Fantasy Baseball July 4 Round Up: Jeremy Pena Plays Hero For Astros
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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Player News
Tommy Edman is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Marlins.
Edman will get a break for the series finale, but is out of the lineup for the second of three games against the Fish. Enrique Hernandez will get the start at second base against Cal Quantrill and the Miami bullpen and hit seventh.
Lance McCullers Jr. (elbow) will make his first start of 2025 against the White Sox on Sunday.
It will be the first time that McCullers has taken the mound since the World Series in 2022. He missed two seasons while recovering from a flexor tendon surgery. The 31-year-old will get a soft landing against the White Sox, but there’s obvious risk in a hurler who has had this much time off even with rehab starts. It’s fun to see McCullers back on the mound after such a lengthy absence, and since it’s Chicago on the other side it’s probably worth taking a chance.
Evan Carter went 2-for-4 with a triple for Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday.
Carter has reached base safely in all 17 games at Triple-A this season to go along with five stolen bases. He’s also swatted two home runs and has a 1.027 OPS over his last 10 games. The batting average leaves a little to be desired, and it’s possible he’s chasing too much out of the zone, but there’s a lot to like about what he’s doing at Triple-A right now.
Alec Burleson is starting at first base and batting sixth for the Cardinals in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Reds on Wednesday.
Burleson has only 83 plate appearances on the season but a decent .286/.337/.325 slash line. The power has not been there for him this season, and he doesn’t have a single barrel on the year, but the rest of his profile looks similar to last year. He may be being too passive in the strike zone, but the bigger issue is that the Cardinals don’t feel comfortable with him in the field. He’s playing first base today with Willson Contreras at DH since Brendan Donovan is shifting to the outfield and Nolan Gorman is at second base with Jordan Walker on the bench. This could become more of a regular occurrence if Walker continues to struggle, but, for now, it’s hard to see regular playing time for Burleson.
Spencer Torkelson is on the bench for Wednesday’s game against the Astros.
This seems like just a routine day off for Torkelson. Colt Keith will start at first base and bat fifth, with Kerry Carpenter sliding into the DH spot.
Zach Dezenzo is starting in left field and batting eighth for the Astros on Wednesday against the Tigers.
This is Dezenzo’s fifth start in the team’s last six games. Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers don’t have the team’s confidence right now, so the Astros are turning to Dezenzo to see if he can get this offense going. The 24-year-old is hitting .270/.308/.324 on the season, but he does have an elevated 36 percent strikeout rate. Still, if he can provide an offensive spark, the Astros will continue to get him in the lineup, especially with Cam Smith starting to get reps in center field.