Fantasy Baseball News

Third baseman Wilmer Flores went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer before exiting the game with lower back tightness in the Giants' 8-6 win over the Astros.

Fantasy Impact: Flores took Zack Greinke deep in the bottom of the third inning for a two-run shot, his 13th long ball of the season. He would exit the game shortly thereafter as he was dealing with some lower back tightness. He's already been ruled for Sunday's series finale against the Giants but he shouldn't be out much longer than that. Consider him day-to-day.

Carter Kieboom hit a sacrifice fly to record his 1st RBI of the season. Kieboom went hitless in three at-bats.

Fantasy Impact: With the Nationals trading away several key players, Kieboom should earn regular playing time. Hopefully, Kieboom hits and unlocks the prospect buzz after hitting 16 home runs at Triple-A in 2019.

Second baseman Donovan Solano went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout as the Giants beat the Astros 8-6 on Saturday.

Fantasy Impact: Solano opened up the scoring in the ball game with a solo home run, his fourth of the season, off of Zack Greinke. He would pick up a single later in the contest as well. The veteran second baseman is now batting .271 with a .698 OPS, four home runs, 23 RBI, and two stolen bases over 251 at-bats.

Josh Bell hit a pinch-hit RBI on Saturday in the 8th inning. He recorded a hit in back-to-back games to close out July.

Fantasy Impact: Bell finishes a solid July with a .287 batting average and .885 OPS with six of his 17 home runs. The entire Nationals lineup looks different outside of Juan Soto, which may negatively impact Bell's counting stats.

LHP Alex Wood was handed a no-decision on Saturday when he allowed five runs--four earned--with one walk and three strikeouts over five innings in the Giants' 8-6 win over the Astros.

Fantasy Impact: This wasn't Wood's best performance but it wasn't an easy task facing the hot Astros. They hung three runs on him in the third inning, two of them coming via an Aledmys Diaz homer. The other was unearned due to a throwing error. Diaz got him again for a solo homer in the fifth and Michael Brantley drove in another run with an RBI double to end Wood's day. The poor outing gives the 30-year-old southpaw now owns a 3.83 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 105:31 K/BB ratio over 98 2/3 innings (18 starts). He gets a much easier matchup in his next turn when he faces the D-Backs in the desert.

Juan Soto doubled and scored two runs on Saturday after going 1-for-4 with one walk. Soto extended his five-game hit streak.

Fantasy Impact: Soto finishes off July with his best month of the 2021 season. He hit nine of his 18 home runs with a .356 batting average and 1.176 OPS this month.

Victor Robles led off and singled on Saturday after going 1-for-4 with one walk and one strikeout.

Fantasy Impact: Let's see if Robles holds down the leadoff role for the Nationals with several Nationals hitters traded away. That said, Roble still needs to produce since he finished with a .435 OPS in July.

Joe Ross took the loss after allowing four earned runs on Saturday. Ross threw 4 1/3 innings with seven hits, five runs (four earned), one walk, and five strikeouts.

Fantasy Impact: After four solid starts with a 1.80 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 30% K%, and 6% BB% in 25 innings pitched, Ross struggled a bit on Saturday against a Cubs team that traded away their top talent as the Nationals did. Don't cut Ross in 15-team leagues. He should bounce back in his next start.

Tasked with starting Saturday's game against the Mariners, Taylor Hearn allowed three runs (two earned) over 3.2 innings of work. The Rangers hurler allowed three hits and one walk while striking out three batters en route to earning the no-decision. Texas ultimately defeated Seattle by a score of 5-4.

Fantasy Impact: Hearn is 2-3 with a 4.10 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and .231 OBA. In total, he has walked 26 batters and struck out 56 while allowing 10 homers through 52.2 innings of work. The southpaw has posted a thrilling 0.63 ERA over the last seven games.

Rangers reliever Spencer Patton blew a save in the ninth inning of Saturday's game against the Mariners, then allowed another run in the 10th inning. Still, he earned the win as Texas ultimately defeated Seattle by a score of 5-4. Patton's final line included two runs, three hits, one walk, and two strikeouts through two innings.

Fantasy Impact: Patton is now 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and .222 OBA with seven walks and 26 strikeouts through 19 innings of relief work so far this season.

Rangers outfielder Eli White went 1-for-3 with a single on Saturday evening. Texas ultimately defeated Seattle by a score of 5-4.

Fantasy Impact: White has posted a .185/.267/.323 slash line with six homers, 15 RBI, 17 walks, and 63 strikeouts this season. He's hitting just 6-for-44 with 15 strikeouts over the last 15 contests.

Rangers catcher Jonah Heim had a huge day at the plate on Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a pair of two-run homers. One of the blasts came in the 10th inning, giving the Rangers a walk-off victory. Texas ultimately defeated Seattle by a score of 5-4.

Fantasy Impact: Heim is now slashing .220/.263/.405 with seven homers, 20 RBI, nine walks, and 32 strikeouts this season. The 26-year-old has gone yard three times over the last two games.

Rangers third baseman Charlie Culberson went 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts against the Mariners on Saturday. He also logged a sacrifice in the process. Texas ultimately defeated Seattle by a score of 5-4.

Fantasy Impact: Culberson is now slashing .225/.283/.357 with 17 RBI, 14 walks, and 51 strikeouts so far this season. He's gone just 1-for-18 with six strikeouts over his last seven games.

Newly acquired Jose Berrios has been confirmed as the Blue Jays' starter for Sunday's game against the Royals. (Source: Scott Mitchell on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Toronto acquired the 27-year-old righty on Friday, and he has since gone through protocols. Berrios' ratios could take a hit while pitching in a more hitter-friendly ballpark and a tougher division, but he should also be in line for plenty of wins down the stretch. He'll remain a must-start option in fantasy leagues of all sizes.

Astros third baseman Aledmys Diaz went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and two-run homer against the Giants on Saturday. Houston ultimately fell to San Francisco by a score of 8-6.

Fantasy Impact: Diaz is now slashing .299/.356/.515 with 26 RBI, five walks, and 20 strikeouts over the course of 38 games this season. He's posted a fantastic 13-for-29 slash line with four homers over the last seven games.

Astros catcher Martin Maldonado went 1-for-4 with a solo homer against the Giants on Saturday afternoon. He also struck out twice in the process. Houston ultimately fell to San Francisco by a score of 8-6.

Fantasy Impact: Maldonado is now slashing .182/.273/.316 with eight homers, 27 RBI, 27 walks, and 87 strikeouts so far this season. He's hitting an impressive 7-for-23 with two homers over the last seven games.

Astros starter Zack Greinke allowed six runs (four earned) over four innings of work against the Giants on Saturday. He allowed eight hits in the process, including four homers. The 37-year-old also walked two batters while striking out four. Houston ultimately fell to San Francisco by a score of 8-6.

Fantasy Impact: Greinke was hit with the no-decision, meaning he is still 10-3 this season. The right-hander has a 3.65 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and .251 with 28 walks and 97 strikeouts over the course of 22 starts this season.

Ben Gamel went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Saturday's win over the Phillies.

Fantasy Impact: Gamel drove in a run with a single in the second inning. Since Adam Frazier's departure, Gamel has been leading off for the Pirates. Though this boosts his fantasy value slightly, he's not very appealing with a .260 average and a .759 OPS in 208 at-bats this season.

JT Brubaker did not factor into the decision in Saturday's win over the Phillies, allowing one run on three hits and two walks across six innings. He struck out four.

Fantasy Impact: Brubaker quieted the Phillies and dealt through six solid innings. The only run he allowed came via a sacrifice fly in the fifth. He holds a 4.49 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a 103:25 K:BB across 102.1 innings this season. He's been a stalwart on the mound for the Pirates; he'll pitch next against the Reds.

Padres starting pitcher Chris Paddack lands on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain. (Source: San Diego Padres on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Over Paddack's past two starts, he allowed three earned runs in 11 innings of work. However, his season-long 5.13 ERA has been unappealing. When he returns, Paddack's ratios should positively regress with a 61.4% LOB%.