Adley Rutschman DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (head) is back in the starting lineup for Wednesday's contest against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Miles Mikolas, serving as the designated hitter and batting out of the two-hole. Rutschman took a foul tip off his mask on Sunday and was removed as a precaution before sitting out the first two games of the series against St. Louis on Monday and Tuesday. Maverick Handley will make another start behind the dish on Wednesday and hit eighth. Rutschman will look to get going at the plate in his return after starting the year with just a .211/.310/.349 slash line in his 175 at-bats. He's been even worse in May, going 15-for-76 (.197) with a homer, five doubles, a triple, six RBI, eight runs scored, eight walks and 14 strikeouts in 22 games played. Rutschman has never faced Mikolas in his career.

Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (head) is being held out again for Tuesday's contest versus the visiting St. Louis Cardinals at Camden Yards. Chadwick Tromp will catch right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano and will hit ninth against Cardinals right-hander Andre Pallante. Rutschman will miss his second straight game on Tuesday after taking a foul tip off his mask on Sunday and being pulled for precautionary reasons. It's unclear if the 27-year-old backstop is in the league's concussion protocol, but interim manager Tony Mansolino said he is scheduled to take batting practice on Tuesday, so it's possible he could be back in the starting lineup as soon as Wednesday. Consider Rutschman to be day-to-day for now. Tromp will be making his debut with the O's on Tuesday after going 0-for-5 at the plate with the Braves earlier this year. Avoid him as a sleeper in DFS.

Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (head) is not in the team's starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals at Camden Yards. Maverick Handley is catching right-hander Charlie Morton and is batting ninth against Cardinals right-hander Erick Fedde. Rutschman took a foul tip off his mask on Sunday and was removed for precautionary reasons. The 27-year-old backstop will also sit out to begin the week, and it's unclear if he's in the league's concussion protocol. Even though the O's said Rutschman's exit was precautionary, there's a chance he'll need to go on the seven-day concussion injured list if he doesn't improve in the next couple of days. This will be Handley's 10th major-league game on Monday, and he has just one hit in his first 26 big-league plate appearances with two RBI, one walk and 10 strikeouts.