Nick Loftin homers, doubles twice in Royals’ win

Mickey Moniak and Jordan Beck are in the outfield corners with Cole Carrigg in center field. Veen has started just nine times in 17 games since being called up earlier this month, hitting .250 (7-for-28) with two homers, seven RBI and one steal. The 24-year-old prospect figures to continue sitting against left-handed starters, but he should do enough damage against right-handers to be useful in deeper fantasy leagues, especially when the Rockies are at home.

The pitcher they affectionately call “Tugboat” draws the starting assignment for the front-end of Saturday’s doubleheader at Oracle Park. The 23-year-old allowed four runs over 5 2/3 innings across a pair of appearances earlier this month. He misses enough bats to be interesting from a long-term standpoint, but he’s not a recommended fantasy option at this stage of his career.

Lonsway, a sixth-round pick from the 2021 draft, figures to operate in middle relief for San Francisco after receiving his first call-up to the big leagues. The 27-year-old has posted an underwhelming 6.00 ERA, 1.85 WHIP and 49/45 K/BB ratio across 72 innings at the Triple-A level this season. He can be ignored for fantasy purposes.

Bivens heads back to the minors after allowing eight runs over three innings during a pair of relief appearances earlier this week. The 32-year-old could return as middle relief depth at some point in the final month of the season.

Wagaman heads back to the minors with Juan Soto back from the injured list. The 29-year-old has hit .191 (9-for-47) with two homers in 26 games for the Mets this season.

Soto is at DH and hitting second against the Astros on Saturday following a five-week absence with a left calf strain. The 27-year-old generational talent was hitting .283/.408/.539 with 46 runs scored, 21 homers, 52 RBI and seven steals in 359 plate appearances through 84 games before landing on the shelf in late July. He’s likely to spend most of his time at DH over the final month of the season with Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing and Luis Robert Jr. splitting time across New York’s outfield mix.

Griffin is aiming to return for Friday’s series opener against the Angels when he’s first eligible to come off the injured list. The 20-year-old prodigy was hitting .276/.332/.404 with 35 runs scored, five homers, 25 RBI and 20 steals in 247 plate appearances across 59 games before landing on the injured list with a torn sagittal band in his left ring finger since early July. His return would be a massive development for Pittsburgh and he offers enough stolen base upside to be a significant fantasy contributor for the final three-plus weeks of the season.

Blake added that Fried was up to 60 pitches during his final live batting practice session earlier this week, which is roughly the same number they’re targeting in his return from the injured list. The 32-year-old upper-echelon fantasy starter will be officially activated from the injured list prior to the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader against Boston.

Buxton remains day-to-day with right hip discomfort, which may ultimately require offseason surgery, according to Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll. The arrival of top prospect Walker Jenkins, who is in center field and hitting ninth on Saturday afternoon after going 1-for-3 in his major-league debut on Friday, gives Minnesota the ability to carry Buxton on the active roster for at least a couple days with the hope that he’ll avoid another trip to the injured list. Clearly, he’ll have to manage the ongoing hip issue for the final month of the season, which is going to make things extremely challenging for fantasy managers.

No surprises here with rookie lefty Jake Bennett toeing the rubber for the opening contest of Saturday’s twin bill at Yankee Stadium. It’ll be Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario getting a look at first and second base, respectively, with Heliot Ramos getting into the lineup in right field.