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Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar continued his recent run of success on Thursday, tossing a scoreless inning to pick up the save in a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. Bednar didn't allow a baserunner and struck out one. After a horrid April that included three blown saves and a loss, Bednar has bounced back in May, going 4-for-4 in save opportunities while allowing just two runs in seven innings. Fantasy managers can rest easy with Bednar for now, as he should continue as the team's closer for the foreseeable future.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen and infielder Jared Triolo are both out of the lineup on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. McCutchen went 3-for-4 with a home run in Wednesday's loss to the Milwaukee Brewers and has been better in May so far, batting .250 (11-for-44) with two home runs and three RBI to raise his season line to .211/.317/.358 in 142 plate appearances. With McCutchen out, Bryan Reynolds will serve as the designated hitter and bat second, while Edward Olivares will serve as the cleanup hitter while starting in right field against Cubs left-hander Justin Steele. Triolo has just two hits in his last 39 plate appearances and could start losing more playing time if he doesn't pick things up offensively soon. Nick Gonzales is starting at third base and is batting fifth, while Alika Williams draws into the lineup at the keystone and will hit ninth.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have called up pitching prospect Carmen Mlodzinski from Triple-A Indianapolis. The right-hander made his debut last season out of the bullpen and registered an impressive 2.25 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 36 innings for the Bucco's. His 2024 campaign got off to a slow start as he was dealing elbow inflammation, but he has struggled with Triple-A Indianapolis in his recovery. For Indianapolis, Mlodzinski has allowed 10 runs in 14 innings. For now, managers in all formats can leave the right-hander on the waiver wire.
Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Rowdy Tellez will not be in the lineup on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers. Manager Derek Shelton said on 93.7 The Fan that Connor Joe will start at first base in place of Tellez. The manager points to Joe Ross being a reverse-split right-hander as the reason for Tellez not starting on Tuesday. Tellez has struggled as of late as he's 0-for-17 with six strikeouts in the last seven games while in the last 15 games, he's slashing .158/.214/.237 with zero home runs. Joe, meanwhile, will be getting the start at first base despite being primarily an outfielder. Whether or not Tellez will remain on the bench after Tuesday is to be seen, but he's not putting up much offense so he isn't worth a fantasy look at this time.
Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds went 5-for-5 at the plate in Monday's victory with a home run and a double. Reynolds laced a double in the third inning to score Andrew McCutchen and then hit a solo shot to pad the Pittsburgh lead in the ninth. This perfect outing brings Reynolds to a solid .256/.351/.427 slash line with five total long balls through 42 games this season. The 29-year-old is a consistent fantasy contributor, and his strong underlying metrics suggest he could be in store for another successful season. He currently has a .266 xBA and .458 xSLG, which are both above-average among qualified hitters. The former Vanderbilt Commodore should always remain in your fantasy lineup and be considered in DFS.