MLB Player News

De La Cruz gave the Marlins a 5-0 lead with his three-run double off Chris Sale in the fifth inning. The outfielder also singled, and it ups his slash to .270/.281/.349. The lack of patience can be frustrating, but De La Cruz makes enough hard contact to go on some impressive streaks. Maybe this is the start of one of them.

“He’s going to play, a lot,” manager A.J. Hinch said. Baez has the lowest OPS (.422) among qualified hitters by nearly 100 points. The Tigers still owe Baez $72 million after this season. Something has to give at some point, but the Tigers will keep playing him for now.

Hall is scheduled to start for the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday. Acquired in the trade with the Orioles for Corbin Burnes this past offseason, the 25-year-old left-hander has been on the injured list since late April with a left knee sprain.

De La Cruz might break the century mark in the stolen base department, if he sustains this surreal pace. He was thrown out attempting a fifth steal in the seventh inning of Thursday’s showdown at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The 22-year-old burgeoning fantasy superstar is still striking out 30 percent of the time, but some improved plate discipline has enabled him to reach base more frequently this season and show off his field-tilting speed. He’s batting .277/.378/.516 with 35 runs scored, nine homers, 22 RBI and 30 steals following the first four-steal performance of his career out in Los Angeles. There’s still some room for improvement, but De La Cruz is rapidly evolving into one of the premier five-category impact contributors in the entire fantasy landscape.

Benson has homered in two of the last three contests out of Cincinnati’s leadoff spot. He’s shown glimpses of immense five-category fantasy potential, but the plate skills simply haven’t improved to the point that he can really put it all together and make the leap to superstardom. He’s struck out in 39.5 percent of his 162 plate appearances through 42 contests, which has contributed greatly to a lackluster .196/.290/.406 triple-slash line. He’s up to six homers and eight steals already, which puts him on pace to set new career-high marks in both categories. However, the plate skills need to improve if he’s going to make a massive impact in shallow mixed leagues down the road.

It was a rare dud for Glasnow, who has allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of his 10 starts at the outset of his Dodgers debut. The 30-year-old righty will bring a and 81/16 K/BB ratio across 62 innings (10 starts) into a home outing on Tuesday against the division-rival Diamondbacks.

It was a quiet night for the Oakland offense. Gelof recorded his first hit and RBI in his third game since returning from the IL. He needs to regain his power stroke if he’s even going to approach the impact fantasy managers expected from him before the season.

The home run was the first of Loperfido’s major league career. He’s now up to a .324/.378/.441 line in 37 plate appearances. He should continue to see regular playing time against right-handed pitching while Chas McCormick is on the IL.

Diaz opened the scoring with a bases-clearing double in the third inning off Joey Estes and the route was on from there. He hit 23 home runs in 104 games last year, but his power is noticeably down this year. His .119 ISO is well below his .256 ISO from last year. Diaz doesn’t walk often, but has cut his strikeout percentage to 13 percent so far this year. He’s not going to fall off a cliff if that keeps up, but he’s not exactly delivering on his lofty preseason draft price so far either.

After a surprisingly good season debut against the Mariners, Estes came crashing back to earth against the surging Astros. Estes’ ERA was 7.20 in two late season starts last year. He’s now sporting a 9.38 ERA after two starts this season. Estes isn’t usable in fantasy at the moment, but he’ll have a better matchup in his next start against the Rockies as long as the Athletics let him stay in the starting rotation.

Javier allowed only two hits and a walk. It was a good bounce back start for him after he had allowed seven runs against the Tigers in his last start. Javier lowered his ERA to 3.23 on the season. He’ll face the Angels at home in his next start.