Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong is not in the team's starting lineup for Wednesday's series finale at Coors Field against the hosting Colorado Rockies. With Wong on the bench, Reese McGuire will do the catching for right-hander Nick Pivetta and will bat seventh against Rockies right-hander Cal Quantrill. The 28-year-old Wong will get a breather after starting the previous four games and after going 0-for-5 with a strikeout in Tuesday night's 6-0 shutout win over Colorado. Wong has come down to Earth offensively since his absurd start to the 2024 season, but he's still hitting an impressive .297 (78-for-263) with nine home runs, 33 RBI, five stolen bases and 32 runs scored as Boston's starting backstop. DFS managers can find better sleeper options at catcher than McGuire, who is hitting only .215 (29-for-135) on the year with three homers and 18 RBI.
The Boston Red Sox announced on Thursday that they have reinstated catcher Connor Wong from the paternity list and optioned catcher Tyler Heineman to the minors in a corresponding move. The team also sent right-hander Isaiah Campbell to Triple-A Worcester. The Red Sox have an off day on Thursday before opening a series on Friday at Fenway Park against the visiting San Diego Padres. Wong will be back in there then as the team's starting catcher. Although the underlying metrics show that the 28-year-old backstop is due for some regression in the second half of the season, you can't argue against his breakout season to this point with a triple-slash line of .330/.390/.480 with seven home runs, 29 RBI and 26 runs scored in 200 at-bats. Get him back into your lineups for Friday's action.
The Boston Red Sox placed catcher Connor Wong on the paternity list on Monday and recalled catcher Tyler Heineman from Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding move. Wong will now miss up to the next three days while tending to a personal matter. Reese McGuire will handle the catching duties for Boston on Monday and will bat eighth against Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt. Heineman will back up McGuire while Wong is away from the club this week. Fantasy managers should expect the 28-year-old Wong to next suit up on Friday against the San Diego Padres. While he's certainly due regression in the second half of the year, Wong is as hot as can be right now and currently is riding a 13-game hitting streak that has seen him go 17-for-48 (.354) with two homers and 10 RBI since June 6. He's hitting .330/.390/.480 with an .870 OPS, seven homers and 29 RBI in a breakout season.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong and outfielder Rob Refsnyder are both out of the starting lineup on Saturday versus the visiting Detroit Tigers. Reese McGuire will do the catching for Boston and will bat seventh, while Enmanuel Valdez will serve as the designated hitter and bat fifth against Tigers right-hander Reese Olson. Wong has been a revelation for fantasy managers this year with a .329/.371/.473 slash line with an .844 OPS, five homers and 19 RBI, but his xBA of just .259 signals that regression is likely coming for the backstop. Still, fantasy managers need to keep riding him while he's hot. Refsnyder has also swung a hot bat so far in 2024, going 29-for-87 (333), and the 33-year-old should continue to play regularly with Tyler O'Neill (knee) and Masataka Yoshida (thumb) both on the injured list. O'Neill could be returning next week, though.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong is out of the starting lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. This appears to be a routine rest day for Wong. The Red Sox will play matchups and have Reese McGuire behind the plate versus a right-handed starter. McGuire will bat seventh versus righty Zack Littell on Tuesday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups before first pitch.
Connor Wong, Tyler O'Neill Not Playing Against Rays
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong and outfielder Tyler O'Neill will not be in the team's starting lineup on Thursday against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. Reese McGuire will catch Cooper Criswell and will bat seventh, while Rob Refsnyder will start in left field and hit in the No. 3 spot against Rays right-hander Zack Littell. Wong is hitting a remarkable .340/.370/.530 with five home runs and 15 RBI in his first 100 at-bats in 2024, but with an xBA of .340, he leads all of baseball with the biggest different in actual average and xBA, so fantasy managers should expect some eventual regression in that department. He also has an wOBA of .391 and an xwOBA of .309. O'Neill could use a day off after striking out seven total times in the last two games to drop his season line to .256/.371/.554 with a .924 OPS, 10 home runs and 16 RBI in 121 at-bats.
Boston Red Sox backstop Connor Wong is not in Saturday's lineup after starting the previous two games. Reese McGuire will serve as the backstop for starting pitcher Cooper Criswell. Wong has had a great start to the young season with a .360/.385/.581 line with five long balls through 25 games. Wong should be expected to return behind the dish on Sunday. McGuire enters Saturday with a solid .270/.361/.381 line with three swiped bags and two home runs. McGuire will be batting in the seven-hole against Jake Irvin and could be a sneaky play in DFS, who enters Saturday's game with a 3.72 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong continued his hot start to the season in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the visiting San Francisco Giants, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two doubles. Wong most notably doubled in a run on a sharp line drive that brought around Wilyer Abreu for an insurance score in the seventh inning. The 27-year-old backstop is tearing the cover off the ball to begin the campaign, batting .366 (26-for-71) with five home runs, three doubles, 14 RBI, and nine runs scored in 21 games as Boston's primary catcher. Wong is worth a look for fantasy managers in two-catcher leagues while he's rolling ahead of a three-game series with the Minnesota Twins starting on Friday, but the wheels will likely come off a bit at some point. In six games versus the Twins last season, Wong hit .250 (5-for-20) with three RBI, and three runs scored.
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong, who went 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Wednesday's win over the Cleveland Guardians, is taking a seat for the series finale against Cleveland on Thursday in a matinee contest. With Wong out for this one, Reese McGuire will catch right-hander Chase Anderson and will hit eighth against Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie. In three career at-bats against McKenzie, McGuire has gone hitless. The 27-year-old Wong has been a popular waiver-wire pickup in fantasy leagues at the catcher position early in the 2024 season after his scorching-hot start at the plate. After Wednesday's huge performance, he's now hitting .370 (20-for-54) with five long balls, 11 RBI and seven runs scored in his first 16 games played. The hot start has pushed him past McGuire on Boston's catching depth chart.
Connor Wong Rips Two Home Runs, Gets On Base Five Times
Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong went 4-for-4 with two home runs in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Guardians. Wong also was hit by a pitch in the game, making it a perfect 5-for-5 at getting on base. In addition to the two home runs, Wong also had a pair of singles, drove in three runs, and scored twice. Wong's batting average is now up to .370 on the season, with five home runs (all in his last 10 games), 11 RBI, and seven runs scored. The backstop doesn't draw many walks, however, with just one walk compared to 15 strikeouts so far this season. Regardless, he ranks as the seventh-highest scoring catcher in Yahoo leagues as of now, so is certainly a useful fantasy asset, although the 27-year-old has been splitting time with Reese McGuire to start the year. McGuire is getting the start in Thursday's day game against the Guardians.
