14 hours agoKansas City Royals starting pitching prospect
Chandler Champlain posted his best outing of the season by tallying 10 punchouts across 6 1/3 shutout innings on Wednesday. This outing brings the 24-year-old to a 3.50 ERA and 0.92 WHIP through 36 innings at Double-A. Champlain has been on a nice run since the start of May with a 0.52 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings. Champlain is ranked as the 11th-best prospect in the Kanas City system on MLB Pipeline and is projected to reach the majors sometime next season. However, dynasty fantasy managers should begin to pay close attention to him, as a promotion to Triple-A could be imminent. He has totaled 109 innings at Double-A over the past two years.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MiLB.com
14 hours agoPhiladelphia Phillies right-hander
Taijuan Walker (foot) was forced to leave his start early on Thursday against the visiting division-rival New York Mets after he was hit by a line drive on his left foot. Before leaving the contest early, Walker allowed two earned runs on four hits (one homer to
Pete Alonso) while walking two and striking out one in 3 1/3 innings pitched. The Phillies are likely to do some tests on Walker, at which point we should have a better idea of the severity of his injury and whether it will cause him to miss his next start. The 31-year-old got a late start to the season due to injury and came into Thursday's start with a 4.82 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with 15 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings over his first three starts. After giving up two more runs on Thursday, Walker's ERA now stands at 4.91.
UPDATE: Walker's injury is being called a foot contusion, but he's scheduled for more testing.--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: NBC Sports Philadelphia
14 hours agoLos Angeles Dodgers right-hander
Emmet Sheehan (elbow) underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on his UCL on Wednesday. The procedure was performed successfully by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. Sheehan was cleared to face hitters in late March but then was shut down in the middle of April when he had a setback with his right elbow. The 24-year-old will now miss all of the 2024 season and probably will not be able to return for the Dodgers until around midseason in 2025. It's a big blow for one of the Dodgers' promising young arms after he made his big-league debut in 2023, going 4-1 with a 4.92 ERA (4.85 FIP) and 1.19 WHIP while walking 26 and striking out 64 in 60 1/3 innings over his 13 outings (11 starts). Sheehan can now be safely dropped by any fantasy managers in deeper redraft leagues that were hanging onto him in an IL spot.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: Los Angeles Dodgers
14 hours agoFor the second straight day on Thursday, Philadelphia Phillies shortstop
Trea Turner (hamstring) went through a full agility workout at Citizens Bank Park while taking ground balls and also hitting inside in the cages. It has only been 13 days since he injured his left hamstring and is progressing at a surprising pace given the original timetable of around six weeks. The 30-year-old All-Star is making fantastic progress, but the Phillies will probably pump the brakes on him returning too soon and aggravating his injury, especially given the nature of Turner's game on the basepaths. However, if Turner continues to progress at this pace, he'll surely beat his projected six-week timetable, which is great news for his fantasy managers.
Edmundo Sosa will continue to work as the Phillies' starter at the 6 until Turner returns from his hamstring ailment. Keep Turner stashed in all fantasy formats.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: The Athletic - Matt Gelb
14 hours agoNew York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said that right-hander
Kodai Senga (shoulder) is getting closer to a return and being sent on a minor-league rehab assignment. "We all feel better about it here than we would have 5-6 days ago," Stearns said on Thursday. The front-office executive also said Senga had a good bullpen session recently where the Japanese hurler felt like he made some strides. There's no set date for when Senga will go on a rehab assignment, but that's the next step in his recovery after he took a step back recently in his rehab to deal with some mechanical issues. The 31-year-old looks to have moved past those issues and could be on the cusp of making his 2024 debut, although fantasy managers shouldn't be surprised if the Mets want to see him make a handful of minor-league starts first. Senga should be stashed in all fantasy leagues.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: SNY
14 hours agoPittsburgh Pirates outfielder
Andrew McCutchen and infielder
Jared Triolo are both out of the lineup on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. McCutchen went 3-for-4 with a home run in Wednesday's loss to the Milwaukee Brewers
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15 hours agoLos Angeles Dodgers outfielder
Andy Pages will be hitting the bench for the first time since his major league promotion on Thursday. The 23-year-old has been a lineup lock for just over the past month in Los Angeles. As a result,
Teoscar Hernandez will move over to right field and bat cleanup, which opens up left field for
Chris Taylor, who will bat seventh. Pages has performed exceptionally well in his first taste of the majors with a .260/.300/.440 line with four long balls and one swiped bag and should be expected to return to the starting lineup on Friday. Both Hernandez and Taylor are viable options in DFS today, as the Reds will have a bullpen game this evening with southpaw
Brent Suter serving as the opener.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
15 hours agoCincinnati Reds second baseman
Jonathan India (migraine) is not in the starting lineup on Thursday with a migraine. He was also held out of Wednesday's lineup for the same reason. The 27-year-old should still be considered day-to-day. As a result,
Santiago Espinal will get the starting nod at the keystone and bat in the eight-hole. Espinal has been swinging a hot bat as of late with a .400/.438/.600 line across his past five games with one home run. However, he has a tough task tonight in
Tyler Glasnow, who enters Thursday with a 2.53 ERA and 73 punchouts across 57 innings, and is best to fade him in DFS this evening.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
15 hours agoLos Angeles Dodgers backstop
Will Smith will be getting the day off on Thursday as the Dodgers open a four-game set against the Cincinnati Reds. Smith has started each of the past six games and holds an overall .315/.381/.479 line with four home runs. Instead,
Austin Barnes will serve as the catcher for
Tyler Glasnow and will bat in the nine-hole. The 34-year-old is best to fade in DFS as he enters Thursday with a .219/.359/.250 slash line with no home runs and has only appeared in 13 games this season.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
15 hours agoLos Angeles Dodgers third baseman
Max Muncy is not in Thursday's lineup while the team goes against Cincinnati Reds southpaw
Brent Suter. The 33-year-old has only made seven starts this season against left-handed pitchers. Muncy has been showcasing his elite power once again this season with nine long balls and a .475 SLG through 40 games. As a result,
Kike Hernandez will occupy the hot corner. Hernandez enters Thursday's game with a modest .220/.278/.305 line with just two home runs. However, Hernandez will bat in the five-hole and is worth considering in DFS as he will be right in the middle of a potent Dodgers lineup. He will face Brent Suter, who enters Thursday with a 3.86 ERA; however, he is only likely to pitch a few frames as he will serve as the opener in a bullpen game for Cincinnati.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
15 hours agoNew York Yankees shortstop
Anthony Volpe hit his sixth home run of the season and swiped his ninth base of the season on Thursday. The 23-year-old wasted no time as he launched a lead-off home run, which ended up being the game-winning run.
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16 hours agoNew York Yankees starting pitcher
Clarke Schmidt tossed an eight-inning gem on Thursday afternoon as he kept the scoresheet clean and only allowed three hits with eight punchouts to clinch a series sweep over the Minnesota Twins. Schmidt never ran into any trouble, as all three hits were scattered throughout the afternoon. This was Schmidt's longest and most productive outing of the young season, which lowered his ERA to a solid 2.84 and his WHIP to 1.24. The 28-year-old has now won consecutive games and has struck out at least six batters through his three starts in May. Schmidt is rostered in just over half of fantasy leagues at 51% and should continue to be deployed in most matchups. He is tentatively scheduled to face the Seattle Mariners next Tuesday, May 21, which should be an excellent opportunity for Schmidt to continue to tally punchouts as the Seattle bats have struck out the most times in baseball.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
16 hours agoNew York Mets outfielder
Brandon Nimmo (illness) was scratched from Thursday's lineup against the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies due to a stomach bug. Fantasy managers should consider Nimmo to be day-to-day and check back on Friday to see if he's available to play in the series opener in Miami against the Marlins. With Nimmo out,
DJ Stewart is playing left field and is batting fifth, while outfielder Tyron Taylor is moving up to the leadoff spot with
Harrison Bader getting a day to rest. The move makes Taylor more attractive as a DFS sleeper play for Thursday's slate against Phillies right-hander
Taijuan Walker. Nimmo is hitting a disappointing .215/.361/.396 on the year with six home runs, 27 RBI and 21 runs scored in 149 at-bats, but his xwOBA of .422 means he's an excellent buy-low candidate who has been squaring balls up regularly without much to show for it so far in 2024.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: New York Post - Mike Puma
16 hours agoChicago Cubs middle infielder
Nico Hoerner (hamstring) remains out of the starting lineup on Thursday against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. Hoerner will miss a third straight game after being scratched from Tuesday's contest versus the Atlanta Braves with left-hamstring tightness. The 27-year-old remains day-to-day, but if his absence extends into the weekend against Pittsburgh, the Cubbies may have to consider placing him on the injured list. It would be bad news for Chicago's middle infield, as
Dansby Swanson (knee) is already on the shelf with knee soreness.
Miles Mastrobuoni is making another start at the 6 on Thursday and is hitting eighth against Pirates rookie right-hander
Jared Jones. Both Mastrobuoni and
Nick Madrigal, who is playing second, are weak DFS plays as middle infielders.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
17 hours agoTampa Bay Rays outfielder
Jonny DeLuca is out of the starting lineup again on Thursday against the Red Sox in Boston at Fenway Park.
Jose Siri is starting in center field again and is batting ninth against Red Sox right-hander
Cooper Criswell. DeLuca has now been on the bench in three of the last four games as the Rays mix Siri back into center field on a more regular basis. It hasn't helped that both
Josh Lowe and
Jonathan Aranda have returned to the Rays recently. The 25-year-old DeLuca recently started nine games in a row in Tampa's outfield and is hitting .281 (9-for-32) with a homer, 10 RBI and two stolen bases in just 12 games in 2024. DeLuca could get another shot if an injury opens up more playing time, but for now, he appears to be the odd man out.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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