
New York Yankees reliever Devin Williams allowed three runs on two hits in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. He did not record an out and was tagged with his second loss of the season. The 30-year-old entered Friday's game in the ninth inning to protect a one-run lead. Williams was shaky right off the bat, allowing a leadoff single to George Springer, hitting Andres Gimenez with a pitch, and allowing a two-run double to Alejandro Kirk. He surrendered an RBI single to Addison Barger before being removed from the game. Williams was charged with his first blown save of the season and owns an 11.25 ERA, 2.38 WHIP, and eight strikeouts over eight innings. After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked if Williams would remain the closer. "We'll see," Boone said when asked if Williams would benefit from moving to lower leverage situations. "We'll kind of talk through this stuff. This is raw right now. We want to do everything we can to get him right because we know how good he is and how valuable he is going to be from us." Williams has struggled and could benefit from temporarily being removed from the closer role until he gets things right. Luke Weaver would be the biggest beneficiary and handle ninth-inning duties until the Yankees are ready to return to Williams. Fantasy managers searching for saves should add Weaver in all league formats.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz silenced San Diego's bats on Friday, tossing seven shutout innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out six in a tight 1-0 win over the Padres. Baz has had just one hiccup so far this season, which came in his last start against the Yankees, where he allowed five earned runs, but the other four appearances have been quality starts. The righty is now 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA (3.19 xFIP), 0.99 WHIP, and a phenomenal 23.7 percent K-BB% over 29 1/3 IP. The former first-round draft pick's next start will come at home against Kansas City next week, a team that doesn't strike out much but has produced the second-fewest runs per game so far this season.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Trevor Larnach went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run, four RBI, and a run scored in Friday's 11-4 win over the Angels. It was the left-handed hitter's fourth home run of the season, all of which have come in the last seven games after going homer-less in his first 18 contests. The former first-round draft pick is coming off a 15-home run campaign in 2024 after playing a career-high 112 games, and if he can stay in the lineup a bit more in 2025, he's on track to set a new career high in home runs. Through 25 games, the 6-foot-3 slugger is slashing .224/.330/.388 with 13 RBI, 14 runs scored, and a stolen base with a .320 wOBA and 110 wRC+. Unfortunately, Larnach is a career .195 hitter versus left-handed pitching, so he will typically sit against them and can be a frustrating season-long fantasy asset, however, continue to pencil him into DFS lineups against righties while he's hot.


Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes dominated the Dodgers on Friday, throwing six-and-a-third innings of scoreless ball, scattering five hits while walking none and striking out nine on his way to earning the win in the 3-0 victory. That makes three consecutive quality starts for the righty and four quality starts out of six, now with a 3-2 record to go along with a 2.39 ERA (1.70 FIP), 0.80 WHIP, and a pristine 24.6 percent K-BB%. The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year's next start lines up with the Cubs at home next week, which should be a tough test as Chicago is averaging the highest runs per game in all of baseball to start the year, with the fourth-highest team batting average against right-handed pitching.

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Spencer Steer went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and two runs scored in Friday's 8-7 win over the Rockies. Steer was back at first base for the fourth straight game after opening the season exclusively as a DH, and has gone 5-for-17 (.294) over that time. Perhaps more importantly, he's struck out just once in his last 20 plate appearances (5.0 percent) after striking out 18 times in his first 59 PA (30.5 percent). After back-to-back 20-home run campaigns, hopefully Friday's home run gets the right-handed hitter going. The Reds get another shot at the Rockies in Colorado on Saturday against Antonio Senzatela, and although Steer has no matchup history with the pitcher, the righty sports a 4.81 ERA and 1.93 WHIP, making all of Cincinnati's hitters viable DFS options.
