Pittsburgh Pirates DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jared Triolo (knee) said he woke up on Monday feeling "a lot better" after fouling a ball off his knee on Sunday, but he's out of the lineup against the Washington Nationals as a precaution. Triolo ended up staying in the 9-7 win over the Miami Marlins on Sunday, so his injury isn't anything serious and shouldn't land him on the injured list. With an off day coming on Tuesday, the 26-year-old could be back in action as soon as Wednesday versus the Nationals. Alika Williams will get the start at second base on Monday and is hitting ninth against Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore. In the first four games of the year, Triolo has gone 5-for-17 (.294) with two RBI, a stolen base and two runs scored in 20 plate appearances.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz is starting at shortstop and is hitting seventh in the batting order on Monday against the Washington Nationals and left-hander MacKenzie Gore. Cruz got a day off on Sunday and hasn't hit higher than sixth in the team's batting order so far in 2024, which isn't what fantasy managers want to see. In the early going, Cruz has gone 5-for-16 with a home run and two RBI. While he remains one of the most impressive young shortstops in the game, his fantasy value will be limited by a lack of RBI opportunities if he continues to hit near the bottom of Pittsburgh's batting order all year long. Now that he's back in the lineup for the start of the series against Washington, fantasy managers in single-year leagues need to get him back in their lineups.

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Jack Suwinski is on the bench to start Monday's contest against the Washington Nationals. It's been a tough start to the season for the lefty-swinging outfielder, but not from a performance standpoint but rather a playing time standpoint as the Pirates have faced a wealth of left-handed starters to begin the season and will do so again on Monday in the form of MacKenzie Gore. The 25-year-old started just two of the four games against the Marlins over the weekend, although he has still racked up 15 plate appearances thanks to pinch-hitting opportunities. He is 2-for-14 (.143) with a walk to begin the season but still offers a nice combination of power and speed coming off a 26-homer, 13-steal season in the 2023 campaign.

Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar wasn't able to hold back the Miami Marlins on Sunday, blowing the save in what turned out to be a 9-7 victory. Bednar was tasked with holding onto a one-run lead, but gave up a one-out solo homer to Nick Gordon. That was the only baserunner he allowed in his inning of work, and he also struck out a pair, so it wasn't all bad for the 29-year-old. Hunter Stratton picked up the save an inning later, but the job should still belong to Bednar, who was stellar in the role last year.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Daulton Jefferies (hip) will be re-evaluated on Monday, according to manager Bob Melvin. The right-hander is reportedly dealing with hip left discomfort, which could cause him to miss time. Jefferies was tagged for nine runs (five earned) on nine hits in his two innings of work on Sunday. Regardless of the hip injury, Jefferies could be headed to Triple-A if he doesn't clean it up. Fantasy managers can go ahead and ignore Jefferies for the moment.