Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers has been in a horrible slump to begin the season. He was hitless coming into Wednesday's game. Devers also became the first player in MLB history to strike out at the plate 15 times over the first five games of the season. Devers finally delivered at the plate with a run-scoring double in the fifth inning. He'd finish his day with two hits and an RBI in what ended up being a 3-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Devers is too talented at the plate to continue being in this slump for too long. Hopefully fantasy managers will get many more two-hit performances from Devers soon.

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Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet showed that he earned every bit of that extension he received during Wednesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles. On Monday, Crochet signed a six-year, $170 million deal with Boston. It's already paying off for the Red Sox as Crochet tossed eight scoreless innings against the O's on Wednesday. The southpaw allowed four hits, one walk, and struck out eight batters in a strong outing against a tough lineup. His next outing will come against the Toronto Blue Jays, so we'll see if he can keep the good times rolling next Monday.

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Miami Marlins infielder Xavier Edwards came ready to hit at the plate during Wednesday's game against the New York Mets. Coming into this game, Edwards was 1-for-11 over his last three games, but made up for it on Wednesday. Edwards went 4-for-6 at the plate with one RBI and one steal in what ended up being a 6-5 loss in 11 innings. The speedy infielder hasn't been off to an ideal start to the season, but hopefully this four-hit performance will help him get back on track. Fantasy managers should stick with him as his speed alone should make Edwards worth rostering.

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New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso came up clutch for his team during Wednesday's game against the Miami Marlins. Alonso kicked off the game with an RBI double in the first inning. It only got better from there as Alonso blasted a clutch game-tying three-run home run in the eighth inning that would send the game to extra innings. He finished his day 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI in the 6-5 win in 11 innings. The Mets offense hasn't been great to start the season, but Alonso has been solid with two homers and eight RBI in six games.

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The San Diego Padres rewarded young outfielder Jackson Merrill with a nine-year, $135 million contract extension on Wednesday morning, and then he proceeded to go 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, a run scored and a strikeout in the 5-2 win over the visiting Cleveland Guardians at Petco Park. Merrill's second home run of the 2025 campaign came off right-hander Ben Lively and extended the Padres' lead to 4-0 at the time. The 21-year-old seems to be finding barrels every time he swings the lumber in the early going of just his second MLB season, as he entered Wednesday's contest against Cleveland with eight hits in 20 at-bats with six RBI in six games played. In a strong Padres lineup, Merrill's fantasy arrow is pointing firmly up. He was an All-Star and won a Silver slugger award as a rookie in 2023, when he slashed an impressive .292/.326/.500 with 24 homers, 16 steals and 90 RBI in 593 plate appearances.

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Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki had himself a day in the team's 10-2 victory over the hosting Athletics in Sacramento on Wednesday, going 3-for-5 with two home runs, a career-high five RBI, two runs scored, a walk and a strikeout. Suzuki is now tied for the major-league lead in RBI with 11 after entering the day with a league-leading 16 strikeouts in eight games played. The 30-year-old outfielder got off to a slow start in 2025 by going 2-for-21 through his first five contests, but he's since gone deep four times with 11 RBI in his last four games to completely flip the switch in the early going. Although durability has been a bit of an issue early on in Suzuki's MLB career, he's managed 20-plus homers in the last two seasons and also stole a career-high 16 bags in 2024. If he's able to make more contact in 2025, a breakout could be coming.

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Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed reliever Dennis Santana was handed the first save chance for the Pirates on Wednesday against the hosting Tampa Bay Rays since they demoted former closer David Bednar to the minors this week, and Santana capitalized by closing the door to earn his first save of 2025. The 28-year-old didn't allow a hit while walking one in his fourth appearance of the season. Colin Holderman pitched the eighth frame in the 4-2 victory and allowed a run. While things could change quickly in the back end of Pittsburgh's bullpen, Santana has to be considered the favorite for most of the team's save opportunities moving forward, so fantasy managers scrounging for saves in deeper leagues should take notice. After struggling to begin last year with the Yankees, Santana altered his approach and showed much better control in Pittsburgh.

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Los Angeles Dodgers right-handers Tony Gonsolin (back) and Evan Phillips (shoulder) are both scheduled to begin minor-league rehab assignments with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday. Gonsolin is scheduled to start on Thursday and pitch around two innings. Gonsolin is recovering from a back injury that he suffered in early March while lifting weights, but both he and Phillips are getting close to rejoining the big-league roster in the month of April. Given L.A.'s stacked starting rotation, though, it's unclear if the 30-year-old Gonsolin will serve as a starter or long reliever for the Blue when he's cleared to be activated. Phillips, 30, didn't pitch at all during spring training due to a right-shoulder injury that had been bothering him since the World Series last October. He led the Dodgers in saves the last two years but has lost considerable fantasy value after the team added Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates to the bullpen in the offseason.

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Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer went 1-for-3 with a solo home run (his first of the year), a walk and two strikeouts as the designated hitter in Wednesday's 4-2 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals at Rogers Centre. Not many fantasy managers were probably expecting the 35-year-old veteran to start the 2025 season as hot as he has. Through seven games played, Springer is now 9-for-21 with three extra-base hits and a 1.187 OPS. His homer came in the fourth inning off left-hander MacKenzie Gore. While Springer has shown clear signs of decline in Toronto the last couple of years, he's still a lineup regular for the Jays and is proving that he can still go on useful runs for fantasy managers. While he's hot, keep riding him into a weekend series against the New York Mets.

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Boston Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman said he used a torpedo bat in the batting cages and on the field during batting practice on Wednesday before the game in Baltimore against the division-rival Orioles, but he's unsure yet if he'll use it in the game. Bregman is batting third against Orioles right-hander Zach Eflin. The 31-year-old veteran could be looking to get his bat going early on in his first year in Boston after a number of high-profile MLB players have seen rousing success, especially in the power department, while using torpedo bats so far this season. In his first five contests with the BoSox heading into Wednesday's contest, Bregman has gone 5-for-22 with a stolen base, one walk and five strikeouts in 23 plate appearances. If Bregman does start using the torpedo bat in games, fantasy managers will be hoping it will lead to more power for the two-time All-Star.

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With the Atlanta Braves looking to shake things up on Wednesday against the hosting Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium after starting the year 0-6, second baseman Ozzie Albies will move up to the leadoff spot to face left-hander Blake Snell. It will be Albies' first time batting leadoff in the early going for the struggling Braves, but he could occupy the spot more often moving forward with outfielder Jurickson Profar suspended 80 games for PEDs. Like most of the rest of the Braves hitters so far in 2025, the switch-hitting Albies has been cold at the plate early on, as the three-time All-Star heads into Wednesday's contest with a .136 average (3-for-22) with a homer, three RBI, two walks and three strikeouts in 24 trips to the plate over six games. Albies has hit .143 in his career against Snell in a small sample size of seven at-bats.

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Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman (ankle) will miss his third straight game on Wednesday evening at Dodger Stadium against the winless Atlanta Braves. With Freeman out again after aggravating his right-ankle injury during a slip in the shower on Sunday, Enrique Hernandez will make another start at the cold corner and will hit eighth against Braves right-hander Bryce Elder. The Dodgers have the day off on Thursday, so the earliest we'll see the 35-year-old Freeman again for the Blue will be for Friday's series opener in Philadelphia against the Phillies. Fantasy managers will want to check back then to see if Freeman is feeling good enough to play. Kike has gone just 2-for-15 in the early going through four games for L.A., but both of his hits have gone over the fence and he's driven in four runs. Hernandez will be a boom/bust DFS power option on Wednesday against a pitcher he's never faced.

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Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta certainly pitched well enough to get a win on Wednesday against the visiting Kansas City Royals at American Family Field, but instead he picked up a no-decision in a 3-2 extra-innings win despite allowed just one earned run on two hits while walking none and striking out eight in eight innings of work. The 28-year-old Dominican allowed his only run in the second inning and then retired the last 19 batters that he faced in his second outing of 2025. Peralta's eight innings pitched tied a career high, and he's looked excellent in the early going in 2025, as he now sports a 2.08 ERA with 16 strikeouts and only one walk in 13 innings pitched. He's essentially a must-start in fantasy lineups when he takes the ball, but he could be more volatile in his next scheduled outing in Colorado against the Rockies at hitter-friendly Coors Field.

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Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio had a nice day on Wednesday in the team's 3-2 extra-inning win over the visiting Kansas City Royals at American Family Field. Chourio finished the team's second win of the year by going 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a double, two RBI, a run scored and a strikeout to raise his early-season average to .286 and his OPS to .786. The 21-year-old outfielder put the Brewers on the board early with a solo shot off lefty starter Cole Ragans in the first inning, and he also tied the game up in the bottom of the 10th frame with his double. Fantasy managers might have been a little worried after Chourio went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts on Opening Day last Thursday against the New York Yankees, but he has quickly turned things around in the early going and now has four extra-base hits and four RBI in six games.

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Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (intercostal) will play on Wednesday for Triple-A Norfolk and is expected to see seven to nine innings on defense, and then the Orioles will make a decision on whether to activate him from the 10-day injured list for Thursday or wait a day. The O's play a day game on Thursday versus the division-rival Boston Red Sox, which complicates things a bit for travel purposes, so the 23-year-old might not make his 2025 debut until Friday at Camden Yards. Henderson has gone 5-for-16 with two home runs in four minor-league rehab games as he recovers from a right intercostal strain that he suffered in spring training. It sounds like he's doing just fine, and manager Brandon Hyde has already said that Henderson will immediately return to playing every day as the team's leadoff hitter after he's activated. Fantasy managers are hoping he can pick up where he left off last year.

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Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Harris II is retreating to the bench on Wednesday versus the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium with a left-hander on the mound. Eli White will make the start in center field and will bat ninth for the Braves against southpaw Blake Snell. It will be Harris' first day off of the season after starting the first six games (all losses) and going just 3-for-23 with one home run, an RBI, a run scored, no walks and eight strikeouts. The 24-year-old could be pressing at the plate early on given the team's rough start to the year, but hopefully he can pick things up this weekend against the division-rival Miami Marlins in Atlanta after another day off on Thursday. White is hitless in just one career at-bat against Snell and should be avoided in DFS lineups in the series finale against Snell and the undefeated Dodgers.

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Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes picked up his first win of the 2025 season on Wednesday in a 4-2 victory of the hosting Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Skenes went seven innings in the outing, allowing just one unearned run on three hits while walking none and striking out six. While it wasn't the dominant outing we're already used to seeing from last year's National League Rookie of the Year, his fantasy managers won't complain about it at all. After picking up a no-decision last Thursday on Opening Day versus the Miami Marlins -- he allowed two runs while striking out seven in 5 1/3 innings -- the hard-throwing 22-year-old phenom now has a strong 1.46 ERA as he heads into his third outing of the year, which is expected to come next Tuesday against the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals. Skenes is a must-start every time out in fantasy.

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Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte agreed to a six-year, $116 million contract extension on Wednesday, sources tell ESPN's Jesse Rogers. Marte was already under contract through the 2028 season, but his new extension will start this season, and it includes a player option in 2031 for $11.5 million. With escalators, the deal could be worth up to $149.5 million. Marte also receives a five-team no-trade clause. He will be a 10/5 player in 2026 and can veto any trade at that point. The 31-year-old Dominican switch-hitter is one of the best second baseman in the game, both on offense and defense, and is coming off a career year in 2024 in which he slashed .292/.372/.560 with a .932 OPS and career-highs in home runs (36) and RBI (95) in 136 games played. Marte heads into Wednesday's game in New York with six hits in his first 26 plate appearances in 2025 with two doubles in five games.

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Although he only went five innings and picked up a no-decision in Wednesday's 3-2 extra-innings loss to the hosting Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field, Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans had a strong day on the bump for his fantasy managers. Ragans allowed only one earned run on five hits (one homer) while walking two and striking out 10. The only run he gave up came in the first inning on a solo shot by Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio. The former first-rounder hasn't been all that efficient in his first two starts of the 2025 season and has gone just 10 total innings, but he's generating plenty of swings and misses and now has 13 strikeouts. The 27-year-old southpaw should be considered a must-start in his next scheduled outing at Kauffman Stadium against the division-rival Minnesota Twins.

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St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera had himself a day in Wednesday's 12-5 win over the visiting Los Angeles Angels at Busch Stadium to avoid a three-game sweep. Herrera went 3-for-4 with three home runs, six RBI, three runs scored, a walk and a strikeout to become the first Cardinals catcher in franchise history to hit three homers in a game. The 24-year-old backstop will split playing time behind the dish with Pedro Pages in St. Louis, but it's clear that he's the much better bat and should be in the starting lineup more often than not. The Red Birds could also use him frequently as the designated hitter to keep his bat in the lineup on days that he doesn't catch. The Panama native is off to an excellent start to the 2025 season, as he came into Wednesday's game hitting .364 (4-for-11 with two doubles and two RBI in four games played.

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