Welcome to the TheFantasyFix.com’s nightly fantasy baseball recap, where you’ll find updates on bullpen usage, lineup construction, injuries, and transactions. No matter the format, we have everything you need to know to help you win your league.

Thursday afternoon kicked off with an interdivision matchup between the Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers. Minnesota is off to a strong start and seems to be reliving their glory-years of the mid-2000s, a time in which they made 6 postseason berths in 8 years. Despite Thursday’s loss to the Tigers, the Twins find themselves just 2.5 games back of the first place Kansas City Royals, and have enjoyed a resurgent season out of outfielder Torii Hunter. Hunter hit a career high of 31 home runs in his contract year for the Twins in 2006 before moving on to the Angels, and already has 6 longballs in his first 31 games since returning to the team that drafted him (including one yesterday against another former team of his). Hunter got a well deserved day-off for Thursday’s blowout loss to the Tigers, and if the Twins hope to get continued production out of the veteran, they will have to keep giving him rest here and there. What the Twins really need, is for first baseman Joe Mauer to turn it around. Mauer is a former MVP and 3-time batting champion, but has had diminished power since making the move out from behind the plate. We’ve expected the Tigers and Royals to be the top teams in their division, but Mauer is going to have to perform like the true 3-hitter he is if Minnesota hopes to keep pace; otherwise, Thursday’s 13-1 loss could just be a precursor of things to come. Mauer is slugging just .374 on the year and has an OPS of .714, well under league average.

IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING…

After collecting 104 career wins, back to back NL Cy Young Awards, and 3 World Series rings, a regular season victory over the Cincinnati Reds has been just about the only thing to allude veteran right hander Tim Lincecum in his career with the Giants. Lincicum slipped off the rubber multiple times Thursday and his fastball was only topping out at around 87-88 MPH; however, he entered the 5th inning nursing a 2-1 lead and looked to be in line for the win. Lincicum ended up blowing that 1-run lead, and did not make it out of the inning. It’s obvious that Lincucum is not the same pitcher as he was in his Cy Young seasons back in 2008 and 2009, but still has decent enough stuff to provide value in fantasy leagues with his strikeout numbers, mowing down 4 in 4 innings today while completely out of rhythm. He has bounced back and forth between the bullpen and rotation for San Francisco in recent memory but could be a good buy-low type of pitcher if he can limit his walks (he had 5 in just 4 ⅔ innings today). Contrary to Lincicum, Johnny Cueto gave up a first inning run and balked in another in the third, but settled in nicely and shut down the Giants for the rest of his time on the mound. Cueto has been an elite pitcher in the National League since 2011 with an ERA 2.52 in that time, never going higher than 2.82. He struck out 9 Giants today, bringing his total to 56 on the year. Cueto led the NL in strikeouts last season with 242, and leads the NL in innings pitched this season. The Reds won today’s game, though neither starter factored into the decision.

JUST AS WE EXPECTED…

The Toronto Blue Jays pack a lot of “thump” in their lineup, and some of that power was on display today. To go along with the addition of third baseman Josh Donaldson and the emergence of second baseman Devon Travis, the Blue Jays seem to be close to having Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista right at the same time. Both players have had their share of injuries, especially Bautista who has missed some time this year; however, both players were in the lineup for manager John Gibbons tonight; both players also happened to go deep. Encarnacion may be hitting under .240 on the year, but has averaged a stellar OPS of .916 over the past 3 seasons with 112 total home runs. Bautista has been one of the American League’s top power bats since coming to the Jays in 2008 and lead the league in homers in back to back years, topping the 50 mark in 2011 with 53 bombs. Bautista is also hitting for a low average thus far this season, but has cut down on his strikeouts drastically with an improved approach at the plate. Every long ball from here on out is a step in the right direction for fantasy owners, as it is only a matter of time before Joey Bats really finds his stroke.

WHAT WE DIDN’T EXPECT…

The Chicago Cubs completed their 4-game sweep of the New York Mets today with a come-from-behind win thanks to a 4-run 5th inning, and a past ball from Mets backup catcher Anthony Recker in the 7th (Recker’s 2 solo home runs got New York out in front in the first place). Both clubs are off to good starts and are latent with young talent; the Mets with their slew of pitchers and the Cubs with a core of talented position players. Though the Mets and Cubs are still believed to be a couple years away, the quality of games played in this series has to be a positive sign for both organizations, especially for the Cubs. Chicago rookie Kris Bryant collected six hits in the series including a loud home run in the opener off of reigning NL Rookie of the Year, Jacob deGrom. The Mets gave the Cubs quite a bit of extra outs with throwing errors from shortstop Wilmer Flores, and mental errors from third baseman Daniel Murphy over the course of the series, and were ultimately burned by the deep Cubbie lineup.

SAVE CHANCES

–Trevor Rosenthal (12)

–Jonathan Papelbon (8)

–Greg Holland (7)

–Hector Rendon (8)

–Matt Andriese (2)

–Aroldis Chapman (7)

INJURIES

Brewers’ shortstop Jean Segura was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a fractured pinky finger he injured while making a diving play against the Chicago Cubs. Segura ranged far to his left to take away a sure-hit up the middle from Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo on May 3rd, but could not shake off the pain in the ensuing week. Segura has been the starting shortstop in Milwaukee for 3 seasons now, and was performing at a top-ten level for the position while posting a slash line eerily similar to his career averages. His speed gives him quite a bit of value in fantasy leagues in terms of stolen bases. Segura peaked for 44 steals in his all-star season of 2013 and was 6 for 7 in his attempts to swipe this year. Segura played in 8 games following his injury which could be a good sign for fantasy owners without a shortstop. As long as the finger doesn’t hinder his ability to get on base upon his return, Segura is worth holding on to for the next couple weeks while he gets healthy. The best course of action moving forward for fantasy owners would be to pick up the most offensive-minded shortstop available and wait patiently for Segura’s return.

RUMORS & TRANSACTIONS

The Colorado Rockies have seemingly been in a position to trade the face of their franchise, Troy Tulowitzki, for roughly 4 years now. The team has failed to make a playoff appearance since 2009 and have only finished with a winning record in one season since then. Tulo has had problems staying healthy during his career, only topping the 140 game mark in 3 seasons of his illustrious 10 year career; however, Colorado’s reluctance to trade the all-star shortstop warranted considering Tulowitzki has a career slashline of .299/.372/.516 while playing gold glove caliber defense at a premium position. There is no doubt that when Troy Tulowitzki is at full strength that he is one of the top players in the game, but having him in the middle of the lineup day in and day out simply may not be enough for Colorado. The Rockies currently have the worst record in baseball and have shown no signs of being able to turn it around with their very spotty pitching. Tulowitzki’s agent has made it known that a trade request is a strong possibility for his 30 year-old client and there are plenty of suitors willing to take on the contract and injury risk to have arguably one of the best all-around players in baseball. The Mets, Pirates, Padres, and Mariners all make sense with each team’s abundance of pitching and need of a shortstop; but organizations such as the Cardinals and Angels could be in the mix as well (the Cards expressed interest in past offseasons and could plausibly play Jhonny Peralta in the outfield). Unlike fellow teammate and possible trade chip, Carlos Gonzalez, Tulo’s road numbers are comparable to his offensive output at home, and getting out of that high altitude could be a positive for his health as well.