Fantasy Baseball News

Evan Longoria drives in two on Saturday

Sat, Jul 22nd 9:50pm EDT
By Robert Kaszanek

Evan Longoria went 2-for-4 on Saturday night vs the Rangers. He hit two singles and drove in two RBIs.

Fantasy Impact: Longoria collected two RBIs on a line drive single in the third inning, this increased his RBI total up to 59 on the season. The third baseman ended up with two singles on the night, and raised his batting average up to .269. As solid and reliable as they come he'll finish the season as a top 12 third baseman.

Yu Darvish strikes out 12 on Friday

Sat, Jul 22nd 1:25pm EDT
By Dan Harris

Yu Darvish allowed three runs over eight innings on Friday against the Rays. He gave up five hits and walked one, while striking out 12. He did not factor into the decision.

Fantasy Impact: With trade rumors swirling, Darvish was stellar, allowing just three solo home runs. An elite starter, his value can only go up if he's dealt to the National League.

Carlos Martinez throws quality start against the Cubs

Sat, Jul 22nd 1:20pm EDT
By Dan Harris

Carlos Martinez allowed three runs (two earned) over six innings on Friday against the Cubs. He gave up 10 hits and walked one while striking out three, He did not factor into the decision.

Fantasy Impact: Martinez wasn't at his best, but he allowed two or fewer earned runs for the sixth time in his last eight starts. This marked the fourth straight game, however, that Martinez has struck out five batters or less, a worrisome trend. Nevertheless, he remains a rock solid fantasy starter, He'll take on the Rockies in his next start.

Keon Broxton sent down to Triple-A

Sat, Jul 22nd 1:14pm EDT
By Mike Maher

The Milwaukee Brewers announced Saturday that Eric Sogard (left ankle sprain) has been reinstated from the 10-day disabled list and OF Keon Broxton has been optioned to Triple-A. (Source: Milwaukee Brewers on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: A few weeks ago, Broxton went from one of the hotter hitters in baseball to ice cold at the plate. He offers an elite combination of power and speed, but he struggles with strikeouts and consistency at the plate, as clearly evidenced by his .218 batting average and 124 strikeouts this season. He will get a chance to work things out in the minors and could play his way back into the big leagues, but nothing is guaranteed for this season.

Trevor Cahill hit hard by Giants

Sat, Jul 22nd 1:13pm EDT
By Dan Harris

Trevor Cahill allowed six runs (five earned) over 3 2/3 innings on Friday against the Giants. He gave up seven hits and walked four while striking out just one. He did not factor into the decision.

Fantasy Impact: Cahill clearly did not have his best stuff on Friday, in what looked like an extremely soft matchup, and his six runs allowed were a season high. He'll look to bounce back against the Mets at home next week.

Aaron Nola dominates Brewers again

Sat, Jul 22nd 1:08pm EDT
By Dan Harris

Aaron Nola allowed one run over seven innings against the Brewers on Friday. He allowed five hits and walked two while striking out nine. He moved to 7-6 with the victory.

Fantasy Impact: This was back-to-back strong starts against a good Brewers lineup for Nola, who has now allowed two runs or less and struck out at least seven in six consecutive starts. He'll have a tough task in his next start against the Astros.

Steven Matz allows three runs over five innings on Friday

Sat, Jul 22nd 12:38pm EDT
By Dan Harris

Steven Matz allowed three runs over five innings against the A's on Friday. He gave up nine hits and struck out five. He did not factor into the decision.

Fantasy Impact: This was an "improvement" for Matz, who had gotten blasted in his previous two outings, but it's a far cry from how he had been pitching earlier in the season. He does have a pillow-soft matchup against the Padres on Wednesday, so his owners may want to give him one last chance before cutting him.

Ian Kennedy roughed up by the White Sox

Sat, Jul 22nd 12:32pm EDT
By Dan Harris

Ian Kennedy allowed six runs (five earned) over four innings on Friday against the White Sox. He gave up six hits and walked two while striking out four. He did not factor into the decision.

Fantasy Impact: Kennedy hadn't given up more than three earned runs in any start since early June, so his dud against the White Sox was certainly a surprise. He has just a 1.19 WHIP and 86 strikeouts in 97 2/3 innings, so he certainly has some value in deeper leagues. He'll take on the Tigers in his next start.

Anibal Sanchez earns second win of the season

Sat, Jul 22nd 12:27pm EDT
By Dan Harris

Anibal Sanchez allowed three runs over 5 2/3 innings on Friday against the Twins, earning the victory to move to 2-0 on the season. He gave up six hits and three walks while striking out five.

Fantasy Impact: Sanchez's season-long numbers aren't pretty, but it's worth noting that he has allowed three runs or fewer in five of his six starts this season. He's nothing special, but he shouldn't hurt you much if you take a chance on him as a spot starter. He'll take on the Royals in his next start.

Homer Bailey solid against the Marlins

Sat, Jul 22nd 12:24pm EDT
By Dan Harris

Homer Bailey allowed two runs over six innings against the Marlins on Friday night. He allowed eight hits and walked two while striking out three. He came up on the wrong side of the decision, however, and is 2-4 on the year.

Fantasy Impact: Bailey has a horrendous 8.56 ERA on the season, but he's allowed two runs or less in three of his six starts. Chances are he won't have any fantasy value this season, but it's possible he just needs a little time to round into form. He'll take on the Yankees in his next start.

Jaime Garcia shakes off trade rumors, has big game against Dodgers

Sat, Jul 22nd 12:20pm EDT
By Dan Harris

Jaime Garcia allowed three runs over seven innings on Friday against the Dodgers. He gave up seven hits and walked one while striking out four. He moved to 4-7 on the season.

Fantasy Impact: Garcia, who was rumored to be traded to the Twins earlier in the day, also hit a grand slam in the game against Alex Wood. He's scheduled to take on the Diamondbacks in his next start, but is more than likely to be traded to a contending team before then.

Matt Kemp has a solid night at the plate against the Dodgers

Sat, Jul 22nd 11:55am EDT
By Joe Paxton

Matt Kemp went 3-for-5 with two runs and and an RBI in Friday's win against the Dodgers.

Fantasy Impact: Kemp is 4-for-9 against the Dodgers' good pitching staff this series. Kemp is batting .333 with 5 runs in the last seven days. Do not take him out of your lineup.

Brandon Drury gets walk off hit

Sat, Jul 22nd 11:34am EDT
By Brendan Ringwood

With one out and bases loaded in the ninth, Brandon Drury got a ball through the infield for a single, driving home the winning run.

Fantasy Impact: Drury was 0-for-3 before the single in the ninth. He is batting only .222 in the month of July with only four extra base hits (all doubles) bringing his season line down to .278/.330/.445.

Max Scherzer gives up three home runs in loss to Arizona

Sat, Jul 22nd 11:13am EDT
By John Aubin

Max Scherzer only managed to complete five innings Friday against the Diamondbacks, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out nine.

Fantasy Impact: Scherzer gave up homers to the first three batters he faced on Friday. The 32-year-old ace settled down after that and pitched a solid game. Scherzer is having a Cy Young caliber year with 11 wins, 2.26 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 12.40 K/9.

Alex Wood suffers first loss of 2017

Sat, Jul 22nd 11:10am EDT
By Brendan Tuma

Alex Wood "fell" to 11-1 on Friday night, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. Wood also walked four and struck out four.

Fantasy Impact: It's incredible that it took Wood until July 21st to lose his first game of 2017. He has been spectacular this year, and ultimately fantasy owners should treat this game as a fluke. Some sort of regression is likely coming, but Wood should still be very useable in fantasy down the stretch. He now has a 2.17 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 91 1/3 innings this season.

Jeff Samardzija gets hit hard by the Padres for the second straight start

Sat, Jul 22nd 11:06am EDT
By Brendan Tuma

Jeff Samardzija allowed five runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings on Friday night versus San Diego. He also struck out three and walked one.

Fantasy Impact: This marks the second straight outing in which Samardzija got hit hard by San Diego. He has had flashes of fantasy relevance this year, but ultimately his ERA sits at 5.05 as we approach the end of July. He's best left on the waiver wire for the time being.

Gregory Polanco leaves Friday's game with left hamstring injury

Sat, Jul 22nd 10:40am EDT
By Dan Harris

Gregory Polanco was removed from Friday's game against the Rockies in the fourth inning with a left hamstring injury. (Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Fantasy Impact: Polanco beat out a double-play grounder but was clearly walking gingerly after the play and was removed from the game. Polanco has already had one DL stint this season because of a left hamstring strain, so the Pirates will likely be careful with the injury. Polanco was not available after the game.

Jeff Hoffman roughed up by the Pirates Friday

Sat, Jul 22nd 10:03am EDT
By Mike Maher

Jeff Hoffman lasted just three innings against the Pirates on Friday, giving up seven runs on nine hits and four walks en route to his second loss.

Fantasy Impact: Hoffman has been gradually trending downward since the middle of June and has just two quality start in his last eight starts and has now given up four or more runs in three straight. His ERA is now up over 5.00 and is even worse when pitching at home at Coors Field, so Hoffman should be nothing more than a streaming option based on the matchup going forward.

Jake Lamb homers for 23rd time

Sat, Jul 22nd 10:00am EDT
By Brendan Ringwood

In the first inning, Jake Lamb took Max Scherzer deep for the third time in three batters and finished the night 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Fantasy Impact: In the second inning, Lamb got to Scherzer again for an RBI double. It continues a great year for Lamb who seems to hit against any right hander, even the best one in the game right now. In three games since moving to third in the order, Lamb is 5-for-13, with three home runs. The Diamondbacks are not scheduled to race a left handed starter until Tuesday when they go against Jaime Garcia.

Whit Merrifield sacrifice fly in the 10th lifts Royals past White Sox 7-6

Sat, Jul 22nd 9:55am EDT
By Dennis Sosic

Whit Merrifield had a double and three RBIs and stole his 16th base including the game-winning sac fly in the 10th inning to lead the Royals past the White Sox 7-6. The Royals got their third walk-off victory in five days.

Fantasy Impact: Merrifield has solidified his hold as the leadoff hitter. He is in the midst of an eight-game hit streak. Merrifield and the Royals are streaking and Merrifield should be in all lineups as the Royals try to continue their winning streak against the White Sox on Saturday.