Pittsburgh Pirates DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said that outfielder Bryan Reynolds (back), who was scratched from Wednesday's series finale against the visiting division-rival St. Louis Cardinals, is fine. Reynolds was moving around like he normally would by the end of Wednesday's game. His back "locked up on him" while he was getting out of his car on Wednesday morning and said there was simply not enough time to get warmed up because of the fact it was an afternoon game. Reynolds will travel with the team to Arizona for the start of a series on Friday against the Diamondbacks, but that doesn't mean the All-Star will be back in the starting lineup. The 29-year-old should be considered day-to-day for now. When he returns to the Bucs' lineup, Reynolds needs to be returned to all fantasy lineups.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds (back) was scratched from Wednesday's lineup against the visiting division-rival St. Louis Cardinals due to back spasms. Reynolds is currently being examined and treated by the team's medical staff and he's considered day-to-day. Fantasy managers obviously need to remove him from their starting lineups for Wednesday's slate. Joshua Palacios will get the start in left field in his place and will bat sixth in the order against Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore. This is the first time all year that the 29-year-old Reynolds will miss a game. The good news is the left-handed-hitting All-Star will have a scheduled day off on Thursday before Pittsburgh starts a weekend series in Arizona against the Diamondbacks, so perhaps Reynolds back will be feeling better by then.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes turned in another gem but came away with a loss in Tuesday's 2-1 defeat to the Cardinals. Skenes pitched 8 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits (including a solo home run) and no walks with eight strikeouts. The 22-year-old All-Star rookie has been a fantasy sensation this season, going 6-1 with a 1.93 ERA, an 11.69 K/9 rate, and a 1.57 BB/9 rate in 12 starts (10 quality starts) and 74 2/3 IP. He hasn't accumulated as many starts as other pitchers but has been one of fantasy's best on a start-per-start basis. He will look to continue his elite production in his next start, which will be a decent matchup at the Astros.

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes and catcher Joey Bart will start on the bench for Tuesday's contest against the visiting division-rival St. Louis Cardinals. Jared Triolo will make the start at the hot corner and bat seventh, with Yasmani Grandal doing the catching and hitting ninth against Cardinals right-hander Lance Lynn. Hayes just hasn't lived up to his first-round pedigree and is currently sporting career-lows in average (.241) and OPS (.596) with only three homers, 21 RBI and eight stolen bases in 75 games played in his fifth big-league season. The good news is that he's seeing the ball better in July, batting .273 (18-for-66) with a double, two RBI and two stolen bases in 17 games. Grandal is batting .286 in his career against Lynn with a solo homer in seven at-bats, but he has little DFS upside in the nine-hole.

Pittsburgh Pirates hurler Jared Jones (lat) threw from flat ground during a bullpen session at PNC Park on Tuesday as he bids to return from the injured list. He was able to throw roughly 90-120 feet. Jones was placed on the injured list on July 4 after 16 starts in which he went (5-6) with a 3.56 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over 91 innings. He has struck out 98 batters while walking 27. Once Jones returns, he will form an imposing top of the rotation that includes All-Star Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller, so fantasy managers should continue patiently waiting for him.