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ANALYSIS Devenski signed with Philadelphia on a minor-league deal in late August, and he'll join the big club Sunday after he allowed one run with an 11:3 K:BB over 8.2 innings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
ANALYSIS Hand hasn't pitched since he surrendered four runs (three earned) over one-third of an inning Sept. 20 versus Toronto, and he'll now be unavailable for the next couple weeks. The veteran left-hander will miss the rest of the regular season but will be eligible to return early in the playoffs, should the Phillies qualify.
Arenado went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Dodgers.
ANALYSIS Arenado's homer was his 30th of the year, and it also accounted for his 100th RBI. He's reached those milestone marks in seven straight full seasons, missing them only in the shortened 2020 campaign. The third baseman has supplemented his usual hearty power numbers with a career-high five stolen bases, 41 doubles (two shy of his best mark), a triple, 71 runs scored and a .295/.359/.542 slash line through 142 contests this year. Arenado has tailed off a bit in September, slashing .221/.294/.364 across his last 21 games.
Drafted:Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 40th round of the 2015 MLB June Amateur Draft from Monsignor Kelly Catholic HS (Beaumont, TX) and the Tampa Bay Rays in the 3rd round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from Rice University (Houston, TX).
Clearly Yuli has hit into bad luck but he got a big one yesterday. The Astros needed both runs to notch win No. 100 with nine games left.
Yesterday's Biggest Play
Batter:Yuli Gurriel (HOU)
Pitcher:Jake Reed (BAL)
Situation:Top 9th, 2 out, 0-1 count, Runners On 2nd and 3rd
Score: HOU 9, BAL 9
Single to RF (Ground Ball thru 2B-1B) 2 runs scored on the play, and HOU's win probability increased 41% points, to 92% HOU went on to win the game, 11-10
Julio Urias has won three more games and has a slight edge in both ERA and WHIP. Alcantara has now logged 221 IP in 31 starts; Urias has 164 IP in 29 starts. Kyle Wright has won 20 games (on my ballot these definitely count) but isn't close in ERA and WHIP and has 175 IP in 29 starts. Carlos Rodon is in the running, so is the hard-luck Aaron Nola. Corbin Burnes, last year's Cy Young winner, is having another great season.
And with all that, Alcantara easily gets my vote.
Rotowire:
11 strikeouts over eight innings
September 25, 2022
Alcantara (14-8) earned the win Saturday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk over eight innings against the Nationals. He struck out 11.
ANALYSIS Alcantara's only blemish came as a solo homer from first basemanJoey Menesesto open the scoring with two outs in the first inning. In his last 11 games, the righty has posted a seemingly uneventful 3.30 ERA over 76.1 innings but allowed four runs or more four times and one run or fewer five times during that stretch. The 27-year-old has been particularly stifling at home with a 9-4 record and 1.64 ERA over 121 innings compared to a 5-4 record and 3.16 ERA over 99.2 innings on the road.
Jimenez's back injury won't require surgery, so the righty expects to be ready for the start of spring training, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Jimenez had the best season of his career this year, with his 3.49 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 5.6 percent walk rate representing career lows while his 33.3 percent strikeout rate stands as a career high. His year ended slightly prematurely due to a lumbar spine strain, but the issue isn't expected to carry over into next season.
Jimenez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's loss to the Tigers.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Jimenez and Gavin Sheets went back-to-back with solo homers in the fourth inning, but those were the only two runs Chicago managed in the loss. The long ball extended Jimenez's modest hitting streak to six games, during which he's gone 8-for-24 (.333) with a pair of homers and six RBI. Jimenez has missed much of the season due to injuries, but he's hit 15 homers -- his most since his rookie 2019 campaign -- over 77 games.
Olson will sit for the first time this season Saturday against the Phillies.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Atlanta has leaned heavily on its new $168 million man this season, and the workload may be weighing on him. He's faded hard down the stretch, hitting .096/.194/.145 across his last 23 games.
May was placed on the 15-day injured list with lower-back tightness Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The timing of the injury means that May's 2022 regular season is officially over. He returned from Tommy John surgery in late August to make six starts, recording a mediocre 4.50 ERA. It's not yet clear if the injury is expected to carry over into the postseason.
Grove is scheduled to start Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The Dodgers will keep Grove on hand as part of a six-man rotation after he made his first turn of the week in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader with the Diamondbacks. He took a no-decision in that outing after allowing five runs (three earned) over five frames, bringing his ERA to 4.66 across his first 19.1 innings in the big leagues. With the Dodgers well on their way to finishing with the National League's top record, Grove could remain part of a six-man rotation over the final week and a half of the season as the team aims to give its other starting pitchers added rest in advance of the playoffs.
Lowe (back) has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Lowe has been sidelined with back inflammation since Sept. 12, and he received an injection Tuesday. The Rays hoped that he would be able to return prior to the end of the regular season, but he'll ultimately be held out down the stretch. It's not yet clear whether Lowe's offseason program will be significantly impacted by his injury.
LeMahieu (toe) remains unable to play, and it's not clear when or if he'll be able to return this season, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: There was some optimism earlier this week that LeMahieu could potentially return to action during this weekend's homestand versus Boston, but the veteran infielder still hasn't been able to swing at 100 percent during batting practice. He has indicated that he's feeling better but has also explained that he isn't able to play in his current state. Manager Aaron Boone hasn't ruled out the possibility of LeMahieu returning during next week's three-game series in Toronto, but that sounds like an unlikely scenario given LeMahieu's continuing inability to move past the injury. Boone acknowledged the uncertainty of LeMahieu's timeframe for a return, calling the injury a "great unkown" and saying, "It's been a really tricky injury to get our arms around. What treatments we can do, if and when you can do a shot, things like that. We'll see."
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Rojas will remain an infielder through the end of the season, Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic reprots.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Rojas has had recent defensive issues and was held out Friday's starting lineup for the third straight game -- two against a lefty and one against a righty. The recent lineup decisions appear to be more about the defensive issues than a lefty-on-lefty matter, but Rojas has not started the last four against lefties. Lovullo said he'll continue to use him as an infielder, but there will be discussions in the offseason about what may be the best fit for Rojas, who has experience in the outfield and at multiple infield positions. Next season's outfield appears well stocked, so he would be unlikely to get 500 plate appearances if limited to outfield. Pending any offseason acquisitions, Rojas could move back to being a super utility player.
Renfroe went 4-for-5 with two homers, five RBI and three runs scored in Saturday's 10-2 victory over the Reds.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Renfroe's first hit was a single to lead off the second inning. He then crushed two-run home runs in each of his next two at-bats in the fourth and fifth innings, driving in Rowdy Tellez both times. The right fielder's fifth RBI of the game came on a seventh-inning single that drove home Willy Adames. It was quite the night for Renfroe, who came into the game with just two hits in his last 21 at-bats (.095). It was also just his second four-hit game of the season.
Tellez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and three runs scored in Saturday's win over the Reds.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Tellez singled in his second at-bat in the fourth inning and scored on a Hunter Renfroe home run. The first baseman drew a walk in his next plate appearance in the fifth before coming home to score yet again on second homer from Renfroe. Tellez's solo shot came in the ninth inning after the Brewers had already put the game well out of reach. He came into Saturday's game with just three hits in his last 30 at-bats, though the home run was his sixth this month.
Rotowire:
Devenski signed with Philadelphia on a minor-league deal in late August, and he'll join the big club Sunday after he allowed one run with an 11:3 K:BB over 8.2 innings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Rotowire:
Hand hasn't pitched since he surrendered four runs (three earned) over one-third of an inning Sept. 20 versus Toronto, and he'll now be unavailable for the next couple weeks. The veteran left-hander will miss the rest of the regular season but will be eligible to return early in the playoffs, should the Phillies qualify.
Rotowire:
Arenado's homer was his 30th of the year, and it also accounted for his 100th RBI. He's reached those milestone marks in seven straight full seasons, missing them only in the shortened 2020 campaign. The third baseman has supplemented his usual hearty power numbers with a career-high five stolen bases, 41 doubles (two shy of his best mark), a triple, 71 runs scored and a .295/.359/.542 slash line through 142 contests this year. Arenado has tailed off a bit in September, slashing .221/.294/.364 across his last 21 games.
Yesterday's Debut
2B Ford Proctor (SFG)
Born: December 4, 1996 (Age: 25-294d)
Drafted: Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 40th round of the 2015 MLB June Amateur Draft from Monsignor Kelly Catholic HS (Beaumont, TX) and the Tampa Bay Rays in the 3rd round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from Rice University (Houston, TX).
Debut: 0-3
Clearly Yuli has hit into bad luck but he got a big one yesterday. The Astros needed both runs to notch win No. 100 with nine games left.
Yesterday's Biggest Play
Batter: Yuli Gurriel (HOU)
Pitcher: Jake Reed (BAL)
Situation: Top 9th, 2 out, 0-1 count, Runners On 2nd and 3rd
Score: HOU 9, BAL 9
Single to RF (Ground Ball thru 2B-1B)
2 runs scored on the play, and HOU's win probability increased 41% points, to 92%
HOU went on to win the game, 11-10
View the full game Boxscore at Baseball-Reference.com
Those are some consistent earnings, although I think he'll probably edge out his prior earnings when all is said and done with the new formulae.
Julio Urias has won three more games and has a slight edge in both ERA and WHIP. Alcantara has now logged 221 IP in 31 starts; Urias has 164 IP in 29 starts. Kyle Wright has won 20 games (on my ballot these definitely count) but isn't close in ERA and WHIP and has 175 IP in 29 starts. Carlos Rodon is in the running, so is the hard-luck Aaron Nola. Corbin Burnes, last year's Cy Young winner, is having another great season.
And with all that, Alcantara easily gets my vote.
Rotowire:
Alcantara's only blemish came as a solo homer from first baseman Joey Meneses to open the scoring with two outs in the first inning. In his last 11 games, the righty has posted a seemingly uneventful 3.30 ERA over 76.1 innings but allowed four runs or more four times and one run or fewer five times during that stretch. The 27-year-old has been particularly stifling at home with a 9-4 record and 1.64 ERA over 121 innings compared to a 5-4 record and 3.16 ERA over 99.2 innings on the road.
Sep 24, 2022 Top Performers
Pitchers:
Sandy Alcantara (MIA): 8.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 11 K, 82 GmSc
Johan Oviedo (PIT): 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 7 K, 78 GmSc
Alek Manoah (TOR): 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K, 75 GmSc
Merrill Kelly (ARI): 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 66 GmSc
Drew Rasmussen (TBR): 6.1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 66 GmSc
View All of Yesterday's Pitchers at Baseball-Reference.com
Sep 24, 2022 Top Performers
Batters:
Hunter Renfroe (MIL): 4-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R
Conner Capel (OAK): 3-5, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
Anthony Santander (BAL): 3-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Bryan De La Cruz (MIA): 4-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R
Seth Brown (OAK): 3-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R
Oscar Gonzalez (CLE): 2-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Javier Baez (DET): 3-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Rougned Odor (BAL): 3-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Michael Harris (ATL): 3-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
William Contreras (ATL): 3-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R
View All of Yesterday's Batters at Baseball-Reference.com
Joe Jimenez (P) DET - Sep. 24
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=13724
Jimenez's back injury won't require surgery, so the righty expects to be ready for the start of spring training, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Jimenez had the best season of his career this year, with his 3.49 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 5.6 percent walk rate representing career lows while his 33.3 percent strikeout rate stands as a career high. His year ended slightly prematurely due to a lumbar spine strain, but the issue isn't expected to carry over into next season.
Eloy Jimenez (OF) CHI-A - Sep. 24
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=13145
Jimenez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's loss to the Tigers.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Jimenez and Gavin Sheets went back-to-back with solo homers in the fourth inning, but those were the only two runs Chicago managed in the loss. The long ball extended Jimenez's modest hitting streak to six games, during which he's gone 8-for-24 (.333) with a pair of homers and six RBI. Jimenez has missed much of the season due to injuries, but he's hit 15 homers -- his most since his rookie 2019 campaign -- over 77 games.
He's the lineup today batting fifth against Kyle Gibson. d'Arnaud is batting cleanup.
D'Arnaud?
Matt Olson (1B) ATL - Sep. 24
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=12498
Olson will sit for the first time this season Saturday against the Phillies.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Atlanta has leaned heavily on its new $168 million man this season, and the workload may be weighing on him. He's faded hard down the stretch, hitting .096/.194/.145 across his last 23 games.
Dustin May (P) LA - Sep. 24
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=14331
May was placed on the 15-day injured list with lower-back tightness Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The timing of the injury means that May's 2022 regular season is officially over. He returned from Tommy John surgery in late August to make six starts, recording a mediocre 4.50 ERA. It's not yet clear if the injury is expected to carry over into the postseason.
Michael Grove (P) LA - Sep. 24
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=15507
Grove is scheduled to start Sunday's game against the Cardinals.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: The Dodgers will keep Grove on hand as part of a six-man rotation after he made his first turn of the week in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader with the Diamondbacks. He took a no-decision in that outing after allowing five runs (three earned) over five frames, bringing his ERA to 4.66 across his first 19.1 innings in the big leagues. With the Dodgers well on their way to finishing with the National League's top record, Grove could remain part of a six-man rotation over the final week and a half of the season as the team aims to give its other starting pitchers added rest in advance of the playoffs.
Brandon Lowe (2B) TB - Sep. 24
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=13897
Lowe (back) has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Lowe has been sidelined with back inflammation since Sept. 12, and he received an injection Tuesday. The Rays hoped that he would be able to return prior to the end of the regular season, but he'll ultimately be held out down the stretch. It's not yet clear whether Lowe's offseason program will be significantly impacted by his injury.
DJ LeMahieu (3B) NY-A - Sep. 24
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=10999
LeMahieu (toe) remains unable to play, and it's not clear when or if he'll be able to return this season, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: There was some optimism earlier this week that LeMahieu could potentially return to action during this weekend's homestand versus Boston, but the veteran infielder still hasn't been able to swing at 100 percent during batting practice. He has indicated that he's feeling better but has also explained that he isn't able to play in his current state. Manager Aaron Boone hasn't ruled out the possibility of LeMahieu returning during next week's three-game series in Toronto, but that sounds like an unlikely scenario given LeMahieu's continuing inability to move past the injury. Boone acknowledged the uncertainty of LeMahieu's timeframe for a return, calling the injury a "great unkown" and saying, "It's been a really tricky injury to get our arms around. What treatments we can do, if and when you can do a shot, things like that. We'll see."
Josh Rojas investors can't complain about his performance this year. With the D'backs it seems to be a different story.
Josh Rojas (2B) AZ - Sep. 24
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=15913
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Rojas will remain an infielder through the end of the season, Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic reprots.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Rojas has had recent defensive issues and was held out Friday's starting lineup for the third straight game -- two against a lefty and one against a righty. The recent lineup decisions appear to be more about the defensive issues than a lefty-on-lefty matter, but Rojas has not started the last four against lefties. Lovullo said he'll continue to use him as an infielder, but there will be discussions in the offseason about what may be the best fit for Rojas, who has experience in the outfield and at multiple infield positions. Next season's outfield appears well stocked, so he would be unlikely to get 500 plate appearances if limited to outfield. Pending any offseason acquisitions, Rojas could move back to being a super utility player.
Hunter Renfroe (OF) MIL - Sep. 24
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=12963
Renfroe went 4-for-5 with two homers, five RBI and three runs scored in Saturday's 10-2 victory over the Reds.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Renfroe's first hit was a single to lead off the second inning. He then crushed two-run home runs in each of his next two at-bats in the fourth and fifth innings, driving in Rowdy Tellez both times. The right fielder's fifth RBI of the game came on a seventh-inning single that drove home Willy Adames. It was quite the night for Renfroe, who came into the game with just two hits in his last 21 at-bats (.095). It was also just his second four-hit game of the season.
Rowdy Tellez (1B) MIL - Sep. 24
https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.php?id=13034
Tellez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and three runs scored in Saturday's win over the Reds.
ROTOWIRE RECOMMENDS: Tellez singled in his second at-bat in the fourth inning and scored on a Hunter Renfroe home run. The first baseman drew a walk in his next plate appearance in the fifth before coming home to score yet again on second homer from Renfroe. Tellez's solo shot came in the ninth inning after the Brewers had already put the game well out of reach. He came into Saturday's game with just three hits in his last 30 at-bats, though the home run was his sixth this month.
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