It’s Monday morning, July 4th as a matter of fact and another fantasy baseball week is upon us. Before taking a look ahead at your fantasy baseball lineups for Week 13 we first needed to look back at the top MLB news and headlines from yesterday’s set of baseball games. Jeremy Peña was the Astros offense, Brandon Woodruff let us know that he is back and Mookie Betts returned from injury in style. Do not forget to check out our updated June fantasy baseball player rankings before setting your lineups this week plus the latest MLB injury report, fantasy baseball player spotlight series, and players trending up and down in the fantasy baseball stock watch. Before we start another week let’s take a look back at the top performances and key injuries from Sunday as well as a look ahead to Monday’s slate...

 


FANTASY BASEBALL NEWS

Jeremy Peña Saves the Day

 

It would have been a shame if a 20-strkeout game by Astros pitchers went to naught, but rookie Jeremy Peña made sure they would sweep the weekend. The 20 batters were a franchise record for a nine-inning game and Pena homered twice including a walk off in the Astros 4-2 win over the Angels. Pena went 4-for-5 on the day and is now slashing .279/.328/.479 with 11 HR/30 RBI on the season.

Escobar Continues to Rake

 

After a terrible June at the plate where he only hit .207 Eduardo Escobar sure is making up for it in July. Since Friday he is 4-for-11 with three home runs and six RBIs. He has gone yard in every game of the series against Texas- the first Met to do so in a series since Jeff McNeil in 2020.

Woodruff Appears Just Fine

 

Brandon Woodruff is back. After a bad spring training and then an ERA of 5.97 after his first six starts he was placed on the IL with a sprained ankle and circulation issues. The rest did more than just heal his ankle as Woodruff now looks again like the stud from 2021. In his two starts since the return he has only allowed one earned run on eight hits, no walks and 18 strikeouts. 

Betts Returns in Style

 

Mookie Betts wasted no time at the plate yesterday. In his first game back after missing 15 with a rib fracture he went 2-3 with two doubles, two walks and scored both runs in the Dodgers 4-2 loss to the Padres. The Dodgers changed up the top of their batting order with Betts leading off and now Trea Turner batting second with Freddie Freeman in the three spot. The Dodgers are 38-22 when Betts is in the lineup and 11-7 when he is out. 

Toussaint Traded to Angels

 

An interesting trade was made yesterday that could possibly have fantasy impact. Right-hander Touki Toussaint, once a top prospect in the Braves organization, was traded to the Angles for cash. He just didn’t seem to put it together with the Braves and was 2-2 with a 6.26 ERA/1.61 WHIP at Triple-A Gwinnett this season. The Angels are pitching starved and will try to get the former #53 (2019) Baseball America Top Prospect back on track. He owns a career 5.46 ERA over 145 career innings and four seasons. He has pitched both out of the rotation and the bullpen for the Braves since his debut in 2018

 

MLB INJURY NEWS

deGrom Looks Sharp

 

Jacob deGrom, the Mets All-Star ace, made his first rehab start and first appearance in a real game since the end of March and he hasn’t missed a beat. He struck out five in 1 2/3 innings for St. Lucie of the Florida State League and his first three pitches hit triple digits on the radar gun. He is expected to make at least one more start for St. Lucie as he ramps up for his MLB return.

Montas to undergo MRI

 

A’s ace Frankie Montas exited Sunday's start after just an inning due to back tightness. He allowed a leadoff home run to Julio Rodríguez and only threw 13 pitches as he velocity was down considerably. He will undergo an MRI today to see how severe it is. Montas’ name has appeared all spring as a July trade candidate, and he is 3-9 on the season but with a respectable 3.26 ERA/1.09 WHIP.

 

Juan Soto Exits Game Early

 

Juan Soto got pulled in the fourth inning of yesterday’s game due to left calf tightness. He will not be in today’s starting lineup against the Marlins and be reevaluated at some point during the day. Soto has been heating up as he has reached base in 14 straight games but is still having a poor season (in Soto terms) with a slash of .226/.382/.442.

 

DeSciafani Done for Year

 

The Giants #3 starter Anthony DeSciafani has shut it down for the season to have surgery on his right ankle. He has only started five games this year and it was evident that the ankle was causing issues in his delivery as he is 0-2 with an ERA of 9.95 over 19 innings. He dealt with the same issue last season but was still able to give the Giants quality starts recording a 3.17 ERA to go along with a 13-7 record in 31 starts.

 

MONDAY MLB BEST BETS

Carlos Rodón (SFG) OVER 40.5 FP

 

Carlos Rodón (7-4, 2.62 ERA) has been one of the few bright spots lately for San Francisco. He has gone 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA in six June starts and is coming off a 4-3 win over Detroit where he allowed just one run on seven hits over six innings while striking out four. Today he faces the Diamondbacks for the first time in his career and he has pretty much owned the only two batters that he has previously faced- Ketel Marte (0 for 7) and OF Jordan Luplow (2 for 11). He has only allowed two runs with a 30:6 K:BB ratio over his last four starts and that should continue today against the Diamondbacks.

 

Starling Marte (NYM) OVER 6.5 FP

 

The Mets get a holiday game at Great America “Small” Park against the Reds today and it comes at no better time for a red-hot Starling Marte. Over his last five games he has slammed two doubles and two home runs with four RBI and now gets to face a young pitcher in warm weather and in an extreme hitter’s park. Reds young right-hander Hunter Greene has strikeout ability but also has allowed 20 home runs in 15 innings to go along with an xFIP of 4.81; 52% flyball rate and 329% hard contact. These are numbers that add up to plenty of Mets offense today. 

 

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