

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith continued his success against left-handed pitching in Wednesday's 8-0 victory over the Diamondbacks when he hit his fourth home run of the season off of left-handed starter Jordan Montgomery. The solo shot was his only hit in the game, finishing 1-for-5, but he's now got three homers in his last five games. The 29-year-old is mashing lefties this season, now slashing .425/.489/.725 against them (.314/.338/.457 vs RHP) with six doubles, two home runs, and a 6:5 BB:K. He remains one of the top options at catcher for season-long fantasy so continue to fire him up there, but certainly take a closer look at him for DFS purposes on days when he's facing a southpaw.


Despite a strong performance from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson collected three of the five hits that the righty allowed in the outing, with Pederson ending the game 3-for-4. Although all three hits were singles and the D-backs were unable to scratch across even one run in the contest, Pederson was able to raise his batting average to .317 while increasing his OBP to .451, which is second-best in baseball to only NL MVP front-runner Mookie Betts. The inflated OBP is also due in part to his robust 15.7% BB% on the season. The 32-year-old has shown a little pop too, with six doubles and two home runs in 2024.



Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto held the Arizona Diamondback bats in check in Wednesday's 8-0 victory, picking up his third win of the season. The 25-year-old pitched six scoreless frames, allowing five hits and walking two while striking out five. He now owns a strong 2.91 ERA and 1.09 WHIP through seven starts, although excluding his first start of the season where he allowed five earned runs it would be a 1.64 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over the last six starts. The righty continues to look as good as advertised and takes on a Marlins team in his next start that is currently 8-24 while scoring the seventh-fewest runs in the league so far in 2024.


The Chicago White Sox have promoted pitcher Jared Shuster on Wednesday. Shuster was one of the many players acquired from the Atlanta Braves this offseason for Aaron Bummer. It will be his second go-around at the big-league level this season, with him tossing 6 1/3 innings earlier in the year out of the bullpen. Shuster fared well with four strikeouts and no walks with one run allowed. Shuster has struggled with a 6.39 ERA in three starts for Triple-A Charlotte, but it is expected that he will work out of the bullpen for the White Sox. He can safely remain on the waiver wire in all fantasy formats.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitching prospect Yu-Min Lin (jaw) will miss around six weeks after being struck in the dugout by a foul ball this past Friday. Lin suffered multiple face fractures to his jaw that will require surgery. The team's No. 4 prospect is expected to make a full recovery, and the surgery is considered minor. On the season, Lin has struggled with a 7.00 ERA in four starts for Double-A Amarillo, but he does have 21 strikeouts in 18 innings with just five walks. The numbers should not be read into that much, as he is playing in a hitter-dominant Pacific Coast League. Lin, 20, has ascended at every level for the Diamondbacks, and his ability to limit damage and rack up strikeouts is a big reason why. It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that he could be in Arizona before the season is over, and he could be worth monitoring in dynasty leagues when he returns from his injury.
