Happy Friday! It’s the start of the first weekend of June and plenty of MLB action is on tap over the next few days. Let’s first take a quick look back at the top fantasy baseball news and headlines from Thursday's MLB games. Matt Carpenter, Jameson Taillon, and the New York Yankees had a successful doubleheader against the Los Angeles Angels and certainly helped out fantasy baseball lineups. However, our MLB daily round-up for Friday, June 3rd starts with this morning's breaking news of Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi getting fired. This could help Aaron Nola and the Phillies rise up the MLB rankings and standings in the coming days and weeks. On that note, don't forget to check out our updated June fantasy baseball player rankings before setting your lineups. Plus, use the latest MLB Injury Report and the fantasy baseball waiver wire top targets to help win your leagues. Before we start another weekend let’s take a look at some of the top performances and key injuries from Thursday night's MLB action. Plus, we'll look ahead to tonight’s slate of games if you're looking to play MLB DFS lineups. Be sure to keep an eye on the MLB lineups and the MLB weather report as well. 

 


 

Fantasy Baseball News

Philadelphia Phillies Fire Manager Joe Girardi

After a disappointing 22-29 start to the season, the Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi on Friday morning. Maybe Philly fans and baseball diehards saw this coming, but this news is still a bit surprising considering we're just two months into this season. Either way, Girardi is out after less than three years as the Philadelphia manager. Bench coach Rob Thomson was named the interim manager for the rest of the season as Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies' President of Baseball Operations, looks for a quick fix internally. Hopefully, for us fantasy baseball managers, this will be a positive motivator for some of the Phillies' struggling hitters like J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber. We should see Bryce Harper back in the Philly lineup soon, plus Nick Castellanos has caught fire recently. Maybe this could even mean better outings for Aaron Nola and the pitching staff. We'll see in the coming days how Girardi's absence affects the Philadelphia lineup, rotation, and bullpen – so stay tuned!

 

Matt Carpenter and New York Yankees Crush Shohei Ohtani in NY

 

 

The last time that Shohei Ohtani took the hill at Yankee Stadium was June 30th of last season and he turned in his worst pitching performance of his career. He didn’t make it through 2/3 of an inning and allowed seven earned runs on two hits and four walks.

Yesterday, Ohtani at least pitched enough to break a sweat – but the results were the same. He lasted just three-plus innings and allowed four runs that included three solo home runs by Matt Carpenter, Gleyber Torres, and Aaron Judge. This 11-pitch battle and an eventual homer by Carpenter to lead off the game was a foreshadowing of things to come. The veteran, by the way, now has three home runs in just six games played for the Yankees.

 

Jameson Taillon Nearly Perfect for New York Yankees

 

 

It’s been 10 years since King Félix Hernández of the Mariners threw the last perfect game in the majors and 23 years since the last Yankee performed the feat – David Cone in 1999. Yesterday, in the second game of New York's doubleheader against the Angels, Jameson Taillon tried his best to make history. It was an October atmosphere in the Bronx last night as the Yankees right-hander had his best stuff and the fastball wasn’t losing steam going into the 8th inning. The no-hit bid was eventually broken up by a Jared Walsh double leading off the eighth. For one night, at least, Taillon had the best arm of the night.

 

Tony Gonsolin and Los Angeles Dodgers Shut Out New York Mets

 

 

The Dodgers and Mets came into this series as two of the top offenses in the game as they are first and second in the MLB in runs scored, respectively. Plus, the Mets lead the majors in batting average, hits, and on-base percentage while the Dodgers lead in slugging percentage and OPS in addition to runs scored.

Things didn’t go as planned last night, though, as both offenses combined for just seven hits and one run in the first five innings. Tony Gonsolin and Mets starter Taijuan Walker ignored the numbers and pitched like aces. Gonsolin is now the National League ERA leader as he lowered his ERA to 1.59, passing Sandy Alcantara by 0.22 points. He and the Dodgers also became the first staff to shut out the Mets this season.

 

Joey Votto is Alive and Well

 

 

When you thought Joey Votto’s season couldn’t become any more frustrating – well it did, on Wednesday night. He hit TWO moonshot balls off the TOP of the 37-foot Green Monster in Boston – a bad luck feat that some are sure has never been accomplished before. Fast forward to last night and Votto received some redemption when he “called” a home run in the first inning of last night’s game in Great American Ball Park.

The TV broadcast showed the Red first-baseman glance toward third-base coach J.R. House and mouth, “homer." Then he did, a couple of pitches later.

After one of the worst starts of his great MLB career, Votto is in one of those power-hitting grooves and fantasy players need to take notice. After missing 15 games with COVID-19, Votto has three homers and 10 RBIs in 12 games since returning. Before he went out, he was batting a lowly .122 with no homers and one double through 22 games. 

 

 

 

Notable MLB Injuries

Francisco Lindor Finger Injury

 


The New York Mets shortstop shut a hotel door on his finger yesterday and was scratched from the game against the Dodgers. We're still waiting on further news for severity, but Luis Guillorme should fill in if the injury calls for some time off. Guillorme is in the midst of a breakout season as the utility infielder is slashing .356/.448/.444/.892. Keep an ear (and finger) out for an update on Lindor's injury status and timetable.

 

Max Muncy Rehab

 

 

Muncy is expected to make his first rehab appearance over the weekend for Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers' veteran was having a dismal season at the plate (.150/.327/.263/.590) before being shelved with an elbow injury. He is expected back in early June.

 

Willson Contreras Hit in Ankle

 

 

The Cubs may have survived a scare last night after Contreras was hit in the ankle by a pitch and was removed from the game. X-rays did not show any structural damage, though, which is great news for the red-hot catcher. Contreras is hitting .360 with three home runs over the last seven days and .300 over the last 30 days with seven HR, 14 RBI, and a .313 ISO/.449wOBA. The Cubs have a day game slated for Friday, so expect P.J. Higgins to get the start in Contreras’ absence. 

 

Fantasy Baseball Friday Lookahead

MLB DFS Top Pitchers

 

 

This slate is full of aces, but Gerrit Cole rises to the top as a massive -320 favorite against a Detroit offense that strikes out 24.9% to right-handed pitching. Over his last five starts, Cole has a 0.92 WHIP with a 33% K rate. Expect him to be a popular play DFS play.

 

 

Nathan Eovaldi and Logan Gilbert headline the mid-tier pitching for MLB DFS lineups tonight. Eovaldi gets the lean due to a matchup in a pitcher’s park (Oakland Coliseum) against a team that we have picked on all season. The Boston starter will face the A’s and their 25.6% strikeout rate to right-handed pitching.

 

MLB DFS Top Stacks

 

 

The Braves are in Coors Field and are coming off a 13-run explosion last night. Chad Kuhl has been serviceable for the Rockies, but the Atlanta offense is starting to click. Plus, the Colorado bullpen is horrible and has been overworked recently. 

 

 

The Blue Jays will be facing a real gas can in Chi Chi González, who has a 5.55 xFIP and doesn’t miss many bats with a 12.5% K rate going back to last season. He gets crushed by right-handed hitters to the tune of a .318 ISO/.423wOBA with 55.5% hard contact. Load up on Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Teoscar Hernández, Bo Bichette, and the rest of Toronto's righty bats. 

 

 

The Phillies could fly under the radar tonight, but maybe there's some extra motivation with Joe Girardi now gone? Do not sleep on Kyle Schwarber, with home runs in two of his last three games, and Bryce Harper, who should be returning tonight. Los Angeles Angels starter Chase Silseth is allowing 3.60 HR/9 and a slash of .333/.391/.667 to left-handed bats in his short career.

 


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