News
Freddie Freeman is in the lineup for Monday’s showdown against the Rockies.
Freeman is back after sitting out Sunday night’s series finale against the Cubs. The Dodgers are going to carefully manage the 35-year-old veteran’s workload over the next few weeks as he works his way back from a sprain in his surgically-repaired right ankle.
Drake Baldwin is catching and batting second for the Braves on Thursday.
Baldwin has now started three of the last four games against right-handed pitching and seems to be emerging as the strong-side platoon option in Atlanta. He has usually been hitting fifth when he’s in the lineup, so this is an interesting change for the 24-year-old. Badlwin is hitting .338/.390/.563 on the season with four home runs in 77 plate appearances, and is becoming more fantasy relevant as he rips playing time away from Sean Murphy.
Emmanuel Rivera is starting at third base and batting eighth for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
Ramon Urias was activated off the IL on Wednesday, and both he and Rivera started one game of Wednesday’s doubleheader, but it will be Rivera back in the lineup on Thursday. It’s possible the Orioles are just being cautious with Urias fresh off the IL, and we’d still expect him to take over for Rivera, especially against right-handed pitching.
Twins optioned RHP Simeon Woods Richardson to Triple-A St. Paul.
This felt like a distinct possibility after last night’s poor start pushed Woods-Richardson’s ERA over 5.00. There’s just no need to keep him in the MLB rotation with David Festa and Zebby Matthews at Triple-A. There has been no corresponding move announced yet, but it seems highly likely one of those two young arms will be called up to take Woods-Richardson’s spot in the rotation.
Spencer Horwitz (wrist) went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored for Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday.
Horwitz now has six hits in his last four games and is slashing .308/.321/.385 at Triple-A. He has only two extra base hits, so there remains some concern about how the hamate surgery will impact his power, but it’s nice to see the batting average start to tick up.
Matt Shaw went 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, two steals, and three runs scored for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday.
Shaw might be starting to feel it a bit in the minors. His plate discipline has been great since getting demoted, with 14 walks and just nine strikeouts, but now he’s also getting the hits to fall and running a bit more. A call-up doesn’t appear to be imminent, but a few more games like this would certainly help.
Tyler Fitzgerald (ribs) went 4-for-5 with a walk, two doubles, two RBI, and a run scored for Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday.
After notching one hit in his first game on Tuesday, Fitzgerald struck the ball with a little more authority yesterday. It’s a good sign for his health and the limited impact the fractured rib might have on his rotational power. The Giants will likely see how the weekend games go for him before deciding if they should activate him next week or not.