Philadelphia Phillies DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Baltimore Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg and outfielder Austin Hays are not in the starting lineup against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. With the two resting in Beantown, Tony Kemp is playing second base and batting ninth, while Colton Cowser starts in left field and is hitting seventh in the lineup against Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello. This will be Westburg's first game off of the season, and he could use the break, as he's started off the year hitting just .194 in his first 34 plate appearances in 2024. Hays has also started slow, going just 2-for-26 (.077) in his first eight games played. Cowser has never faced Bello in his career, while Kemp has one hit in his two at-bats against him. Cowser is the better upside sleeper play in DFS and is off to a .455 (5-for-11) start in 2024.

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman blew his second save of the season but earned his first win in Monday's 5-3 extra-innings win over the Cardinals. Hoffman came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by two. He got the first out on a strikeout, allowed a walk and a double, got the second out on an RBI sacrifice fly, allowed a game-tying RBI single, and finally got the third out on a groundout. The Phillies would go ahead in the top half of the inning and Gregory Soto closed the door in the bottom half to end the game. Despite the blown saves, Hoffman has pitched well overall with a 3.38 ERA, seven strikeouts, and three walks in 5 1/3 IP. The Phillies' back-of-the-rotation has been a mess, so their usage should be monitored to see if a preferred closer emerges.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Spencer Turnbull looked sharp once again in Monday's 5-3 extra-innings win over the Cardinals. Turnbull pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and a walk with six strikeouts. He also hit a batter. The 31-year-old has yet to allow a run in his first two starts and has 13 strikeouts and just one walk in 13 IP. Turnbull is currently rostered in 25% of leagues, but that could start to rise if he continues to pitch well. He will face a test in his next projected start against a strong Pirates lineup.

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto is getting the day off on Monday as the team takes on the St. Louis Cardinals on the road. With Realmuto starting on the bench, Garrett Stubbs will catch right-hander Spencer Turnbull and hit eighth against Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas. Stubbs will be a poor DFS play at the catching position for Monday's slate of action. The 33-year-old Realmuto was hitless on Sunday but has gone 9-for-30 (.300) with two home runs, four RBI and four runs scored in 33 plate appearances in his first eight games of the season. The three-time All-Star is typically a set-and-forget lineup option for fantasy baseball managers in single-year formats, but he needs to be removed on Monday in leagues that allow daily lineup moves.

Chicago White Sox left-hander Tanner Banks is set to serve as the team's opener on Monday against the Guardians in Cleveland for the series opener. With Mike Clevinger yet to make his 2024 debut after signing late in spring training, the White Sox are being forced to go with a bullpen game every fifth day right now. The 32-year-old Banks will get the nod as the opener on Monday but shouldn't be expected to go more than an inning or two. The former 18th-round pick in 2014 out of Utah isn't recommended as a fantasy streamer in his opening duties, even in a pretty decent matchup against Cleveland. In his two relief innings so far in 2024, Banks hasn't allowed a run while giving up one hit, walking one and striking out three batters in two appearances.