MLB Player News

Rupp is out of Saturday's lineup against the Giants, Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com reports.

He is hitting .241/.313/.414 with three home runs over his last 17 games (58 at-bats), which makes him relevant in standard leagues, given the dearth of useful options at the catching position. Andrew Knapp will start behind the dish and hit seventh.

Diaz went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and six RBI against the Mets on Friday.

A last-minute replacement for starter Francisco Cervelli (illness), Diaz smacked both a three-run double and three-run dinger. He's better known for defense, but his offense has improved over his last several seasons of minor-league play. Although he's stuck behind Cervelli and Chris Stewart on the depth chart, his stock is on the rise and he figures to see a tick up in playing time, especially with Stewart on the disabled list. Diaz remains the team's long-range catcher of the future.

Sanchez is out of Saturday's lineup against the Blue Jays, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports,

He is 7-for-23 with two home runs over his last five games, during which he has built up a five-game hitting streak. Austin Romine will get the start behind the dish and hit eighth against righty Joe Biagini.

Hedges went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Friday's 8-5 win over the Rockies.

The homer was his second in as many starts and 10th of the season in 51 games. Hedges' .216/.269/.438 slash line on the season isn't very appetizing from a fantasy perspective, but if he continues seeing the bulk of the action behind the plate, he has a shot at breaking Mike Piazza's franchise record for home runs in a season by a catcher (22).

Narvaez is not in the lineup Friday against the Tigers.

It seemed like he and Kevan Smith were locked in a platoon behind the dish, but Narvaez is sitting out against right-hander Michael Fulmer on Friday. This also marks the fourth game in a row that the 25-year-old is watching from the bench, which could signal a change in the catching pecking order on the South Side.

Mesoraco is out of Friday's lineup against the Braves.

He has essentially been splitting time evenly with Tucker Barnhart of late, and is in the midst of an 0-for-15 funk over his last five games. Barnhart will catch Bronson Arroyo and hit eighth.

Contreras is not in the Cubs' lineup Friday against the Cardinals.

He'll give way to Miguel Montero with John Lackey on the mound. Contreras is inhabiting more of a timeshare with Montero than many fantasy owners thought would happen before the season. Contreras still has posted serviceable numbers for a catcher (.248/.321/.426 with five home runs and 24 RBI in 159 plate appearances), but he's falling short of lofty expectations.

Vazquez went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run during Thursday's loss to Baltimore.

The backstop is in the midst of a mini heater with a 12-for-28 stretch at the dish that includes four doubles, six RBI and four runs through his past eight games. Vazquez sports a rock-solid .348/.378/.467 slash line for the campaign and has settled into a near 50-50 timeshare with Sandy Leon behind the plate. Still, Vazquez has failed to deliver much punch in the counting stats with just 11 RBI and eight runs over 98 plate appearances.

Higashioka is on the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre disabled list with a rib-cage injury, the New York Post reports.

Higashioka hasn't played in a game for the Triple-A squad since May 14, so it's unclear how much longer he'll be sidelined for. The 27-year-old got his first taste of the majors earlier this year when starter Gary Sanchez hit the DL, but went hitless in 18 at-bats while striking out six times. It's possible he gets another promotion at some point this season, but even if he does, it's unlikely Higashioka will make much of an impact in the big leagues in 2017.

Sanchez homered twice and finished 2-for-5 with three RBI during New York's 9-2 win over Toronto on Thursday.

After an up-and-down month of May it seems as though Sanchez is ready to take June by storm, at least if Thursday is any indication. As the starting catcher for the Yankees, Sanchez will see plenty of opportunity to boast gaudy numbers, as he did last year.