Pittsburgh Pirates DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds went deep but it wasn't enough in a 10-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. Reynolds went 1-for-3 with a solo homer in the eighth inning, a shot that traveled 439 feet and had an exit velocity of 107.3 MPH. The veteran has been swinging a hot bat lately, hitting .370 with three homers and five RBI over his past seven games. Overall, it is shaping up as another strong campaign for Reynolds, who is batting .272 with 11 homers, 31 runs, 41 RBI, and five steals across 302 at-bats. He should be locked into fantasy lineups moving forward.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen plans on playing beyond the 2024 season. "In my mind, this isn't my last year," McCutchen said. "As long as my body holds up and I'm not embarrassing myself out there, I wanna keep going." It was uncertain if he'd even return to Pittsburgh after last season when the 37-year-old veteran had season-ending surgery on his Achilles. But McCutchen has been healthy this year and has bounced back, as he currently leads the team in home runs with 10. His chase rate (97th percentile) remains elite, and he's also in the 78th percentile in walk rate. His expected slugging percentage is in the 90th percentile. Since moving to the leadoff spot in April, McCutchen has a .279 average in 41 games, with only former batting champion Luis Arraez (.340) being better in the National League. He ranks fourth in baseball among leadoff men with an .837 OPS.

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski will serve as the opener for Friday's series opener against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. This will be Mlodzinski's third time serving as the team's opener on the year. In his two "starts" in 2024, he's gone 2 2/3 innings while allowing no runs against the Minnesota Twins and Colorado Rockies, with his last start coming on June 14. The 25-year-old won't be a streaming option in fantasy, though, and will most likely be relieved in a bulk role by Luis Ortiz. In his second year in the big leagues for the Pirates, Mlodzinski has gone 1-2 with a 4.42 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with only 17 strikeouts and nine walks in his 18 1/3 innings pitched in 13 appearances. Fantasy managers can continue to ignore him.

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis (concussion) was removed from Friday night's game against the hosting Colorado Rockies due to concussion-like symptoms. Davis is currently being examined by Pittsburgh's medical staff, and veteran Yasmani Grandal replaced him behind the plate after Davis went 0-for-2 on Friday. The 24-year-old former No. 1 overall just hasn't been able to put it together this season and is watching his stock swiftly decline, slashing a frigid .153/.267/.235 with one home run and five RBI through 102 plate appearances for the Pirates. Consider him day-to-day until more is known ahead of Saturday's clash with Colorado. Grandal would get all the action he could handle as the backstop for any time Davis needs to miss, but the switch-hitter has gone just 14-for-85 (.165) in 27 outings and wouldn't be a viable option in two-catcher leagues.

Boston Red Sox second baseman prospect Nick Yorke was promoted to Triple-A Worcester last week and on Sunday he hit his second home run at that level. Since his promotion, the 22-year-old is 7-for-19 (.368) with a double, two home runs, six RBI, five runs scored, a stolen base, and a 4:3 BB:K. He is certainly giving the Red Sox something to think about, as Emmanuel Valdez and Jamie Westbrook aren't hitting, and while Vaughn Grissom will eventually come back from his hamstring injury, he wasn't hitting before that either. Perhaps Yorke will give the offense a boost, as the former first-round draft pick offers both power and speed, hitting 13 home runs last season at Double-A and stealing 18 bases over 110 games.