Luis Gil (P) NY-A - Sep. 18
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807535

Gil (1-1) was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following Saturday's game against Cleveland. He was charged with the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits while tallying six strikeouts and four walks over 4.1 innings.

ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The 23-year-old struggled with his command and threw only 50 of 88 pitches in the zone, though he still induced 13 swinging strikes. Gil still has a strong 2.88 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 32:15 K:BB across 25 innings this season, but he'll head back to the minors since the Yankees need only four starters for the near future thanks to having two scheduled off days in the next nine days.

09.19: Jean Segura clobbered a pair of solo home runs on Saturday, propellingthe Phillies to a 5-3 victory over the Mets in New York. (Segura opened the scoring with a solo shot off of Carlos Carrasco in the first inning. He then victimized the right-hander for another solo shot in the third inning to make it a 2-0 ballgame. He finished the night 2-for-5 and is now hitting .299/.357/.453 with 14 long balls and 55 RBI on the year.)

09.19: Bryce Harper went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs on Saturday asthe Phillies topped the Mets. (Harper came through with a two-run double off of Brad Hand in the seventh inning, extending the Phillies lead to 5-1. He's pretty quietly having an outstanding season in the middle of the Phillies lineup, slashing a robust .315/.429/.627 with 33 homers, 79 RBI and 13 stolen bases.)

Rotoworld:

09.19: Tigers placed OF Derek Hill  on the 10-day injured list with a kneeinjury. (The 25-year-old slipped awkwardly on the bag at first base while trying to beat out an infield bunt on Saturday. It is unknown how long Hill may be sidelined. Daz Cameron was recalled in a corresponding move. )

Clean inning last night protecting a one-run lead against the Rays.

Closer Monkey:

Detroit Tigers — Gregory Soto has been placed on the IL with a fractured finger.  Michael Fulmer should close for the rest of the season with Kyle Funhouser seeing any saves when Fulmer is unavailable.

Updated hierarchy: Fulmer | Funkhouser | Lange.

1-7 7.88 ERA last 10 starts.

Last year gave up 1 HR every 15 IP. This year it's 2.7/15 IP and about the same in 2019. When he does what he is doing this year, he's a 4 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, $18 pitcher. When he cuts his HR number in half, well, obviously the sky's the limit. Maybe he threw harder last year knowing it was low innings for the year?

Closer Monkey:

Boston Red Sox — The Red Sox activated Matt Barnes from the IL yesterday, and immediately gave him the eighth inning with a six-run lead. Barnes pitched a clean inning, which is enough to get him back on the hierarchy, but this still seems like a committee for the last few weeks of the season. 

Updated hierarchy: *Ottavino | Robles | Barnes.
* = closer-by-committee

Kole Calhoun (OF) AZ - Sep. 17
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807351

Calhoun went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and two walks Friday in a loss to the Astros.

ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The veteran outfielder was activated from the injured list earlier Friday after missing over a month with a hamstring strain. He broke a scoreless tie with his solo shot in the sixth inning and also drew two free passes. It has been an injury-plagued season for Calhoun, who has been limited to 37 games and 145 plate appearances. He has only four homers on the campaign, putting into serious peril his streak of seven straight seasons with double-digit long balls.

Gavin Lux (2B) LA - Sep. 17

https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807305

Lux (forearm) was hit by a ball from a pitching machine during pregame batting practice Friday and will not start during the Dodgers' weekend series against the Reds, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: X-rays were negative on Lux's forearm, so it appears he avoided a serious injury. Even so, he's already been ruled out from the starting lineup for the next two games, though he may be available off the bench. Chris Taylor (neck) returned to pinch-hit in Friday's contest, so he could slot in at left field for the time being.

The longball also boosted the AL to 23 games above .500 in interleague play (153-130).

Jose Altuve (2B) HOU - Sep. 17
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=807353

Altuve went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk against the Diamondbacks in a 4-3 win Friday.

ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: For 5.2 frames Friday, Arizona starter Madison Bumgarner held Houston without a hit. Altuve ended the no-hit bid and gave Houston its first lead with a two-run shot to left field. The long ball extended Altuve's personal hitting streak to six games, during which he has gone 9-for-21 while scoring nine runs.

Rotoworld:

09.17: Giants placed LHP Jake McGee on the 10-day injured list with an obliquestrain. (Well that's never what you want to hear. Giants manager Gabe Kapler did say that he was optimistic that McGee would be able to return before the end of the regular season. In the meantime, expect the Giants to utilize a combination of Tyler Rogers, Dominic Leone and Tony Watson to handle the ninth inning.)

Rotoworld:

09.18: Donovan Solano crushed a pinch-hit, game-tying homer on Friday in theGiants' eventual extra-inning victory over the Braves. (Solano came off the bench, and was down to his final strike, before delivering an improbable game-tying homer off Braves closer Will Smith in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the contest into extra-innings. The 33-year-old infielder made quite a splash in his return after being out on the COVID-19 injured list since late August.)

Rotoworld:

09.17: Hyun-Jin Ryu was knocked around again in Friday's loss to the Twins, giving up five runs on five hits in two-plus innings of work. (Ryu
struck out two and walked one in the brutal outing. After the Twins
scratched out a run in the second inning, they jumped on Ryu in the
third -- with an RBI double by Byron Buxton, a two-run blast by Jorge
Polanco and a solo shot by Josh Donaldson. Two starts ago, he was
removed early due to some stiffness in his arm, and now each of his last
two starts he has been clobbered -- which makes you wonder if that
could be a cause for the struggles. Presuming he's healthy, he'll look
to right the ship on Wednesday against the Rays in Tampa Bay.)

Rotoworld:

09.17: Shane Bieber (shoulder) will make his next minor league rehab start with Double-A Akron on Sunday. (Bieber
began his rehab assignment at Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday where he
surrendered one run on three hits while striking out three over 2 2/3
innings. It's unclear if he'll be deemed ready to rejoin the Indians
rotation after this outing, or if he'll need one more start in the minor
leagues.)

He's been bad at the plate, really bad. Tonight he ties a "record" of sorts. He pinch hit in the eighth and struck out to start the inning. Then struck out to end the inning. 

Needs team change ... Cardinals ...

What has Thor been doing when not pitching? Reading.

I think not bad, but definitely "frameworks," and Pos makes a good case that using DRS dooms bWAR unless it adjusts for the Savant real outcomes data. The expected Savant numbers (ERA, BA, SLG) are probabilistic gold at this point, but how to incorporate them into a system of ballpark and opponent adjustments boggles my literal mind.

But someone will do it.

I'm tied to the same wagon in NL Doubt. Too bad it's not a money league. Somehow Tanks and Death By Politics are in a tight battle for fourth with second within reach. 

We both can thank Jake McGee for that.