Chase DeLauter absent from Saturday’s lineup

Martínez was playing essentially everyday while hitting .239/.276/.442 with 11 homers and nine stolen bases in 243 plate appearances before suffering a foot fracture in mid-June. He’ll likely be a big part of the Guardians lineup again right away, and fantasy managers can jump on him if he was dropped in shallower leagues. He’s batting leadoff tonight against the Rays.

Arias had the two hardest-hit balls of the game with a 108 mph single in the fourth inning and a 111.1 mph single in the sixth. It’s been a good month for Arias, who is now 12-for-40 (.300) with two home runs, seven runs scored, four RBI, and three steals in 14 games. The problem is that it also comes with a 19/3 K/BB ratio. Arias has loud raw tools, but the plate approach will always make him risky in fantasy leagues.

Bazzana also walked twice before his walkoff shot off Dennis Santana in the bottom of the ninth gave the Guardians a doubleheader sweep. Throw in his RBI triple in the matinee, and it was a big day for a rookie hitting just .158/.241/.197 in his previous 19 games. He’s at .253/.337/.410 overall in 67 big-league games.

Bazzana supplied Cleveland’s lone run during the front-end of the twin bill when he drilled a 101-mph RBI triple into the right-field corner off Pirates starter Jared Jones with two outs in the third inning. It was his lone hit in four at-bats out of the leadoff spot as the Guardians managed just six hits combined in their second-half lid-lifter.

Martínez started in left field and was 0-for-2 before the contest was suspended due to rain. The 24-year-old corner outfielder is working his way back from a non-displaced left foot fracture that put him on the injured list on June 16. He’ll require at least a couple games to get back up to speed following the extended layoff, but he should make it back to Cleveland’s lineup by late July.

Arias had a solid day at the plate, starting with a base hit and a stolen base in the second inning. He then singled, stole a base, and scored a run in the fourth before collecting his third hit to lead off the sixth. The 26-year-old infielder is hitting .239/.280/.432 with five homers and three steals across 93 plate appearances.

DeLauter opened the scoring in the ballgame with his 430-foot (106.4-mph EV) two-run shot off of Marlins’ right-hander Sandy Alcantara in the fourth inning. He also singled in the contest. With his two-hit attack, the 24-year-old rookie sensation is now slashing .282/.347/.447 with 10 homers, 45 RBI and three stolen bases in 323 plate appearances on the season.

DeLauter hit five home runs in his first seven games of the season and then seemed to go on a power outage, not hitting his next one until May 3rd. He now has two home runs in his last four games and is up to nine on the season. The 24-year-old makes plenty of hard contact, so maybe the summer months will lead to a bit of a power surge.

Bazzana has been removed from Cleveland’s leadoff spot after hitting .198/.280/.362 with four homers and four steals over his last 30 games. The 23-year-old rookie has been struggling recently, hitting just .238 (5-for-30) over his last seven games. It’ll be David Fry getting a look atop the lineup against Twins rookie lefty Connor Prielipp in this one. It could be a one-game decision, but fantasy managers should prepare for Bazzana to hit lower in the Guardians lineup against lefty starters moving forward.

Martínez suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left foot and was placed on the injured list back on June 16th. He has already begun to do ground-based conditioning and is now hitting as well. The Guardians will ramp up his activity level in the coming days to see how his foot responds, but they are apparently hopeful he can return after the All-Star break.