11 hours agoTampa Bay Rays second baseman
Brandon Lowe (oblique) is restarting a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Saturday and could return from the injured list to rejoin the Rays on Monday against the Boston Red Sox. Lowe played in four rehab games with Durham before suffering a setback, but he's back on track and should be back in the big leagues unless he suffers another setback this weekend. The 29-year-old left-handed hitter originally landed on the injured list on April 12 with a strained right oblique. At least against right-handed pitching, Lowe will return to second base duties for the Rays when he's ready to be reinstated. The former third-round selection in 2015 out of Maryland was an All-Star in 2019 and had a career-high 39 dingers in 2021, but he's had trouble staying healthy and has played in over 100 games in two of his six MLB seasons.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
11 hours agoChicago Cubs middle infielder
Nico Hoerner (hamstring) was still feeling his hamstring issue on Thursday and was held out of the lineup again in Friday's loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He's still being considered day-to-day and is hoping to avoid a stint on
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11 hours agoThe Los Angeles Dodgers optioned outfielder
James Outman to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday to make room on the active roster for outfielder
Jason Heyward (back), who was activated from the 10-day injured list. Outman impressed with 23 home runs, 70 RBI and 16 stolen bases in his first full big-league season in 2023 with the Blue, but he hasn't been able to replicate that so far in 2024, slashing .147/.250/.266 with three homers, 10 RBI and two stolen bases in 36 games. Rookie sensation
Andy Pages basically took over the strong side of a platoon with Outman in center field before Outman's demotion on Friday. The demotion is good news for fantasy managers that swooped on Pages quickly. The 27-year-old Outman will now need to make some adjustments in the minors before he'll get another opportunity against right-handed pitching in the big leagues.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Los Angeles Dodgers
11 hours agoThe Los Angeles Dodgers activated outfielder
Jason Heyward (back) from the injured list on Friday and optioned outfielder
James Outman to the minors in a corresponding move. Heyward is right back in the starting lineup on Friday, playing in right field and batting eighth against Cincinnati Reds right-hander
Frankie Montas. The 34-year-old left-handed hitter landed on the injured list all the way back on April 3 with lower-back tightness and had some setbacks during his recovery. He was hitless in six at-bats with Triple-A Oklahoma City on a two-game minor-league rehab assignment and had gone just 3-for-14 with two RBI for the Dodgers to open the season before landing on the shelf. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues should expect Heyward to be on the strong side of a platoon in right field now that he's healthy.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Los Angeles Dodgers
11 hours agoBoston Red Sox rookie outfielder/infielder
Ceddanne Rafaela is sitting out on Friday on the road in St. Louis against the Cardinals. Rafaela has played as the team's center fielder and shortstop so far in just his second year in the big leagues, showing just how athletic he is on the diamond. He's not as advanced at the plate, though, and is hitting just .201 (30-for-149) with four home runs, 23 RBI, four stolen bases and 18 runs scored. Rafaela has been a bit better in May with a .234 average (11-for-47) with two homers and six RBI in 14 games played. With Rafaela getting a day of rest in the series opener at Busch Stadium,
David Hamilton is getting the start at shortstop and will hit in the nine-hole against Cardinals right-hander
Kyle Gibson. Hamilton isn't a recommended DFS play at the position.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
11 hours agoHouston Astros outfielder/designated hitter
Yordan Alvarez is getting a day off on Friday in the series opener in Milwaukee against the Brewers. With Alvarez out,
Yainer Diaz will serve as the team's designated hitter and will bat fifth against Brewers right-hander
Freddy Peralta. Alvarez has been disappointing by his standards and has gone just 13-for-56 (.232) with one home run, two RBI and 15 strikeouts in 62 plate appearances in the first 15 games in the month of May. We'd expect the 26-year-old left-handed slugger to turn things around sooner than later at the plate, and he'll get a day off to clear his head on Friday. Diaz, 25, makes for a decent DFS play in the five-hole against a pitcher he's never faced in his career. In 159 at-bats so far in 2024, Diaz is slashing .270/.302/.390 with three home runs and 21 RBI for the 'Stros.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Houston Chronicle - Matt Kawahara
12 hours agoTexas Rangers right-handers
Dane Dunning (shoulder) and
Nathan Eovaldi (groin) were scheduled to throw bullpen sessions on Friday. If all goes well with Dunning's bullpen, he could return from the injured list next week to pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies. Dunning was put on the 15-day injured list on May 8 with a strained right rotator cuff, but he also threw a bullpen on Tuesday and is approaching his return to the starting rotation. He's been up and down so far this year and would make for an extremely shaky streaming option without going on a minor-league rehab assignment if he faces the Phillies next week. Eovaldi's bullpen will mark his first time throwing off the mound since suffering a right-groin strain on May 3. The 34-year-old isn't going to come off the IL when eligible on Saturday, but the hard-throwing right-hander deserves to be stashed in all fantasy leagues after his strong start to 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Dallas Morning News - Evan Grant
12 hours agoTexas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said that outfielder
Evan Carter (back) will be available off the bench on Friday versus the Los Angeles Angels. Carter is dealing with lower-back inflammation and has not played since May 10, but it's a good sign that he's at least available to play later in the series opener against the Angels. The 21-year-old lefty swinger received a cortisone injection in his back on Monday and could be ready to rejoin the starting lineup this weekend on either Saturday or Sunday. After an impressive showing in his rookie season in 2023 while helping the Rangers win their first championship, Carter is struggling in his first full campaign, batting .216/.303/.416 with five homers and 15 RBI in 142 plate appearances. Carter's upside makes him stash-worthy in all leagues, though.
Ezequiel Duran is starting in left field again and will bat seventh against Angels left-hander
Tyler Anderson.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Kennedi Landry
12 hours agoThe Los Angeles Dodgers placed third baseman
Max Muncy (oblique) on the 10-day injured list on Friday with a right-oblique strain. Muncy didn't play the series opener on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds, and now we know why. Given the nature of the injury and the fact that Muncy is on the wrong side of 30, he's almost certainly going to miss more than 10 days as he tries to recover from this injury. Muncy isn't helping fantasy teams at all with his batting average, but his power and run production make him worth stashing in all fantasy formats. He currently has nine home runs and 28 RBI in 167 plate appearances in 2024. The Dodgers called up infielder
Miguel Vargas from the minors on Friday, and both he and
Enrique Hernandez could share playing time at the hot corner for the next several weeks with Muncy out.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Fabian Ardaya
12 hours agoBoston Red Sox starting pitcher
Garrett Whitlock (elbow) is scheduled to undergo additional testing on Monday. This is frustrating after Whitlock looked strong during his latest minor league rehab outing on Wednesday. The plan was for Whitlock to return to the team next week, but that looks like it has changed. The 27-year-old will now have more testing done due to elbow soreness. Fantasy managers will need to be patient as the team should provide another update following his evaluation.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: Ian Browne
12 hours agoArizona Diamondbacks outfielder
Joc Pederson (rest) has been scratched from the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Detroit Tigers. Manager Torey Lovullo said that Pederson is fine and that he just decided he would rather use him off the bench. The assumption is that the D-Backs decided to play matchups with left-handed
Tarik Skubal on the mound for Detroit.
Jake McCarthy will start in his place in right field while
Randal Grichuk will function as the team's designated hitter on Friday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: Jesse Friedman
12 hours agoSan Francisco Giants outfielder
Jung Hoo Lee (shoulder) is reportedly scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery. The expectation was that Lee would miss significant time after crashing into the wall last weekend. The rookie outfielder will need season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder. This is an awful blow to the Giants roster as Lee was only able to play in 37 games during his first season with the Giants. The expectation is that
Luis Matos will get significant playing time with Lee out of the picture for the rest of 2024.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: Andrew Baggarly
12 hours agoSan Francisco Giants outfielder
Jorge Soler (shoulder) has been activated from the injured list on Friday. The slugging outfielder is back in the lineup after missing time due to a lingering shoulder issue. He'll serve as the designated hitter and bat leadoff against right-hander
Ryan Feltner on Friday. Soler has been off to a slow start this season but hopefully some time off helped him get back on track. Fantasy managers who have Soler rostered should make sure to get him back in their lineups on Friday.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
12 hours agoSan Francisco Giants starting pitcher
Keaton Winn (forearm) has been placed on the 15-day injured list on Friday. Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters earlier in the week that Winn was dealing with a mild strain and he'd likely be placed on the injured list. As a result, right-hander
Mason Black has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. The hard-throwing righty has made two lackluster starts for the Giants this season. Black has all the tools to be a legitimate option at the big league level. He has a favorable matchup against the Colorado Rockies lineup, but remains a shaky streaming choice.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: Amy Gutierrez
13 hours agoPittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher
Paul Skenes made his second career start against the Chicago Cubs. His debut last week was a bit underwhelming, but Skenes made easy work of the Cubs lineup this time around. The right-hander struck out the first six batters he faced to begin the game. Skenes would punch out a total of 11 batters over six innings of no-hit baseball on Friday. The Pirates didn't want to push anything, so they did pull Skenes out of the game instead of letting him go for the no-hitter. The Cubs would eventually score off the bullpen, but the Pirates still took the game 9-3. Skenes is everything as advertised and is looking like an elite fantasy option.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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