Fantasy Sports

De La Cruz might break the century mark in the stolen base department, if he sustains this surreal pace. He was thrown out attempting a fifth steal in the seventh inning of Thursday’s showdown at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The 22-year-old burgeoning fantasy superstar is still striking out 30 percent of the time, but some improved plate discipline has enabled him to reach base more frequently this season and show off his field-tilting speed. He’s batting .277/.378/.516 with 35 runs scored, nine homers, 22 RBI and 30 steals following the first four-steal performance of his career out in Los Angeles. There’s still some room for improvement, but De La Cruz is rapidly evolving into one of the premier five-category impact contributors in the entire fantasy landscape.

Walker was struck on the left foot by a 99.7-mph line drive from Starling Marte in the fourth inning and will most likely head for further imaging to determine whether he suffered any fractures. He finished with one strikeout and was charged with two runs over 3 1/3 innings of work. Any potential extended absence would presumably lead to Spencer Turnbull returning to Philadelphia’s starting rotation mix, but it sounds like there’s a chance he managed to avoid serious injury. There should be some clarity on his status at some point soon.

The writing was seemingly on the wall after Sheehan was shut down from throwing indefinitely a couple weeks ago due to right forearm inflammation. The 24-year-old right-hander showed some immense promise last year as a rookie before landing on the shelf back in spring training with an ominous arm injury. There should be some clarity on his return timetable at some point in the near future, but it’s obviously a significant development for his fantasy appeal in dynasty leagues.

Volpe kicked off the contest with a leadoff homer against Twins starter Joe Ryan for his sixth round-tripper of the year. He also picked up his ninth stolen base of the season a couple frames later. The 23-year-old’s power output was a bit diminished at the outset of the year following offseason changes to flatten his swing and implement an all-fields approach, but he’s started to drive the ball a bit more of late with three homers in his last nine contests.

Schmidt authored the strongest start of his career during Thursday afternoon’s matinee at Target Field, completing seven innings for the first time in his career, while also scattering three hits and needing just 103 pitches (69 strikes) to navigate eight nearly-flawless frames. He generated 16 swinging strikes, including 10 on his cutter alone, finishing with a robust 34 percent CSW. The 28-year-old righty has been a revelation this season for fantasy managers as a late-round steal in deeper mixed leagues. He’ll carry a sparkling 2.49 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 55/15 K/BB ratio across 50 2/3 innings (nine starts) into a home outing on Tuesday against the Mariners.

Contreras was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Saturday to make room for Paul Skenes. The 24-year-old was moved to the bullpen this season and had posted a 4.41 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, and 16/8 K/BB ratio across 16 1/3 innings. However, Contreras was a top-100 prospect just a couple of years ago, ranking as MLB Pipeline’s 67th overall prospect prior to the 2022 season. Entering 2024, Contreras had a 3.67 ERA in 98 MLB innings with a 9.5 percent walk rate and 21.4 percent strikeout rate while limiting opposing batters to a .225 batting average. However, he had seen a troubling decline in fastball velocity and his command wasn’t good enough to hide his diminishing raw stuff. Still, at just 24 years old, there could easily be a solid MLB pitcher lurking in there somewhere; he just didn’t necessarily land in the best place for that pitcher to be unearthed.

The Angels tried to keep Rengifo on the active roster, but after he missed five games, they decided to put him on the injured list last Thursday. A week later, he’s returning to the fold and should likely remain an everyday player for the Angels given how banged up their lineup is. Niko Goodrum was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move.

Acuña’s batting average (.245), slugging percentage (.342), and home-run rate (one per 51.7 at-bats) are all beneath the single-season lows in his seven-year career, as the 26-year-old tries to follow up a historically good season. “You can just read their faces sometimes, and actions,” said Braves coach Brian Snitker. “And it’s like, ‘Well, it’s time.’ Kid needs a little breather here. He’s played every inning of every game. It’s not a bad thing to sit and watch sometimes.” Braves coaches, Eddie Pérez and Tom Goodwin, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they believe that Acuña is pressing. “Sometimes, you force some things,” Goodwin said. Perhaps with a short break, Acuña will get back to the level everybody has seen him produce at before. Fantasy managers should clearly keep him in the lineup and hope he gets it going soon.

Canning put together another excellent outing on Wednesday, holding the Cardinals to one run over six frames. The one run would score on a solo homer by Paul Goldschmidt in the sixth inning. Canning scattered four other hits and three walks while striking out five. The 28-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 5.21 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and a 34/18 K/BB ratio across 46 2/3 innings. He lines up for a start against the Astros in Houston on Tuesday.

Webb worked around some trouble to start the game, loading the bases with one out in the first inning. He struck out a batter for the second out and escaped the jam with a line out to right field. Webb scattered two walks and two hits over five more scoreless frames, striking out five on the day. The 27-year-old right-hander will take a 3.03 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and a 47/17 K/BB ratio across 59 1/3 innings into a start against the Pirates in Pittsburgh next Wednesday.