Pittsburgh Pirates DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Miami Marlins outfielder Bryan De La Cruz put together a three-hit night in Monday's 6-4 loss to the Mets. De La Cruz went 3-for-5 with two singles, a solo home run, and a stolen base. The 27-year-old turned on a seventh-inning Jose Butto offering, depositing it into the left-field bullpen for his 17th HR of the season. De La Cruz is now slashing .242/.287/.411 with 42 runs scored, 45 RBI, and three stolen bases in 426 plate appearances. He started the season on a promising note but has failed to hit for a good average starting in May onwards. Outfield is not as strong of a fantasy position as it has been in previous seasons, but fantasy managers should still have chances to find higher-upside options at this time.

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie right-hander Jared Jones (lat) threw on flat ground out to roughly 90 to 120 feet before Monday's series opener against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. Jones is being brought along slowly from a Grade 2 right-lat strain after being sidelined the last two-plus weeks. Even though the Pirates are making things interesting in the National League wild-card race early in the second half of the season, the Bucs aren't going to push the 22-year-old back into the starting rotation and ignore his long-term development. Jones is making progress, but fantasy managers probably shouldn't expect him to return to the big leagues until at least mid-August. The former second-rounder in 2020 has been overshadowed by Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh, but he was very solid in the first half in his first 16 MLB starts, posting a 3.56 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with a 26.4% strikeout rate.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz had a big game at the dish in Friday night's walk-off win over the crosstown-rival Philadelphia Phillies, collecting three hits and three RBI in the victory. Cruz lined two run-scoring doubles and an RBI single on Friday against the Phillies, but it was a fielder's choice to send Michael A. Taylor home and tie the game at 7-7 in the ninth inning that set up Nick Gonzales' game-ending knock off Phillies closer Jose Alvarado in the following at-bat. The 25-year-old former top prospect is enjoying a productive month of July, hitting .356 (16-for-45) with three home runs, four two-baggers, 13 RBI, and one stolen base across his latest 12 contests since June 30.

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales hit a walk-off single and collected two RBI in Friday night's 8-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Gonzales collected his first RBI on a sacrifice groundout in the first inning to net the Pirates' first run. His single off of Phillies closer Jose Alvarado collected the final run. Gonzales has hit for a league average 101 OPS+ this season, providing decent value for fantasy managers. With a .307 wOBA and a .312 xwOBA on the season, Gonzales may see some slight positive regression coming his way. Fantasy managers may not need to rush to add the 25-year-old to their roster, but there are worse options you can find. Gonzales will look to continue making impactful hits on Saturday against Phillies scheduled starter Cristopher Sanchez.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Bailey Falter (triceps) threw live batting practice on Thursday, according to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pirates skipper Derek Shelton expressed that Falter "looked healthy" and that "the club will talk about his next step in the next day or two." Falter hit the 15-day injured list on July 7 after being pulled from his start a day prior due to left triceps tendinitis. Before the injury, the 27-year-old posted a modest 4.08 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and a 61:28 BB:K ratio across 90 innings. Falter could be worth a look as a streaming option in deeper leagues once he returns.