Yahoo Sports Fantasy Baseball

  • David Hamilton has three hits, swipe in victory
    David Hamilton went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base as the Red Sox triumphed over the Tigers on Friday evening.

    Advice: All three of Hamilton’s hits in the ballgame were singles. He reached on a one-out single off of Joey Wentz in the sixth inning, swiped second base and then rode home on Ceddanne Rafaela’s second long ball of the night. With his three-hit attack. Hamilton is now slashing .281/.347/.416 with two homers, six RBI and nine stolen bases on the year. Rotoworld Yesterday, 6:42 pm
    David HamiltonBOS - 2B,SS
    1:10 pm vs DET
    New Player Note
     
  • Santiago Espinal delivers pinch-hit homer in win
    Santiago Espinal hit a two-run homer as a pinch-hitter to help propel the Reds past the Cubs 5-4 on Friday.

    Advice: Espinal hit for Will Benson against lefty Drew Smyly in the seventh and drove the first pitch he saw 385 feet to left-center. It would have been a homer in nine out of the 30 ballparks, says Statcast, Espinal is now batting .202/.261/.303 in 137 plate appearances for the Reds. Rotoworld Yesterday, 2:40 pm
     
  • David Hamilton starts at SS again
    David Hamilton is starting at shortstop for the Red Sox on Thursday against the Tigers.

    Advice: Hamilton has now started five of the last six games in the middle infield for Boston as the Red Sox have transitioned Ceddanne Rafaela back to the outfield. Hamilton struggled defensively in his first chance in 2024 after being thrust into a starting role following the injury to Trevor Story. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he intentionally kept Hamilton on the MLB roster to just allow him to take a breath, and Hamilton has rewarded his confidence by hitting .311/.380/.489 in 17 games in May with one home run, eight runs scored, and six steals. The 26-year-old has game-changing speed, so if he’s going to play regularly, he’s worth a gamble in fantasy leagues. Rotoworld Thursday, 12:56 pm
    David HamiltonBOS - 2B,SS
    1:10 pm vs DET
    New Player Note
     
  • Ceddanne Rafaela gets a day off on Thursday
    Ceddanne Rafaela is not in the Red Sox lineup on Thursday against the Tigers.

    Advice: It’s a routine day off for the rookie with David Hamilton playing shortstop, Jarred Duran in center field, and Rob Refsnyder in left field. The rookie continues to struggle with consistency at the plate, but he’s been in the midst of a strong stretch, hitting .273/.294/.394 over the last nine games with two steals, one home run, and seven runs. He has some swing-and-miss in his game, so there will be some ups and downs as he refines his approach, but he does have a fantasy-friendly profile and will remain a fixture in the Red Sox lineup. Rotoworld Thursday, 12:53 pm
     
  • Not starting Thursday
    Rafaela isn't in Boston's lineup for Thursday's game against Detroit, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

    Advice: Rafaela went 0-for-4 during Wednesday's loss to Baltimore, putting an end to his four-game hit streak. He'll take a seat versus Jack Flaherty and the Tigers while Rob Refsnyder starts in the outfield, moving Connor Wong into the DH role and allowing Reese McGuire to start behind the plate. Rotowire.com Thursday, 12:15 pm
     
  • Pilfers third bag
    Lopez went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over the Padres.

    Advice: The 25-year-old infielder has seized the starting job at second base in the wake of the Luis Arraez trade. Through 30 games in the majors this season, Lopez is slashing a solid .273/.313/.429 with three homers, three steals, 11 runs and 15 RBI, and Statcast has graded him in the 89th percentile for outs above average on the defensive side of the ball. Given his career .288/.354/.401 line over nearly 1,000 plate appearances at Triple-A, this level of production seems very sustainable for Lopez, and he could even get more aggressive on the basepaths -- he's stolen 42 bags in 53 attempts at Triple-A. Rotowire.com Thursday, 7:56 am
    Otto LopezMIA - 2B,SS
    1:10 pm vs TEX
    New Player Note
     
  • Making adjustments
    The Red Sox advised Rafaela to hold his hands lower in his stance, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports. He went 0-for-4 in Wednesday's loss to Baltimore and is batting .206 with a 25.7 strikeout percentage.

    Advice: The goal of the hands adjustment is to cut down on all the movement needed to catch up to fastballs. "Be on time," Boston manager Alex Cora said. "We've been talking about it, showing him examples. It happens that we're here, too, [in Baltimore] and can use [the Orioles] as an example of how short they are to the ball and how they use their hands." Rafaela's been inconsistent overall but has hit better recently, going 9-for-33 (.273) over the last nine games while batting safely in seven of those contests. Rotowire.com Thursday, 5:34 am
     
  • Begins rehab in ACL
    Lawlar (thumb) started at shortstop and went 0-for-2 with a walk for the Diamondbacks' affiliate in the Arizona Complex League on Wednesday.

    Advice: Lawlar began a rehab assignment Wednesday, playing five innings in the field. He's been working his way back from a ruptured UCL tendon in his right thumb, and his rehab recently involved at-bats at the team's training facility at Salt River Fields. The plan, as outlined by Arizona farm director Shaun Larkin to Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports, is for Lawlar to get in 2-to-3 weeks of game action before joining Triple-A Reno. Rotowire.com Thursday, 4:21 am
     
  • Back to bench role
    Espinal is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.

    Advice: Espinal started at third base in all three games of the Reds' weekend series versus the Dodgers, but he's been a spectator for all three games of the series with St. Louis now that Jeimer Candelario is healthy again after missing time with a neck injury. The Reds will likely to continue to make room for Espinal in the lineup when the team faces left-handed pitchers, but his opportunities to play against right-handers will become more infrequent now that the team has all of its infielders available save for Christian Encarnacion-Strand (wrist) and Matt McLain (shoulder), the latter of whom has been on the injured list all season. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 7:59 am