The second half of the 2022 Major League Baseball season is fully underway as we enter another weekend of MLB action. Before taking a look 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 Thursday. It was a fairly small slate, but the top MLB highlights include Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani both chasing legends and continuing to make history. We also had the New York Mets acquiring Tyler Naquin ahead of the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline and bad news for MLB top prospect Max Meyer on the MLB injury report front. Don't forget to check out our fantasy baseball player rankings and MLB daily projections before setting your lineups this weekend. Plus, keep an eye on the latest MLB trade rumors and get the fantasy baseball lineup analysis with our MLB Trade Deadline Tracker. Our fantasy baseball player spotlight series also highlights some key players who could be traded at the deadline. As always, be sure to scour the fantasy baseball waiver wire and find players trending up and down in the fantasy baseball stock watch. If you're playing MLB DFS lineups or locking in MLB best bets, be sure to check out today's MLB weather report and MLB starting lineups. Let’s now take a look back at Thursday's MLB top performers, injuries, and fantasy baseball news before checking out my favorite MLB player props for Friday night. 

 

 

MLB Fantasy Baseball News & Headlines

Aaron Judge Hits Walk-Off to Join Pretty Good Company

 

 

Aaron Judge’s 431-foot blast last night put him in some elite company – the great Mickey Mantle. The blast against the Royals was his third walk-off home run of the 2022 season, tying Mantle (1959) for the most in New York Yankees franchise history. The homer was also the Yankees' MLB-leading 12th walk-off bomb this season. Furthermore, Judge's league-leading 39 home runs also tie him with Mantle for the third-most by a Yankee by August 1st. Babe Ruth (41 in 1928) and Roger Maris (40 in 1961) are next up.

Shohei Ohtani Double-Digit Strikeout Streak

 

 

Shohei Ohtani did it again and struck out 11 batters in the Angels' 2-0 loss last night. It's the sixth straight start he's reached double-digit strikeouts. Ohtani is now one 10-K game away from tying Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who set the Angels' franchise mark of seven straight games of double-digit strikeouts back in 1977. Ohtani now has 145 strikeouts over 99.1 innings in 2022. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether the Angels will deal away their two-way star ahead of the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline.

New York Mets Trade for Platoon Specialist Tyler Naquin

 

 

The Reds and Mets made a trade on Thursday that sent left-handed hitting outfielder Tyler Naquin from Cincinnati to New York for a couple of low-level minor league prospects. A former Cleveland first-round pick, Naquin’s offensive production has been up-and-down but he’s come to be a solid platoon bat over the past two years. Naquin has 23 homers in 542 plate appearances against right-handed pitching over the past couple of seasons, compiling a .278/.338/.503 mark against righties. 

 

 

Matt Chapman Home Run Explosion

 

 

Matt Chapman apparently loves to hit in Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays third baseman homered twice last night in Toronto's 5-3 win over Detroit. With those home runs, 14 of Chapman’s 18 bombs this year have come at home. He is having a red-hot July as well, hitting .320 with 19 RBI and a 1.000 slugging percentage.

Max Meyer to Undergo Tommy John Surgery

 

 

It has already been a disappointing season in Miami and it just got worse. MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola tweeted that an MRI revealed bad news for top pitching prospect Max Meyer's right elbow. Meyer will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2022 campaign as well as most of the 2023 season. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft flew through the Marlins’ farm system and made his debut in early July, giving up five runs in 5 1/3 innings of work. He then lasted just two-thirds of an inning in his second MLB start before exiting due to elbow discomfort. 

Los Angeles Dodgers Destruction in Coors Field

 

 

For a second straight night, the Dodgers jumped all over an opposing starter in the first inning. Los Angeles then took advantage of many Rockies mistakes for a 13-0 win at Coors Field. The Dodgers' stars did the bulk of the damage, with Will Smith hitting a two-run double and RBI single, Trea Turner with three hits and three runs scored, and Mookie Betts with two singles and two runs to maintain his NL lead in runs scored (71).  Turner, now in 150 games with the Dodgers, has exactly 100 runs scored and 100 runs batted in. Then we had Tyler Anderson tossing seven shutout innings with an awesome moment to cap his outing off.

MLB Best Bets Friday

 

 

Jeffrey Springs OVER 26.5 FPTS & OVER 4.5 Strikeouts 

Jeffrey Springs showed signs of rust in his return form the IL last week. He allowed one earned run on eight hits over 4.1 innings against the Royals. Tonight, he returns and should be stretched out more for his usual 5-6 innings. The Tampa Bay southpaw is facing the Guardians, who are much worse against lefties with a 22.8% K rate since June 1st. Springs comes in with an excellent 3.83 xFIP, 26.3% strikeout rate, and a low 5.5% walk rate on the season. If you are going to attack the Cleveland lineup, it is with a lefty. Over 4.5 strikeouts and over 26.5 fantasy points are certainly attainable tonight in a pitcher's park (Tropicana Field). 

 

 

Bailey Falter OVER 4.5 Strikeouts

You cannot ask for a better matchup for Falter tonight. He is facing the dismal Pirates offense that struggles mightily against left-handed pitching. This is an offense that is striking out at a 26% clip (second-worst in baseball) to go along with an 83 wRC+ (third-worst) and a .285 wOBA (fourth-worst). Falter has hit the over on this 4.5 prop in his last three straight starts and all three teams (Cubs, Nationals and Cardinals) are much better on the split than the Pirates. 

 


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