Spencer Torkelson (1B - DET) - I wish I had a giant "sad face" emoji for this one, but the Tigers aren't waiting around for Torkelson any longer, sending him down to bring up Justyn-Henry Malloy. Torkelson hit 4 homers in the two weeks up to and including Memorial Day weekend, but another 0-20 skid has apparently caused them to take drastic measures, and it's not like it isn't warranted. Even at his best, Torkelson is a good (not great) power guy that can only play a below average 1B and doesn't post a good AVG despite decent contact skills, primarily due to a massive flyball rate. I have no p ..read more

In The Field 2B Brandon Drury (hamstring) told Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com that he expects to return from the IL on June 11. He has been out since May 9 with this injury but has been able to ramp up his activity level. Drury will need a rehab assignment prior to being activated so that will give a more concrete date for his return. The most likely scenario when he returns is that 3B Luis Guillorme goes back to a bench role and Kyren Paris/Cole Tucker no longer gets occasional playing time. OF Tyler O'Neill was placed on the 10-day IL on Wednesday with right knee inflammation. He is eligible to ..read more

Garrett Crochet (SP-CHW) was effective again on Saturday as he allowed 1 run on 5 hits and a walk while fanning 8 over 6 IP, although he did not factor into the decision against the Brewers. The 24 year-old southpaw fired 68 of his 103 pitches for strikes while keeping the ball in the yard. The #11 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Crochet has dazzled in his first season as a starter in the big leagues, compiling a 3.49 ERA, 12 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, and 2.46 xFIP through his first 13 starts (69.2 IP). The gap between his ERA and xFIP suggests that the former should decline a little going forward, as a ..read more

Struggling Studs Remember draft day? Safe bat at the hot corner? Easy pick: Austin Riley. At shortstop, nobrainer: Francisco Lindor. At 2B, no safer pick than Ozzie Albies! Topshelf power at 1B: Only Olson seemed a sure thing (maybe Alonso). All these studs were can't miss, low risk picks. What's gone wrong? What could go right for these studs? Read on and keep hope (mostly) alive... Austin Riley 3B ATL Riley fantasy managers are asking: "What is this shit?" As Griel Marcus asked famously of Bob Dylan's LP Self Portrait, fantasy managers who drafted Austin Riley have posed similar queries: 3 H ..read more

Zac Gallen Gallen was pulled from his start just six pitches in due to a hamstring injury. Gallen has a decorated history of hamstring issues, which makes it all the more concerning. He referred to his hamstring injury prior in the year as "minor," but downgraded (upgraded?) this one to "mild." He also had a hamstring injury that forced him to miss time in 2021. While it is too early to say, I'm personally concerned, as pitchers rarely pull themselves unless they are in significant pain. I'd be surprised if he didn't miss at least one start.  Clarke Schmidt In a surprising move, the Yanke ..read more

Tarik Skubal, SP (DET) Skubal rebounded from his worst start of the season, which wasn't actually that bad, to deliver a dominant performance on Wednesday against Pittsburgh. The electric left-hander threw a season-high seven shutout innings, holding the Pirates to three hits and a walk while striking out eight. He finished with 15 whiffs on 93 pitches, hitting 99 miles per hour twice. He lowered his ERA to 2.01 while improving to 7-1. Skubal continues to post incredible K/BB numbers, but the big key this season is limiting hard contact. Opposing hitters are batting .180 against him with a 45 ..read more

Corey Seager, SS, TEX The "Seager Heater" continued on Tuesday night as the 2023 WS MVP went deep for the 7th time in as many games. The off day Monday didn't do much too cool Seager's bat. He went 1 for 3 with a homer, three RBI, and a walk in Tuesday's contest. Seager is now riding an 11-game hitting streak in which he is batting .350 with eight dingers, 12 RBI, and 10 walks. The first few games of the hitting streak don't do much so let's just look at his past seven games for fun: 9-29, 7 HR, 11 RBI, 6 BB. Seager clearly has one thing on his mind when he steps into the box right now and tha ..read more

Ronald Acuna Jr., OF, ATL Acuna was diagnosed with a torn ACL on Sunday and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season.  He left the game against the Pirates on Sunday after injuring his knee while baserunning in the first inning, and had clearly suffered a serious injury.  This is an extremely frustrating development for Acuna owners who had been waiting all season for Acuna to get going at the plate, and will now have to find a replacement.  Steals are likely available on the waiver wire, but finding someone who can produce in other categories as well can be a lot more challen ..read more

Robert Gasser (SP - MIL) - Gasser went zero for zero with Justin Steele for 6 innings on Monday, allowing just 3 singles and fanning 7. Once again he didn't walk a batter, and for a guy that showed his lack of control in the minors to issue only 1 free pass in his first 23 major league innings is.......something. Featuring a sweeper-heavy repertoire on Monday (31% usage) brought the whiffs back into play as well, with 12 swinging strikes on just 81 pitches, and his exit velocity allowed his been preposterously low through his first 4 starts. All in all, I'm really intrigued. The control improv ..read more

Brice Turang- 2B- MIL- Hot- Turang stole his 19th base of the season yesterday. He has not been caught since July 4 of last year and is working on a string of 36 successful steals. Turang is slashing .301/.356/.429 so is contributing other than in the steal column. He has a .341 BABIP, but with his speed regression won't be as hard on him as it might be for others. He had higher BABIPs in some of his minor league stops. MJ Melendez- OF- KC- Cold- Melendez has only 13 hits in his last 110 PAs. For the season he is slashing .177/.229/.340. Melendez has 4 homers, but only one since April 9. His ..read more