Fantasy Sports

Skenes allowed six hits and one walk. The right-hander didn’t have his best swing-and-miss stuff, and he did deal with some traffic; something he didn’t deal with at all in his six no-hit innings Friday against the Cubs. Even still, the 21-year-old was impressive again, and he now has a 2.25 ERA and a 21/4 K/BB over three starts. Next up for Skenes is a start against the Tigers on Wednesday.

Judge also walked twice and scored after one of those free passes. The slugger slaughtered a Luis Castillo offering for his 15th homer of the season and it gave New York a 2-0 lead. Remember when Judge was scuffling? We don’t either. He remains as reliable a power threat as there is in the sport.

Another masterful outing for Gil, one that might quiet the “move to the bullpen” talk when Gerrit Cole returns to the rotation. Gil did walk two, but he was mostly dominant with the only hit being a J.P. Crawford single in the fourth. Gil has struck out 22 batters over his last two starts in 12 1/3 innings, and his ERA is a sparkling 2.11. A chance to impress again is scheduled for Wednesday against the Angels in Los Angeles.

Lange was publicly chewed out by his manager A.J. Hinch on the mound during Wednesday’s game and despite Hinch claiming that had nothing to do with the demotion, we find that hard to believe. Going into Wednesday’s game, Lange had allowed just four earned runs in his previous 14 appearances. His command will certainly come and go, and it had been poor in the last three appearances, but the 28-year-old only has two bad outings all season. This feels like a situation that is heading for a break-up and if Lange is able to find his way onto a team that can improve his command, he still has a future as a solid reliever.

Baz was strong in his last outing and had gotten up to 76 pitches. However, his command still needs to be refined as he works back from Tommy John surgery. Baz is likely to make a few starts in the minors and, provided they go well, could join the Rays’ rotation at some point in June.

While it’s not robo-umps, it seems like MLB games could get a challenge system that would allow hitters to use technology to challenge a ball/strike call. Manfred left open the possibility to expand on this but mentioned the challenge system would be “at least a starting point...if and when we bring it to the big leagues.” Details will undoubtedly emerge in the coming months.

On one hand, backing off Gil makes some sense. The 25-year-old has already thrown 49 innings this season and has not thrown more than 96 innings in any season since 2019. However, when Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about his plans for Gil, he mentioned that Gerrit Cole is likely four to six weeks away from returning, which is an eternity during a baseball season. Moving Gil to the bullpen could make sense on the surface, but it’s impossible to tell what position the Yankees rotation will be in by the time Cole comes back. As a result, it’s too early to make a move for your fantasy teams.

The 27-year-old was producing solid numbers in the minors, slashing .307/.424/.577 with six home runs, 27 RBI, and eight steals in 41 games. He was swinging and missing less and sporting a more patient approach at the plate but was also playing games in many hitter-friendly ballparks. Considering he took Esteury Ruiz’s (wrist) place on the active roster and Ruiz was only playing once or twice a week, it’s unlikely that Cameron will be up as more than a bench bat.

There was a lot of celebrating in fantasy baseball circles when Ruiz performed well at Triple-A Las Vegas and hit two home runs in his first games after being recalled in April. However, the 25-year-old is hitting just .200/.270/.382 in 29 games this season with two home runs, five steals, and a 31 percent strikeout rate. He has been battling wrist issues throughout the season but also figures to profile as more of a fourth outfielder due to his low batting average and poor outfield defense. Daz Cameron was called up to take his place on the active roster.

It’s a surprising turn of events for the 25-year-old who posted 26 home runs and 13 steals in 144 games in 2023. Suwinski was attempting to make clear changes to his approach in 2024, being more aggressive in the zone as he tried to combat his high called-strike rate from 2023. Unfortunately, that aggressive approach also led to Suwinski swinging more at pitches outside the strike zone, so while his swinging strike rate and strikeout rate went down, his quality of contact also suffered. He had just a .174/.268/.297 slash line with a 6.1 percent barrel rate that was way down from his 15.7 percent mark last year. Perhaps an approach change in the minor leagues will unlock a strong second half for Suwinski as it did for Ke’Bryan Hayes last year. Only, that coach no longer works for the Pirates.