22 hours agoBaltimore Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins is retreating to the bench on Saturday against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. Colton Cowser will slide over to center field and bat sixth, while Kyle Stowers mans left field and hits in the eight-hole against Rays right-hander Taj Bradley. Mullins is still useful for his speed on the basepaths -- he's swiped 11 bags in 52 games this year -- but he's hitting just .185 (30-for-162) with six home runs, 22 RBI and 22 runs scored in 175 plate appearances with a career-high 25.7% strikeout rate. If Mullins continues to struggle offensively, he'll find himself on the bench more often against right-handed pitching. Stowers has gotten some run in Mullins' expense and has capitalized by going 7-for-18 with three doubles and five RBI in his first 10 games in 2024.Source: Baltimore Orioles
23
hours
agoHouston
Astros
first
baseman
Jon
Singleton,
outfielder
Chas
McCormick
and
catcher
Yainer
Diaz
are
all
resting
on
Saturday
against
the
visiting
Minnesota
Twins.
Jose
Abreu
will
start
atread more...
23 hours agoBaltimore Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg (hand) is back at third base and is batting seventh for the O's on Saturday against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander Taj Bradley. Westburg draws back into Baltimore's starting lineup after missing the last two games with a hand injury after he was hit by a pitch on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox. The 25-year-old will be looking to extend his hitting streak to six games now that he's back in there. The former 30th overall pick in 2020 out of Mississippi State has gone 8-for-18 (.444) with a homer, two doubles, five RBI, two walks and five strikeouts during his modest five-game hitting streak. His lineup spot doesn't scream daily upside, but Westburg has been solid with the bat in 2024, slashing .291/.351/.508 with an .859 OPS, eight homers, 34 RBI and five swipes in a loaded Orioles lineup.Source: Baltimore Orioles
23 hours agoTampa Bay Rays outfielder Josh Lowe (oblique) went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two strikeouts while playing right field in a minor-league rehab game on Friday for Triple-A Durham. Lowe is going to play in a couple more games for the Bulls this weekend but is aiming to come off the 10-day injured list to join the Rays on Tuesday for their game against the Miami Marlins. The 26-year-old left-handed slugger is on the injured list for the second time this season already with a mild right-oblique strain but has progressed nicely and is on the cusp of returning for fantasy managers. When Lowe is back in the fold, Jonny DeLuca will return to being more of a bench option. Lowe has gotten off to a slow start in 2024 but needs to remain rostered in all fantasy formats after hitting 20 bombs, driving in 83 and stealing 32 bags in 2023.Source: Milb.com
23 hours agoSeattle Mariners manager Scott Servais said that right-hander Bryan Woo (arm) was dealing with some "arm stuff" early in the week and didn't throw his typical mid-week bullpen session before his start on Friday night against the visiting Los Angeles Angels, which is why the team kept him on a shorter pitch count. The 24-year-old is expected to make his next scheduled start in an excellent matchup in Oakland against the A's. Despite throwing only 66 pitches on Friday, Woo tossed six scoreless innings with three hits allowed while walking one and striking out two in a no-decision. Woo now has a shiny 1.30 ERA and 0.58 WHIP with 28 K's and only two walks in 27 2/3 frames over his first five starts in 2024 and needs to be started next week against the A's. Seattle understandably continues to monitor Woo's pitch count after he got a late start to the year due to injury.Source: The Seattle Times - Ryan Divish
23
hours
agoThe
Minnesota
Twins
will
send
Max
Kepler,
Edouard
Julien,
Alex
Kirilloff
and
Trevor
Larnach
to
the
bench,
as
usual,
while
facing
the
Houston
Astros
and
left-hander
Framber
Valdezread more...
23 hours agoBoston Red Sox relief pitcher Liam Hendriks (elbow) was able to throw fastballs and breaking pitches off the front of a mound on Thursday as he progresses in his throwing program after having Tommy John surgery. The 35-year-old Australian reliever overcame a cancer diagnosis to return to the Chicago White Sox in 2023, but he only ended up appearing in five games before undergoing elbow surgery. The three-time All-Star has 116 career saves in the big leagues over 13 seasons, so he'll bring veteran experience to the back end of Boston's bullpen when he's eventually cleared, but there's no current timetable for his return, and he's unlikely to join the team until the second half of the season. For now, Hendriks can be left to the waiver wire in most fantasy leagues, and there's no guarantee he'll be a candidate for saves in Boston as long as Kenley Jansen remains healthy.Source: The Boston Globe - Alex Speier
23
hours
agoBoston
Red
Sox
catcher
Connor
Wong
and
outfielder
Rob
Refsnyder
are
both
out
of
the
starting
lineup
on
Saturday
versus
the
visiting
Detroit
Tigers.
Reese
McGuire
will
do
the
catching
for
Boston
andread more...
1 day agoSeattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo threw six innings of shutout ball in Friday's 5-4 victory over the Angels but did not factor into the decision. The righty allowed just three hits and no walks while striking out two, picking up his third straight quality start. Woo has been great since coming off of the IL, going 2-0 while posting a 1.30 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, and an 18:2 K:BB over five starts (27 2/3 IP). He gets a mouthwatering matchup against the Athletics on the road in his next start on Thursday.Source: ESPN
1 day agoSeattle Mariners first baseman Ty France went 3-for-3 with a walk in Friday's 5-4 win over the Angels. France was a triple shy of the cycle, having collected a single, a double, and his seventh home run of the season. The 29-year-old has now hit safely in seven of his last eight games, going 11-for-27 (.407) over that stretch, including two home runs and seven RBI. The right-handed hitter has a .260-7-24-18-0 line with a .327 wOBA and 117 wRC+ on the season. He'll see lefty Reid Detmers on Saturday who he has doubled and homered off of in the past (3-for-13, two BB).Source: ESPN
1 day agoColorado Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 4-1 win over the Dodgers. Tovar recorded one RBI and also scored twice in the contest. The 22-year-old has been hot lately, going 32-for-91 (.352) since May 9 (20 games), including 11 multi-hit performances. On the season he's slashing .294/.328/.481 with a .351 wOBA and 114 wRC+. The right-handed hitter has a surprisingly low Contact% (66.9%) and high K% (30.0%) for someone batting close to .300. An unsustainable .400 BABIP combined with those other stats spells regression, but for now he's hot and you're happy he's your starting shortstop in redraft leagues.Source: ESPN
1 day agoToronto Blue Jays outfielder Davis Schneider had just one hit in six at-bats in Friday's 5-3 win over the Pirates, but it was a big one. The lone hit was a walk-off two-run home run in the 14th inning of Friday's contest. The blast was his seventh of the season and second in his last four games. Despite not hitting for average, the right-handed hitter is racking up the RBI with 12 in his last nine games after going 8-for-33 (.242). Schneider has been hitting leadoff which could produce solid run production as he's been getting on base via the walk (eight BB in last nine games), and he's got three steals on the season as well. Eligible at both 2B and OF, he could continue to be a solid source of power with his 14.2% Barrel%.Source: ESPN
1 day agoColorado Rockies starting pitcher Dakota Hudson threw seven innings of one-run ball in Friday's 4-1 win over the Dodgers. Hudson allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out three on his way to earning his second win of the season. The 29-year-old has shown improvement lately despite the 2-7 record, having allowed three runs or less in five of his last six outings. The ground-ball pitcher (54.7%) isn't going to record a lot of strikeouts (12.1% K%), but perhaps the recent run of success will start translating to more wins. Still, with a 4.86 FIP, he may be hard to trust for fantasy. The former first-round draft pick will get Cincinnati at home in his next start on Wednesday.Source: ESPN
1 day agoToronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios threw seven innings of one-run ball in Friday's 5-3 win over the Pirates. The righty allowed six hits, no walks, and struck out five in the no-decision. The outing was his fourth straight quality start and it tied him for the league lead with 10. Aside from one poor outing, Berrios has been one of the more consistent pitchers this season, posting a 2.78 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 13.7% K-BB%. The 2x All-Star will get Baltimore at home in his next start on Wednesday.Source: ESPN
1 day agoLos Angeles Dodgers shortstop prospect Joendry Vargas has been mashing the ball in the Rookie League and could be moved up to Single-A fairly soon. On Friday, he posted his second four-hit game of the week and launched his first long ball of the season. Through twelve games this season, the 18-year-old has posted a .340/.414/.480 line with five RBI, four stolen bases, and a 5:11 BB:K ratio. Vargas spent 48 games last season with the Rookie League and posted a strong .328/.423/.529 line with seven home runs. Even though Vargas remains several seasons away from his major league debut, he is already sitting just outside the top ten prospects in the Los Angeles system on MLB Pipeline at number eleven. He is worth following in dynasty leagues but should stay on your waiver wire for a few seasons, as his projected ETA is 2028.Source: MiLB.com