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Player Notes

  • Sean Murphy back in lineup Thursday vs. Nationals
    Sean Murphy (elbow) is back in the lineup for Thursday’s series opener against the Nationals.

    Advice: It’s an extremely encouraging sign to see Murphy back handling the catching duties following a brief one-game absence after being hit by a pitch on the right elbow during the late stages of Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox. The 29-year-old backstop has been snake-bitten by injuries this season, but managed to escape his most incident with nothing more than a nasty looking bruise. Rotoworld Thursday, 1:44 pm
  • Getting breather
    Smith is not in the lineup for Thursday's game in Pittsburgh.

    Advice: Smith started the first two games of the series, going 3-for-7 with a double, a walk and an RBI. He will yield to Austin Barnes for the series finale as the Dodgers try to avoid a sweep. Rotowire.com Thursday, 12:09 pm
  • Sitting Thursday
    Jeffers isn't in the Twins' lineup Thursday against the Yankees.

    Advice: Jeffers has gone 0-for-11 with four strikeouts over his last three games, and he'll get a day to regroup Thursday. Christian Vazquez will instead start behind the dish and bat ninth. Rotowire.com Thursday, 11:06 am
  • Tyler Soderstrom starting at 1B for A’s on THU
    Tyler Soderstrom is starting at first base for the Athletics against the Mariners on Thursday.

    Advice: Soderstrom will hit seventh and play first base with J.D. Davis taking a seat. With Davis hitting just .229 on the year, there’s been a chance for the 22-year-old Soderstrom to carve out more playing time. Unfortunately, he’s not hitting well himself, slashing .174/.309/.304 with a 42 percent strikeout rate. Fantasy managers in deep leagues can keep an eye on Sodestrom to see if he can pick it up and earn more at-bats, but he’s not rosterable in leagues right now. Rotoworld Thursday, 10:00 am
  • Absent from lineup
    Langeliers isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.

    Advice: Langeliers has received more days off than usual of late, as he's now started just three of the last six games for the Athletics. He doesn't appear to be dealing with any sort of injury, however. Kyle McCann will get the start at catcher for Oakland on Thursday. Rotowire.com Thursday, 9:58 am
  • Henry Davis improved against velocity in demotion
    According to MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf, after Henry Davis’ demotion in early May, he prioritized hitting against higher velocity and reacting more than thinking.

    Advice: Davis was a trendy fantasy sleeper in the spring but he had a really rough start to the season, hitting .162/.280/.206 slash line with zero homers, four RBI, zero stolen bases, and a 29/11 K/BB ratio over 83 plate appearances. According to Stumpf, the first thing Davis did after was go “to the fastball machine and turned it up as high as it could go. For three days before his assignment to Indianapolis started Davis swung there.” The idea was to combat Davis’ self-described issue with over-thinking in the batter’s box. “People talk about how the speed of the game speeds up, but the second I did that without thinking about anything, it went back to what I’ve done my whole life, my whole career.” Davis performed well in Triple-A, hitting .296 with seven home runs and a 1.078 OPS over 101 plate appearances, and will hope to carry it over into his current big league stint. Rotoworld Thursday, 8:05 am
  • Taking seat Thursday
    Fry is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Blue Jays.

    Advice: Fry will take a seat for Thursday's series finale, as he had been scheduled to head to the bench Wednesday before that game was postponed due to inclement weather. Though his 1.092 OPS on the season ranks first in the majors among all players with at least 140 plate appearances, Fry still hasn't quite locked down a full-time role in Cleveland. He'll be out of the lineup for the second time in three games while the Guardians go with Bo Naylor at catcher and Kyle Manzardo at designated hitter. Rotowire.com Thursday, 7:20 am
    David FryCLE - C,1B,OF
    Player Note
  • Goes yard twice in rout
    Torrens went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the Nationals.

    Advice: The backstop took Patrick Corbin deep in the third and sixth innings as he produced his first multi-homer game in the majors in nearly three years. Torrens has started three of four games since joining the Mets, going 3-for-10 with his third hit being a double, and the 28-year-old is making a strong case to stick around as the No. 2 catcher instead of Tomas Nido when Francisco Alvarez (thumb) comes off the IL next week. Rotowire.com Thursday, 6:03 am
  • Enjoys big game in victory
    Heim went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two total runs and two total RBI in a 9-1 win against Detroit on Wednesday.

    Advice: Heim's biggest contribution was a two-run shot to right field in the third inning that gave Texas a 4-0 lead. The backstop added a double and a single to finish with just his second three-hit performance of the season. Heim's pace has slowed a bit after he tallied a career-best 18 homers and 95 RBI last year, but he's still giving solid production from the catcher position with a .251/.296/.372 slash line, six homers, 31 RBI, 22 runs and a stolen base through 199 plate appearances. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 11:10 pm