STL • 1B
30 days ago
The Cardinals dropped Contreras to the sixth spot in the lineup today as a consequence of his early slump. There never seemed to be anything to worry about here, and he’s clearly a top-three fantasy catcher while playing first base and DHing.
PHI • CF
30 days ago
Marsh fell to 4-for-37 for the season, but there’s not really much for the Phillies to do besides wait out the slump. He was in the lineup today even through the Phillies were facing a lefty in Matthew Liberatore. That might happen less often once Weston Wilson returns.
TOR • RF
30 days ago
Springer was removed from Sunday’s game against the Orioles after injuring his wrist on an awkward swing in the fifth inning. It sounds like he was able to avoid any significant injury though, and he should return to the Jays’ lineup in a day or two. He has been an early-season surprise from a fantasy perspective, hitting .375 (18-for-48) with a pair of long balls, 10 RBI and two stolen bases in his first 16 contests.
Source: Ben Nicholson-Smith
TOR •
30 days ago
Hoffman entered in a tie game in the ninth and kept the Orioles scoreless before sealing the win in the bottom of the 10th by stranding the ghost runner. Hoffman allowed just one hit and struck out four. He has a 0.96 ERA on the season. There were concerns about Hoffman’s arm in spring training, but he looks pretty healthy right now.
TOR •
30 days ago
Hoffman entered the game in a tie game in the ninth and kept the Orioles scoreless before sealing the win in the bottom of the 10th by stranding the ghost runner. Hoffman allowed just one hit and struck out four and has a 0.96 ERA on the season. There were plenty of concerns about Hoffman’s arm in spring training, but he looks pretty healthy right now.
BAL • 1B
30 days ago
Mountcastle has been hitting the ball well this season with the best exit velocities he’s ever had, but this is his first home run of the season. He plays most games for Baltimore, but is not an everyday player and isn’t consistently placed in the middle of the lineup, so he might need a trade to put together shallow league fantasy value.
TOR • C
30 days ago
The longball was Kirk’s first of the season, but the 26-year-old has gotten off to a solid start with a .261/.286/.370 slash line. He won’t hit for a ton of power or walk much, but he should post a solid batting average in a good lineup, which keeps him on the radar in deeper formats.
TOR • 3B
30 days ago
Clement needed that. The 29-year-old has been a regular starter at third base but has really struggled to start the year and is slashing just .194/.268/.250 on the season. He also now has one steal, but he will run if he can continue to get on base.
TOR •
30 days ago
Berríos did strike out six and walk one, but he got a friendly zone from the home plate umpire, who granted two called strike punchouts against Jordan Westburg on pitches that were clearly balls. Berríos gave up a run in each of his first four innings and will now take a 5.16 ERA into a start against Seattle next week. He should be treated as just a streamer at this point in his career.
LAA • LF
30 days ago
Ward started the scoring in the first inning with a leadoff solo home run. It was his second game in a row with a home run and all five of his home runs this year have come in the last five games. After hitting .190 with no home runs in his first 11 games, he’s suddenly up to .234 with five home runs and a .759 OPS.
HOU • 1B
30 days ago
While the 34-year-old first baseman is off to a rough start in his first year with the Astros, there have been some positive signs lately. Walker has walked eight times in his last four games. The hits should start to fall in soon for Walker, who was sidelined for most of spring training with an oblique injury.
BAL •
30 days ago
It was not an efficient outing from Povich, who didn’t allow much hard contact but also couldn’t generate many whiffs at all with just a 13 percent whiff rate and 26 percent CSW. His new changeup continues to struggle to find the zone, and it’s hard to be overly excited about the left-hander even though he has a 3.60 ERA on the season. He could be a decent deep-league streamer against the Reds next week, but the strikeouts just haven’t been there.
HOU • 3B
30 days ago
Kyle Hendricks threw Paredes a high fastball with two men on in the second inning and the 26-year-old third baseman pulled it down the left field line for his third home run of the season. It’s also Paredes’ third home run in as many games as he tortured the Angels this weekend. Paredes is settling in nicely with Houston as he occupies a premium lineup spot between Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez.
LAA •
30 days ago
Hendricks gave up four hits, three walks and struck out one. It was his first loss of the season. Hendricks looked much like the pitcher we’ve seen in recent years, one that doesn’t miss many bats or crack 90 mph with his fastball. That profile wasn’t enough to make it work Sunday against the Astros. Hendricks has a 4.20 ERA in three starts, but a 4.71 xFIP. We recommend keeping him away from your fantasy lineups. Hendricks is on track to face the Giants next weekend.
HOU •
30 days ago
Is the breakout happening? Wesneski came through in a big way for fantasy managers that added him for his two starts this week. The 27-year-old right-hander punched out 10 Angels after combining for just 11 strikeouts in his first two starts. He has a 4.00 ERA in 18 innings, though his xFIP is just 2.85. Wesneski has a more difficult matchup next weekend against the Padres, though he may still be worth holding onto to see if this strong run continues.
LAA • SS
30 days ago
Angels’ skipper Ron Washington had said that Neto would play nine innings at shortstop there next week, but it looks like he may be a bit ahead of schedule. The final hurdle for Neto to clear is playing nine innings at shortstop in consecutive games, which sounds like it could happen early next week. His return is imminent.
Source: Jeff Fletcher
MIA • SS
30 days ago
Edwards’ stolen base gives him six on the season and only the Pirates’ Oneil Cruz has more. The 25-year-old shortstop has hits in nine of his last 10 games. The Marlins’ leadoff man is hitting .310 with a .768 OPS and five RBI on the year. Edwards previously mentioned 60-plus steals as a goal this year so it’s unlikely he’ll slow down on the bases anytime soon.
MIA • 1B
30 days ago
Mervis came off the bench in the middle of the game and pounded his fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot that was crushed out to center field. The 26-year-old first baseman will continue to see opportunities against right-handed pitching until he cools off, though there are reasons to be skeptical that this isn’t anything more than a hot streak.
ATL •
30 days ago
Strider made it through his side session without any issues on Sunday, so as long as he continues to feel good over the next couple of days it sounds like the Braves’ ace will make his season debut on Wednesday. Fantasy managers in weekly leagues can finally rejoice and insert Strider into lineups for next week.
Source: Justin Toscano
MIA •
30 days ago
Quantrill gave up seven hits, walked five and struck out two. The 30-year-old right-hander was perhaps lucky not to give up more runs considering how many baserunners he allowed. Quantrill has a 5.79 ERA, but just a 4.58 xFIP after three starts. Still, he’s difficult to trust for fantasy value given the lack of strikeouts and team context. He’s a complete avoid for the matchup against the Phillies next weekend.
CHC •
30 days ago
It didn’t sound good when news broke that Steele was seeking a second opinion on Friday and now the unfortunate news hits that he’ll go under the knife and miss the rest of the season. It’s unclear if he’ll undergo the traditional Tommy John procedure or the internal brace procedure, so it’s tough to speculate on just how long he’ll be shelved for. It’s a very tough break for fantasy managers in redraft leagues who now need to cut bait with someone who was drafted to be a staple in their starting rotation.
Source: Patrick Mooney
NYY • 2B
30 days ago
He certainly needed that. Jazz now has five home runs and 10 RBI on the season, but he’s also slashing .169/.246/.458. Coming into Sunday’s game, Jazz was sporting a career-high 61.3 percent fly ball rate and a career-high 16 percent swinging strike rate with a career-low contact rate. It seems that he has leaned into a power-centric approach in Yankee Stadium, but he has become too all-or-nothing. In 54 second-half games last season, he hit 12 home runs, but he had just a 34 percent fly ball rate, so there’s no reason for him to have gone to this extreme. Fantasy managers will hope the swing begins to level out over time.
MIL •
30 days ago
Myers also walked one and struck out one batter on the afternoon. The expectation is that he’ll probably require a third and final minor league tune-up before he’s ready to rejoin the Brewers’ rotation. Given the urgent need for quality arms, Milwaukee could opt to bring him back after this start if they feel like he’s ready.
Source: Sophia Minnaert
BOS •
30 days ago
The run was garbage. Reliever Garrett Whitlock clearly had Matt Thaiss struck out in the eighth, but umpire Brian Walsh blew the call. Thaiss then singled with runners on second and third, and the White Sox might have tied the game at 2-2 had Brooks Baldwin got a better jump from second. As it was, he didn’t attempt to score, and Whitlock was able to retire the next two batters. Crochet, who fanned 11, moved to 2-1 with a 1.38 ERA. He’ll face the White Sox again next weekend.
BOS • SS
30 days ago
He drove in all three of Boston’s runs. He also had the only extra-base hits by either team in the contest. The double down the right-field line in the sixth, which knocked in two runs, would have been a homer in 11 parks. Story is batting .308/.328/.477 with three homers and six steals in 17 games. He’s striking out too much to keep hitting for average, but he’s quite the fantasy asset while he’s stealing bases like this.
NYY •
30 days ago
Heading into the sixth innings, Rodón had a 3-1 lead and had only allowed a solo home run to Jung Hoo Lee. An infield single started the sixth inning, and then after a strikeout, Rodón issued a walk and then allowed another home run to Lee. Rodón would later walk Matt Chapman and get removed from the game. The left-hander is talented but maddeningly inconsistent. He’ll take a 5.48 ERA into a start in Tampa Bay next week. He stacks up as a solid buy-low target in fantasy baseball, but there will be some anxiety that comes from rostering him.
ATL • 2B
30 days ago
It was a quiet game for the Braves’ offense, which could only muster three runs against the Rays. All three runs came in the sixth inning with Albies driving in Marcell Ozuna with a clutch two-out RBI single. Albies would later start the ninth inning with a single, but was erased when Sean Murphy grounded into a double play. The 28-year-old second baseman is hitting .250 with a .751 OPS in the early going, though he already has three home runs and two stolen bases.
ATL •
30 days ago
Sale gave up six hits, three walks and struck out seven. The 36-year-old left-hander has a 6.63 ERA on the year, though there are certainly some positives to takeaway from his first few starts. Sale has 24 strikeouts in 19 innings and appears healthy. His xFIP is 3.32, which points to better days ahead for last year’s NL Cy Young winner. Sale is on track to face the Twins at home next weekend.
MIN • CF
30 days ago
Buxton got the Twins on the board first in this one, crushing a 399-foot (112.5 mph EV) solo shot off of Casey Mize in the home half of the first inning. He then doubled in the sixth inning and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Ty France. With his two-hit attack, Buxton has inched closer to the Mendoza line, hitting .192/.250/.423 to go with three homers, seven RBI and three stolen bases.
MIN • 1B
30 days ago
France led off the second inning with a single and scored the team’s second run on a two-out RBI single by Brooks Lee. He then drove in a run of his own with an infield single in the sixth inning that extended the Twins’ lead to 4-1. All France has done is hit so far this season, slashing .298/.355/.456 with a pair of homers and eight RBI. He’s locked into the middle of the Twins’ lineup on a nightly basis and makes for a decent corner infield option in deeper leagues.
