Wishing a happy Sunday to everyone as another baseball week comes to a close. First, let’s take a look back at top fantasy baseball news and headlines from Saturday’s slate of games which included power displays by Pete Alonso and Juan Soto and dominant performances by rookies MacKenzie Gore and Brandan Donovan. Don’t forget to check out our updated June fantasy baseball player rankings before setting your lineups today as well as the MLB Injury Report, fantasy baseball waiver wire, MLB Weather report and our daily projections. Now it’s time to catch up on all of the news from a big Saturday of baseball and a look ahead at today’s slate of games. 

STARS OF THE DAY 

DOUBLE DONG DAY BY THE POLAR BEAR

 

Pete Alonso of the New York Mets put on his own personal Home Run Derby display last night with two bombs at Dodger Stadium. He now has 16 home runs and is tied with Mookie Betts for the National League lead. His five RBI in the contest also tied him with José Ramírez of the Indians for the MLB RBI lead at 53.

Juan Soto IS STARTING TO HEAT UP

 

Is Juan Soto back? The Nationals young star outfielder hit two home runs yesterday; a 423-foot solo shot in the fourth and a 419-foot three-run homer in the seventh- to help his team rally from a four-run deficit for a 10-8 victory at Great America Ball Park. Soto is still only slashing .223/.370/.435 on the season but now has three home runs and five RBIs over his last two games and has one more shot at a big day with today’s series finale in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the game. 

Nick Pivetta CONTINUES TO PITCH WELL

 

The Red Sox Nick Pivetta continued his hot streak with another splendid outing yesterday afternoon on Oakland. He allowed just four base runners while striking out seven over seven scoreless innings in the Red Sox 8-0 win over the A’s. 

Pivetta has been the ace of the team and one of the best pitchers in the game over the last month and has now strung together six consecutive quality starts which is the fourth-longest streak in all of baseball this year. 

BIG DAY FOR A COUPLE OF ROOKIES

 

The Cardinals Brendan Donovan had his best game as a major leaguer last night as he doubled twice in the win over the Cubs while driving in four runs and stealing a base. His three hits raised his average to .315 on the season with a .440 on-base percentage and .438 slugging mark.  What a surprise the infielder has been to the Cardinals fans this season.

 

MacKenzie Gore, the third overall pick in the 2017 MLB draft, is finally showing why he was such a sought-after prospect. He threw six scoreless innings allowing just three hits and striking out 10 in the Padres 4-0 win over the Brewers. He now has a sparkling 1.50 ERA in 48 innings with 57 strikeouts over eight starts. Not too shabby.

INJURY NEWS

MAD MAX SUFFERS A DOG BITE

 

Hours after reports of Max Scherzer being bitten by his dog- the Mets ace took to the Twitter waves to explain the incident.

Scherzer is recovering from a May oblique strain that should keep him sidelined another month. He was 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA in five starts before the injury.

DEGROM THROW SA BULLPEN SESSION

 

The other Mets ace, Jacob deGrom, threw a 19-pitch bullpen session on Saturday- the first time he has thrown off a mound since spring training. MLB.com reported that the right-hander threw 19 moderate-intensity fastballs and now looks to ramp up his intensity. This was a big step in deGrom’s rehab but he still has a ways to go before pitching an actual major league game.

SUNDAY LOOK AHEAD

PITCHING

Three high upside arms will be going today- Lucas Giolito (3.61 ERA/33% K rate); Kevin Gausman (2.51 ERA/29% K rate) and Eric Lauer (2.49 ERA/29% K rate). Giolito has been the victim of some bad luck, but his strikeout rate is up and he faces a Rays offense that struggles against right-handed pitching.

Luis Castillo is a wild-card and a favorite SP2 in DFS. He has pitched well over his last two starts and is coming off a strong performance against the Red Sox when he allowed just one hit and struck out 10 in six scoreless innings.

TOP DFS STACKS

Houston Astros

After getting shut out by a pitcher with an ERA of 12.00 yesterday (Kris Bubic) I assume the Astros will be out for blood today. Jonathan Heasley (11% K rate/18% BB rate) is not much better than Bubic and will be tested early by the powerful Astro bats of Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Jose Altuve, and Alex Bregman.

Cincinnati Reds

How is Patrick Corbin still pitching in the major leagues? The left-hander once again is having a horrible season with a 1-8 record and 6.96 ERA/1.79 WHIP. Even left-handed bats smoke him now so he will be an equal opportunity pitcher today in Great American “Small Park”. All Reds bats are in play, especially Joey Votto, Tyler Stephenson, and a still cheap Nick Senzel.

 

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