6 hours agoToronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano safeguarded Sunday's win over the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays, recording the final out for his seventh save of the year. After Isaac Paredes got to Zach Pop for a two-run home run, it became a save situation for Romano to handle. He needed just four pitches (all sliders) to put away Jonny DeLuca and wrap things up in the ninth inning. The 31-year-old two-time All-Star stopper has endured a rocky start to the season after also missing the early stages with an elbow problem, posting a 4.91 ERA and 1.36 WHIP over 11 innings thus far, but he's converted seven of his eight save opportunities with a 10:3 K:BB for the Jays and remains Toronto's favorite for ninth-inning work moving ahead.Source: Baseball Reference
7 hours agoToronto Blue Jays designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach exploded with three hits in Sunday's win over the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays, homering, doubling, and singling with three runs scored. Having barely played for the Jays in 2024, Vogelbach came out nowhere with this effort after first tagging Rays right-hander Aaron Civale for a solo shot to get Toronto on the scoreboard in the second inning. Don't expect Sunday's performance to become a habit for the 31-year-old righty masher, who is still batting just .171 with a .594 OPS, the aforementioned homer, and four RBI over 41 at-bats, but with Justin Turner in a brutal slump, it could help him carve out a more consistent role at the DH spot going forward. Vogelbach is going to be hard-pressed for ABs when Joey Votto (ankle) eventually returns to the mix, though.Source: Baseball Reference
7 hours agoCleveland Guardians outfielder Will Brennan blasted a walk-off three-run home run to cap off Sunday's win over the division-rival Minnesota Twins, going deep for the fifth time this year. In a wild ninth inning, Brennan sent a Jhoan Duran first-pitch curveball 363 feet to right field for the game-winning jack. Despite Sunday's heroics, the 26-year-old lefty-hitting right fielder is still slashing a weak .231/.283/.396 with five homers, 18 RBI, and two stolen bases in 134 at-bats (42 games) for the Guardians this season and is only a viable fantasy option in deep mixed or AL-only fantasy leagues. With Steven Kwan (hamstring) nearing a minor-league rehab assignment, Brennan could become a part-time player in Cleveland's outfield in the near future.Source: Baseball Reference
7 hours agoCleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez went yard for the third time this season in Sunday's win over the division-rival Minnesota Twins, also drawing a walk in the victory. Gimenez took Twins right-hander Chris Paddack deep to plate Tyler Freeman in the first inning, later walking and scoring a run in the ninth frame. The 25-year-old former All-Star is on a prolific run during his current seven-game hitting streak, batting a torrid .464 (13-for-28) with two home runs, eight RBI, seven runs scored, and two stolen bases over this hot stretch as Cleveland's everyday No. 2 hitter. Up next for Gimenez is a three-game series starting on Monday against the New York Mets, the team that traded him away back in 2021. Last season, he went hitless in eight at-bats against the Mets.Source: Baseball Reference
7 hours agoAtlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley (side) remains out of the lineup for Game 1 of Monday's doubleheader versus the visiting San Diego Padres. Riley fielded grounders ahead of Sunday's matchup against San Diego, which is positive step forward in his recovery from intercostal discomfort in his left side, but it's unclear if he's been cleared to resume swinging. If he's not still experiencing the discomfort, however, the 27-year-old All-Star slugger seems to have a decent chance of rejoining Atlanta's lineup for Tuesday's series opener against the Chicago Cubs. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect to see Riley in Monday's nightcap, though. Zack Short is at third base and batting seventh against Padres right-hander Dylan Cease in the matinee, and he's 1-for-4 with two walks in six plate appearances against Cease in his career.Source: Atlanta Braves on X
8 hours agoThe Tampa Bay Rays are promoting their No. 10 prospect Chandler Simpson to Double-A Montgomery. The outfielder has been on fire in the first 32 games for High-A Bowling Green with a .364 batting average to go along with nine RBI and 31 stolen bases. Simpson doesn't hit for power with no homers in three seasons on the farm, but the 23-year-old has shown fantastic plate discipline and has 133 stolen bases in 155 career minor league games. Simpson is an intriguing prospect and the Rays always get the best out of their prospects, but from a fantasy perspective, he does not offer much outside of stolen bases, albeit at a very high rate. He is more of a watch-list candidate in dynasty leagues at the moment.Source: Chase Ford
8 hours agoThe Chicago White Sox are promoting their No. 1 pitching prospect Noah Schultz to Double-A Birmingham. Schultz, 20, is a consensus Top-50 prospect and one of the best pitching prospects on the farm. The left-hander was 0-1 with a 3.95 ERA for High-A Winston-Salem in seven starts with 42 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings. The former first-round pick is in his second season in the White Sox system, but continues to impress with one of the best sliders in the minor leagues. Birmingham will be a good challenge for the 6'9 southpaw and managers in dynasty leagues should take note of his promotion as his progression could lead to his big-league debut as soon as 2025 or 2026.Source: Chase Ford
8 hours agoThe New York Mets promoted pitching prospect Blade Tidwell to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. Tidwell, 22, is the Mets No. 10 prospect and has been having an excellent season for Double-A Binghamton. Over seven games (five starts), the right-hander went 2-4 with an impressive 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 44 strikeouts over 37 1/3 innings. Tidwell ate up Double-A with only one bad start this season and it is likely that he can reach the big-league roster if he carries over his success in Binghamton to Syracuse. Tidwell's four seam fastball has become his top pitch and helped him rack up many strikeouts, but he still needs to improve his secondary pitches to continue his success. For now, Tidwell is most serviceable in dynasty leagues.Source: Chase Ford
9 hours agoLos Angeles Dodgers catcher prospect Thayron Liranzo went 2-for-5 with a pair of solo homers for High-A Great Lakes on Sunday. He is now hitting .219 with five homers and 14 RBI over the team's first 31 games. Liranzo is the No. 9 prospect in the Dodgers system and has been off to a hot start on the farm this season. The 20-year-old had a strong season in Single-A in 2023, where he led the league in homers, OPS, slugging, total bases and extra base-hits. Liranzo's defense is questionable, so a position change could be in his future, but the switch-hitter provides plenty of power from both sides of the plate, especially the left side. That power should continue to improve as his body is still growing and Liranzo continues to learn how to launch the ball off his bat. Liranzo is years away from his big-league debut, but managers in dynasty leagues would be wise to keep tabs on the young prospect.Source: Milb.com
9 hours agoChicago White Sox pitching prospect Jairo Iriarte suffered his third loss of the season in a strong outing for Double-A Birmingham on Sunday. The 22-year-old fireballer tossed seven frames and allowed four hits, three runs, one walk and recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts. Iriarte was one of the prospects the White Sox received for starting pitcher Dylan Cease this offseason and he has performed very well thus far for Birmingham. In eight starts, Iriarte is 1-3 with a 2.89 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings. The stuff is there for Iriarte, but he needs to control his command better to make it to the next level as he already has piled up 22 walks this season. Iriarte has a bright future ahead of him if he can control his walks and is a name to monitor in dynasty leagues as he could potentially make his debut with the White Sox this summer or next season.Source: Milb.com
17 hours agoMilwaukee Brewers second baseman Brice Turang went 3-for-5 with a stolen base in Sunday's 9-4 loss to the Houston Astros. Turang added a double, a run, and two RBI to secure a solid overall day at the dish. The 24-year-old has been leading off for the Brewers for the last few weeks and has looked solid in the role so far. While he may not help fantasy managers in the home run and RBI categories, he can be a solid contributor of AVG, runs, and steals and should be owned in most leagues for that reason.Source: MLB.com
17 hours agoMinnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran took the loss in Sunday's 5-2 defeat against the Cleveland Guardians, allowing a walk-off three-run homer to Will Brennan in the ninth inning. Duran was tasked with keeping the game tied and giving Minnesota a chance to win it in extras, but after two walks (one intentional) the 26-year-old served up a curveball that Brennan sent deep. Interestingly, Duran said after the game that he wanted to throw a fastball but was told not to. Regardless of the poor outing and postgame comments, Duran remains a solid fantasy option for saves and should continue to be the Twins' highest-leverage option out of the bullpen.Source: MLB.com
17 hours agoMinnesota Twins starting pitcher Chris Paddack had a strong start on Sunday, tossing eight innings of two-run ball in a 5-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. Paddack allowed just three hits while showing excellent command, walking none and striking out six. The only damage done to Paddack was a two-run blast off the bat of Andres Gimenez in the first inning. It was a very good sign to see the 28-year-old bounce back from a tough outing against the Yankees last time out, and fantasy managers who held onto Paddack should feel better about his outlook. That said, the righty is still a fringey option in standard leagues and should be left for streaming for now until he can show more consistency. He is a good deep league option, though.Source: MLB.com
17 hours agoSan Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish was nearly unhittable on Sunday, throwing seven shutout innings of two-hit ball in a 9-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. This marks back-to-back Sunday Night Baseball victories for Darvish, who posted an eerily similar line last week against the Dodgers. In both outings he went seven innings and allowed zero runs, two hits, and a walk. The only difference is that he managed two more strikeouts in this one, totaling nine compared to seven last week. The dominant performance lowered his ERA to 2.08 and his WHIP to 0.90. He should be an easy start in all fantasy leagues after stellar outings against two of the best offenses in baseball and his streak of not allowing an earned run reaching 26 IP.Source: MLB.com
18 hours agoPhiladelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm came through in the clutch in Sunday's 11-5 win over the Washington Nationals, going 1-for-3 with a homer and five RBI. Bohm had two sacrifice flies early in the game and then took Tanner Rainey deep for a three-run blast in the eighth inning that put the game out of reach. The 27-year-old has slowed down in May, hitting .265 with one homer and one steal through 16 games, but his overall numbers still look good thanks to a tremendous April. It was good to see Bohm hit one out today, but fantasy managers shouldn't expect too much power from his contact-oriented approach. He will still be helpful in fantasy and contribute in AVG, runs, and RBI as part of a stacked Phillies lineup.Source: MLB.com