MLB Player News

Henry is easily the top property here, even though the 20-year-old has hit just.237/.326/.350 in the South Atlantic League. He has plenty of long-term upside, though he could also easily become another first-round bust. He’s a few years away from making an impact even if things do work out. The other prospects are less interesting. Sanchez, 18, was hitting .264/.343/.319 for the Rookie GCL Yankees. The 20-year-old Monasterios played for the same team and had a 2.97 ERA in three starts and four relief appearances.

Hicks took White Sox starter Davis Martin out to right field in the fourth inning for his second long ball of the season. He also tacked on a run-scoring single in the eighth inning. The 26-year-old backstop was responsible for three of Miami’s four runs in the one-sided affair. He’ll continue splitting time with Agustín Ramírez behind the plate and figures to see the occasional start at DH and first base while Christopher Morel (oblique) is sideline for at least the next month.

Technically, it goes down as a save since Hicks came on to record the final out of the eighth inning with the potential tying run in the on-deck circle after Sean Newcomb loaded the bases with Chicago leading 9-4 at the time. The 29-year-old is highly unlikely to be pitching in a ton of high-leverage spots this season unless the White Sox are interested in boosting his hypothetical trade value.

Martin received a touchdown and a two-point conversion worth of run support from Chicago’s suddenly sizzling offense during his season debut. He gave a couple runs back in the fourth when Liam Hicks took him deep for a two-run shot, but he had enough of a cushion that he was able to cruise to a relatively easy win. He struck out six and only handed out a pair of free passes. He’ll square off against the Blue Jays on Sunday to close out a two-start week.

The fun part is that Paddack finally made his long-awaited Marlins debut more than a decade after being selected in the 2015 MLB Draft, having been traded to the Padres in the Fernando Rodney deal one year later. He fell behind early after giving up a run-scoring single to Miguel Vargas followed by a three-run blast from Austin Hays. Things went downhill even further when he coughed up a grand slam to Vargas in the fourth inning. The 30-year-old righty continues to be burned by the long ball after serving up 31 dingers between the Twins and Tigers last year. He’ll face a tough test his next time out with a road matchup against the Yankees on Sunday.

Remember a few weeks ago when it looked like Burns might open up in the minors? His 78 pitches tonight produced 15 whiffs. He averaged 98.3 mph with his fastball and maintained his velocity throughout. The Reds likely will employ quick hooks here from time to time, but Burns should be a strong fantasy starter, even if he lags behind in the wins department. He’ll face the Rangers on Sunday.

We thought it might be Graham Ashcraft tonight with Emilio Pagán and Tony Santillan nearly certain to be unavailable after working both Saturday and Sunday. Ashcraft did factor in, getting four outs in the seventh and eighth, but Phillips was called on to finish and did so successfully despite walking two batters. The Reds should have Pagán back closing on Tuesday.

It’s Ashcraft’s first career quality start, as the Pirates declined to let him go deep in his eight starts after moving from the pen to the rotation in the second half of last year. They won’t be so restrictive this season, at least not in the first half. He might not be allowed to make 30+ starts, but for now, he offers some value in deeper mixed leagues. He’ll make his next start at home against the Orioles.

Benson has started against both right-handers the Reds have faced so far. We rather thought that’d be happening mostly at Spencer Steer’s expense, rather than Noelvi Marte’s, but as long as Benson has that strong-side platoon role, he should offer value in deeper leagues. The 27-year-old had a 15-percent barrel rate and a 54-percent hard-hit rate in his 230 plate appearances last year.

Cruz is 2-for-15 with one walk and eight strikeouts so far. Four games don’t mean much, but considering that he’s coming off a .298 OBP last year, it’s hard to understand why he’s currently batting first. Switching him and Spencer Horwitz would make a lot of sense, especially since it’d free up Cruz to do all the basestealing he wants ahead of the bottom of the order.

Dobbins will spend a couple weeks down in the minors building up his pitch count and stamina as he works his way back from last year’s surgery to repair a torn ACL in his knee. The 26-year-old hurler figures to be ready to make his Cardinals debut at some point in late April or early May, assuming there’s an open rotation spot at the highest level.