
Boston Red Sox catching prospect Kyle Teel has begun to heat up at Triple-A after getting off to a slow start. In his past three games, he has tallied at least one hit in each of them with a .273 AVG and four RBI. Prior to this stretch, the backstop he carried a disappointing .089/.179/.086 line with just three hits, two RBI, and a 4:12 BB:K ratio across his first nine games. Earlier this season, the former first-round selection in last year's draft posted a strong .289/.390/.462 line with 20 doubles, 11 home runs, and nine stolen bases through 84 games at Double-A Portland. MLB.com ranks Teel as the third-best prospect in the Boston system and the 27th overall in the sport. If Teel can continue to find his footing at Triple-A, he could have a chance to make his major league debut late in the season if the Red Sox remain in the Wild Card race.


San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski is not in the starting lineup on Thursday for the series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. With Yastrzemski getting a day off, Jerar Encarnacion will make the start in right field for the Gigantes and bat seventh against Brewers right-hander Aaron Civale. The left-handed-hitting Yastrzemski has struggled at the plate of late, going 7-for-34 (.206) with two home runs, two doubles, four RBI and seven strikeouts in his last 10 games since Aug. 17. His OPS is down to .731 on the year while providing a very modest 11 home runs and 42 RBI in 114 games for San Fran. Encarnacion will be a deep DFS sleeper for Thursday's slate. He's played in only 16 games for the Giants this year and has gone 12-for-51 (.235) with two home runs and eight RBI in 54 trips to the plate.


The Chicago White Sox recalled right-handed pitching prospect Nick Nastrini from Triple-A Charlotte to start in Thursday's series finale against the Texas Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox optioned left-hander Sammy Peralta to Charlotte in a corresponding move. Nastrini, a former fourth-round pick in 2021 out of UCLA, will be making just his seventh big-league start in his rookie season and should be avoided as a fantasy streamer against the visiting Rangers. In his first six big-league starts in 2024, Nastrini has gone 0-5 with an 8.39 ERA, a 1.99 WHIP, 19 strikeouts and 25 walks in 24 2/3 innings pitched. The club's No. 18 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, will be making his first appearance in the majors since June 8. The 24-year-old had a 4.89 ERA and 1.63 WHIP with 54 K's and 35 walks in 49 2/3 innings at Charlotte since being sent down.


The Texas Rangers optioned right-handed pitching prospect Jack Leiter back to Triple-A Round Rock after he started the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader in Chicago against the White Sox. In his return to the big leagues, Leiter, the team's No. 4 prospect per MLB Pipeline, allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out four in four innings to pick up a no-decision. Although the 24-year-old's outing didn't stand out by any means against the worst team in baseball, it was nice to see that he didn't hand out any free passes. The Rangers are going to give Leiter more run in the rotation down the stretch, so expect him to be recalled the next time the fifth spot in the rotation comes up next week. Leiter will continue to be a shaky streaming option for fantasy managers to close out the year. He now has a 12.83 ERA and 2.40 WHIP in his four MLB starts.


San Diego Padres second baseman Xander Bogaerts is getting the day off in Thursday's series finale at Busch Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals. In his place, Jake Cronenworth will shift to second base and will bat third, while Luis Arraez makes the start at first base and hits in his customary leadoff spot versus Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray. Donovan Solano will serve as the designated hitter and bat fifth. This will be Bogaerts' first day off since July 13. The 31-year-old missed a big chunk of time this year with an injured shoulder but has been much better since his return than before going on the injured list. Since coming back on July 12, Bogaerts has hit .331 (49-for-148) with 15 RBI, but it's come with just two home runs. The veteran second baseman has only six homers in 2024 to go with eight steals. Solano makes a lot of contact (he's hitting over .300 in a bench role), but like Bogaerts, he has little power.
