Betting

Barger is hitting second on Saturday against the Angels in his return to Toronto’s lineup after missing nearly five weeks recovering from a left ankle sprain. The 26-year-old power-hitter was one of last year’s biggest breakthroughs, launching 21 homers in 135 games. His return sends hot-hitting rookie Yohendrick Piñango, who hit .423 (11-for-26) with four RBI in 10 games for the Blue Jays since late April, back to the minors.

The stunning early-season trade is now official. Bailey is universally regarded as one of the top defensive specialists in the entire game and should immediately strengthen Cleveland’s entire pitching staff. The 26-year-old backstop is a non-factor at the plate, but he’s a two-time Gold Glove Award winner and seems to fit the mold of what the Guardians front office is looking for in a defensive-oriented starting catcher. It’ll be Bo Naylor heading to Triple-A while veteran Austin Hedges sticks around as his caddy. Bailey’s departure means the Giants are going to roll with youngsters Daniel Susac and Jesus Rodríguez as their catching tandem moving forward.

There was some concern that Webb would need some time off after experiencing left knee discomfort during his previous start against the Padres. The 29-year-old workhorse appears on track to make his next start against the Dodgers on Monday. However, fantasy managers should continue monitoring his status leading into next week.

There was some concern after Suarez left last weekend’s start against the Astros with right hamstring tightness, but he’s managed to avoid the injured list, and is on track to take the ball against his former team at some point in the middle of next week. The 30-year-old lefty hasn’t allowed a run in four of his seven starts to open his Red Sox debut and holds a solid 2.77 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 32/10 K/BB ratio across 39 innings. The big concern here is how long the Red Sox are going to let him go since he’ll be making his first start in roughly a week and a half on the heels of an abbreviated 70-pitch outing. He’s been solid enough to trust in all fantasy formats, especially against a lackluster Phillies lineup.

It’s an extremely encouraging update after Acuña hit the injured list with a Grade 1 left hamstring stain last week. Braves manager Walt Weiss told reporters afterwards that the 28-year-old power/speed combo superstar still “has some boxes to check” before he’s potentially activated when first eligible to return next Wednesday. Even if it takes a few extra days, Acuña is trending towards making it back to Atlanta’s lineup at some point around mid-May.

Waldschmidt came off the bench to rip a 95.9-mph single to left field in the eighth inning of Friday’s loss. The 23-year-old corner outfielder is going to strike out at a healthy clip as he acclimates to facing big-league arms for the first time, but he offers enough fantasy-relevant tools, including an intriguing power/speed combo, to warrant a speculative roster spot in all leagues. He was hitting .289/.400/.477 with three homers and six steals in 34 games at the Triple-A level this season. He figures to play everyday for Arizona moving forward.

Anderson carried a shutout into the sixth inning before coughing up a solo homer with two outs in the frame. He threw a whopping 49 of 75 pitches for strikes in his latest dominant outing. He’s topped eight strikeouts in four of his six starts to kick off his professional debut. The21-year-old southpaw, who was selected third overall in last year’s MLB Draft, continues to look like one of the top pitching prospects in the fantasy landscape with a sparkling 0.60 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 47/5 K/BB ratio across 30 innings. There’s a very real possibility he’s pitching in Seattle by the end of the year.

Hernandez posted nine punchouts for the third consecutive starts and generated an eye-popping 24 swinging strikes in this one. He threw 56 of 81 pitches for strikes and allowed just four baserunners over six dominant innings. The 19-year-old continues to strengthen his case as the top fantasy pitching prospect in the game. He’s struck out 48.1 percent of the batters he’s faced in his professional debut while recording a microscopic 0.96 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 50/7 K/BB ratio across 28 innings over six starts at Low-A.

Jackson Merrill’s fourth-inning single was the only hit the Cardinals could muster. With his velocity up by about one mph, McGreevy got 17 whiffs tonight and bested his previous high for strikeouts by two. He’s now 3-2 with a 2.18 ERA on the season, though this is really the first time he’s looked like someone who can back that up. He entered the night with a 16 percent strikeout rate, a 4.38 SIERA and a 5.77 xERA. We still wouldn’t want to use him in mixed leagues next week in Sacramento against the A’s.

He’s done it again. Murakami launched his 15th home run of the season in the first inning of this one, which tied Aaron Judge for most in the league. Another key mark, this was Murakami’s first home run that went out to left field. Also, his 15 long balls over 38 games is the fastest any player has reached that mark in White Sox history. Not just rookies, every player in their 125 years of existence. His batting average has begun to trend down a good bit as his strikeout rate and whiff rate remain near the bottom of the league, but his .948 OPS is elite and it looks like he will continue to mash.