A three-year starter at left guard for Texas, Conner (6'6/314) was stellar in pass protection in his final year on the 40 Acres, notching a PFF pass blocking grade below 70.9 just twice in 16 appearances. Unfortunately, one of those contests was against Ohio State in the playoff, a game where he allowed three pressures. The former Katy High School product is an easy projection to guard (he was announced as such on draft day) in the pros but doesn’t have any special athletic traits. He does have a chance to become an eventual NFL starter.

Elko has gone 1-for-10 with a three-run homer through three games since being called up last weekend by Chicago. The 26-year-old slugging prospect offers enough power potential to merit a speculative roster spot in deeper formats, but he’s likely to face a significant adjustment period at the big-league level.

Smith takes a seat after starting five consecutive games in right field since last weekend. It’ll be Zach Dezenzo in right field on Wednesday night. The 22-year-old top prospect is hitting .214/.313/.347 with three homers, 11 RBI and one steal in 30 games this season in his first exposure to the majors. The calls for versatile prospect Shay Whitcomb, who homered twice on Wednesday for Triple-A Sugar Land, are only going to get louder, but Houston appears likely to continue giving Smith an opportunity to figure things out at the highest level given his long-term importance to the franchise.

Harper had a 107-mph flyout and a 102-mph double today, but it was his weak, 70-mph fly to shallow center that made the difference. Dropping in just between Masyn Winn and Victor Scott II, it drove in the go-ahead run in the 2-1 game. Harper had gone hitless in four of his previous five games coming into this one.

Luzardo struck out six and walked two. His team was down 1-0 when he threw his final pitch, but a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh got him the victory. Luzardo improved to 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA. He’s allowed more than two runs just once in nine starts, and it was a mere three runs that time (Apr. 15 against the Giants). He’ll make his next start Monday or Tuesday in Colorado.

With the top of the Cardinals lineup coming up, the Phils used José Alvarardo and Orion Kerkering to get through the eighth today. That left the bottom of the order for Romano in the ninth, and he struck out Iván Herrera, pinch-hitter Nolan Gorman and pinch-hitter Alec Burleson. It’s Romano’s sixth straight scoreless appearance, a stretch in which he’s lowered his ERA from 13.50 to 8.22. With the Phils content to mix and match in the ninth, Romano is an option for mixed leaguers desperate for saves.

Fedde, coming off a shutout of the Nationals, kept his scoreless streak intact, but he wasn’t allowed to go very deep into this one. The surprising thing was that the Cardinals brought in Steven Matz to replace him in a scoreless tie, rather than going to their late-game relievers. It worked out initially, as Matz stranded both runners he inherited in the sixth. Matz, though, gave up two runs in the seventh in the eventual 2-1 loss. Fedde ended this one with three strikeouts and four walks. He has his ERA down to 3.44, but we’d still suggest staying away in mixed leagues. He’ll face the Tigers next.