Fantasy Baseball July 3 Round Up: Nolan Arenado And The Birds Go Deep
The long July 4th weekend continues as we have a full slate of major league baseball games on tap for Sunday! Before getting ready for today’s action we need to first take a look back at the top fantasy baseball news and headlines from Saturday’s Major League Baseball games which included an offensive explosion by the Cardinals, another big win by the Dodgers and a day to remember for a few rookies. Do not forget to check out our updated July Fantasy Baseball Rankings and MLB Starting Lineups before setting your fantasy baseball lineups. We also have the MLB Injury Report and Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire, so let’s look back at the top performances and key injuries from Saturday and a quick look ahead at today’s MLB baseball action.
Arenado and Cardinals Make History
What can Nolan Arenado do for an encore today? Not much, because it seems like he’s done it all this weekend. He hit for the cycle on Friday night and then started off the historic four straight home run barrage by the Cardinals in the first inning of yesterday's game against Philadelphia. That’s not all, Arenado’s second blast of the day was the game winner in the ninth inning as the Cards beat the Phillies 7-6.
The back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs hit by Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez, and Dylan Carlson mark just the 11th time in MLB history that the feat had been accomplished. It was also the first time it had ever been done in the first inning of a game.
Dodgers Bats Wake Up
The first two games of the Dodgers/Padres rivalry series were all about pitching. Saturday it was the bats. Trying to do their best impression of the Cardinals feat earlier in the day, three Dodgers went yard in the first inning, and they never looked back in their 7-2 win. Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Justin Turner all hit home runs off Padres ace Yu Darvish as the Dodgers won their fifth game against the Padres this season and have now won 14 of their last 15 against the Friars dating back to last year.
Greene’s First Home Run Is A Walk-Off
Riley Greene, the Tigers future, hit his first Major League home run in style: a walk-off. The Tigers future is bright as Greene also led off the game with a triple and his game winner followed a Victor Reyes home run that tied the game just moments before his blast.
Greene is the first Tiger to hit a walk-off for his first career home run since Sweet Lou Whitaker went deep back in July of 1978. It was also the first time since 1952 that the Tigers ended the game on back-to-back home runs. Greene, the #2 prospect in baseball, is now slashing .302/.434/.442 with an .876 OPS on the season.
Rookie Pitchers Shine
We got a taste of the future yesterday as two rookie hurlers threw fire and racked up strikeouts. Spencer Strider, the Braves 23-year old right-hander, struck out 11 Reds to raise his record to 4-2. He looked amazing with a 48% whiff rate and did not allow a hit through the first four innings. Strider is now sporting a 2.87 ERA/1.01 WHIP with 90 strikeouts on the season.
Seattle rookie George Kirby also pitched like an ace yesterday in the Mariners 2-1 win over Oakland. The right-hander threw seven innings and struck out nine batters on 100 pitches. Kirby put down 19 of the last 21 batters that he faced and now has the second-highest strikeout-to-walk ratio through a pitcher’s first 11 career major leaguer starts (7.25).
Jon Berti Continues to Impress
Jon Berti may end up as one of the best fantasy baseball waiver acquisitions of the year. The Marlins speedster just seems to put up points every time he gets on base, and it continued yesterday as he walked twice, scored a run and stole his National League leading 25th base in the Marlins win over the Nationals yesterday.
Alvarez Promoted To Triple-A
Adley Rutschman and Gabriel Moreno have already made The Show. The next big catching prospect is Francisco Álvarez of the Mets and he is not far away from his debut. The Mets promoted Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse after the young catcher crushed Double-A pitching with a .277/.368/.553 slash with a .931 OPS and 18 home runs so far this season. This is a name to keep an eye on.
Mookie Betts Returns
Dodgers star Mookie Betts is expected to be back in the lineup on Sunday. He has been on the injured list since June 19 with a rib injury and rumors are that he may get some work in the infield to help ease his throwing back. Getting Betts back up at the pate is nothing but great news for Betts owners.
Jacob deGrom Will See Real Action Today
Two-time NL Cy young Award winner Jacob deGrom is getting one step closer to his return to MLB action. The Mets right-hander is scheduled to pitch two innings and around 25 pitches today for Single-A St. Lucie. Reports are that he will need three to five rehab starts before returning to Citi Field.
SUNDAY MLB BEST BETS
Brandon Woodruff OVER 6.5 Strikeouts
Brandon Woodruff did not look good during his first nine starts of the season. Then he went on the IL and returned last week looking like the Woodruff we all know and love. He was outstanding in Tampa, striking out 10 batters in five innings on 76 pitches. Expect a longer leash here today against the light hitting Pirates who have the 27th worst strikeout rate to right-handed pitching in all of baseball at 27%. Over his last five starts Woodruff is carrying a 32.3% strikeout rate which is 11.8 K/9. Take the over here.
Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) OVER 7 Fantasy Points
When Giancarlo Stanton is hot you ride him as long as possible. One of the hardest hitters in the game- 54.2% hard hit; 95.9% exit velocity; 119.8 Max EV; .634 xSLG; .428xwOBA are all in the top 2% of major league baseball. Over the last week he has 4 HR/7 RBI and has a home run in six of his last nine games. Today he faces Triston McKenzie who is really struggling and has allowed 17 hits, 13 runs and five bombs over his last two games. Pretty good odds that Stanton remains hot today.
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Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.