MLB Player News

Rogers will face the Yankees tonight after missing two starts due to an illness. He had a 9.53 ERA in his most recent three starts before landing on the IL.

Matz landed on the injured list with a sprained ankle back on June 25. The 35-year-old southpaw lost his spot in Tampa Bay’s rotation back in early June and will continue operating out of the bullpen once he’s back. He doesn’t offer any fantasy appeal in his current role.

It’s a massive injury bombshell with less than one week remaining until the MLB Draft. The 6-foot-9 Massachusetts prep lefty was hitting triple-digits routinely this spring following last year’s internal brace procedure on his elbow. The 18-year-old is committed to Texas and could ultimately wind up heading to college if he slips far enough in the draft due to injury concerns. He was universally-regarded as a top-25 range selection prior to this latest development.

Stanton remains in a bit of a holding pattern following a mid-June setback in his recovery from a calf strain that put him on the shelf back in late April. The 36-year-old veteran slugger will need to ramp up his running progression before there’s a clearer timetable for his potential return to New York’s lineup. It’s worth noting that Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters he believes Stanton will return this season. It feels safe to assume he’ll be out until sometime in August.

Lance McCullers Jr. (shoulder) and Ronel Blanco (elbow) are scheduled to pitch in the same rehab contest. The 28-year-old shortstop hit the injured list with a mild calf strain last week and figures to return to Houston before next week’s All-Star break. He was just starting to really find his stride at the dish prior to the injury, hitting .319 (29-for-91) with three homers, 13 RBI and five steals in the month of June.

That means Bryce Elder will get the ball for one of the final two games of the series with Grant Holmes likely to draw the starting assignment in the other. Elder had his previous start skipped for some extra rest. Waldrep authored a strong performance against the Cardinals last week, allowing three runs over 5 1/3 innings, during his first start of the season. He offers enough strikeout upside to be interesting in deeper fantasy leagues.

Wendzel heads to the open market after going unclaimed on waivers. The 29-year-old infielder appeared in two games for the Pirates earlier this season and was jettisoned from Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster over the weekend. He’s merely organizational depth and a temporary stopgap option at this stage of his career.

Hamilton will stick around with Atlanta as organizational relief depth after passing through waivers unclaimed. The well-traveled 31-year-old was designated for assignment last week after four relief outings with the Braves.

Harris gets the nod atop Atlanta’s lineup against Mets starter Freddy Peralta after going 7-for-14 with two homers and seven RBI during the first three games of the series. The 25-year-old outfielder has been a streaky fantasy contributor the last few years. He’s in the middle of a strong stretch at the moment, hitting .299 (35-for-117) with four homers, 19 RBI and two steals over his last 30 games.

May suffered a right ankle contusion during his previous outing against Atlanta last week and simply hasn’t thrown a ton of pitches in any single outing since reeling off a one-hitter against the Padres back on June 15. The Cardinals aren’t going to push him too much from a workload standpoint with the All-Star break literally around the corner. The firm pitch count dampens his appeal for fantasy purposes, especially against a Milwaukee lineup that tends to do considerable damage against right-handed starters.

Azocar receives another call to Atlanta’s bench mix with Eli White away from the club on paternity leave. It’ll likely be another short stint for the 30-year-old journeyman after going 5-for-15 with one steal in nine games for the Braves earlier this year.