MAY 31•AZCENTRAL.COM
Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles odds, picks and predictionsThe Tampa Bay Rays (28-29) and Baltimore Orioles (35-19) open a 3-game series Friday. First pitch from Oriole Park at Camden Yards is schedu...
MLB extends leave for Rays SS Wander FrancoMajor League Baseball and the MLB Players Association agreed to extend Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco’s administrative leave until t...
MAY 31•NEWSOBSERVER.COM
Wander Franco's administrative leave extended through July 14 by MLB, players' association
Wander Franco’s administrative leave was extended through July 14 by Major League Baseball and the players’ associationMAY 31•ASSOCIATED PRESS
José Caballero - Logs 20th stealCaballero went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, two runs scored and a stolen base Thursday against the Athletics.
ImpactThis line is indicative of Caballero's skillset, as he's striking out at a 29.3 percent clip and has just a .306 on-base percentage. However, he has already racked up 20 stolen bases, only the second player to hit that mark at this point in the campaign. Caballero's playing time could be in danger upon the return of Taylor Walls (hip), but for now, he fills a key role for both the Rays and fantasy managers.
MAY 31•ROTOWIRE
Isaac Paredes - Smacks 10th homerParedes went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk Thursday against the Athletics.
ImpactParedes tallied his 10th homer of the season and third of May. The performance wraps up a productive month, as he's hitting .301 with 15 RBI and 10 runs scored across 24 contests. Paredes remains locked into either the third or fourth spot in the Rays' order, so even if his power isn't consistent, he should have plenty of potential to rack up counting stats.
MAY 31•ROTOWIRE
Tyler Ferguson - Tough-luck loser ThursdayFerguson (0-1) was charged with the loss against the Rays in extra innings Thursday, allowing an unearned run across 1.1 hitless innings. He struck out one.
ImpactFerguson entered the game in the 11th with the score knotted at 5-5 and retired the side in order before returning for the 12th and inducing an inning-opening groundout from Ben Rortvedt. The roller moved phantom runner Jose Caballero to third base, and T.J. McFarland subsequently allowed him to cross the plate on Richie Palacios' walk-off single, saddling Ferguson with the loss. The right-hander did at least bounce back from his rocky outing Wednesday, one that had seen him allow a run on three hits over two-thirds of an inning. Ferguson is likely to continue seeing work primarily in lower-leverage scenarios and holds a 4.50 ERA and 1.40 WHIP over his nine appearances this season.
MAY 31•ROTOWIRE
Zack Gelof - Records fifth steal in lossGelof went 1-for-5 with a stolen base in an extra-innings loss to the Rays on Thursday.
ImpactGelof snapped an 0-for-18 slump that had encompassed his previous five games with his single, while his steal was his fifth of the season but first since April 21. Last season's encouraging rookie campaign is increasingly in the rearview mirror for Gelof, who's now sitting on a .176 average and .512 OPS across 162 plate appearances. A significant season-over-season increase in strikeout rate (27.3 percent to 34.6 percent) is partly to blame for the struggles, as are a number of correlated batted-ball metrics that include a notable decrease in line-drive rate (25.5 percent to 16.5 percent) and corresponding drop in BABIP (.331 to .258).
MAY 31•ROTOWIRE
