MLB Player News

Crawford is batting just .192 against left-handed pitching this season and is 2-for-17 (.118) lifetime against Thursday’s starter Ricky Romero. Darnell McDonald will make the start in left field Thursday.

Birdsong lost the fifth starter job to Landen Roupp after an excellent spring training. The Giants had the idea of using the 23-year-old right-hander as a piggyback starter, but that never materialized. Birdsong picked up his second hold of the season as he threw two scoreless innings in the Giants’ 4-1 victory over the Mariners on Saturday. Melvin admitted prior to that outing that one-inning appearances aren’t out of the question for Birdsong. He could still work his way into the rotation at some point later this season, but with Birdsong no longer stretched out as a starting pitcher that becomes more difficult. While he can excel as a short reliever for the Giants, Birdsong would have a lot more fantasy value as a starting pitcher.

Jankowski was designated for assignment to make room for Mike Tauchman on the active roster. The 33-year-old outfielder will likely need another injury to crack another major league roster. Jankowski isn’t a fantasy asset at this point in his career.

Tauchman suffered a hamstring injury towards the end of spring training, but has made his way back after a short minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte. His fantasy value is limited to AL-Only leagues. Travis Jankowski was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

What are the Rockies doing? Seriously. Veen racked up three extra-base hits as part of a career-best five-hit performance. It seems like there’s virtually nothing left for him to prove at the Triple-A level where he’s hitting .444 (12-for-27) with one homer, eight RBI and one steal through seven games. The 23-year-old former first-round pick should make it to Colorado at some point in the next few weeks.

If you look up, you might see it still traveling overhead. Caglianone clobbered an absolute no-doubter to right field for his first round-tripper of the season. The gargantuan blast carried a surreal 116 mph exit velocity, according to MLB Pipeline. The 22-year-old slugging prospect was the talk of the Cactus League this spring and figures to get a shot in Kansas City at some point in the coming months. There are zero questions regarding his over-the-fence pop, but he’ll need to prove he can make consistent contact and control the strike zone against big-league pitchers if he’s going to blossom into a legitimate fantasy superstar.

Smith generated 14 swinging strikes, according to Statcast. The four walks were the lone bugaboo in an otherwise stellar season debut. The 21-year-old southpaw put up stratospheric strikeout totals throughout his collegiate career and is already among the top pitching prospects in baseball. He has a real shot to reach the majors by the end of the year, if everything comes together.

Arguably the top prospect in the dynasty landscape at the moment, Walcott has gotten off to a hot start in the upper minors, which is even more impressive considering he just turned 19 years old last month. The combination of massive over-the-fence power upside and athleticism make him a potential fantasy superstar and we’re not being hyperbolic with that statement. He’s the real deal.

That’s back-to-back multi-hit performances for Bazzana to open the year. The 22-year-old, who was selected first overall in last year’s MLB Draft, is going to move rapidly through Cleveland’s system and could potentially reach the big leagues by the second half. He’s a top-20 range prospect for dynasty purposes already and could be in the top-10 territory in a couple weeks.

Hope’s two-run blast left the bat at 111 mph and traveled 427 feet, according to MLB Pipeline. He has a chance to break into the big leagues as a bat-first corner outfielder down the line, if everything comes together. The 20-year-old prodigy has posted sublime exit velocity numbers over the past calendar year, including a 108.5 mph 90th percentile exit velocity, according to Baseball America data. He’s a borderline top-15 prospect for dynasty purposes already with a chance to break into the top 10 by midseason.

The ancillary component of the Garrett Crochet blockbuster, Montgomery is an athletic and toolsy outfielder with a chance to make a significant impact for fantasy purposes down the road. The 21-year-old was selected 12th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft after a standout collegiate career at Texas A&M. He’s a long way from the majors, but he’s going to rise pretty rapidly on dynasty rankings over the next few months. He checked in as the 65th-ranked prospect in Rotoworld’s latest dynasty rankings update.