the cleanup spot on Saturday. It's been a solid yet unspectacular season for the 32-year-old on the heels of a massive 2023 campaign. Diaz is hitting .255 with four homers and a .683 OPS across 51 games on the season, numbers that are well below his .330 average and 22 homers alongside a .932 OPS in an even 600 plate appearances a season ago. The Rays sit at 25-27 entering Saturday's contest.
--Brenton Kemp - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
19 hours agoNew York Yankees infielder
Jon Berti (leg) exited Friday's game early due to a lower leg injury. Berti collapsed in serious pain after grounding out in the ninth inning and was eventually helped off the field. This is not a good sign as this injury could be quite serious as he could not put any pressure on his left leg. If Berti were to miss any time,
Jahmai Jones should be expected to take over the utility role in the Yankees lineup. Across the 17 games he appeared in this season, the 34-year-old has posted a solid .273 AVG with four stolen bases and one home run. Jones has posted a .250 AVG with one home run and should remain on all waiver wires for the foreseeable future.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Chris Kirschner
19 hours agoTexas Rangers starting pitcher
Jon Gray (groin) is expected to return shortly after his minimum stint on the 15-day injured list. Gray left his most recent start on May 21 against Philadelphia with a groin strain. The 32-year-old performed quite well through his first ten starts with a 2.21 ERA and 1.19 WHIP and tallied 56 punchouts in 57 innings. Gray currently sports an above-average 44.8% ground ball rate and 7.4% barrel rate, which suggests that his strong start to the season could be sustainable. Gray is rostered in 54% of all Yahoo leagues and is worth adding if available in your league, as he should continue to provide stable ratios and solid strikeout numbers over the course of the season.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Texas Rangers
19 hours agoTexas Rangers starting pitcher
Jose Urena (ankle) was removed early from his start on Friday due to swelling in his right ankle. Urena was hit by a comebacker early in the game, and swelling began to increase as soon as he took the mound in the sixth inning. Texas Manager Bruce Bochy expressed that he was not concerned with the injury and that Urena would undergo further testing on Saturday. As of now, the 32-year-old should be expected to make his next start on Friday, May 31, against the Miami Marlins. Urena should only be rostered in deeper AL-only formats as he currently holds a 3.53 ERA and 1.27 WHIP and has tallied only 30 punchouts in 43 ⅓ innings this season. He should be expected to remain in the rotation for the foreseeable future but could shift to the bullpen once
Max Scherzer (back),
Nathan Eovaldi (groin), and
Jon Gray (groin) all return from injuries.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Texas Rangers
20 hours agoTexas Rangers outfielder
Wyatt Langford (hamstring) tallied a hit, a run, and a walk in his first rehab game on Friday evening while serving as the designated hitter for Triple-A Round Rock. He hit three balls over 100 mph, including his single, which is a great sign. Langford is expected to rejoin the major league roster on Tuesday when the Rangers open a two-game World Series rematch as they host the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, Langford should be expected to start at least one game in the outfield before being activated off the injured list. The former number four overall selection in the 2023 MLB Draft struggled through his first 31 games in the majors with a .224/.295/.293 line. Despite the slow start, the former Florida Gator should remain a lineup lock going forward and could become a very valuable fantasy asset once he finds his footing.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
20 hours agoSan Francisco Giants outfielder
Jorge Soler and shortstop Macro Luciano are not in Saturday's lineup. Soler has started in every game since returning from the injured list with an injured shoulder and has performed well with a .267/.333/.467 line highlighted by a solo shot on Friday evening. Luciano has started at shortstop over the past seven games and posted a stellar .429/.500/.619 line. As a result,
Patrick Bailey will serve as the designated hitter and bat third on Saturday afternoon, and
Brett Wisely will serve as the shortstop and bat in the nine-hole. Bailey is worth a look in DFS as he enters Saturday with a strong .301/.352/.495 line with four long balls and two stolen bases. He will face
Luis Severino, who enters Saturday with a 3.48 ERA and 1.22 WHIP.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: San Francisco Giants
20 hours agoSan Francisco Giants outfielder/first baseman
LaMonte Wade Jr. (hamstring) tweaked his hamstring in the ninth inning on Friday evening and will be getting a day off to recover on Saturday. As a result,
Wilmer Flores will play first base and bat in the fifth hole. Wade Jr. has been one of the best all-around hitters throughout the young part of the season. He is currently placed in the top 98th and 96th percentile with a .416 xwOBA and .312 xBA, respectively. In addition, he currently holds a 20.4% walk rate, which is the best in baseball. This injury does not seem serious, so Wade Jr. could rejoin the starting lineup on Sunday. Flores is probably best to fade this afternoon in DFS as he enters Saturday with a poor.215 AVG and .207 xBA as he will face
Luis Severino who has allowed just one run or less in four in just under half of his starts this season.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: Susan Slusser
20 hours agoKansas City Royals second baseman
Michael Massey (back) is being held out of the starting lineup on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays after injuring his back on Friday night in the series opener. Massey left Friday's 8-1 win in the sixth inning with lower-back tightness and will be held out as a precaution for the second game of the series. Fantasy managers should consider the 26-year-old second baseman to be day-to-day for now. The good news is that he went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run before departing. Veteran
Adam Frazier is starting at the keystone on Saturday and is hitting sixth against Rays right-hander
Aaron Civale. Massey is in the midst of a fine season so far, batting .294 (30-for-102) with six home runs, 23 RBI and 17 runs scored for the upstart Royals. Check back on Sunday to see if he's in the starting lineup.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Kansas City Royals
21 hours agoWhen asked if relief pitcher
Edwin Diaz could receive a ninth-inning opportunity on Saturday against the visiting San Francisco Giants, New York Mets manager
Carlos Mendoza said, "He's our closer." However, Mendoza also referred to Diaz as "one of our options" and said "we'll piece it together." This comes after the skipper recently said last Sunday that Diaz's bullpen role would be more "fluid" given his recent struggles. The 30-year-old flamethrower allowed a season-high four earned runs on four hits (one homer) in just one-third of an inning last weekend but struck out two in a scoreless inning on Friday against the Giants for his second hold of the year. Diaz has already blown three saves in 2024 and hasn't recorded a save since May 6, but the Mets could work him back into the role if he can settle down and stack a few more good outings together.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Anthony DiComo
21 hours agoThe Tampa Bay Rays placed outfielder
Josh Lowe (oblique) on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 23) on Saturday with a right-oblique strain and reinstated right-hander
Chris Devenski (knee) from the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move. It will be the second time this year already that Lowe has been put on the IL, and fantasy managers should expect him to miss more than 10 days given the nature of his injury. The 26-year-old left-handed hitter left Wednesday's game early against the Boston Red Sox with right-side tightness, and an MRI exam on Thursday showed a dreaded oblique strain. Lowe's power/speed upside makes him worth stashing in all fantasy formats again while he's hurt. In the meantime, the biggest beneficiary in Tampa's outfield with Lowe hurt will most likely be
Jonny DeLuca.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Rays Communications
21 hours agoMilwaukee Brewers left-hander
Jared Koenig is serving as the opener against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Saturday for the second straight day. Koenig will be followed by starter
Colin Rea this time around. Koenig joins
Zack Greinke as the only Brewers pitchers to start consecutive games. In his "start" in Friday's series opener in Beantown, Koenig allowed a hit and a walk and struck out one in two-thirds of an inning before giving way to right-hander
Bryse Wilson. The 30-year-old southpaw won't go very long again in Saturday's contest and isn't a realistic fantasy streaming option. Rea, meanwhile, will still be worth considering as a deep-league streamer despite not actually starting this game. In his nine starts for the Brew Crew this year, he's gone 3-2 with a solid 4.07 ERA (4.67 FIP) and 1.39 WHIP while walking 17 and striking out 35 in 48 2/3 innings.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Adam McCalvy
21 hours agoThe Chicago White Sox reinstated rookie infielder
Bryan Ramos (quadriceps) from the 10-day injured list on Saturday and optioned outfielder
Zach DeLoach to Triple-A Charlotte in a corresponding move. Ramos, the team's No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, is starting at third base and is batting sixth for the White Sox in his return from the IL on Saturday against the visiting Baltimore Orioles and right-hander
Albert Suarez. The 22-year-old is returning from a mild left-quadriceps strain and should continue to play regularly moving forward for the rebuilding White Sox. In his first 10 contests in the big leagues, the Cuban infielder has held his own, going 9-for-32 (.281), although he has yet to hit his first home run. In two minor-league rehab starts with Charlotte, he went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two walks.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Chicago White Sox
21 hours agoBaltimore Orioles outfielder
Cedric Mullins and infielder
Jorge Mateo are both sitting out of the lineup on Saturday against the Chicago White Sox.
Kyle Stowers will draw into the lineup in left field and will hit eighth, while
Ramon Urias will play third base and bat ninth against White Sox right-hander
Erick Fedde. Rookie
Colton Cowser shifts over to center field and will hit sixth in the batting order. Mullins' fantasy stock continues to fall after going hitless on Friday to drop his season line to .195/.242/.336, although he does have six home runs, 20 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 149 at-bats for the O's. Stowers has only played in seven games in his third big-league season in 2024 and has gone 2-for-8 with an RBI and three strikeouts. He represents a low-upside DFS option near the bottom of the Baltimore batting order on Saturday.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Baltimore Orioles
21 hours agoToronto Blue Jays catcher
Danny Jansen is taking the day off on Saturday in Detroit with the team taking on the Tigers. With Jansen riding the pine,
Alejandro Kirk will step in to catch right-hander
Jose Berrios while batting sixth against Tigers right-hander
Reese Olson. Jansen got a late start to the 2024 season due to injury, but he didn't let the late start get to him, as he's currently hitting .313 (25-for-80) with five home runs, 13 RBI and 16 runs as he shares playing time with Kirk at catcher in Toronto. He has 18 hits in 54 at-bats (.333 average) in the month of May with three homers and 11 RBI. Kirk, meanwhile, hasn't been nearly as reliable for fantasy managers with a .207/.297/.287 slash line with just one long ball and 13 RBI in his 87 at-bats.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Toronto Blue Jays
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