18 hours agoBoston Red Sox outfielder/designated hitter Tyler O'Neill was in the middle of the home run parade in Monday's 7-3 win over the Blue Jays. O'Neill went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs, a walk, and an intentional walk. The 28-year-old clobbered a first-inning Yusei Kikuchi fastball deep into the left-field seats and took him deep again to center field in the third. O'Neill has been somewhat of a fantasy disappointment since his stellar 2021 season, but he has slashed a solid .258/.354/.534 with 14 HR, 37 runs scored, 25 RBI, and one stolen base in 206 plate appearances this season. The stolen bases are not close to what he has provided before, but fantasy managers can't complain given his respectable batting average and high power contribution.Source: MLB.com
18 hours agoChicago Cubs outfield prospect Owen Caissie belted his fifth home run in the month of June and eighth of the season on Sunday for Triple-A Iowa. The 21-year-old also drove in four runs, giving him 16 RBI in June and 40 on the season. Pete-Crow Armstrong and Alexander Canario have had multiple shots to make an impact with the big league club without great results, and with the offense scuffling, Caissie may be the next to get the call to the majors. Said to have some of the best power in the minors, the Cubs' top offensive prospect per MLB.com could have an immediate impact once he gets a shot, and the way he's hitting might force their hand.Source: MiLB.com
18 hours agoPhiladelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez rebounded nicely in Monday's 9-2 win over the Padres, improving his record to 4-3. Sanchez pitched seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. The 27-year-old has been a fantasy asset again this season with a 2.91 ERA, a 7.68 K/9 rate, and a 2.79 BB/9 rate in 14 starts and 77 1/3 IP. His low win total is a bit surprising given how well the Phillies' offense has performed, but everything else has been solid from a fantasy perspective. Sanchez is slated to face a hot Diamondbacks offense in his next start, but he has pitched well enough to make him worth starting to maximize his two-start week.Source: MLB.com
18 hours agoPhiladelphia Phillies outfielder/designated hitter Kyle Schwarber put his power on display yet again in Monday's 9-2 win over the Padres. Schwarber went 2-for-3 with a pair of two-run home runs (including a 441-foot blast) and two walks. He was also caught trying to steal second base. The 31-year-old has provided plenty of counting stats as fantasy managers have come to expect, hitting 16 HR with 52 runs scored and 47 RBI. Surprisingly, he has also provided a decent .253 batting average with four stolen bases. Fantasy managers expected to take a hit in batting average with Schwarber in exchange for power, so his current production has been a bonus to an already solid fantasy profile.Source: MLB.com
18
hours
agoAfter
a
red-hot
May
in
which
he
slashed
.376/.424/.587,
Cleveland
Guardians
shortstop
prospect
Jose
Tena
cooled
off
to
begin
the
month,
slashing
just
.217/.294/.283
over
the
first
10
games.
Over
the
last
four
games,
however,
the
left-handed
hitter
has
gone
9-for-18
(.500)read more...
19 hours agoOakland Athletics right-hander Ross Stripling (elbow), who has been out since May 25 due to a strained right elbow, has begun throwing from 105 feet. However, manager Mark Kotsay has no timetable for Stripling to throw a bullpen session off of a mound. The A's sound like they are taking their sweet time with Stripling's rehab. At such a slow pace, the 34-year-old veteran is not going to be ready to return from the injured before the All-Star break in mid-July. Fantasy managers in mixed leagues should have already moved on with Stripling starting the year 1-9 in Oakland with a 5.82 ERA (4.00 FIP) and 1.59 WHIP with 35 strikeouts and 12 walks in 55 2/3 innings over his 11 starts for the A's. Stripling has pinpoint control with a 4.8% walk rate, but he's also down to a career-low 13.9% strikeout rate. That's just not going to cut it.Source: The Associated Press
19 hours agoKansas City Royals infielder Michael Massey (back) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday night. Massey will begin playing in games again after receiving an injection in his back on May 31. The 26-year-old second baseman originally landed on the 10-day injured list due to a lower-back ligament sprain. There's a chance that we could see him back in the major-league lineup this weekend against the Texas Rangers on the road if he doesn't encounter a setback in Triple-A. When he's ready to come off the IL, the former fourth-round selection in 2019 should return to regular duties at the keystone in Kansas City. Massey was hitting a solid .294 (30-for-102) at the time of his injury with six home runs and 17 runs scored in 29 games. Nick Loftin played two of the three games at the keystone over the weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers.Source: Kansas City Royals
19 hours agoCleveland Guardians infield prospect Angel Genao, who was recently promoted to High-A Lake County, has continued to hit since moving up. The 20-year-old has a .268-1-3-6-2 line in 10 games with High-A, and four of his 11 hits have gone for extra bases (three doubles, one home run). It was much of the same at Single-A, collecting 23 extra-base hits there (14 doubles, three triples, six home runs) and tallied 12 more stolen bases. The switch-hitter is the Guardians' 11th-ranked prospect with an ETA of 2026 per MLB.com's Top Prospects List, but with his hit tool and speed profile, he may have to be bumped up on dynasty watch lists.Source: Guardians Prospective
19 hours agoKansas City Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (foot) was scheduled to make a minor-league rehab start in the Arizona Complex League on Monday. Depending on how Wacha feels after his outing on Monday in the Rookie League, there's a chance that the Royals will feel that he's ready to come off the 15-day injured list and rejoin their starting rotation. If that's indeed the case, the 32-year-old veteran would likely make his first start back in the big leagues this weekend in Texas against the Rangers. Wacha is attempting to return from a left-foot fracture that landed him on the injured list on June 2. The former first-rounder will surely be more risky as a fantasy starter in his first start back if he only makes the one rehab appearance. On the year in his first season in KC, Wacha is 4-5 with a 4.24 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP and only 56 strikeouts in 68 innings over 12 starts.Source: Kansas City Royals
20 hours agoSeattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco (hamstring) played second base in his second minor-league rehab game for High-A Everett on Sunday and went 0-for-1 with two walks out of the leadoff spot. Polanco will move his rehab assignment to Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday and isn't far off from a return to the big-league lineup, barring a setback with his balky hamstring. In his absence in Seattle, rookie Ryan Bliss has seen more of an opportunity for playing time at the keystone. The 30-year-old Polanco needs to pick things up offensively when he returns if he wants to remain the team's primary second baseman. Polanco has really struggled in his first year with the M's, batting .195 (31-for-159) with five home runs, 14 RBI and 15 runs scored in 159 at-bats. If he stays healthy on his rehab assignment, he could rejoin the Mariners by this weekend.Source: Milb.com
20 hours agoAtlanta Braves rookie right-hander Hurston Waldrep's (elbow) evaluation showed that it was what the Braves believed it to be, just right-elbow inflammation. It seems to be the best-case scenario for the young pitcher. Waldrep will be shut down for a week and then will begin building his arm back up again. The 22-year-old prospect won't be ready to return from the 15-day injured when he's eligible, and when he is ready to come back, there's a good chance that he'll be sent back to Triple-A Gwinnett at that time. The club's No. 2 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, only made it through seven innings in his first two major-league starts against the Nationals and Rays and allowed 13 earned runs on nine hits (three homers) while walking eight and striking out only three. It seems more likely the Braves will send Waldrep back to the farm and use a different young arm for their big-league rotation.Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Justin Toscano
20 hours agoCincinnati Reds outfielder TJ Friedl (hamstring) was forced to leave Monday's game early against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a hamstring injury. Friedl said he went through a series of tests on his hamstring and he had full range of motion and strength. "It was just tight," Friedl said. In the 4-1 loss in Pittsburgh, the 28-year-old went 0-for-3 with a strikeout out of the leadoff spot for the Reds and was eventually replaced in center field by Will Benson when he left the contest early. Friedl appeared to initially injure his hamstring when he made a diving catch in center field in the bottom of the fifth inning. It sounds like Friedl's injury might not be too serious, but he's already missed time with injury this year and could be headed back to the injured list. He's hitting only .222 this year with four homers, 15 RBI and six stolen bases in just 81 at-bats.Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer - Charlie Goldsmith
20 hours agoArizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher prospect Spencer Giesting is being promoted to Double-A Amarillo. The former 11th-round draft pick pitched to a 4.00 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, and a 10.1% K-BB% over 24 starts last season at High-A, but has looked like a different pitcher this season. Over 10 starts at High-A in 2024, the southpaw has posted a 1.50 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and a 23.2% K-BB%. He's lowered his BB% and HR/FB% significantly while increasing his SwStr% by a large margin, which has been a recipe for success. As an 11th-rounder and outside the Diamondbacks' Top 30, Giesting is exceeding expectations and if he continues to have success at Double-A, dynasty managers will want to start keeping tabs on the 22-year-old.Source: Hillsboro Hops
20 hours agoMilwaukee Brewers catcher Willson Contreras (head) has avoided a concussion after he suffered a head injury during a collision at home plate with Cincinnati Reds outfielder Stuart Fairchild as he applied a tag at the end of Sunday's win. Contreras was put through the league's concussion protocol after the game on Sunday. The 26-year-old backstop has since been cleared of a concussion, but he was held out of Monday's series opener against the Los Angeles Angels as a precaution. It sounds like Contreras will avoided the concussion injured list and could be back in the starting lineup as soon as Tuesday. Manager Pat Murphy said that Contreras is "going to be fine." If he's back in action on Tuesday, fantasy managers will want to get the catcher back into their starting lineups, as he's been one of the most valuable players at his position so far this year.Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Todd Rosiak
20 hours agoSan Francisco Giants catcher Tom Murphy (knee) has resumed taking batting practice in the cage and is throwing out to 110 feet while recovering from a left-knee sprain. Murphy felt a pop in his knee after going down to block a wild pitch in the second inning of the team's loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on May 4 and was put on the 10-day injured list the next day. An MRI revealed a Grade 1-2 sprain for Murphy, who was expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks. He was moved to the 60-day IL on May 15. Signed to a two-year, $8.25 million deal in December, Murphy hit just .118 with a home run over his first 13 games with the Giants this year before getting hurt. When healthy, Murphy is merely a third catching option for the Giants behind starter Patrick Bailey and backup Curt Casali.Source: MLB.com