Liam Hicks reaches three times in loss to Guards

Yoshida is slashing .355/.394/.645 in nine games in July with two home runs, six runs scored, and seven RBI, so it makes sense to try and get him as many at-bats as possible in this one. Anthony Seigler, who has been slumping of late, will head to the bench with Romy Gonzalez starting at second base and batting sixth.

Harber, who was acquired from the Yankees as part of the Camilo Doval trade, has gone 6-for-16 in his first four games at Triple-A with three RBI and a 4/3 K/BB ratio. He had previously hit .284/.369/.510 in 66 games at Double-A with 12 home runs, 47 RBI, two steals, and a 73/35 K/BB ratio. It would be pretty accelerated to promote him to the big leagues, but Harber is 24 years old, so if the Giants are able to trade away both Luis Arraez and Matt Chapman at the deadline, there may be some at-bats for Harber in San Francisco to end the season.

Martin has been battling a shoulder injury that cost him the entire month of June and then sidelined him again on July 12th. It’s good to see that he’s back throwing in games so quickly. He struck out one and didn’t allow a baserunner in this one. The 40-year-old could be back with the Rangers by early next week.

Most teams usually recall an extra pitcher for a doubleheader, but the Yankees will go with a bat instead. Jones has hit .233/.317/.370 with two homers, seven RBI, one stolen base, and a 34/9 K/BB ratio over 82 plate appearances with the Yankees this season. Perhaps the team is hoping he gets into a big home run today in the hopes of boosting his trade value at the deadline.

The speedster was also caught stealing in his first rehab game since landing on the injured list on July 7th. Hamilton had been playing well before the injury, slashing .313/.353/.438 in his last 15 games with four RBI and four steals. With Joey Ortiz also starting to hit well, Hamilton’s imminent return could cut into Cooper Pratt’s playing time.

Matz has been on the injured list with a sprained ankle since June 25th. The left-hander was moved to the bullpen before the injury and will reportedly remain there when he returns, so the Rays don’t need to worry too much about building up his pitch count. He may need one or two more appearances before rejoining the MLB club.

That drops Johnson to a .198/.327/.307 slash line with an 88/54 K/BB ratio in 80 games at Triple-A. It’s a disappointing development for the fourth overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft after it seemed like he took a step forward last season. Johnson is just 22 years old, so it’s not time to give up on his MLB potential yet, but he might benefit from a fresh approach in a new organization.

As Healey notes, Crochet is now three months into recovery for a shoulder injury that the Red Sox were initially not convinced needed an IL stint. Of course, that has included connected issues to separate parts of the shoulder that turned an inflammation designation into a lat strain. Crochet himself has stated that his goal is to pitch for the Red Sox in the postseason, but even that is not guaranteed at this point. Once Crochet is cleared, and he has not been yet, “he’ll need a spring training-esque six weeks or so, maybe longer” to be ready to pitch in an MLB game. It’s probably time to drop Crochet in all redraft fantasy leagues if you’ve been holding on this long.

Rodríguez also struck out three but walked four while throwing just 42 of his 77 pitches for strikes. The 22-year-old has had a solid season at Triple-A with a 3.03 ERA in 71 1/3 innings, but he also has a 1.30 WHIP and just 70 strikeouts to 38 walks. Given his struggles in his few MLB starts, there is some reason to believe that Rodríguez has the ceiling of a back-of-the-rotation arm in the big leagues who will never have tons of strikeout upside. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Yankees try to add him into a trade package to acquire an impact MLB player for their stretch run.

In five games since returning from a finger injury, Lombard Jr. has gone 8-for-16 with three home runs, four RBI, eight runs scored, and a 4/4 K/BB ratio. Maybe the only thing he hasn’t done well is get thrown out stealing twice. The 21-year-old has a very real chance to push his way into the Yankees lineup in August if he keeps hitting like this after slashing .306/.426/.571 in 14 games in June.