Pittsburgh Pirates DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Jalen Beeks was called upon to hold a two-run lead versus the Texas Rangers on Sunday. He was able to earn his second save in four days with a scoreless inning during Sunday's victory. It's uncertain what the Rockies are doing with the closer situation right now. It seems that Beeks is going to be in the mix alongside Justin Lawrence. Beeks holds a 2.33 ERA in 19 1/3 innings but has a 14/8 K/BB ratio to go along with it. Beeks isn't a great option, but could be worth a look for fantasy managers despite for saves.

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (back) was placed on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a back issue, per Kevin Gorman of Tribune-Review Sports. In a corresponding move, the Pirates promoted Alika Williams from Triple-A. Hayes has posted a solid .240/.322/.318 line with only one long ball and a strong 16.1% K rate. However, Hayes has been in a bit of a slump since April 28 with a .121/.189/.152. Williams has appeared in 15 games this season and put up a modest .239/.271/.348 line. Williams may occasionally see starts at the hot corner in Hayes' absence, but a majority of the starts will go to Jared Triolo, who enters Saturday with a .210 AVG.

Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales hit fifth in his season debut during Friday's loss to the division-rival Chicago Cubs, driving in two runs in the loss. In his first big-league at-bat of 2024, Gonzales hit a two-run single to plate Andrew McCutchen and Oneil Cruz to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead in the first inning before the advantage later evaporated. The 24-year-old former No. 7 overall pick was Pittsburgh's No. 5 prospect for 2023, per MLB Pipeline, and he figures to have a chance at carving out a consistent role in the Pirates' infield moving ahead. It's not like starting second baseman Jared Triolo has done much this year, so fantasy managers should get Gonzales on watch lists after the young infielder's encouraging effort on Friday. Gonzales struggled in his MLB debut in 2023, hitting .209 (24-for-115) with two homers and 13 RBI in 35 games.

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton said that left-hander Bailey Falter will start on Sunday at home against the visiting division-rival Chicago Cubs. Shelton added that the team will decide on what they will do with their starting rotation moving forward after the weekend series against Chicago. Now that top prospect Paul Skenes has entered the rotation and is set to make his major-league debut on Saturday, Falter may need to pitch well in the series finale in order to convince the coaching staff to keep him around. The 27-year-old southpaw has so far gone 2-2 with a 4.34 ERA (4.93 FIP) and 1.02 WHIP with nine walks and 26 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings over seven starts in 2024. It will likely be either Falter or Quinn Priester who get bumped from the rotation now that Skenes is here.

Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (rest) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Chicago Cubs. Fantasy managers don't need to worry, as this appears to be a routine day off for Hayes. In his absence, Jared Triolo will cover third base and bat seventh versus right-hander Javier Assad on Friday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly.