It’s Sunday, so you know what that means! It’s time to take a look at the interleague matchups for the upcoming week and determine how it will affect our fantasy lineups. Which players are gaining or losing fantasy value this week? You’ll find that and more here at Fantasy Alarm!
This week, we are treated to quite a few interleague matchups, including three National League teams gaining a designated hitter spot in its lineup. On the other hand, one of the breakout stars of fantasy baseball this year might be relegated to pinch-hitting duties as his team is forced to have the pitcher hit for a couple of games. Continue reading to see who gets a nice boost in fantasy value for the week, as well as those players that are not. Without further ado...
White Sox @ Reds (5/4-5/5)
It’s going to be tough, but Yermín Mercedes will likely be relegated to pinch-hitting duties for this two-game series with the Reds. Mercedes has been white hot at the plate, but he’s logged just one start this year somewhere other than as the team’s designated hitter (1B on 4/20). José Abreu isn’t coming out of the lineup, so Mercedes owners (Yermin, not the car), should be cognizant of less than a full week for the 2021 breakout hitter.
Winners: None
Losers: Yermín Mercedes
Reds @ Indians (5/7-5/9)
The Reds haven’t played in an American League park but with the wealth of hitters they have, many should benefit. Jonathan India should be able to return, so he’ll likely return to his second base gig. Nick Senzel could always slide there in a pinch, but the most likely outcome here is that one of the outfielders slides into DH duties. The three outfield spots, as well as the DH will be some combination of Jesse Winker , Nicholas Castellanos, Nick Senzel and Tyler Naquin . If the team wants to prioritize defense, Eugenio Suárez could move to DH, which would hurt likely Naquin the most.
Winners: Cincinnati Outfielders
Conditional Losers: Tyler Naquin (if Suarez DH’s)
Dodgers @ Angels (5/7-5/9)
The Dodgers have already played five games in American League parks this year. Justin Turner has served as the DH twice, and Max Muncy , Austin Barnes and Will Smith have each handled DH duties once. Sheldon Neuse has been getting time against lefties, but it doesn’t look like the Angels will be starting a southpaw, so we likely won’t see him. Turner could DH and Edwin Ríos could get some time at third, but Rios has been abysmal to start this year. Don’t be surprised to see the Dodgers use Luke Raley, AJ Pollock or one of the catchers (Barnes, Smith) in the DH spot this weekend.
Winners: AJ Pollock , Luke Raley, LA Catchers
Losers: Likely Edwin Ríos
Nationals @ Yankees (5/7-5/9)
Barring weather, Nats avoid Gerrit Cole , which makes every Washington hitter a winner for this three-game set. Two games in Toronto saw Josh Bell serve as the team’s designated hitter in each contest. That will likely be the case for the whole weekend as well. The other option that could take place is if Juan Soto is able to return from his injury, Bell and Ryan Zimmerman could split first base duties, and Yadiel Hernandez could DH. With that in mind, they could take it easy on Soto and let him just hit over the weekend, which would be great for Hernandez.
Winners: Josh Bell
Losers: Maybe Yadiel Hernandez
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.