Cade Cavalli fans eight as Nationals blank Rockies

It’s time. Anderson’s meteoric rise concludes with his major-league debut against the Cubs on Saturday following an unprecedented 18-start run at Double-A Arkansas where he compiled a microscopic 1.06 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 135/13 K/BB ratio across 93 1/3 innings in his professional debut. The 22-year-old southpaw, who was the third-overall selection in last year’s draft, offers enough strikeout upside to be relevant in all fantasy formats over the final five weeks of the season. His signature offering is an upper-80s slider that he can consistently land in the strike zone for strikes, while also burying it below the zone to generate whiffs as a putaway pitch. It’s so early in his long-term development trajectory that fantasy managers should keep realistic expectations in check, but it’s not hyperbolic to assert that Anderson is unquestionably one of the more exciting, front-of-the-rotation caliber pitching prospects to reach the big leagues in recent memory. He’s long gone in most competitive fantasy leagues and should remain rostered until further notice.

Díaz will be the answer to a trivia question in Seattle for years to come if top prospect Kade Anderson follows in the trajectory that many scouts and evaluators believe he is on. The 29-year-old allowed one run over 1 1/3 innings of work during his lone appearance for Seattle earlier this week.

Abrams takes a seat for the third consecutive game as he continues to deal with a sprained left ankle that he suffered earlier this week. The 25-year-old fantasy standout is expected to make the gradual transition to second base during the final few weeks of the season with Nasim Nuñez taking over temporarily until sizzling-hot top prospect Seaver King, who has homered eight times in 16 games since the start of August, is ready to take over the position. He figures to be ready the moment rosters expand in September, which makes him a worthwhile stash in deeper mixed leagues. The Nationals also have intriguing infield prospect Devin Fitz-Gerald, who came over in the MacKenzie Gore trade last offseason, making noise in the upper minors as well.

Ernie Clement takes over at shortstop for the second consecutive contest. The encouraging news is that Giménez appears likely to avoid a trip to the injured list after being reevaluated prior to Saturday afternoon’s tilt in New York. It sounds like there’s a chance he’s ready to return in a couple days after suffering a right hamstring injury earlier this week.

Guerrero returns to Toronto’s lineup for Saturday’s early-afternoon matinee against the Yankees following a one-week absence due to a concussion. The positive news is that he cleared final concussion protocol after reaching base safely in all three plate appearances during a minor league rehab game for Low-A Dunedin earlier this week. He’s gone more than a calendar year without homering in the Rogers Centre and holds a calamitous .693 OPS with seven homers in 115 games heading into the final five weeks of the season.

Schneider’s latest stint with the Blue Jays lasted roughly 24 hours as it appears Andrés Giménez (hamstring) will avoid a trip to the injured list for now. His departure clears a spot on Toronto’s active roster for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to return from the injured list.

De Los Santos sipped a couple cups of coffee with Miami earlier this season, but hasn’t been able to carve out a permanent role at the highest level. The 23-year-old slugging prospect’s fantasy stock has tumbled since arriving in Miami as part of the A.J. Puk trade a couple years ago. He’s still capable of launching the occasional long ball and has showed more stolen base upside than previously expected with 18 homers and 17 steals in 95 games at the Triple-A level this season. He’s an interesting talent, but hardly worth rostering outside of extremely deep mixed leagues at the moment.

Miami’s strange four-catcher roster experiment lasted roughly 24 hours. Driscoll heads back to the minors with slugging prospect Deyvison De Los Santos getting another look.

Thomas isn’t the most exciting option from a pure fantasy perspective, but he makes the most sense as a short-term stopgap for the Dodgers with Andy Pages set to miss 4-5 weeks with a fractured hand. The 26-year-old defensive specialist is an excellent defender in center field and is already on the 40-man roster. He’ll split time with Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernández for the next couple weeks. There’s a chance that a top prospect like Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota or James Tibbs III get a look once rosters expand, but that seems unlikely at this juncture.

This qualifies as an all-time unexpected late-season development. Woodruff told reporters last month that he was undergoing season-ending capsule surgery on his right shoulder. That didn’t end up happening after followup imaging showed better than expected healing to the point that Dr. Keith Meister told him that surgery wasn’t required. He’ll begin a five-week throwing progression next week with the aim of being ready to pitch for Milwaukee in the postseason. Unreal. He won’t be ready in time to help fantasy managers down the home stretch, but his unexpected return would be a massive development for the Brewers heading into the playoffs.