MLB Player News

Villalobos passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment earlier this week. The 26-year-old righty has been removed from Miami’s 40-man roster, but will remain with the organization as extra relief depth.

Hamilton has hit a bit of a rough patch over the last few days with just four hits in 20 at-bats over his last seven games. He does have one homer and three steals during that span. The 26-year-old speedster has been one of the more unexpected first-half breakout performers from a fantasy standpoint with five homers and 21 steals in 55 games after batting .121 in a brief 15-game cameo last year in Boston.

This certainly qualifies as a welcome surprise for fantasy managers following Springer’s early exit from Friday’s game against the Yankees after being hit on his left hand by a 93.5 mph fastball. The positive news here is that precautionary X-rays came back negative for any fractures and the fact that he’s already back in the lineup means that the swelling isn’t bad enough that it’s preventing him from gripping a bat. It’s been a down year offensively for the 34-year-old veteran outfielder, but the Blue Jays need his bat in the lineup if they’re going to have any shot at turning things around before the trade deadline.

Fraley is back in right field and batting cleanup on Saturday afternoon following a three-game absence due to a right calf issue. It doesn’t sound like he’s going to wind up missing any additional time, but we’ll see.

As expected, Candelario is sitting out Saturday’s contest due to right knee tendinitis, but there’s optimism he’ll be ready to return for Sunday’s series finale.

Blackmon returns following a minimum stay on the injured list recovering from a mild right hamstring strain. The 37-year-old outfielder was one of the premier five-category impact contributors in the entire fantasy landscape earlier in his career, but has remained a decent plug-in streaming option for fantasy managers during Coors Field homestands. He’s batting .266/.337/.410 with three homers and five steals in 246 plate appearances this season, splitting time between right field and designated hitter.

Bouchard’s latest stint with the Rockies resulted in just two hits over four contests as he heads back to the minors with veteran Charlie Blackmon back from the injured list prior to Saturday’s game against the White Sox.

Talk about finishing strong. All indications are that Wood is headed to the majors on Monday for his big-league debut when the Nationals kick off a series against the division-rival Mets, but he’s not quite done mashing in the minors just yet. The 21-year-old showed why he’s one of the most exciting prospects in the fantasy landscape in this one by scalding a season-high three doubles on Friday evening to raise his triple-slash line to a sublime .353/.463/.595 with 10 homers and 10 steals across 52 games this season for Triple-A Rochester. He’s ready.

Manzardo struggled badly in his first taste of the majors earlier this season, but it’s becoming apparent that he’s simply too talented to continue languishing in the minors. The 23-year-old slugging prospect ripped a no-doubter to right field before lofting an impressive shot to left-center field a couple frames later. He boasts a stratospheric 1.021 OPS with 12 homers in 166 plate appearances this season at the Triple-A level. It feels like only a matter of time before he gets another shot in Cleveland.

The top-ranked prospect in Houston’s system by a considerable margin, Melton missed time earlier this month with a wrist issue, but is starting to revert to form. He sliced an opposite-field shot down the left-field line before pulling a no-doubter to right-center later in the contest. The 23-year-old outfielder has seven homers and 13 steals through 42 contests this season and figures to end the year in Triple-A.

Collier’s early-season power surge continues as he homered for the second straight contest on Friday evening and is now up to a career-best 13 round-trippers this season through 67 contests. The 19-year-old former first-round pick got off to a slow start after being selected 18th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, but has really turned things around this year. He’s been one of the true breakout prospects from a dynasty standpoint over the last few months and figures to rocket up midseason rankings updates.