Ty France DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Minnesota Twins first baseman Ty France (foot) is back at first base and is hitting cleanup for the red-hot Twins in Friday's series opener against the hosting Milwaukee Brewers and right-hander Chad Patrick at American Family Field. France missed the last two games for the Twins after fouling a ball off his foot and suffering a contusion in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles. It's good news for a suddenly banged-up Twins team who lost outfielders Byron Buxton (head) and Harrison Bader (groin) and shortstop Carlos Correa (head) in the last two days. The 30-year-old France has come back to Earth a bit in the month of May after a hot start and is now slashing .252/.316/.361 with three home runs, 21 RBI, 18 runs and a stolen base. He has never faced Patrick in his career.

Minnesota Twins first baseman Ty France (foot) will start on the bench for Thursday's series finale in Baltimore against the Orioles. It's not a big surprise after France was forced to leave Wednesday's game early in the fifth inning with a left-foot contusion in the first game of a doubleheader. The 30-year-old was also held out of Game 2. It's not considered a serious injury, but France will miss his second straight game. Fantasy managers will want to check back to see if he's able to return for Friday's series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. France hasn't homered since April 29 and has hit .227 (10-for-44) with three RBI, a steal and 10 strikeouts in 11 games so far in May. Kody Clemens is starting at first base on Thursday and is hitting eighth against Orioles right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, who he has never faced in his career. Clemens will be a low-upside DFS sleeper.

Minnesota Twins first baseman Ty France (foot) left Game 1 of the team's doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday early with a left-foot contusion, the team announced. France left the game after grounding out in the fifth inning and was replaced by Kody Clemens at first base. Before leaving, France went hitless in three at-bats in the eventual 6-3 victory. It's unclear how serious the 30-year-old veteran's injury is, but he'll almost certainly sit out the second game of the twin bill on Wednesday. There's also a good chance he won't be ready to return for Thursday's series finale with the O's. Heading into Wednesday's doubleheader, France was hitting .260/.325/.373 with a below-average .699 OPS, three homers and 21 RBI in 41 games. A long-term injury for France could push Clemens and Jonah Bride into a platoon at first base.