Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado picked up his eighth save of the season in Monday's 5-4 extra-innings win over the Mets. Alvarado came in to pitch the bottom of the 10th inning up by one with an automatic runner on second and shut the door with a 1-2-3 outing. The 28-year-old has pitched well overall this season and has seen the majority of save opportunities for the Phillies, converting all of them with a 3.57 ERA, an 8.15 K/9 rate, and a 3.57 BB/9 rate. While other Phillies relievers offer fantasy value in deeper leagues and saves-plus-holds leagues, Alvarado is the pitcher to roster in conventional fantasy leagues at this time.

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Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby got things back on track in Monday's 6-2 win over the Royals. Kirby turned in seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and no walks with six strikeouts. He also hit two batters. The 26-year-old is now 4-3 with a 3.58 ERA, a 9.12 K/9 rate, and a 0.89 BB/9 rate in nine starts and 50 1/3 IP. He will face a tougher matchup in his next scheduled start at the Orioles, but fantasy managers should feel comfortable starting him unless they have the luxury of better alternatives.

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Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Jason Foley earned his 10th save of the season in Monday's 6-5 win over the Marlins. Foley came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by one and delivered a 1-2-3 outing with a strikeout. After starting the season as the team's closer, the Tigers have mixed up their bullpen usage over the past couple of weeks. However, Foley has been the team's best reliever, converting all but one save opportunity with a 2.20 ERA, an 8.27 K/9 rate, and a 3.86 BB/9 rate. He still seems like the pitcher to roster for fantasy purposes and may be able to earn the closer's role back if he can string together several solid performances.

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New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz was not sharp in Monday's 5-4 extra-innings loss to the Phillies. Diaz came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by two. He allowed a leadoff solo home run, allowed a single and a walk, got the first out on a strikeout and the second out on a pop-out, allowed another walk, hit a batter to bring the tying run in, and ended the inning with a strikeout. The 30-year-old, who did not pitch last season due to injury, has not looked as sharp, converting five of seven save opportunities with a 3.24 ERA, a 13.50 K/9 rate, and a 3.24 BB/9 rate. However, he should be given a long leash with his history of excellence and fantasy managers should not panic at this time.

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Chicago Cubs first baseman prospect Matt Mervis hit his eighth home run of the season and third in his past two games on Sunday for Triple-A Iowa. The 26-year-old is hitting .474 (9-for-19) in the last five games since being sent back to Triple-A. Unfortunately, the left-handed hitter hasn't hit well during his time with the big league club, going 15-for-90 (.167) in 2023 and 3-for-26 (.115) in 2024. With Michael Busch excelling and blocking him at first base, Mervis was used as designated hitter while with the Cubs, but they decided to give Miles Mastrobuoni a shot when they sent Mervis back down. Mastrobuoni hasn't seen any more success, hitting .150 over 20 at-bats. If Mervis can keep it up, it's probably not the last time we see him in Chicago this year.

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The Chicago Cubs are reportedly trading infielder Jake Slaughter to the Seattle Mariners for relief pitcher Tyson Miller, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. The 28-year-old Miller was designated for assignment and will join the Cubs in the bullpen. He put together strong numbers in limited action with the Mariners, compiling a 3.09 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and 26.7% strikeout rate in 11 2/3 innings pitched. The 27-year-old Slaughter had slashed .297/.392/.486 with five home runs, 17 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 130 plate appearances with Triple-A Iowa. Neither player should be on the fantasy radar until their roles are established.

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Seattle Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco (hamstring) exited Monday's game against the Royals in the fifth inning with right hamstring tightness, per the team's Twitter account. Polanco went 1-for-2 with a single, a walk, and a strikeout before being replaced in the field by Luis Urias. Fantasy managers should look for further updates on Polanco's status once the game has ended. The 30-year-old has struggled with injuries throughout his career, so hopefully this one will not be serious.

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Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown will start a game against the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend, according to manager Joe Espada. The Astros are officially moving to a six-man starting rotation. Brown is most likely to start the series opener against Milwaukee on Friday, but fantasy managers in most leagues are going to want to avoid him after he has opened the 2024 season by going 0-4 with a 7.79 ERA (5.08 FIP) and 2.01 WHIP with 18 walks and 36 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings over eight appearances (seven starts). Brown looked better in a long-relief role over the weekend for the Astros, so hopefully he can carry that momentum over to his eighth start of the season. If Brown struggles again this weekend against the Brew Crew, he could find himself right back in the bullpen.

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New York Mets shortstop prospect Luisangel Acuna went 2-for-5 with a walk, two runs scored, and two stolen bases on Sunday for Triple-A Syracuse. The pair of singles extended the 22-year-old's hit streak to nine games, although he isn't exactly knocking the cover off the ball during the streak with a .273 average and no home runs. The right-handed hitter has four doubles, three triples, and two home runs on the season, but even the last nine games could only bring his season batting average to .233. It's part of the reason that Acuna dropped 22 spots on MLB.com's most recently updated Top-100 prospects list, going from 58 to 80. The speed is still there though, totaling 13 stolen bases through 34 games.

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Updating a previous report, Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins (hamstring) said that he will undergo an MRI exam on Tuesday after leaving Monday's 8-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates with a hamstring injury. We'll have a better idea of how much time Hoskins might have to miss once his MRI results are known, but fantasy baseball managers should be preparing for a potential trip to the injured list. Before hitting the showers early on Monday, Hoskins singled in his only at-bat to raise his batting average to .233 with an .814 in his first year in Milwaukee. The former fifth-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014 out of Sacramento State has provided plenty of power (nine home runs) and run production (27 RBI) after missing all of 2023 with a torn ACL in his knee. Check back on Tuesday for Hoskins' MRI results.

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Philadelphia Phillies outfielder/designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (back) will return to the starting lineup on Tuesday against the New York Met on the road at Citi Field, according to manager Rob Thomson. Schwarber was pulled late in Friday's win over the Miami Marlins with back soreness and was held out of the starting lineup on Monday for the third straight game, although he did come in to strike out as a pinch-hitter late in Monday's contest. The 31-year-old left-handed slugger's injury was never considered serious, but they wanted to hold him out for a few games as a precaution. After striking out in his pinch-hitting appearance on Monday, Schwarber is now hitting .216 on the year with a .718 OPS, nine home runs and 25 RBI in 40 games. He's leading baseball with 59 strikeouts and is going to be a drain on your team's batting average, but you can't argue with his elite power.

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Chicago Cubs third baseman Christopher Morel (toe) left the team's game on Monday early against the Atlanta Braves with a toe injury on his left foot after he fouled a ball off his foot late in the contest. Morel also injured his right knee on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates and is dealing with some bumps and bruises, so it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see him sit out of Tuesday's game in Atlanta. The 24-year-old walked off with a trainer and was seen wincing after fouling a ball off his foot. Before leaving late in Monday's game, Morel went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts to drop his season average to .223 and his OPS to .747. If Morel needs more than just one day off because of his bumps and bruises, both Miles Mastrobuoni and Nick Madrigal would be candidates to mix in at the hot corner for the Cubbies.

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Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that the team used relief pitcher Jason Adam to close out the 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday because closer Pete Fairbanks (finger) was unavailable due to a small cut on his right index finger. The hope is that Fairbanks will be good to go on Tuesday for the second game of the series in Boston. Adam came on and pitched a hitless and scoreless ninth inning on Monday with a walk and three strikeouts to pick up his third save of the year, but there's a good chance Fairbanks will be available for a save situation on Tuesday if it arises. The 30-year-old Fairbanks recently returned from the injured list due to a nerve issue in his right arm. It's been a tough start to the year for him after starting 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA, a 2.00 WHIP, three saves and 11 strikeouts in eight innings pitched.

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Atlanta Braves right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (back) was pulled from his start early on Monday against the visiting Chicago Cubs due to back tightness. Before leaving, Lopez threw five scoreless innings with two hits allowed while walking two and striking out four to lower his season ERA to a sparkling 1.34. The 30-year-old did not get a decision in his latest strong performance before leaving early due to an injury. For now, fantasy managers should consider Lopez to be day-to-day, and the Braves currently don't think that his injury is serious enough to keep him from making his next scheduled start. Lopez has been a revelation for the Braves and for fantasy managers in deeper leagues that took a chance on him after he hadn't started a game since 2022 with the Chicago White Sox.

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Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley's (side) MRI exam on Monday showed only inflammation in his side and he's considered day-to-day. Riley was pulled from Sunday's loss to the New York Mets with an injury to his left side and didn't play in the series opener on Monday versus the Chicago Cubs as a result. The 27-year-old shouldn't need a trip to the 10-day injured list after his MRI exam came back negative, but there's no guarantee that he'll be back in the starting lineup for the second game of the series against Chicago on Tuesday. With Riley out on Monday, Zack Short got the start at third base and was hitting ninth in the batting order. Riley is hitting .245 (36-for-147) on the year with three home runs and 18 RBI but has been hot so far in May, going 10-for-32 (.313) with a homer and four RBI in nine games.

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The Cincinnati Reds are calling up their 24th-ranked prospect, outfielder Jacob Hurtubise, after TJ Friedl was placed on the 10-Day IL with a fractured left thumb. When Hurtubise gets into a game, it will be his MLB debut. The 26-year-old had a breakout season in 2023, hitting .330 between Double-A and Triple-A. While he does not hit for much power, with just seven homers over 342 at-bats last season, the left-handed hitter has so much speed that he ended up with nearly as many triples (10) as he had doubles (11). The speed helped him swipe 45 bags last season as well. The performance earned him an invite to the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .267 with 11 stolen bases. So far in 2024, Hurtubise is hitting just .241 but in only 29 at-bats. The speed is enticing but he's probably not viable for fantasy as he's likely more of a bench bat and outfield depth rather than everyday starter.

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Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman went yard twice in Monday's extra-inning loss to the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays, accounting for all of the team's offense in the defeat. Rutschman tagged Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios for two solo shots on Monday, with the first coming in the fourth inning and the second on his next at-bat in the sixth. The 26-year-old former No. 1 overall pick continues establishing himself as a fantasy force at the catcher position, hitting safely in 20 of his last 22 games with a .333 average, seven homers, 18 RBI, and one stolen base during this stretch. Rutschman gets two more cracks at the Jays in this series, and fantasy managers should be looking forward to them. In 31 games versus the Jays in his career, Rutschman is now batting a superb .341 (42-for-123) with seven taters, 10 doubles, 22 RBI, and 22 runs scored.

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Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe (oblique) is still feeling "something" in his oblique and is seeing a specialist on Tuesday, and the club will know more after that visit. Despite going deep during Sunday's minor-league assignment with Triple-A Durham while playing the whole game at second base, Lowe is still dealing with discomfort in his strained right oblique. It puts his return timetable suddenly in a state of uncertainty, as the infielder appeared to be poised for a return to the major-league roster sometime this week. Before going down, Lowe hit just 5-for-27 (.185) with one home run, one double, and four RBI through eight games and doesn't need to be stashed outside of deeper fantasy leagues. Amed Rosario and Richie Palacios are handling the bulk of the reps at the keystone for now, with the former being the preferred option from a fantasy perspective.

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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Cody Bradford (back, rib) threw on flat ground on Monday. Bradford is progressing from both a lower-back strain as well as a stress fracture on his rib, but he still has several hurdles to clear in his throwing program before rejoining Texas' injury-riddled rotation. There's a still a chance at a return before the end of May for Bradford, but he'll likely require at least one minor-league rehab appearance before doing so. The 26-year-old upstart left-hander was returning first-round fantasy value before hitting the injured list, garnering a 1.40 ERA, 0.62 WHIP, and 17:2 K:BB with wins in each of his three starts (19 1/3 innings) this year, so he's well worth a stash in all leagues. Top prospect Jack Leiter is one of the names filling in for the Rangers at the moment, but he's given up 11 runs in 7 2/3 innings (two starts) and will be hard to trust in Tuesday's home start versus the Cleveland Guardians.

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Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford (oblique) is set to start a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday. Crawford has been participating in full pregame workouts, and the rehab assignment will be the final step in his recovery from a strained right oblique. Barring any setbacks, he'll likely be activated when the club begins a road trip starting on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles. After hitting just .196 (13-for-86) with two home runs, nine RBI, and 13 runs scored as Seattle's primary leadoff hitter this season, the 29-year-old on-base machine will only be a viable fantasy option in deep mixed and AL-only leagues when he returns. Utility man Josh Rojas has taken over as the preferred leadoff man against right-handed pitching, slashing a potent .385/.439/.596 with five extra-base hits, four RBI, and three stolen bases over his last 15 games (52 at-bats), and he's worth holding until Crawford is cleared.

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