
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez is getting a breather on Wednesday against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers. Freddy Fermin will do the catching for right-hander Brady Singer and will bat eighth in the order against Brewers right-hander Joe Ross. It's a regular day of rest for Perez in a day game after a night game. The 33-year-old backstop has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball to start the 2024 season, as he's slashing .326/.387/.558 with a .945 OPS, eight home runs, a league-leading 31 RBI and 15 runs scored in 129 at-bats. Perez should be back in action for the Royals for the series opener in Los Angeles on Thursday against the Angels. Fermin is batting just .218 (12-for-55) with a homer and two RBI and is low-upside streamer in DFS in the eight-hole on Wednesday.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is out of the team's starting lineup on Wednesday for the series finale against the visiting New York Mets. Alec Burleson will get the start at first base and will hit fifth against Mets left-hander Jose Quintana. Goldschmidt is hitting .545 with a 1.651 OPS, three home runs and 11 RBI in 22 career at-bats against Quintana in his career, but the slugging 36-year-old right-hander has also gone hitless so far in the month of May and could use a day off to clear his head. Goldy, like many of St. Louis' hitters, has been ice-cold to start the year and is currently slashing just .195/.287/.263 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 133 at-bats. Burleson went 3-for-5 with a home run on Tuesday but is also hitting just .188 (3-for-16) with a homer and four RBI against lefties this year.

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette has been dropped to sixth in the batting order for Wednesday's contest in Philadelphia against Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola. It's the lowest spot in the batting order that Bichette has hit since August of 2022. The 26-year-old All-Star is hitting just .189/.246/.268 on the year with a homer, 11 RBI, three stolen bases, nine walks and 22 strikeouts in 138 plate appearances over 33 games. Since April 24, Bichette has gone 3-for-40 (.075) with an RBI and eight strikeouts in 11 games. He's really in an early season funk right now and should be avoided in DFS lineups until he breaks out of it. With the move down the lineup for Bichette, outfielder Daulton Varsho is hitting in the two-hole for Toronto on Wednesday. Bichette is hitting .429 in seven career at-bats against Nola with a homer and two RBI, so perhaps he can get going in a tough matchup.


Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto picked up his fourth win of the season in Tuesday's 8-2 victory over the Marlins. The 25-year-old went eight innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs, but didn't walk a batter and struck out five. The two runs came off of a pair of solo home runs to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz. The outing was his fourth straight quality start and he has shown impressive command thus far with an 8:47 BB:K through eight starts. With a 4-1 record, 2.79 ERA, and 1.00 WHIP, the righty is making a strong case for NL Rookie of the Year, and in his next start he'll face off with the Giants next Monday in San Francisco.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Kyle Harrison threw seven scoreless innings in Tuesday's 5-0 victory over the Rockies, picking up his third win of the year. The southpaw allowed just four hits while walking two and striking out two. He now sports a 3.20 ERA (3.81 FIP), 1.22 WHIP, and a 15.1% K-BB% on the year through eight starts. Known for being more of a strikeout pitcher, his 40 strikeouts in 45 IP is somewhat disappointing, but other than that there isn't much to complain about. The 22-year-old is having a fine season so far for the Giants, and his next start tentatively lines up with the Reds next week at home. The Reds have a .208 batting average as a team against LHP, which is fifth-worst in the league.
