Fantasy Sports

Lindor didn’t start Thursday’s game, but he finished it literally and figuratively. The shortstop doubled home a pair of runs in the sixth, and in the 10th, he turned a 6-5 deficit into a 7-6 victory when he plated a pair with a two-bagger in the 10th to give the Mets the win. It’s one of the best games of the season for Lindor, as even with the strong outing he’s slashing a disappointing .207/.287/.380 in the first month-plus. It goes without saying that Lindor is going to be better in the summer months.

Bradish was making his season debut after missing the first month of the year due to his elbow ailment, and while he wasn’t able to get the needed outs to qualify for the win, it’s fair to call this a successful outing. The 27-year-old allowed four hits and two walks, but he was able to fan five while landing 51-of-84 pitches for strikes. Bradish will get a chance to work deeper in a friendly matchup against the Nationals next week.

It’s an extremely encouraging development for Houston’s injury-plagued rotation as Javier appears close to returning after landing on the injured list back on April 21 with neck discomfort. The 27-year-old righty might be ready to return after just one rehab outing, but nothing official yet.

There was some social media buzz that Skenes could get the call this weekend to join Pittsburgh’s starting rotation, but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards. The 21-year-old top pitching prospect has reeled off six dominant outings at Triple-A Indianapolis to open the year, posting a surreal 0.39 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 41/6 K/BB ratio across 23 innings of work. It’s not going to be much longer, but it doesn’t appear that Skenes is coming up this weekend.

Eovaldi will continue to undergo further evaluation after exiting Thursday afternoon’s showdown with a trainer at 92 pitches through 5 2/3 scoreless frames. The 34-year-old righty finished with eight strikeouts and only issued a pair of walks. He was unlikely to work much further into the contest, but the fact that he’s dealing with a groin issue certainly puts his next start in serious jeopardy. There should be some clarity on his status in the coming days.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed Scott will debut this weekend against the Rays. The 24-year-old top pitching prospect is worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy formats as he projects to make an immediate impact thanks to stellar control and an ability to consistently miss bats. He’s had some issues with home runs in the upper minors, but it’s a relatively minor concern given the overwhelmingly positive attributes in his overall scouting report. The 2021 fifth-round selection has made a rapid ascend to the majors, getting the call after recording a stellar 3.20 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 36/6 K/BB ratio across 25 1/3 innings (five starts) this season for Triple-A Syracuse. He’s piled up at least seven strikeouts in four of those five starts. There’s a wide range of potential outcomes here, but Scott possesses the talent to make a difference for fantasy managers, especially if he’s going to hold onto a spot in New York’s starting rotation until further notice.

Megill continues to gear up at the minor league level before he can make his return to the Mets. The 28-year-old hurler struck out six batters and didn’t allow a run in his last rehab start with High-A Brooklyn. If all goes well, Megill should be back in the majors in the next few weeks.

Two weeks ago, Reds manager David Bell said that Friedl could get a rehab assignment soon and the team are sticking to that timetable. Friedl fractured his right wrist during spring training, but there hasn’t been any setbacks in his recovery, so seeing him get some live reps is a positive sign. Friedl had his best season in 2023 where he had career-highs in almost every statistical category.

This is good to hear after the team decided to transfer Young to the 60-day IL last week with his back injury. It’ll likely still be a month or so before the 30-year-old southpaw is back with Cincinnati, but it appears he’s progressing and the team is comfortable having him get some live reps at the minor league level.

It’s been about 20 months since Buehler has pitched in a major league game, but that will come to an end in just a few days. The 29-year-old hurler has been putting together multiple rehab stints to get ramped up for his return to the Dodgers. In his last outing, he allowed just one run across five innings and threw 75 pitches. This will be a big season for Buehler as he and the team have entertained the possibility of a contract extension in the past, but now it will be an important factor for the team as he enters free agency after 2024.