Fantasy Baseball September 16 Round Up: Red-Hot Carlos Correa and the Twins Complete Sweep Over Kansas City Royals
We are now entering the weekend of Week 23 and it is September- the last full month of the major league baseball season. Before looking ahead at your fantasy baseball lineups for tonight and the rest of the weekend we first need to look back at the top MLB news and headlines from yesterday’s action. It was “getaway day” in MLB but we still had some highlights that included the first ever all-Latino lineup on Roberto Clemente Day, red-hot Carlos Correa and the Twins completing a sweep, and a strong return from Rays ace Shane McClanahan. Do not forget to check out our updated September 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 the weekend let’s take a look back at the top performances from yesterday.
Fantasy Baseball MLB News & Notes from Wednesday
First Ever All Latino Lineup
The Tampa Bay Rays made major league history yesterday by starting nine Latin American players against the Blue Jays. It happened as baseball celebrated Roberto Clemente Day, honoring the late Hall of Fame outfielder from Puerto Rico. All nine players, as well as base, coaches Chris Prieto at first and Rodney Linares at third, wore No. 21 to honor Clemente and you could not have asked for a better ending as the Rays won 11-0 behind home runs by Yandy Díaz and Isaac Paredes.
McCullers Returning to Form
Astros right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. is rounding into form and it’s the perfect part of the season with the playoffs not far off in the horizon. Yesterday he struck out 11 Athletics in six innings on only a couple of runs and hits and four walks. This was McCuller’s most dominant performance since making his 2022 MLB debut back in early August after recovering from forearm surgery. The Astros veteran will face an even tougher test in his next start as he is scheduled to pitch against the Rays on the road in Tropicana Field.
Twins Sweep With Huge Series Next
The Twins did what they had to do. They swept the Royals and recovered some much-needed momentum as they enter a pretty much “do or die” five-game series at first-place Cleveland this weekend. Their pitching lately looks up to the task and so have the bats as Carlos Correa’s solo blast in the first and Nick Gordon two run home run in the second was what they needed to hang on for a 3-2 win last night and complete a three-game sweep over the Royals. They did gain ground in the AL Central race as the Guardians lost 8-2 to the White Sox. The Twins (72-70) are now within four games of the Guardians (76-66).
Correa En Fuego
One of the reasons that the Twins are even close to a wild card spot is due to the red-hot bat of shortstop Carlos Correa. He has put the team on his shoulders in the month of September with a slash of .373/.429/.804 and a 1.233 OPS. Add six bombs and 13 RBIs with a .431 ISO/.515wOBA in the month and you have what we call a clutch September player.
No Rust on McClanahan's Arm
Shane McClanahan put any concerns about his arm to rest yesterday afternoon. The Rays ace made his return from the 15-day Injured List and he looked healthy, allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out five over five strong innings in their win 11-0 win over the Blue Jays. This was his first time pitching in three weeks, but McClanahan raised his record to 12-5 and improved his season stat line to a 2.13 ERA/0.86 WHIP and 187 strikeouts in 152.1 innings.
Ozzie Albies is Back!
The Braves announced this morning that second baseman Ozzie Albies has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Infielder Ehire Adrianza was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained quadriceps to open a spot on the active roster. Albies has not appeared in a game since June 13 due to a broken left foot that required surgery and the Braves are immediately an even stronger team. The two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner has a career slash of .270/.321/.470 with a .791 OPS and is coming off his first 30 home run season (2021). Albies should immediately step back into his full-time second base role which would push rookie Vaughn Grissom, who has cooled down a bit after a hot start, to maybe some time in left field and DH.
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Player News
White Sox LHP prospect Hagen Smith (fatigue) will have his workload managed at Double-A Birmingham.
Hagen Smith’s velocity fluctuated in his last outing, and the White Sox were cautious about him showing some signs of fatigue. They shortened his last outing and will skip his next start to help him manage his workload in his first full professional season. Everything is fine with Smith from a medical perspective, but this is a good reminder that Smith is an immense talent, but fantasy managers shouldn’t expect a major impact this season as he adjusts to professional baseball.
Paul Blackburn (knee) will make his final rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday
Blackburn has already made four rehab starts, so he will need to be reinstated from the injured list after his start on Friday. As of now, there is no room in the Mets’ rotation, so the most likely outcome is that Blackburn would serve as a multi-inning reliever, which could bump Dedniel Nunez back to the minors.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora admitted the team will “take a look at” whether or not to remove Tanner Houck from the starting rotation.
After his brutal start on Monday, Houck admitted this is “probably the most lost [he’s] ever been.” The struggles really began in the second half of last season, but Houck now has an 8.04 ERA and has allowed double-digit runs in less than three innings twice this season already. Houck does have minor league options remaining, so the Red Sox could simply send him to Triple-A and give him time to figure out what’s going out. If they were to do so, that would allow Hunter Dobbins to stay in the rotation even after Walker Buehler returns next week.
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy suggests that the Brewers could call up Logan Henderson to start on Wednesday against the Guardians.
Milwaukee has pushed Jose Quintana’s start back to Saturday against the Twins, which means they currently don’t have a starter for Wednesday’s game. Henderson is already on the 40-man roster, so he would make some sense and be an intriguing streamer in deeper formats.
Austin Slater (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.
SLater had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee back on April 16th. He was given a four-to-six week timeline at the time, so he remains on track in his recovery. He could need multiple weeks of rehab games before returning to the White Sox lineup.
Richard Fitts (pectoral) has progressed to throwing up-and-downs.
Up-and-downs simulate a multi-inning game scenario where Fitts will face hitters and then rest as if it were the half inning that his team was hitting, and then face more hitters. It’s used to test stamina and recovery. The next step would be for Fitts to progress to a rehab assignment.