San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar went 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk in Thursday's loss against the Colorado Rockies. Porfar took Nick Mears deep in the top of the seventh inning for his third homer of the season. The veteran has quietly been having a nice season for the Padres with a .295 batting average and 18 RBI. Profar should eventually regress, but he is worth riding while his bat is hot. For now, Profar is worth rostering, but managers would be wise to test the trade market and try to sell-high on the veteran. Profar will look to stay warm versus the division rival San Francisco Giants and Kyle Harrison on Friday evening.

From RotoBaller

Seattle Mariners first baseman Ty France went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's victory against the division rival Texas Rangers. The round tripper would be the first of the season for France, who is coming off a disappointing 2023 season. France has been hitting the ball well with a .266 batting average, but he has not done much to help fantasy managers with just six RBI. He has been hitting the ball very hard this year, so more power can come along, but for now he remains a better player for the Mariners than fantasy. He is worth keeping an eye on to see if contact will turn into power, but is more of a watch-list candidate in most formats at this time.

From RotoBaller

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo put together a strong performance versus the Texas Rangers to pick up his second victory of the season on Thursday. Castillo tossed six innings and allowed four hits, two runs, two walks and struck out six on the evening. Castillo has steadily improved as the season has gone on and managers could put to rest any worries from his early season outings. The 31-year-old remains one of the top pitchers in the game and managers can expect to have an ace in most of his starts moving forward. Next up is a matchup versus the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. Even against a good lineup, Castillo is pretty much a must-start.

From RotoBaller

New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes picked up the loss on Thursday versus the Oakland Athletics. The lefty tossed seven frames of three-run ball and allowed five hits with no walks and four strikeouts. The lefty earned a quality start, but didn't get much out of the Yankees offense to help him. Cortes had a rough 2023 campaign with a 4.97 ERA, but he has bounced back in 2024 thus far with a 3.50 ERA in his first six starts of the season. Cortes is worth rostering in most formats, but will face a tough Baltimore Orioles lineup in his next outing and might be best served on the bench in daily leagues for that contest.

From RotoBaller

Cleveland Guardians first base prospect Kyle Manzardo continued his strong start to the season with his seventh multi-hit game on Thursday. Manzardo hit three singles, which brought in two runs to push Columbus over the Syracuse Mets. The 23-year-old has posted a .308/.387/.577 stat line across 21 games at Triple-A and has begun to hit his stride at this level after posting a .242/.343/.475 line at Triple-A last season. Manzardo is worth stashing in deeper re-draft formats for now, as he is nearing a promotion. When given the call, Manzardo should serve as the primary designated hitter for the Guardians, as Josh Naylor will continue to man first base. Manzardo will be a popular waiver-wire add when he is called up, as he is projected to make an immediate impact.

From RotoBaller

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Javier Assad has been one of the most underrated pitchers this season. The right-hander continued his strong campaign against the Houston Astros on Thursday. Assad threw 5 2/3 innings while allowing only one run in a no-decision. The Cubs didn't decide to make noise with the bats until Assad was out of the game. Despite the no-decision, Assad remains a sleeper in fantasy leagues. His next matchup will come against the New York Mets next week.

From RotoBaller

New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino made some noise with his bat during Thursday's game against the Oakland Athletics. He went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the loss to the A's. The solo blast by Trevino was the only run the Yankees could put on the board during Thursday's loss. Trevino has been decent, slashing .273/.347/.756 with two homers and eight RBI across 44 plate appearances.

From RotoBaller

Texas Rangers infielder Josh Smith continued his strong campaign versus the Seattle Mariners on Thursday. Smith went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run in the loss to the Mariners. He has seemingly come out of nowhere and been a reliable option for this offense. He's slashing 292/.393/.417 over 72 at-bats, but he's more of a bench option which limits his fantasy value.

From RotoBaller

Minnesota Twins infielder Edouard Julien is off to a shaky start at the plate, but he has turned it around recently, On Thursday, Julien went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in the win over the Chicago White Sox. His slash line is an ugly .213/.308/.513, but Julien does have seven home runs and nine RBI this season. The Twins are banged up right now, so expect Julien to continue playing everyday. His pop alone makes him worth snagging off the waiver wire.

From RotoBaller

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez came up clutch for his team during Thursday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The veteran catcher blasted a two-run home run off right-hander Jose Berries. That home run ended up being enough as the Royals won the game 2-0. The 33-year-old now has seven home runs on the year and is showing no signs of slowing down.

From RotoBaller

Detroit Tigers starting pitching prospect Jackson Jobe tallied six strikeouts across four no-hit innings in Thursday's victory. This outing lowered Jobe's ERA to 2.63 and his WHIP to 1.17. Jobe, the top pitching prospect in the Detroit system and number two right-handed pitching prospect in all of baseball, has looked sharp in Double-A as he has a cumulative 1.83 ERA and 1.02 WHIP across 19 total innings over the past two seasons. The former third-overall pick should be promoted to Triple-A later this summer if he continues this strong play. While Jobe is not projected to reach the major leagues until 2025, he should remain a coveted piece in dynasty leagues.

From RotoBaller

San Diego Padres infielder Ha-Seong Kim has shown some unexpected pop in his bat early in the season. On Thursday, Kim went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in the loss to the Colorado Rockies. The 28-year-old now has four homers on the season, which is nice to see. It's also worth noting that Kim has stolen seven bases as well. He's struggling a bit in other areas, but has done enough to keep himself fantasy relevant.

From RotoBaller

Texas Rangers pitching prospect Jack Leiter was electric in his outing for Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday, throwing six innings of shutout ball. Leiter allowed one hit, struck out eight, and walked three to round out his line. After a rough first outing in the majors last week, Leiter got himself back on track with a dominant outing that showcased the upside he has. He will need to continue pitching well in Triple-A, but a call back to the big leagues is still a possibility if someone in the Rangers rotation hits the injured list, which will likely happen at some point.

From RotoBaller

Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Griffin Jax shut the door on the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, helping secure a 6-3 victory. Jax came in with the bases loaded and one out with a four-run lead and managed to escape with only one runner crossing home (on an error), picking up his fourth save in the process. Jax has filled in admirably as the impromptu closer after Jhoan Duran went down before the season started, posting a 2.53 ERA and 0.94 WHIP while striking out 15 batters in 10 IP. He is also 4-for-5 in save chances. Unfortunately for Jax and his fantasy managers, Duran could be back at any point as he is currently on a rehab assignment. Once he is back, Jax will likely shift back to a set-up role.

From RotoBaller

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Hector Neris notched his third save on Thursday, slamming the door on the Houston Astros in a 3-1 win. Neris was a little shaky in his inning of work, walking a pair before getting out of it. Since manager Craig Counsell said that Adbert Alzolay was being taken out of the closer role last weekend, Neris has converted on all three of his save opportunities and apparently taken that role over. He should be added in most leagues where saves are important.

From RotoBaller

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Justin Lawrence threw a perfect ninth inning in a 10-9 victory over the San Diego Padres, picking up his second save in the process. Lawrence struck out one and didn't allow a baserunner in his inning of work. Although he hasn't been good this year, as evidenced by his 5.59 ERA and 1.55 WHIP, Lawrence still might be the best Colorado has in its bullpen. He has the team's last two saves and is likely to remain in that role. He doesn't need to be owned in standard leagues, but deeper league managers who play in saves-only formats might want to give Lawrence a look.

From RotoBaller

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Andres Munoz picked up his third save of the season on Thursday, locking down the Texas Rangers in a 4-3 win. Munoz tossed up goose eggs across the board in his inning of work as he didn't allow a baserunner and didn't strike anyone out either. It was the 25-year-old's first save since April 6, as he has been used in non-save situations and has also blown a save since then. It seems like Munoz is still Seattle's highest-leverage pitcher and should see the most save chances, but his season total might be held back by being used in the seventh or eighth innings on occasion.

From RotoBaller

Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller showed off his absurd stuff again on Thursday, picking up his sixth save in the process. Miller got the final four outs in a 3-1 win over the New York Yankees, allowing just a hit and striking out three in the process. Miller touched 102 mph in this one, but that has become almost routine for the fireballer. He lowered his ERA to 1.59 and his WHIP to 0.97 in this one and has cemented himself as one of the elite closers in the majors already.

From RotoBaller

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Evan Phillips locked down the Washington Nationals on Thursday, helping secure a 2-1 win. Phillips looked great in this one, striking out a pair in a perfect ninth inning. For the season, the 29-year-old has been excellent, posting a 0.84 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 13 strikeouts in 10 IP. Phillips should continue getting the bulk of the Dodgers save chances, making him an elite closing option in fantasy.

From RotoBaller

Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe clubbed his first home run of the season on Thursday despite taking a 4-3 loss at the hands of the rival Seattle Mariners. The 28-year-old appeared in only his fifth game of the season due to an oblique injury suffered late in spring training but he's been off to a hot start in a small sample. Lowe is hitting .294 (5-for-17) with a homer, a double, three walks, three runs scored, and .929 OPS across his first 20 trips to the plate. Armed with pop and plenty of patience at the plate, Lowe hit .262 with 17 home runs, 89 runs, 82 RBI, a 12.8% BB%, and a .774 OPS while appearing in 161 games in the 2023 season, the third straight season in which he has appeared in at least 157 contests.

From RotoBaller