

Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe and outfielder Aaron Hicks will both start on the bench for Thursday's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays. It's not surprise that O'Hoppe is out for the day game following a night game. Matt Thaiss is doing the catching and batting fifth, while Mickey Moniak is in right field and batting sixth against Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot. Neither Thaiss nor Moniak have faced Pepiot in their careers. O'Hoppe has been very hot to start the year, going 18-for-53 (.340) with two home runs and seven RBI in his first 16 games, while Hicks has been the opposite, going 7-for-44 (.159) with a homer and four RBI in his first 13 games with the Halos. Hicks has started just one of the team's last four games and is losing fantasy value quickly in AL-only leagues.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena is not in the team's starting lineup on Thursday for the series finale against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. With Arozarena starting on the bench, Harold Ramirez will start in left field for the Rays and will hit cleanup against Angels right-hander Griffin Canning. Arozarena could use a day off, as he's hitting just .174 (12-for-69) with two homers, six RBI, four steals and 19 strikeouts in his first 18 games, and he's currently in a 2-for-23 slump. Hopefully, the day off helps the 29-year-old get right heading into this weekend. Ramirez has gone 18-for-71 (.254) in the early going with a homer, eight RBI and a stolen base. He has never faced Canning in his career but could be a nice producer at a low cost in DFS on Thursday out of the cleanup spot for Tampa.


Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers will undergo an MRI on his left knee after he felt discomfort. Devers was pulled from the game on Tuesday but gave it a go as designated hitter on Wednesday. Manager Alex Cora states that the MRI is precautionary in nature to make sure the knee is structurally sound. Devers is not in the lineup Thursday, so we'll await to see the results of the MRI to get a better understanding of the injury and whether or not he'll be able to play this weekend. The 2x All-Star is off to a slow start at the plate, hitting just .188 with two home runs, five RBI, and five runs scored through 13 games. On the bright side he's got a 9:10 BB:K, with three of those strikeouts coming on Wednesday alone.


New York Yankees closer Clay Holmes notched his seventh save of the season in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Blue Jays, tying him for the league lead in all of baseball. Holmes allowed one hit but did not allow a run, a feat he's managed in all of his appearances so far this season, resulting in a perfect 0.00 ERA. The 31-year-old also has a 1.11 WHIP, although he isn't striking out many batters at just 15.4%. As long as he's locking down saves though, fantasy managers won't mind. After two straight 20+ save campaigns with New York, Holmes appears well on his way to 20+ again and is a top option at closer.


Tampa Bay Rays closer Pete Fairbanks blew the save in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Angels. Fairbanks came on in the ninth with a 4-3 lead and recorded an out to the first batter he faced, then the wheels came off. The 30-year-old proceeded to allow three singles and two walks (one was an IBB to Mike Trout) which resulted in two runs coming across the plate and a blown save. It was only his first blown save of the season, but he's been up and down so far to start the year. Over eight appearances (seven IP) the righty has allowed seven earned runs on eight hits with a BB:K of 8:10. Fairbanks does have three saves to his name thus far and his job doesn't seem to be in jeopardy, but a couple more outings like this and fantasy managers might consider picking up Jason Adam as insurance.
