Shewmake DFAed by Brewers

Hampton was one of New York’s brightest pitching prospect before an avalanche of elbow injuries derailed his trajectory. The 25-year-old has struggled to a disastrous 9.59 ERA across 11 starts for Double-A Somerset this season. Hampton is young enough that there could be another organization out there willing to roll the dice on him as a reclamation project.

Merrill supplied a pair of key run-scoring hits for San Diego with two outs in the first and third innings, respectively, which made the difference in a low-scoring affair at Petco Park. The 23-year-old has put together a nice stretch at the plate recently, hitting .263 (15-for-57) with three homers, nine RBI and one steal over his last 15 games. He’s on pace to establish career-high marks in both the home run and stolen base departments after injuries limited him to just 115 games last year following his impressive rookie campaign.

Crews was responsible for nearly half of Washington’s five hits during a low-scoring series opener out in San Diego. The 24-year-old former top prospect took lefty reliever Kyle Hart deep in the sixth inning for his 11th big fly of the season. He also singled against Padres elite closer Mason Miller to put the potential game-tying run on-base in the final frame. He hasn’t offered much from a batting average standpoint, but Crews continues to show a little bit of the power/speed combo skillset that made him such a coveted fantasy prospect just a few years ago.

It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that Tatis has been one of the more impactful hitters in the fantasy landscape during the second half, batting .296 (55-for-186) with 15 home runs and nine steals in 47 games since the All-Star break. The dynamic 27-year-old outfielder has already notched his fourth 20-homer, 20-steal campaign in the last five seasons and will establish a new career-high mark in the stolen base department on his next theft.

Miller came on to preserve a one-run lead in the final frame and managed to work around a one-out single from Dylan Crews by striking out CJ Abrams before getting Brady House to ground out to end it. He’s converted 34 of 36 save opportunities and has 113 strikeouts across 61 1/3 innings. He’s the best closer in the fantasy landscape and it might be a while before anyone else even enters the conversation.

Irvin gave up eight hits, including a pair of run-scoring singles by Jackson Merrill, to wind up on the hook for his ninth loss of the year. He struck out three and only issued two walks. The 29-year-old is not a recommended fantasy option when he takes the ball against the Angels to wrap up a two-start week on Sunday.

Pivetta recorded two strikeouts and allowed just two baserunners, requiring an economical 63 pitches (39) strikes to cruise through five frames in his first start back in the majors since April 12. He gave up some loud contact, including six batted balls with exit velocities over 99 mph, but they didn’t come back to burn him. It was completely justifiable to question whether the 33-year-old veteran starter would make any sort of fantasy impact down the home stretch after such a lengthy layoff, but he seems to have answered those concerns with a strong effort right out of the gate. He’s in line for an extremely favorable matchup against the rebuilding Giants to wrap up a two-start week on Sunday.

Greene spearheaded Detroit’s offense with an impressive three-hit performance, which included taking rookie southpaw Connor Prielipp deep in the fifth inning, to lift his team to a badly-needed win that keeps their slim playoff hopes alive. The 25-year-old middle-of-the-order force has gone deep three times in his last three contests and is up to 19 round-trippers on the season. He’s hitting .385 (10-for-26) with 10 RBI in seven games since coming off the injured list on September 1.

Larnach was one of the few bright spots for Minnesota in this one as he took Tigers starter Troy Melton out to right field in the fourth inning to get his club within one run at the time. It was his 12th big fly of the season. He’ll continue getting opportunities against right-handed starters, but he’s pretty much just a platoon bat at this stage of his career.

McGonigle connected for his first round-tripper since August 23, launching a no-doubter to right field off Twins ace Joe Ryan in the opening frame. The 22-year-old remains the heavy favorite to take home the American League Rookie of the Year Award with less than three weeks remaining on the calendar.