Twinkies Rule

 Who are the forgotten men ?

 The Tampa Bay Rays are certainly forgotten men.

 The Rays are Milford men through and through, a group of anonymous overachievers confined to the league’s eeriest stadium, the cavernous Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Sometimes you wonder what it will take for the Rays to finally get their due. They literally reinvented baseball last year by introducing the opener, now a mainstream movement adopted by almost every team. Not even a thank you. If the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers are the life of the party, keg-standing and belting out karaoke, the low-budget Rays are the timid wallflowers that can’t strike up a conversation, checking their watches and sipping quietly from red Solo cups.
The embattled younger sibling of the AL East can’t seem to convince anyone of its greatness. Baseball pundits on television love to spoon-feed us narratives, but never about the Rays.  

How are the Yankees doing this without their best players? Can anyone challenge the Dodgers in the National League? When will the Mets finally fire Mickey Callaway? Is Bryce Harper a fraud? Will Craig Kimbrel ever get a job? Even the Twins, a similarly underappreciated club with financial restraints, are getting more acknowledgment than Tampa.

That might never change. Perhaps the Rays are doomed to always play second banana to sexier, big-market clubs while ceding primetime slots to perennial powerhouses like Boston and New York. But even if the Rays lack brand recognition and play half their games in a decrepit baseball dungeon, they still have one thing going for them—they’re really, really good. In fact, if the Rays stick to their current pace, they’ll win 105 games, shattering the franchise high-water mark of 97 set in 2008, the year they won their first (and so far, only) AL pennant. 
Hosting the Twins, owners of the majors’ best record at 37-18 (mere percentage points ahead of the Dodgers), the Rays had a chance to make a statement Thursday night. And that’s just what they did, throttling Minnesota for their sixth straight win in a 14-3 rout. The weekend is young—Thursday was just the first of a four-game set in St. Pete. But the Twins, winners of 12 of their last 14 games prior to Thursday, will certainly be feeling the effects of this one.
The Rays put the hurt on early, breaking through for 11 runs in the first four innings including a six-run third that chased Twins starter Martin Perez from the game. Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuela native, never moved the needle much in Texas but he’s made himself right at home in Minnesota, logging seven wins in 12 outings (nine starts) for the up-start Twins. The change of scenery from Globe Life Park, a hitter’s park if there ever was one, to the more forgiving confines of Target Field, has certainly played a role in the lefty’s star turn this year. But plans to erect a statue in his honor were scrapped after Thursday’s letdown, which raised Perez’s ERA from 2.95 all the way to 3.71.

As for the Rays, they won it the way they always do—weirdly and beautifully. The A’s, well-known for their “Moneyball” tactics, are the preeminent dumpster-divers of MLB, but Tampa Bay might be a close second in that department. From Logan Morrison to C.J. Cron (now a Twin, ironically enough), the crafty Rays are never one to shy away from a reclamation project. Tampa may have uncovered another gem in Avisail Garcia, a one-time All-Star with the White Sox who signed for pennies on the dollar after squandering his contract year with a dismal 2018 (.236 AVG in 356 at-bats). Looking to reinvent himself in Tampa, the 27-year-old has done exactly that, cruising to a .301 average with 10 homers and 25 RBI. He’s also unlocked a hidden talent, using his newfound wheels to log six steals (one off his career-high of seven set in 2015) on eight attempts. Garcia, who graduated with a major in Twins studies from his many years playing in the AL Central, took Minnesota to school with three hits, a walk and three runs scored in Thursday night’s onslaught.
Garcia was a clutch find, but the Rays are also well-stocked for the future with talented up-and-comers like Austin Meadows (one of two pieces acquired in last year’s Chris Archer heist) and early Rookie of the Year front-runner Brandon Lowe. Both blew the doors off on Thursday night with Meadows providing two of the Rays’ 16 hits along with four RBI while Lowe plated three runs of his own in the winning effort. Meadows has been an absolute cheat code for the Rays, rolling to a .361 mark with 12 jacks, 36 RBI and six steals. Those gaudy counting stats are even more impressive when you factor in the time he lost to a strained thumb, an injury that kept the 24-year-old off the field for nearly three weeks. Lowe, a jack-of-all-trades who has seen reps at three different positions this year (first base, second and right field), has swung a similarly hot stick for the second-place Rays, ranking second among rookies in both round-trippers (11) and RBI (35). Mets standout Pete Alonso has him beat in both categories but that’s not a knock on Lowe, a player the Rays believe in so strongly that they signed him to a six-year, $24 million extension this offseason. Lowe may regret that deal later if he really blows up, but there’s still a lot you can do with $24 million especially in Florida, a state famed for its lack of income tax.
The Rays certainly brought the thunder offensively Thursday night, but even if they hadn’t, Charlie Morton would have had their back anyway. One of the few traditional starters still employed by the forward-thinking Rays, the former Astro kept the Twins at bay, limiting the visitors to two runs on four hits over seven strong innings. Thursday spelled the latest chapter in a season of stinginess for Morton, who has sizzled to an unblemished 6-0 record with 83 punch-outs (11.09 K/9) and a 2.54 ERA through 12 turns in the Rays’ rotation. The 35-year-old havoc-wreaker has found the fountain of youth and he’s not sharing, winning 21-of-24 decisions since the start of last season.
The Rays spoiled Rocco Baldelli’s homecoming and few were there to see it as Thursday’s series opener drew a paltry 8,076 fans to the Trop, only a slight improvement on the 5,786 that showed up Tuesday night, the smallest crowd in the team’s 21-year history. And here lies the greatest obstacle the Rays face in their ongoing quest for relevance. If their own community doesn’t care, why should anyone else? Because they’re good as hell, that’s why! Shame on you, Tampa. If only the Rays had a little less Buster and a little more David Puddy, then we’d be onto something.

AL Quick Hits: Dallas Keuchel’s agent, Scott Boras, believes his client will be ready to pitch in the majors within a week of signing. The former Cy Young winner has been greeted by crickets on the free agent market, though interest should pick up after the draft, which begins Monday. … Tommy Pham exited Thursday night’s game with cramping in his lower leg. The Rays outfielder received “good” news from his MRI and expects to suit up Friday against Minnesota. … Yankees skipper Aaron Boone suggested Didi Gregorius, who is currently rehabbing in the minors with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, could return for the start of the team’s six-game road trip, which kicks off Tuesday in Toronto. Didi was expected to miss most if not all of the first half following offseason Tommy John surgery but obviously his timeline has moved up considerably. … CC Sabathia threw a bullpen session Thursday in advance of his expected return Sunday against Boston. It looks like the veteran lefty will end up missing just one start after landing on the injured list with knee inflammation last week. … Hunter Dozier bowed out of Thursday night’s game with right-sided thorax tightness. He’s been cooking lately (10 for his last 22), so hopefully fantasy owners won’t be without him for too long. … Mike Trout returned Thursday after missing the previous day’s game with a sore foot. The two-time AL MVP didn’t miss a beat, reaching four times while contributing three RBI in a win over the Mariners. … Joey Gallo was back in action Thursday after a wrist injury kept him out Wednesday. He went 0-for-3 with a walk as the Rangers fell 4-2 to Kansas City. 


NL Quick Hits: Hyun-Jin Ryu capped a pitch-perfect May with another masterful outing Thursday against the Mets, limiting the visitors to four hits over seven shutout frames in a 2-0 Dodgers victory. The left-hander from Korea rolled to a 5-0 mark in May while allowing a mere three runs in 45 innings of work (0.60 ERA). … Justin Turner got the night off Thursday, missing L.A.’s series finale against the Mets due to a tight hamstring. Manager Dave Roberts said Turner would be available to pinch-hit, though that never came to fruition. … Some good news on the injury front for Milwaukee as Travis Shaw is expected to join the Brewers after finishing his rehab assignment with Triple-A San Antonio this weekend. It’s taken the third baseman a little over two weeks to recover from a strained wrist … Coors Field was up to its usual tricks Thursday as the Rockies and D’Backs combined for 21 runs in an afternoon slugfest. Colorado edged Arizona 11-10 on Daniel Murphy’s walk-off single in the 10th inning, completing the Rockies’ four-game sweep. Kyle Freeland endured another nightmare start for Colorado (3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER), raising his season ERA to a hellish 7.13. … Speaking of Colorado, former Rockie Carlos Gonzalez is headed to the Cubs on a minor-league deal. CarGo disappointed in a stint with Cleveland earlier this year, managing only a .210 average in 105 at-bats before being let go. … Bryce Harper’s debut season in Philadelphia has been anything but smooth sailing but it seems the former MVP has finally found his stroke. He delivered the goods with a strong, three-hit showing Thursday in a loss to St. Louis. The 26-year-old has raked over his last eight games, batting a ridiculous .406 (13-for-32) with a homer and 10 RBI during that span. … Neil Walker couldn’t finish Thursday’s game against San Francisco, exiting with a strained right quad. JT Riddle was scratched from his game at Triple-A New Orleans, indicating he could be on his way to the majors to replace Walker.

Houston, we've got a problem

The injuries keep piling up for the first-place Houston Astros. It’s too early to panic, but they could be on the verge of reaching a potential tipping point after losing three key components of their formidable everyday lineup over the past few weeks. Center fielder George Springer, who appeared to be on the verge of putting together a career-year, suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain over the weekend and superstar second baseman Jose Altuve has been out since May 11 with a left hamstring injury and soreness in his surgically-repaired right knee during his rehab assignment. The latest addition to the Astros’ ever-expanding list of sidelined stalwarts is shortstop Carlos Correa, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday after sustaining a fractured rib during an in-home massage earlier this week. Seriously. It's one of the most bizarre injuries of the last decade or so, but the ramifications, for the Astros and fantasy owners alike are significant. The 24-year-old slugger, who is hitting .295/.360/.547 with 11 homers and 35 RBI across 214 plate appearances this season, is expected to be sidelined for the next 4-to-6 weeks.

It’s a potentially devastating blow for the Astros’ offense, but Correa should be able to return by late-June or early-July at the latest. In the meantime, third baseman Alex Bregman, who leads the majors with 13 homers this month, could potentially slide over to fill-in temporarily at shortstop. Rookie infielders Jack Mayfield and Myles Straw, who were both called up from Triple-A Round Rock this week, will likely step into everyday roles as well since veteran utility specialist Aledmys Diaz remains sidelined with a hamstring injury as well. From a pure fantasy perspective, the newfound depth at the shortstop position cushions the blow of losing a key contributor like Correa for an extended period. Simply put, the resurrection of established veterans, most notably Jonathan Villar and Elvis Andrus, in tandem with an influx of talented youngsters, like Adalberto Mondesi, Jorge Polanco, Paul DeJong and Tim Anderson, who have blossomed into upper-echelon options at the position, means that there is no longer a shortage of quality replacement-level options in shallow formats. The metaphorical rising tide lifts all boats at the position, and while it may seem impossible to replace Correa’s production, there should be plenty of quality options out there to fill the void.     

Cesar’s Palace

Perhaps the most unlikely (and intriguing) standout performance from Wednesday’s slate belonged to Angels’ outfielder Cesar Puello, who went 3-for-6 with a home run and four RBI to propel Los Angeles to an eventual comeback win over the Athletics in extra-innings. The 28-year-old had not appeared in the major leagues since 2017, but made an immediate impact in his season debut, opening up the scoring with a two-run single in the first inning. He also singled in the fifth and capped off his three-hit effort by launching a majestic, 416-foot two-run homer to left-center field off A’s reliever Yusmeiro Petit in the seventh. Granted, it was only one game, but it was certainly an electrifying performance, especially since he posted an impressive .299/.434/.507 triple-slash line with seven home runs and two stolen bases in 42 games at Triple-A Salt Lake before his promotion. Barring an injury, there isn’t a clear path to everyday playing time in the Angels’ outfield right now. However, it’s clear that Puello has figured something out at the plate and deserves to be on the fantasy radar in deeper formats. At the very least, he's worthy of a speculative pickup in extremely deep mixed leagues and AL-Only formats.

The other fantasy story-line to monitor out of Los Angeles revolves around the job security of veteran stopper Hansel Robles, who imploded in the ninth inning Wednesday, allowing two runs on three hits in an ugly blown save against the Athletics. The 28-year-old righty has now blown two of his last three save chances and could be on the verge of losing future opportunities unless he turns things around. He was tasked with preserving a two-run lead and promptly surrendered a leadoff homer to Mark Canha before serving up back-to-back hits to Jurickson Profar, who eventually scored the tying run on a Josh Phegley sacrifice fly later in the frame, and Ramon Laureano. If the Angels’ elect to go in a different direction, it would likely be to hand the full-time closing duties to 26-year-old righty Ty Buttrey, who owns a microscopic 1.30 ERA and 35/7 K/BB ratio across 25 appearances this season.

AL Quick Hits: Khris Davis (oblique) has begun hitting soft toss. … George Springer (hamstring) and Aledmys Diaz (hamstring) were able to run on the field prior to Wednesday's game against the Cubs. … Red Sox placed Mitch Moreland on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 26, with a lower back strain. … Joey Gallo (wrist) was held out of the Rangers’ lineup on Wednesday. … Mike Trout (foot) was absent from the Angels’ lineup on Wednesday. …  Gleyber Torres, Luke Voit, DJ LeMahieu and Gio Urshela went deep in the Yankees’ shutout win over the Padres. … James Paxton recorded seven strikeouts over four no-hit innings in his first start since May 3. … Carlos Santana went 3-for-4 with a home run, five RBI and four runs scored in the Indians’ win over the Red Sox. … Brad Hand notched his 15th save in that one. … Andrew Benintendi went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in the loss. … Tommy Pham went 3-for-5 with a run scored in the Rays’ victory over the Blue Jays in extra innings. … Lourdes Gurriel went 2-for-6 with a two-run homer in the losing effort. … Shane Greene picked up his 18th save in the Tigers’ win over the Orioles. … John Means whiffed seven batters over six innings of one-run ball in that contest. … Mallex Smith swiped his 13th base of the season in the Mariners’ loss to the Rangers. … Mariners placed J.P. Crawford on the 10-day injured with a left ankle sprain. … Sean Manaea (shoulder) threw a 40-pitch bullpen session on Wednesday. … Chris Davis (hip) expects to be activated from the injured list as soon as he is eligible. … Dee Gordon (wrist) is expected to begin baseball activities on Thursday.

NL Quick Hits: Eugenio Suarez told reporters that x-rays on his left hand came back negative after he left Wednesday's contest against the Pirates. … Reds manager David Bell expects Joey Votto (hamstring) to return to the lineup on Friday. … Jordan Lyles (hamstring) expects to make his start on Sunday against the Brewers. … Nick Pivetta will make another start on Sunday against the Dodgers. … Tyler Beede will start for the Giants on Thursday against the Marlins. … Chris Paddack was tagged for four runs on six hits over five innings in the Padres’ loss to the Yankees. … Edwin Diaz melted down in spectacular fashion, surrendering four runs on five hits in an ugly blown save against the Dodgers. … Josh Bell went 3-for-5 with his 18th round-tripper and three RBI to power the Pirates past the Reds. … Nick Senzel clobbered his fourth long ball in the loss. … Trea Turner went 3-for-6 with a stolen base and Juan Soto finished 2-for-4 with a homer, two walks and four runs scored in the Nationals’ lopsided win over the Braves. … Kevin Gausman was blasted for eight runs in one-plus innings in the loss. … Bryce Harper went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI to propel the Phillies to a blowout win over the Cardinals. … Aaron Nola struck out eight batters over seven innings to pick up the win in that contest. … Pete Alonso went 3-for-4 with a pair of two-run homers in the Mets’ loss to the Dodgers. … Kyle Hendricks allowed one run over eight innings in the Cubs’ win over the Astros … Kyle Schwarber walloped his 10th homer in that contest. … Scott Oberg notched his first save with a hitless ninth inning for the Rockies in their win over the Diamondbacks. …  Ildemaro Vargas reached five times, going 2-for-2 with three walks, in the loss. … Jorge Alfaro went 4-for-4 with a run scored in the Marlins’ narrow victory over the Giants. … Wade Davis (oblique) was able to throw again on Wednesday. … Jeff McNeil (hamstring) has resumed baseball activities. … Trevor Williams (side) has played catch from 105 feet and thrown from the slope of a mound. … Austin Barnes (groin) has resumed working out. … Jeremy Hellickson has been shut down from throwing due to shoulder soreness. … Dinelson Lamet (elbow) allowed three runs over 2 2/3 innings with five strikeouts on Wednesday in a rehab start for High-A Lake Elsinore. … Alex Reyes (finger) is likely to make a rehab start for Triple-A Memphis on Sunday.

Slugging Sano

Miguel Sano

Greetings seekers of the long ball, with Brad Johnson away this week I’m going to attempt to take his place here without experiencing a massive drop off. With any luck, just maybe I’ll be able to get a hold of one and knock it out of the park.

We’re now just a hair under 31% of the way through the 2019 MLB season and balls continue to fly out of the yard at a record-breaking pace. To date, 2,009 home runs have already been hit across Major League Baseball. If things continue at that pace, we’re going to see just under 6,500 home runs hit this season. Like Brad has noted the last few weeks, that sky-high rate continues to accelerate and is likely to continue doing so as the weather warms up. Yikes.

That mark is being led by perhaps the biggest surprise story of the season, the Minnesota Twins. As a team, the Twins knocked three more balls over the fence in Friday night’s victory over the White Sox, bringing their team total to 101 on the season. They’re just the second team in MLB history to swat 100 or more home runs in their club’s first 50 games, joining the 1999 Seattle Mariners.
So which players have been leading the record-breaking charge over the past week? Let’s take a look.

Weekly Leaders

Miguel Sano, 5 HR

Anthony Rizzo, 4 HR

Gleyber Torres, 4 HR

Josh Bell, 4 HR

Freddie Freeman, 4 HR

Renato Nunez, 4 HR

Trevor Story, 4 HR

Jonathan Schoop, 4 HR

Austin Riley, 4 HR

19 others, 3 HR

Leading the way is Twins’ slugger Miguel Sano. The 26-year-old slugger missed his team’s first 42 games of the season due to a lacerated heel, finally making his season debut on May 16. After opposing pitchers were able to keep him in the yard through his first two games, Sano has now swatted five long balls over his last five -- including leaving the yard in each of his last three contests. While his 55.6% HR/FB% is obviously going to come down, there has always been prodigious power in this right-handed bat

Anthony Rizzo has now homered in each of his last three games, and has slugged 10 of his 14 home runs this season in his last 21 games. During that stretch he’s slashing a healthy .360/.440/.779.

Trevor Story made a bit of history on Friday, as his seventh-inning blast against the Orioles made him the fastest shortstop in MLB history to reach 100 homers for his career. He accomplished the feat in only 448 games, while it took previous record holder Alex Rodriguez 470 games to reach that mark. He didn’t waste any time charging toward the next 100 either, as he clubbed a walk-off two-run homer to sink the O’s.

And how about Braves’ rookie sensation Austin Riley? He earned his call to the show by swatting 15 homers in 37 games at Triple-A Gwinnett and hasn’t missed a beat since joining the Braves. He has made it look easy through his first 10 games at the big league level, slashing .350/.381/.750 with five homers and 12 RBI.

 Top 10 Projected Home Run Leaders

Joey Gallo, Texas Rangers: 15 HR, 48 HR projected

Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers: 20 HR, 47 HR projected

Khris Davis, Oakland Athletics: 12 HR, 47 HR projected

Pete Alonso, New York Mets: 17 HR, 46 HR projected

Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers: 18 HR, 46 HR projected

Franmil Reyes, San Diego Padres: 15 HR, 44 HR projected

J.D. Martinez, Boston Red Sox: 9 HR, 41 HR projected

Joc Pederson, Los Angeles Dodgers: 14 HR, 41 HR projected

Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies: 13 HR, 41 HR projected

Eugenio Suarez, Cincinnati Reds, 14 HR, 41 HR projected

The above projections are formed via a home-brewed formula which uses expected plate appearances, current home run totals, and batted ball data to project future home runs. Presently, 14 players are expected to hit more than 40 home runs.

Eugenio Suarez, who had ranked 11th in each of the past two weeks, climbs back onto the bottom of the leaderboard. Nolan Arenado returns to the list as well.

Christian Yelich became the first MLB player to reach the 20-homer plateau this season, doing so in his team’s first 45 games. That smashed the prior Brewers’ franchise record of 58 games set by Prince Fielder in 2007. The last MLB player to hit 20 homers in his team’s first 45 games was Josh Hamilton who did so with the Rangers in 2012.
A couple of Astros’ sluggers who made their way onto the list last week -- Alex Bregman and George Springer -- have fallen off. Springer missed most of the week due to injury, and after sustaining a hamstring injury in his return to the lineup on Friday, it looks like he’ll be heading to the injured list.
Speaking of the injured list, Khris Davis currently resides there as well with an oblique issue. We don’t yet have a clear timeframe for his potential return, but the longer that he’s on the shelf, the more his home run projection is going to take a hit. Expect him to fall off of this list soon.
The big mover within the top-10 list is Mets’ rookie slugger Pete Alonso who crushed  three more home runs this week and now has 17 on the season. He still has a massive 32.1 HR/FB%, but that number is supported by his minor league data and his average fly ball distance. He’s already a monster and only going to get better.
The rest of the players on the list saw little week-to-week change in their power projections.

Let’s start with the good news. Justin Upton finally appears to be making progress in his recovery from turf toe, as he’s now able to run while placing full weight on his foot and has been cleared to take batting practice. It looks like the Angels should finally be able to add him to the lineup in mid-June.

Eloy Jimenez returned from the injured list this week and proceeded to swat three home runs in his first five games back. The future still looks exceedingly bright here.

Two players who were already on this list suffered additional injuries. Giancarlo Stanton was pulled back from his minor league rehab stint due to a calf strain that he picked up while taking batting practice. He’ll be shut down for the next 7-10 days then be re-evaluated. That’s likely to push his potential return until mid-June at the earliest. Yoenis Cespedes, who had been expected to return to the Mets around mid-season, apparently fractured both of his ankles while falling in a hole at his ranch in Florida. You can’t make this stuff up. He underwent season-ending surgery this week.
There were also a couple of big name sluggers who found their way to the injured list. Khris Davis, who has apparently been trying to play through an oblique strain for several weeks, was finally placed on the injured list. He’ll be shut down from swinging completely for the next five days as they attempt to get him right. There’s no current timetable for his return.

George Springer missed the first four games of the week due to lower back tightness, finally returning to the Astros’ lineup on Friday. It was there, that he suffered a hamstring injury while attempting to make a sliding catch in the outfield. We haven’t received word on the MRI results yet, but Astros’ skipper A.J. Hinch didn’t sound optimistic and said it was likely Springer would land on the injured list.

After the two big names, we witnessed a couple of other home run hitters land on the injured list this week as well. David Peralta landed on the injured list in Arizona with a shoulder issue, there’s no timetable for his return. Robinson Cano strained his quadriceps while hustling to first base, just days after getting blasted publicly for not hustling. Rays’ slugger Yandy Diaz suffered a left hand contusion when he was hit by a pitch. He’s expected to return in early June, but monitor how the hand injury effects his power stroke.

Power Spotlight

What if I were to tell you that there’s a player who has clubbed six home runs over nine games in the past two weeks, that’s getting completely ignored in the fantasy community outside of DFS leagues. What if I added that he has seen a path to increased playing time with the team’s superstar designated hitter landing on the injured list on Friday.

That player, and someone who you should make a priority short-term addition in deeper mixed leagues, is Mark Canha. While he’s primarily been a lefty-masher in his career, Canha should find his way into the lineup on a fairly regular basis with Davis on the shelf and there’s no denying his power potential.
He has been especially hot as of late, leaving the yard in three straight games, and six times in his last nine. During that stretch, he’s slashing .267/.313/.900 with 11 RBI. Despite seeing a majority of his at-bats against southpaws, only three of his eight home runs on the season have come against left-handed pitchers.

He also has all of the ingredients for continued success, as he’s pulling a remarkable 56.6% of the balls the he’s putting in play, and sporting a sky-high 56.6% fly ball rate as well. He’s virtually unowned in most fantasy leagues, sitting at 4% ownership in Yahoo leagues. For at least a short-term power boost while Davis is sidelined, Canha is worthy of a look.

Here comes another prospect

Cavan Biggio

The flow of top prospects to the Blue Jays will continue on Friday with Cavan Biggio getting the call from triple-A Buffalo to make his major-league debut.

After a lacklustre 8-2 loss to the Red Sox on Thursday, the Jays are shaking up the roster by promoting Biggio and welcoming back infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. while struggling outfielder Billy McKinney and Richard Urena will report to the Bisons.

Biggio, the son of former major-league star Craig, has been lighting it up in triple-A where he’s been hitting .306 with six home runs. The Jays like Biggio for his versatility because he can play the outfield but would also be comfortable at first, second or third base.
Gurriel returns after bolstering his confidence in the minor leagues following a demotion in mid-April. The Cuban infielder had struggled defensively early in the season and was sent to Buffalo to reboot.

The promotion of Biggio will give fans a chance to see another glimpse of the promising young future with the Jays in a three-game series vs. the San Diego Padres.

Biggio, the super utility infielder who, at 24 years old, was considered Toronto’s No. 9 prospect at the start of the season, has been carving out a name for himself in the minor leagues, starting with a breakout season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats last year. He was promoted to Triple-A Buffalo to start this season and has posted a .307/.445/.504 slash line with a .949 OPS, six home runs and 26 RBIs in 42 games.

Gurriel makes his return to the big leagues after a demotion to Triple-A on April 14 that was linked to some poor throwing in first few weeks of the season. Gurriel has since played 30 games for the Bisons, manning his traditional second base and shortstop as well as playing seven games at left field and three at first base as the Jays work to transform him into a more versatile player that better fits with their future.
Toronto’s system has much depth at the middle infield positions, with fewer options in the outfield and at first.


Gurriel, who was hitting .175 when he parted ways with the Jays, was hitting .273 with four home runs and 26 RBIs for the Bisons.

Infielder Richard Urena, who has gone back and forth between Toronto and Buffalo this year, and outfielder Billy McKinney, who is hitting .234 this season, will be demoted in the corresponding moves
.
Biggio, son of baseball hall of famer Craig Biggio, has been linked with Toronto’s other top prospects with distinguished baseball bloodlines, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, since the three started dominating Double-A last year, leading the Fisher Cats to an Eastern League championship.
Guerrero was promoted in late April and has hit .253 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in his first month in the big leagues. When Bichette, the Jays’ No. 2 prospect, was sidelined with a fractured bone in his left hand around the time of Guerrero’s promotion, Biggio was widely regarded as next in line to make the jump to the majors.

“I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t thinking about it,” Biggio told The Canadian Press earlier this month. “We’re in Triple-A here, and playing the second-highest level of baseball is amazing but don’t get me wrong — we all want to be in the big leagues.”
Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said Wednesday that Gurriel needed to be more consistent with his throws before he could rejoin Toronto, where he has spent most of his time since last July. Gurriel was charged with three errors in Buffalo, two at second base and one in left field.

• • 
    

Cron Arrival

 Cron is coming.

The Diamondbacks are on the verge of promoting Triple-A Reno slugger Kevin Cron, according to sources, a move that could help provide a lift to their struggling offense.

Cron is said to be meeting the club in San Francisco, where the Diamondbacks are opening a three-game series against the Giants on Friday. 

While one source cautioned that Cron’s addition to the roster is not yet a certainty, it seems more likely than not that he will make his major league debut this weekend at Oracle Park.

Cron, 26, a graduate of Mountain Pointe High in Phoenix, has put up eye-popping numbers so far in Reno. He leads all of professional baseball with 21 homers and is hitting .339 with a .437 on-base and .800 slugging. He has hit at least 22 homers in each of his previous four seasons in full-season minor league ball.

Cron was the Diamondbacks’ player of the month in April, in which he hit .352/.442/.807 with 11 homers in 106 plate appearances.

Where he will fit on the Diamondbacks roster remains to be seen. He has played primarily first base throughout his minor league career but also has seen time at third, where he is considered passable, at best.

Cron could steal at-bats from the club’s current first baseman, Christian Walker, who has struggled badly in recent weeks. In his past 15 games, Walker is hitting .148 with 22 strikeouts in 60 plate appearances.

The Diamondbacks offense has gone ice cold, scoring three runs or less in 11 of the past 16 games. During that stretch, they are hitting .216 as a team. They have scored two runs or less in four consecutive games.

The Diamondbacks have lost five  to drop to 25-25 this season.

Victoria Day Fireworks

It wasn’t me. It’s on the manager. We’ll do better next time, maybe.
Those were the takeaways from Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins’ five-minute pre-game sit-down with reporters to field questions about why the face of the franchise wasn’t on the field for the great baseball tradition that is Victoria Day Monday down at the dome.

To recap: Scorching-hot Vladimir Guerrero Jr., hitting .333 with four homers, five runs scored, and a .905 slugging percentage in his previous six games — good enough to be named American League player of the week on Monday —was given the afternoon off, which immediately set off a large faction of the fanbase which considered the decision to be tone-deaf, especially considering fans have had so little to cheer about in what has been a rough start to the season for the young, rebuilding club.
According to the Jays GM, resting Guerrero was first-year skipper Charlie Montoyo’s call.
“Really, it’s Charlie’s process,” Atkins said on Tuesday. “One of the things that we don’t ask him to think about is when fans may or may not be here.”

It appears Montoyo did not think about that — and the organization clearly did not think about the repercussions, either. The firestorm that has followed on social media and on call-in radio shows from disgruntled fans has been explosive.
To hear Atkins explain it, sitting Guerrero was a baseball decision — Montoyo’s baseball decision — and nothing more. The Jays had played 16 consecutive games and the 20-year-old Guerrero was getting a day off, just as every player will get days off this season. This despite the fact Guerrero’s bat has been blowtorch-hot the past week and surely a good number of fans with the day off work were making the trek specifically to see the team’s top draw in the flesh.
Atkins did take some responsibility in the matter.

“Where the potential breakdown and my potential mistakes was, was not talking more to (Montoyo) about the importance of Victoria Day. We have had discussions about Canada Day,” Atkins said. “The one thing that I regret, in all the things we have talked about with Charlie (who hails from Puerto Rico), I have not talked to him about the importance of Victoria Day. There are a lot of things in Canadian culture, about this great country, that I have talked to him about. But I didn’t share with him the importance of Victoria Day.”

Atkins has said throughout his career in baseball — in Canada and the U.S. — he has never had conversations about holiday game-days and how they relate to the starting lineup and whether to start a star player when the most fans are on hand.
“I think it is intuition a lot of times for managers to think about playing key players in those games,” Atkins said. “The reason being is that players want to play in those games. Where there is a lot of attention and more fans there, it is important to get players into those games.”
As for the ticked-off fans?

“I think the fact that fans are upset, I certainly would not prefer that,” Atkins said. “If that’s what’s disappointing fans, I certainly missed that.”
The Jays host the Kansas City Royals on Canada Day. If Guerrero is running hot coming in to that one, will the Jays ensure he plays, no matter any potential physical demands?
“I think now that intuition takes over,” Atkins said.
Adkins, of course is covering up the bone head decision to bench their star player, on a Holiday Monday game, which of course, is exactly what happened.

Shapiro is also skirting blame,  allowing Adkins to take the heat instead of his office, apparently no one in his office had the guts to tell the boss that it was a PR nightmare in the making, benching Vladdy Junior.

Chalk it up to to two dumb Americans not having a Canadian calendar handy, or having competent staff, with enough stones to challenge their bosses.

And they even scheduled  fireworks for a day game, c'mon man.

For whom does this Bell Toll ?

It’s unclear exactly what has gotten into Pirates’ first baseman Josh Bell over the last few weeks, but he has been absolutely pummeling opposing pitching.
Entering play on Saturday, Bell was slashing a mighty .404/.456/.846 with six homers and 17 RBI over his previous 13 games, which included a pair of multi-homer games. He added another to that tally on Saturday.
The 26-year-old clobbered s 2-0 slider off of Nick Margevicius an estimated 430-feet to lead off the second inning on Saturday, giving the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. He extended that advantage in the third inning, victimizing Margevicius again for a three-run homer that made it a 5-0 ballgame.
Bell also singled and drew a walk on Saturday, finishing the night 3-for-4. For the season, he’s now slashing an outstanding .333/.402/.704 with 14 homers and 43 RBI. His 14 home runs tie him with Pete Alonso for third in the National League, ranking behind only Christian Yelich and Cody Bellinger. His 43 RBI are tops among all major league players.
With Saturday’s multi-homer game, Bell became just the second player in Pirates’ franchise history to have three multi-homer games before June 1 in a season -- joining Bob Skinner who accomplished the feat in 1959. His 14 homers are already two more than he had all of last season and he’s well on his way to surpassing his career high of 26 that he swatted in 2017.
He was an afterthought in many fantasy drafts this past March, registering as the 28th first base-eligible player to come off the draft board at an average of pick 258 in all NFBC drafts in the month of March. He’s well on his way to delivering substantial profit from that draft position and looks like he could be one of the biggest overall bargains to be had this season.

We’re Going Streaking!

The Houston Astros won on Saturday, beating the Red Sox 7-3 in the second game of their three-game set in Boston. They have been doing an awful lot of that lately -- winning. Saturday’s victory marked the 10th consecutive win of the club, and their 13th in their last 14 games.
It’s the second time this season that the Astros have strung together 10 consecutive wins -- accomplishing the feat from April 5 -16 as well. They’re just the third team in major league history to string together two such streaks before June 1 of a season -- joining the 1941 Cardinals and the 1955 Dodgers.
Also with the win, the Astros improved to an MLB-leading 31-15 on the season.
Over the course of this 10-game winning streak, the Astros are outscoring their opponents 76-21. Any which way that you attempt to slice it, that's outstanding.

Trout Swats 250th

Angels’ superstar outfielder Mike Trout swatted the 250th home run of his already illustrious career on Saturday -- and he did so in style -- crushing a 473-foot blast off of Jake Junis. It was the second longest home run in the 27-year-old’s career -- the longest if you don’t take Coors Field into account.
Trout is only the sixth player in American League history to reach the 250-homer plateau before his 28th birthday. The five other players on that list? Some extremely impressive company: Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr., Jimmie Foxx and Juan Gonzalez. He’s the 13th player overall to reach that mark by his age-27 season.

Greinke Ready to Go

Diamondbacks' manager Torey Lovullo confirmed Saturday that Zack Greinke (abdomen) will make his next scheduled start.
Greinke threw his regular bullpen session without issue on Saturday after Friday's MRI came back clean. He'll take his regular turn in the rotation against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday.

That’s tremendous news for the Diamondbacks and for fantasy owners who won’t have to miss a start from the veteran right-hander. For the season, the right-hander has been outstanding, sporting a 6-1 record, 2.78 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 62/8 K/BB ratio across 64 2/3 innings.

American League Quick Hits: James Paxton plans to return from the injured list next week, despite still feeling some discomfort in his left knee. … Didi Gregorius (elbow) is scheduled to play shortstop in extended spring training games starting on Monday. … Blue Jays’ prospect Bo Bichette is on schedule with his recovery from a fractured hand and has been cleared to begin light hitting activities. … Khris Davis was scratched from the Athletics’ starting lineup due to a sore left hip. He’s considered day-to-day. … Masahiro Tanaka was removed from Saturday’s start against the Rays after he was struck in the right shin by a line drive. X-rays came back negative though and he’s expected to be ready to make his next scheduled start. … An MRI on the injured right shoulder of Clay Buchholz revealed a Grade 2 tears major strain on Saturday. 

 He’ll be evaluated by Dr. James Andrews next week. … David Price (elbow) will return from the injured list to start against the Blue Jays on Monday. … Aledmys Diaz (hamstring) is hopeful he’ll avoid the injured list after being diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain. … Danny Santana is day-to-day with a bruised right ankle after getting drilled by a pitch in the ninth inning on Saturday. …  Blake Snell fanned nine over six innings of one-run ball in a tough-luck no-decision. … Austin Meadows blasted a go-ahead homer in the 11th inning to beat the Yankees. … Trey Mancini slugged his 10th homer in a loss to the Indians. … Leury Garcia had a jack and a bag, leading the White Sox past the Blue Jays in a rain-shortened affair. … Shohei Ohtani launched his first home run of the season -- a two-run shot off of Jake Junis -- in a victory over the Royals. … Angels’ rookie right-hander Griffin Canning struck out five over seven scoreless innings in a victory over the Royals. … Jonathan Schoop and C.J. Cron each homered twice, Byron Buxton blasted a grand slam and Miguel Sano launched his first home run as the Twins obliterated the Mariners.

National League Quick Hits: According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres are targeting May 24 as a return date for Fernando Tatis Jr. (hamstring). ... Justin Turner sat out Saturday’s game against the Reds due to a bruised left shin, but he isn’t expected to require a trip to the injured list. … The Braves recalled Jerry Blevins from Triple-A Gwinnett. To make room on the active roster, they released veteran southpaw Jonny Venters. ... Erick Fedde will start for the Nationals on Tuesday in place of the injured Anibal Sanchez. … Jimmy Nelson fired six shutout innings in his third minor league rehab start with Triple-A San Antonio. He’s expected to need only one more rehab start before potentially joining the Brewers’ rotation. … Jorge Alfaro is considered day-to-day after leaving Saturday's game against the Mets with a mild left calf strain. … David Peralta was scratched from the Diamondbacks' starting lineup on Saturday after aggravating his right trapezius injury. He’s considered day-to-day. … Giants' manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday that he expects Johnny Cueto (elbow) to return before the end of the 2019 season. ... Bochy also confirmed Saturday that Drew Pomeranz will return from the injured list to start against the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Sunday. ... Pablo Lopez struck out seven over seven shutout innings in a victory over the Mets. … Tyler Mahle fanned five over six shutout innings in a win over the Dodgers. … Walker Buehler punched out seven while allowing one earned run over six innings in a tough-luck loss there. … Aaron Nola racked up a career-high 12 strikeouts over six-plus innings of one-run baseball in a victory over the Rockies. … Bryce Harper went 2-for-3 and clubbed a 466-foot home run as the Phillies topped the Rockies. … Carlos Martinez threw a scoreless ninth inning in his 2019 debut on Saturday in the Cardinals' victory over the Rangers. ... Paul DeJong homered and drove in four runs as the Cardinals topped the Rangers. … Stephen Strasburg struck out seven over seven frames in a victory over the Cubs. … Freddie Freeman blasted a walk-off homer in the 10th inning to beat the Brewers. … Austin Riley clubbed his second home run for the Braves in that one.

Voit of Confidence

This was the best way for Luke Voit to rebound from his recent slump and the best retaliation possible for the drilling that bugged him so much last weekend against the Rays.

Voit’s leadoff blast in the ninth inning drew the Yankees within one run and sparked a 4-3 comeback win Friday night at the Stadium, allowing them to leapfrog Tampa Bay into first place in the AL East.
“Once that started a fire, I had no doubt in my mind [we would win],” said Voit, who halted an 0-for-22 skid with three hits in the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader sweep against the Orioles and had three more hits Friday night. “I was in my head about stuff.
“After the first game against Baltimore, I just said, ‘Screw it, it can’t get any worse.’ I just have to go back, have fun and smile.”
Voit hardly was in a smiling mood last Saturday, when he was plunked with a 95 mph fastball from Rays reliever Yonny Chirinos on the upper left arm — dangerously close to his head — one batter after DJ LeMahieu had blasted a home run.
“It’s just up and in on me, it’s the top of my shoulder, it’s frustrating. I am not saying he was or he wasn’t [trying to hit me]. He can hit me anywhere else. It’s just when it is up and in, it’s a sketchy situation that can be career-ending,’’ Voit said after that game.
“After giving up the home run, he is probably frustrated and trying to throw as hard as he could and it got away. That’s why I was so pissed off.’’

Voit is in a far better mood after rapping six hits in seven at-bats over his past two games, including a single in Friday’s fourth inning and a double to left in the sixth.
With the Yankees trailing 3-1 entering the ninth, Voit clocked Rays closer Jose Alvarado’s first pitch over the wall in right-center for his 11th home run of the season, one behind Gary Sanchez for the team lead. Their fourth straight win was sealed on Gio Urshela’s two-out RBI single over Kevin Kiermaier’s head in center field.
“To string together that level of at bats against that guy [Alvarado] was really impressive, and Luke had the big shot to get it going,” Aaron Boone said.
“It’s always nice to come back and I feel like we’ve come back so many times. Unbelievable,” Voit said, who now has 25 homers in 81 games as a Yankee since his acquisition from St. Louis last July 28. “This is the funnest team I’ve ever played for.”Night in, night out, it just gets better and better. Just the confidence we have.
“We knew we had a chance at 3-1, even though we were facing Alvarado. It doesn’t matter who we’re facing. It’s obviously crazy to think it could happen, but you know what, just keep going.”

Down on the Astro's Farm

Minor League Baseball's top slugger was at it again Thursday night.
Houston's third-ranked prospect Yordan Alvarez drove in a career-high six runs with two homers and a double and scored three times as Triple-A Round Rock topped Nashville, 10-4, at Dell Diamond.

The left-handed basher is tied with Reno's Kevin Cron for the Minor League lead with 17 homers, leads the Pacific Coast League with 53 RBIs and has driven in two or more runs in 15 games. Alvarez's previous single-game high of five RBIs was set June 4, 2017, with Class A Quad Cities and equaled on April 16, also against Nashville.
Through 35 games, MLB.com's No. 26 overall prospect also leads the Minor Leagues in runs (36), extra-base hits (32), slugging (.903), OBP (.497) and OPS (1.400). His longest homerless drought has been 17 at-bats.
In the first inning, Alvarez belted a three-run dinger off Sounds right-hander Phillips Valdez, driving a 3-1 pitch over the left-center field wall to score Alex De Goti and Astros No. 14 prospect Myles Straw.


After flying out to center in the third, the 21-year-old roughed up Valdez again in the fifth. Working the count full, the Las Tunas, Cuba, native went opposite field, hitting a towering two-out solo homer to left.
"I was looking for those pitches and I tried to make sure I had good contact," he said, adding that the end goal is to drive the ball hard no matter where it is on the plate.
Facing Nashville lefty Brady Feigl in the sixth, Alvarez grounded out to end the frame.
In the eighth, Alvarez doubled off left-handed reliever CD Pelham, the Rangers' No. 15 prospect, stroking a one-out line drive to left to plate De Goti and Derek Fisher. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Jack Mayfield.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound outfielder, originally signed by the Dodgers and acquired in 2016 via a trade for Josh Fields, was the first Minor League player to notch a three-homer game this season on April 6 at New Orleans in a 7-5 victory over the Baby Cakes.
Alvarez understands expectations are soaring, but he really is making the effort to concentrate on the job at hand.
"Every day, I just try to do the best I can," he said. "There are always adjustments I have to make. ... Time will be the witness. With God first, everything is possible."

Round Rock righty Jose Hernandez-Urquidy earned his first Triple-A victory following a promotion Wednesday from Double-A Corpus Christi. Houston's No. 30 prospect gave up three runs on five hits while matching his season high with eight strikeouts over five innings.
Fisher went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
Texas' No. 16 prospect Eli White homered and singled, extending his hit streak to six games.
Valdez fell to 0-5 after yielding four runs off six hits and a pair of walks in 4 2/3 innings.

Major League could be calling soon.

Fier Storm

A light malfunction almost stopped Mike Fiers’ night from getting started. A high pitch count nearly prevented him from finishing it.
Good thing Fiers was allowed to take the mound and stay there all game because he made history doing it.
Fiers overcame the early delay and managed the high workload to pitch his second no-hitter of his career, getting help from two spectacular defensive plays from his Oakland Athletics teammates to shut down the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 Tuesday night.
“Amazing. That’s really all I can really say,” Fiers said. “Things like this just happen.”
This one almost didn’t.

A bank of lights in left field was only partially lit before the scheduled start of the game, leading to a delay of more than 90 minutes before the teams and umpires determined there was enough light to play a full game.
 Then after getting through seven innings with 109 pitches, Fiers was told by manager Bob Melvin that one more base runner would end his night even if he still hadn’t allowed a hit. He then breezed through the final two innings, following up his 2015 gem for Houston against the Dodgers with a 131-pitch masterpiece to become the 35th pitcher with multiple no-hitters in his career.



“I’m just really thankful for him leaving me in and trusting me,” Fiers said. “I told him I felt great. I felt like everything was working. It wasn’t a matter of being tired. I had adrenaline at that point.”
He walked two, struck out six and ended the 300th no-hitter ever in the majors by fanning Eugenio Suarez with a big curveball.
The A’s poured out of the dugout to mob Fiers in celebration after the final out in front of a few thousand fans remaining after the lengthy delay. Fiers tipped his hat to the crowd and raised his arms in triumph as he walked off.
“It was a great night obviously for him, for our fans, everyone wants to see a no-hitter,” Melvin said. “It was no fun for me once he got past 120 pitches, I promise you that. But he deserved it.

The 33-year-old Fiers (3-3) raised his lifetime record to 57-58. The right-hander began the night with a 6.81 ERA this season, and has been a journeyman for much of his career.
A journeyman with a special place in the record book, that is.
“It’s pretty cool,” Fiers said. “I saw a little bit of the list. I’m just grateful to be here and get the opportunity to play. I remember when I was getting drafted I wasn’t too high on the charts. I was a guy throwing 88 to 90 (mph) down in South Florida. I’m one in a million down there. … I’m just blessed to be here.”

The first no-hitter of the 2019 season didn’t come without tense moments as Fiers was bailed out by back-to-back great defensive plays in the sixth inning. Second baseman Jurickson Profar ran a long way to making a diving catch on Kyle Farmer’s popup into short right field for the second out, prompting Fiers to throw up his arms in celebration.
Joey Votto followed that with a deep drive, but flashy centre fielder Ramon Laureano reached above the fence to pull the ball back and rob the Reds star of a home run.
“Ramon’s catch he’s done that once or twice. That’s a normal play for him,” Fiers said. “Profar, another amazing play.”
This was the 13th no-hitter in the history of the Athletics franchise, which started in Philadelphia, moved to Kansas City and shifted to Oakland. Sean Manaea pitched the previous no-hitter for the A’s on April 21, 2018, at home against Boston.Manaea, fittingly, gave Fiers an ice bath on the field when this one ended.
“It was way more nerve-wracking then I was doing it,” Manaea said. “I was shaking on the bench. I don’t know, it was crazy seeing him do it. It was awesome.”
The Reds were no-hit for the 10th time, most recently by Jake Arrieta of the Cubs in 2016.

Fiers became the seventh pitcher to throw no-hitters for multiple teams — Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Cy Young are among the others. Ryan pitched a record seven no-hitters overall.
Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Homer Bailey and Arrieta are the other active big leaguers with two no-hitters. Fiers clearly was aware of what was at stake in the later innings.
“I knew. I don’t like when guys are like they don’t know,” Fiers said.
The no-hitter came almost exactly a year after the past one in the majors, by James Paxton for Seattle at Toronto last May 8.
Fiers issued his only two walks in the seventh, but also got Jesse Winker to hit into a double play. Fiers needed only nine pitches to get through the eighth and zipped through the ninth, retiring rookie Josh Van Meter on a popup, getting Votto on a routine grounder and striking out Suarez.
A’s catcher Josh Phegley neatly blocked the last pitch and tagged Suarez to make it official.“I felt like he was hitting with all his pitches where he wanted it and when he wanted it,” Phegley said.
Fiers’ other no-hitter came on Aug. 21, 2015, in Houston, three weeks after being traded from Milwaukee to the Astros. He threw a career-high 134 pitches in that game.

The only other Reds batter to reach was Winker, who got aboard on an error by Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman in the fourth. Chapman was near second base on a defensive shift and the grounder hit off his glove and landed in the outfield.

A feat nonetheless.

Gio's gem

The Angels got to remake their team some Tuesday when Shohei Ohtani, Cody Allen and Zack Cozart all returned from the injured list. Shipped out to make room were Peter Bourjos (DFA’d), Chris Stratton (DFA’d) and Luis Rengifo (optioned).

The plan seems to be for Ohtani to be the everyday DH. There’s been some concern that the Angels would give him days off to account for his throwing program as he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery, but the team said Tuesday that pitching shouldn’t be an issue until September at the earliest. The other question is whether he’ll do much basestealing at all. Ohtani is an exceptional runner and was 10-for-14 stealing bases in 367 plate appearances last year, but the Angels might not want him risking his arm on awkward slides. Ohtani is worth using right away in mixed leagues regardless, but whether he’s really a major asset this year could come down to whether he does a fair amount of running or not.
With Ohtani back, there’s just one lineup spot for Albert Pujols or Justin Bour each day. It seemed going into the year that the Angels might finally be willing to turn Pujols into a bench guy once Ohtani returned, but Bour has been a big disappointment while hitting .169/.275/.303 in 89 at-bats. Pujols is at least treading water at .224/.306/.421. He figures to get most of the playing time for now.
The Angels won’t immediately restore Allen to the closer’s role after his 10-day absence, but he should get another chance if he can string together three or four strong outings in a row. In the meantime, Hansel Robles is the choice in the ninth.
Cozart, who missed a couple of weeks with a neck strain, is 8-for-68 this year and is hitting .195 with five homers and 22 RBI in 292 at-bats since signing with the Angels prior to last year. Despite his $13 million salary, he needs to be on a short leash right now. I’m hopeful that Taylor Ward gets a long look at third base sometime this summer.

American League notes

- That I had Trevor Bauer all the way down at 12th among SPs was the main pitching complaint from last week’s rankings. I get it, though I don’t think placing him behind just 11 other pitchers – several of whom are in considerably better league and ballpark situations for amassing fantasy value – was much of an insult. Bauer is walking more batters and giving up more flyballs this year. He was phenomenally fortunate to surrender just nine homers in 175 innings last year, and he’s back to a much more normal pace now, having allowed six homers in 53 innings. I think he’s a better bet to stay healthy than pretty much every other SP out there, but for all his study and training, I doubt he’s completely immune to arm woes. Ranking him 12th still seems right to me, though he’s up to 11th now with teammate Corey Kluber out. If he gets his walk rate back down, then he’ll pass a couple of guys.
  The Indians have been terrible offensively, but it was still impressive how Lucas Giolito shut them down for 7 1/3 innings on Tuesday night. Giolito has fanned 38 in 31 innings this season, and his walk rate and home run rate are also awfully similar to Bauer’s. The velocity spike he received in the second half of last year has mostly carried over. Control is still a big issue, so he’s not yet an every-week play in mixed leagues. He might get there, though, and that’s good news for a White Sox team stung by the loss of Carlos Rodon to an elbow injury.

  Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has hit .353/.389/.647 with four homers in 17 games since the Jays decided to send him down in part to deal with his throwing problems at second base. He played second base and shortstop in his first two weeks with Buffalo, but he made his first start in left field on Sunday. If he adapts well to the new spot, it would be no surprise to see Toronto call him up to play over Billy McKinney or Teoscar Hernandez. He’s still a decent bet to offer some mixed-league value this season.

 Miguel Sano (heel) is 5-for-16 with a couple of homers in five games since beginning his rehab assignment. Marwin Gonzalez has struggled and C.J. Cron hasn’t performed a whole lot better, so Sano should get all of the playing time he can handle after coming off the disabled list. It might not result in mixed-league value at first, but he’d be nice to have stashed away.

  Collin McHugh’s bad starts have been especially bad, such as when he gave up eight runs to the Royals on Tuesday, but unless the Astros give up on him, I wouldn’t drop him in a mixed league. Don’t think they’ll be turning to top prospect Forrest Whitley, either; Whitley couldn’t even make it out of his first inning of his last outing for Triple-A Round Rock and has a 10.43 ERA through 14 2/3 innings.
  Anthony Swarzak’s setback Tuesday against the Yankees could put Rule 5 pick Brandon Brennan in line for save chances in Seattle. The 27-year-old Brennan has been a pleasant surprise with his 2.21 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 20 1/3 innings.

National League notes

  Caleb Smith did it again Tuesday, striking out 11 Cubs in six innings on his way to his fourth no-decision in seven starts. There isn’t much fluky about his performance, but he’s becoming a sell-high guy, if not now then in the near future. It’s mostly because Smith is a 28-year-old who has never topped 135 innings as a pro. Last year, he threw 77 1/3 innings in 16 starts before going down with a lat injury that ended his season. The strikeout rate is for real and Marlins Park really helps with his flyball tendencies, so he should remain quite valuable while healthy. However, wins are likely to be a problem and the Marlins are going to have to start monitoring his innings soon.

- How much longer do you give Brandon Nimmo if you’re the Mets? After all, it’s not just a matter of whether his bat comes around; the Mets are giving up a considerable amount of defense in center every time they use him there over Juan Lagares or Keon Broxton. That’s not Nimmo’s fault – he belongs in a corner – but it is a problem for a team that doesn’t excel with their gloves. Nimmo’s contact rate is way down, and he’s currently striking out one-third of the time. Worse, he’s not hitting the ball particularly hard when he does make contact. A stint in the minors would make some sense.

- Obviously, A.J. Pollock’s long-term absence from the Dodgers lineup should most benefit Alex Verdugo, but it’s also worth noting that Chris Taylor has now started seven straight games and Max Muncy has started getting some more playing time against lefties. I wasn’t very optimistic about Taylor’s bat this year, but he’s in a great lineup and he can steal some bases; as long as he’s playing regularly, he’ll probably have some mixed-league value.
- Even though Roman Quinn’s latest injury has cut into their outfield depth, the Phillies made the call to designate Aaron Altherr for assignment when Odubel Herrera came off the IL over the weekend. Altherr showed a whole lot of promise as a 26-year-old in 2017, hitting .272/.340/.516 with 19 homers in 372 at-bats, but he struggled mightily as a part-timer last year and he was off to a 1-for-29 start this season. It still seems likely that one of the teams out there desperate for outfield help will try him out, perhaps the Orioles or the Giants. If he lands with Baltimore, then he’ll be a deep sleeper to amass some mixed-league value.

- The Giants might be less inclined to grab Altherr after calling up Mac Williamson for one last opportunity on Tuesday. Williamson, 28, was again putting up huge numbers in Triple-A (.378/.459/.756 with 9 HR in 82 AB). He was also great there last season and in five games after being called up until he suffered a concussion and struggled the rest of the way. I’ve never seen much reason to be particularly optimistic about Williamson; the power is legit, but batting average will be an issue and he doesn’t add to his case with his defense. He’s quite possibly one of the Giants’ three best outfield options, but the occasional homer binge probably won’t give him any significant fantasy value.

- The Reds promoted Josh Van Meter after the utility man hit .336/.431/.736 with 13 homers in 110 at-bats for Triple-A Louisville, making him easily the International League’s best hitter this season. Whether they actually have anything for him to do is unclear; he’s ridden the pine in three straight games, remaining there even with the DH available on Tuesday. It would be interesting to see if the power spike is for real; Triple-A numbers seem extra unreliable this year with the new baseballs being used, but the especially crazy stats are mostly coming out of the PCL. Van Meter can steal bases, too, so if he were to get a chance, he’d be a sleeper.