Houston Astros outfielder Chas McCormick will get the day off in Wednesday's series finale against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. McCormick came off the injured list on Tuesday and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the team's extra-inning win over the Halos, and he'll take a seat in just his second game back in the matinee affair. After a career year in 2023 in which he hit .273/.353/.489 with an .842 OPS, 22 home runs, 70 RBI and 19 stolen bases in 115 games, McCormick has started off slow in 2024 and is currently hitting just .227 (17-for-75) with no homers, eight RBI and two steals in 86 plate appearances over 22 games played. He'll be replaced in left field on Wednesday by Mauricio Dubon, who is hitting eighth against Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson. Dubon has two hits and an RBI in four career at-bats against Anderson but will be a low-upside sleeper in DFS lineups in the eight-hole.

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Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz is out of the team's starting lineup for Wednesday's series finale against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. In his place, Victor Caratini will do the catching for right-hander Hunter Brown and will bat in the nine-hole for the Astros against Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson. With a scheduled day off coming on Thursday for Houston, fantasy managers should expect Diaz to be back in there on Friday for a series opener in Oakland against the Athletics. Diaz is currently slashing .264/.297/.385 with three home runs, 22 RBI and 18 runs scored in 174 at-bats as the Astros' primary catcher in 2024. The switch-hitting Caratini has gone 16-for-64 (.250) this year as the backup with two homers and 11 RBI. He's hitless in three career at-bats against Anderson and should be avoided in DFS lineups.

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Houston Astros first baseman Jose Abreu will remain in West Palm Beach and play Florida Complex League games on Wednesday and Thursday before reporting to Triple-A Sugar Land this weekend, according to manager Joe Espada. It was reported earlier this week that Abreu could rejoin the big-league roster by Friday for the series opener against the Oakland Athletics, but it looks like that won't be the case. The 37-year-old veteran Cuban slugger agreed to head to the minors after starting the 2024 season with a lowly .099 average (7-for-71) with no homers, three RBI and 18 strikeouts in his first 22 games. He's played in four games in the FCL so far, going 6-for-18 (.333) with two doubles and two RBI. When Abreu does return to the Astros, it could just be in a platoon role at first base with the left-handed-hitting Jon Singleton.

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Kansas City Royals outfielder Hunter Renfroe will head to the bench for Wednesday's contest as the Royals go for the sweep against the visiting Detroit Tigers in the series finale. Renfroe has gone 6-for-24 (.250) with a homer and five RBI in his last seven games since May 12, but overall he's been bad this year with a .160/.236/.282 slash line with four home runs, 18 RBI and 15 runs scored in 144 plate appearances over 43 games played in his first year in KC. With Renfroe on the bench, Dairon Blanco is getting the start in right field and will bat seventh against Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal. Blanco has three hits and two RBI in six career at-bats against Skubal. The 31-year-old Cuban outfielder has been useful for his speed this year in AL-only leagues, as he has 11 thefts in just 44 at-bats in 2024.

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Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy (oblique) went 1-for-3 with a 449-foot home run, two runs scored and a walk in his first minor-league rehab game on Tuesday night for Triple-A Gwinnett while playing seven innings behind the plate. Not only was it a good sign to see the 29-year-old hit a no-doubt blast to straightaway center field in this one, he also stayed in the game longer than expected at catcher, so he must be feeling pretty good after suffering a Grade 1 left-oblique strain on March 29. In addition to his monstrous long ball, Murphy threw out the only runner that attempted to steal on him. Murphy will get Wednesday off before starting again on Thursday. He's likely to play in a couple more rehab games before coming off the injured list later this weekend. Murphy will probably be eased back in with the Braves, but his impending return is going to mean less playing time for Travis d'Arnaud.

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Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe is getting a breather on Wednesday in the series finale against the Astros in Houston. Matt Thaiss will do the catching for left-hander Tyler Anderson and will hit sixth in the batting order versus Astros right-hander Hunter Brown. With a scheduled off day coming for the Halos on Thursday, expect O'Hoppe to be back in action on Friday for a series opener back at home against the visiting Cleveland Guardians. The 24-year-old backstop has been solid offensively for the Angels so far this year, slashing .257/.317/.392 with four home runs, 22 RBI and 18 runs scored in 148 at-bats. Thaiss, a former first-rounder, has gone just 7-for-35 (.200) with no homers and three RBI in limited playing time as the backup to O'Hoppe in 2024.

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Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz is taking the day off during Wednesday's matinee contest for the series finale against the visiting Minnesota Twins. With Ruiz on the bench, Riley Adams will do the catching for right-hander Jake Irvin and bat eighth against Twins rookie right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson. Ruiz dealt with a pretty serious illness early this year that caused him to lose over 10 pounds, so perhaps that's why he's been such a disappointment so far in 2024. The 25-year-old switch-hitting Venezuelan backstop is slashing .160/.198/.236 with only two home runs, seven RBI and seven runs scored in 106 at-bats. Adams has been slightly better, going 16-for-69 (.232) with two home runs and six RBI. The 27-year-old will be a low-upside sleeper in DFS at catcher.

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New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty is back on the bench on Wednesday in the series finale in Cleveland against the Guardians against a right-handed pitcher. Mark Vientos is getting another start at the hot corner in his place and is hitting sixth against Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie. Baty, who is hitting .228 (31-for-136) on the year with three home runs and 15 RBI, is quickly losing playing time at third base to Vientos, who homered on Tuesday night, amidst his offensive struggles. The 24-year-old left-handed hitter has just two hits and 12 strikeouts in his last 26 plate appearances in nine games since May 10. At this point, not even Baty's stellar defensive play at third can save him from losing playing time. It's still early in the year but Baty currently has lost the hold on the starting job at third in New York.

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Colorado Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar had a big night despite his team losing on Tuesday night versus the Oakland Athletics. The 22-year-old went 2-for-5 on the evening with both of his hits being solo homeruns. Tovar has had a rollercoaster of a season, but has caught fire over the past two week with 18 hits over his last 54 at-bats to go along with four homers and nine RBI. Tovar is aggressive at the plate and draws his fair share of strikeouts, but he has also been making good contact. The Rockies will be home for six straight games after their series with the Athletics on Thursday and should be all lineups as he continues to swing a hot bat.

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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jon Gray will undergo a MRI after being removed early from Tuesday's start with a right groin injury. The veteran tossed five innings on 75 pitches before being pulled from the game. Manager Bruce Bochy said that Gray was experiencing tightness in his right groin and it wasn't worth it to keep pushing Gray and potentially injure him more. It seems like the move to remove Gray was more of a precaution than anything, but his MRI will determine the true extent of his injury. Bochy expect Gray to be able to make his next start versus the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. If Gray does miss time, Jack Leiter would be an option for a spot start.

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Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner returned to the lineup on Tuesday after missing the previous six games with a hamstring injury and made an immediate impact versus the Atlanta Braves. Despite only having one hit in five at-bats, it was a huge one in the bottom of the 10th inning to walk it off for the Cubbies with a RBI single. Hoerner is a strong middle infield option with ability to help across the board with a .267 batting average accompanied by two homers, 13 RBI and five stolen bases. He will look to keep things going in Game 2 of Chicago's series versus the Atlanta Braves and Max Fried on Wednesday.

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Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker put together a monster game against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday evening. Tucker went 2-for-4 with three runs, one walk and two homeruns to help lead the Astros to their 22nd victory of the season. The Astros have struggled this season, but Tucker has been doing his part for the club and fantasy managers. On the season, Tucker has hit .293 with 17 homers, 36 RBI and nine stolen bases to go along with a shiny 1.074 OPS. Tucker is putting up some of the best numbers of any player in the game this season and has the most homeruns in the league. He should continue to make fantasy managers happy moving forward.

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Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz had a big night in Tuesday's victory versus the San Francisco Giants. Cruz went 3-for-5 on the evening with two doubles, one single and a RBI. The 6'7 shortstop brought plenty of thunder with the bat as his three hits were recorded at 121.5 mph, 120.4 mph, and 116.3 mph. Cruz has been hitting the ball hard this season, but has been up and down in the production department. Overall, Cruz has hit .260 with seven homers, 19 RBI and four stolen bases. Cruz has the ability to help across the board and Tuesday's showing is a perfect example of that, he just needs to be more consistent. Regardless, he remains a starting shortstop in most formats moving forward.

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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb posted his eighth quality start of the season in a no-decision versus the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday. The right-hander tossed six frames and allowed six hits, two runs and one walk with six strikeouts. With the strong outing, Webb now has a solid 3.03 ERA. Webb opened the month of May with a hiccup when he allowed five runs (four earned) versus the Philadelphia Phillies, be he has bounced back with four earned runs allowed over his past four starts. As one of the more consistent pitchers in the sport, Webb is worth starting in all matchups moving forward. Next up for the right-hander will be a date with the New York Mets on Sunday.

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Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. continued his strong season with a big performance in Tuesday's victory against the division rival Detroit Tigers. Witt went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two homers and six RBI. He also stole his 16th base of the season in the contest. His first home run was a big three-run blast in the bottom of the second inning and he then followed that up with a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth inning for good measure. The superstar shortstop now has a mini five-game hitting streak going as he continues to be one of the top fantasy producers across the board. For the season, Witt is hitting .304 with 7 homers and 31 RBI.

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Chicago White Sox starting pitcherGarrett Crochet(5-4) dominated the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday night, picking up a win while allowing only two hits and one walk with four strikeouts in a 5-0 victory. Crochet's ERA dipped to 3.75 after the outing, and he has only allowed one run in 23 innings pitched in May. Crochet had a small rough patch towards the end of April, where he allowed 17 runs in 9 2/3 innings pitched, but if you take those three starts away, Crochet has been spectacular with only seven runs allowed in 46 innings pitched (1.37 ERA). The southpaw willlook tocontinue his hot May on Sunday against a powerful Baltimore Orioles lineup that leads the league in home runs hit during the season.

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Cleveland Guardian relief pitcherEmmanuel Clasecontinued his dominant campaign, earning the save in Tuesday's 7-6 win over the New York Mets. The 26-year-old allowed a hit over a scoreless inning, notching his 15th save of the season. His ERA now lies at 0.36, with a 0.59 WHIP on the season to accompany his league-leading 15 saves. This is everything a fantasy manager could hope for in a fantasy baseball closer who is one of the first relievers off draft boards. Relievers can be so volatile on a year-to-year basis, but with a career 1.84 ERA, Clase continues to show why he is arguably the best closer in the game. There's not much more to say about Clase except that you can expect to keep reaping the rewards of rostering the top fantasy closer in the game.

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New York Mets third basemanMark Vientoswent 2-fo-4 Tuesday night while recording two hits, including a solo home run, and an additional run scored in a 7-6 loss against the Cleveland Guardians. The multi-hit game was his third in five games since being recalled from Triple-A Syracuse on May 15th. Vientos was promoted due toJoey Wendlebeing designated for assignment, and the rookie has been productive thus far. Unfortunately, he remains on the short side of a platoon with left-handed hittingBrett Baty and will need more at-bats to be worthy of a roster spot sometime soon. Fantasy managers need to keep an eye out. If more at-bats were to open up at third base or designated hitter, Vientos could be worth a roster spot but is mainly an option in deep-league formats.

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Boston Red Sox outfielderJarren Durandid a little bit of everything in Tuesday night's 5-2 win versus the Tampa Bay Rays. He went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk, and an additional run scored in Tuesday's victory. The stolen base, his 11th on the season, was part of a double steal of home in the eighth inning, giving the Red Sox a 4-2 lead. Duran's slash line lies at .274/.342/.462, as he's been excellent at handling the Red Sox leadoff job in 2024. He's well on pace for about 40 stolen bases but has yet to produce much in the power department. Fantasy managers have to be pleased with Duran's all-around production during the season, and he should be in lineups every day.

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Minnesota Twins outfielderByron Buxtonblasted his second and third home runs Tuesday night while going 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored in a 10-0 dominating performance over the Washington Nationals. Since being activated off the injured list after a knee injury, Buxton has been 4-for-13 with two home runs, four RBI, and four runs scored. The speedy center-fielder dominated with the bat on Tuesday, but overall, his 2024 has been underwhelming. He's currently on pace for just above 10 home runs during the season while making little contribution in RBI, runs, and stolen base categories. His .257 batting average is an improvement over last year's .207 batting average. Still, until he can put together a longer streak of production, he remains a bench or waiver-wire player at best in most league formats.

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