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    Ben Rice hits 21st homer in win over Reds

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    NYY 1st Baseman #22
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    Ben Rice went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in Friday’s win over the Reds.

    Rice made the most of his opportunity in the second inning when he stepped up to the dish with two runners on. The lefty took a high and inside fastball from Rhett Lowder, 452 feet to deep center to push the Yankees’ lead to 4-0 for his 21st homer of the season. Rice continues to display impressive power and is slashing .254/.362/.475 in the month of June.
Has Mets' McLean 'finally' turned a corner?
James Schiano reflects on Mets' Nolan McLean's recent performance against the Reds and if there are still reasons for concern about the young pitcher's season.

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  • NYY 1st Baseman #22
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    Rice and Paul Goldschmidt both homered in the fourth, giving the Yankees a total of 30 homers from what they were looking at as a first base platoon initially. Of course, both are full-timers right now, but it’s easy to forget that Rice was on the bench for three of the Yankees’ first four games versus lefties during the first couple of weeks. Rice became the eighth player to reach 20 homers this season. He’s third in the majors with his 1.006 OPS.
  • NYY 1st Baseman #22
    Rice also added a single, and he’s now batting .293 with a .996 OPS for the season. It was his 19th home run of the year, putting him seventh in the majors through the middle of June. Rice has fully broken out in 2026, to the joy of fantasy managers that can still plug him in at catcher. It doesn’t sound as if he’ll work behind the plate this year, but expect him to be one of the earliest first basemen drafted heading into 2027.
  • NYY 1st Baseman #22
    The Yankees certainly can’t ask Rice to step it up with Aaron Judge out, but they do need him to keep doing what he’s doing. He’s tied for fourth in the majors in homers and sixth with his 45 RBI. Only Yordan Alvarez has a higher OPS.
  • NYY 1st Baseman #22
    Two of the four hits for Rice were doubles. The other extra-base hit was his 17th homer of the season, and a pair of RBI bring his season total to 39 in 57 games; putting him on pace to drive in triple digits for the first time in his young career. Rice had a bit of a scuffle earlier in May, but to say he’s been one of the breakout hitters of 2026 is certainly an understatement. There’s an awful lot to like about what Rice has done over the first two months of the year.
  • NYY 1st Baseman #22
    Rice had been considered ‘cold’ coming into this series against the Royals without a multi-hit game in slightly over a week and only two extra-base hits over that span. Oh, the horror. Now, over his last two games he’s gone 5-for-9 with a double, a triple, four RBI, and four runs scored. He’s also pushed his OPS back over 1.000, re-joining Yordan Alvarez as the only two qualified hitters to clear that plateau.
  • NYY Center Fielder #12
    It’s a different-looking lineup for the Yankees with Ben Rice moving up to the leadoff spot to face Blue Jays youngster Trey Yesavage. Grisham has been mired in an extended tailspin at the dish, hitting .184 (9-for-49) with one homer and two steals over his last 15 games. It’s a bit unclear whether this is a one-time deal or a sign of things to come from Yankees manager Aaron Boone. It’s a situation worth monitoring over the remainder of the week.
  • NYY 1st Baseman #22
    Rice’s first hit came in the third inning when he singled off former teammate Clay Holmes. He would come around to score two batters later via an RBI single by Cody Bellinger, and drove himself home in the ninth inning when he blasted a 415-foot solo homer to give the Yankees a 5-1 lead. It was the 14th homer of the season for Rice, who has now homered four times in May and is slashing .282/.349/.615 on the month.
  • NYY 1st Baseman #22
    Paul Goldschmidt is at first base and leading off against Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers. Rice continues to see frequent opportunities against southpaws after taking a seat routinely against them earlier this season. The 27-year-old rising star launched his 13th round-tripper of the season during Monday’s series opener and has been one of the top power-hitters in baseball this year.
  • NYY 1st Baseman #22
    Rice put New York on the scoreboard with an opposite-field blast off Orioles starter Brandon Young in the third inning. It was his 13th round-tripper of the season. It was an extremely encouraging sign to see the 27-year-old burgeoning star drive the ball after going 0-for-13 with five strikeouts in three contests against the Brewers following a four-game absence due to a wrist contusion last week.
  • NYY 1st Baseman #22
    Rice struck out twice in four at-bats after missing four consecutive contests due to a left hand contusion. It might take him a couple games to knock the rust off but it’s an encouraging development that he’s back in the lineup and managed to avoid a trip to the injured list.

Rotoworld

  • BOS 3rd Baseman #5
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    Caleb Durbin went 3-for-4 with a homer and three runs scored as the Red Sox topped the Mariners 6-2 on Friday.

    Durbin’s 367-foot homer gave the Red Sox their lone run off Bryce Miller through five. Durbin also homered Wednesday, and he’s hit .292 with four homers in his last 18 games, raising his OPS from .479 to .609. He’s not a bad CI option in 12-team leagues now that he’s shaken off his playing time concerns.
  • BOS Starting Pitcher #55
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    Ranger Suarez blanked the Mariners for 6 2/3 innings, allowing just one hit, in a victory Friday.

    Suarez pitched scoreless ball for the sixth time in 14 starts this season to win for the first time since Apr. 27; he was 0-1 with a 3.34 ERA in his previous seven starts. He’ll next face the Rockies in Coors, where he has a 3.20 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance over the course of his career.
  • SEA Starting Pitcher #50
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    Bryce Miller took a tough loss to the Red Sox after allowing one run and three hits in five innings on Friday.

    Miller struck out seven and walked one while losing for the first time in seven outings since debuting last month. The Mariners will probably continue to toy with their rotation through the All-Star break, but even so, Miller needs to be regarded as a top-20 SP going forward. He has a 1.58 ERA and a 43/5 K/BB through 40 innings.
  • SEA Starting Pitcher #58
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    Luis Castillo gave up five runs — four earned — in four innings after relieving Bryce Miller in the sixth inning Friday against the Red Sox.

    He’s not the first reliever to give up five runs to the Red Sox since Tanyon Sturtze in 2008, but it doesn’t seem totally unrealistic, does it? The Mariners are piggybacking their six starters through the All-Star break, and it seemed like Castillo would get a start the next time through after relieving tonight. However, it was already very clear that he should be sixth in line for starts, and it’s hard to understand why it’d make sense to pitch any of the Mariners’ other five starters behind him next week.
  • AZ Starting Pitcher #34
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    Michael Soroka, who was forced from his start Friday, will undergo an MRI on Saturday due to left glute discomfort.

    The injury was originally announced as left hip discomfort, but it has since moved down a bit. If Soroka joins Ryne Nelson on the IL for the D-backs, then Brandon Pfaadt figures to get a rotation spot a little earlier than anticipated.
  • AZ Left Fielder #10
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    Jordan Lawlar will undergo an MRI on Saturday after being diagnosed with a right hamstring strain in Friday’s game.

    Lawlar just can’t seem to stay healthy for any length of time. He had two hits before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning Friday. If he needs to return to the IL, the D-backs could bring Ryan Waldschmidt back to the majors.
  • LAA Relief Pitcher #40
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    Sam bachman gave up two runs to blow a save against the Angels on Friday.

    Bachman was asked to protect a two-run lead, and couldn’t after giving up a two-run homer to Jonah Heim. Kirby Yates also struggled in the 10th, walking and hitting a batter before exiting and taking the loss after Nick Kurtz drew a free pass with the bases loaded. Bachman could get more save chances, but it’s far from a guarantee, and fantasy managers need to be awfully desperate to consider him an option in leagues.
    - Christopher Crawford
  • ATH Right Fielder #4
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    Lawrence Butler homered, stole a base and scored four runs in an extra-inning win over the Angels on Friday.

    Butler’s day was a kind — if frustrating — reminder of why so many were so high on his fantasy potential not that long ago. Even with his fifth homer of the season and fifth steal of the campaign, he’s still slashing an ugly .193/.274/.305 on the season. It’s too early to just completely give up on Butler someday reaching his fantasy potential considering he’s still just 25, but obviously you cannot rely on seeing many more performances like this going forward.
    - Christopher Crawford
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    Jacob Wilson hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs in a win over the Angels on Friday in extra innings.

    Wilson’s two-run homer in the seventh got the A’s to within four runs at 11-7. The Athletics would score the next five in the comeback win. The 24-year-old has picked up hits in his last six games after missing a month with a shoulder injury, and he’s now slashing .287/.315/.404 with four homers and 26 RBI. The flaws are pretty obvious, but Wilson certainly has his selling points, too.
    - Christopher Crawford
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    Logan O’Hoppe went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer in a loss to the Athletics in extra innings.

    O’Hoppe’s three-run homer extended the Angels lead to 10-4, and a solo homer by Nolan Schanuel would make it 11-4 an inning later. They did not win. O’Hoppe also singled twice to help improve his slash to a still-disappointing .244/.315/.369 with four homers on the campaign.
    - Christopher Crawford