MLB Player News

This is highly disappointing news. Whitson, who was selected with the No. 9 pick in June’s draft, will reportedly head to the University of Florida. The Padres are expected to receive the No. 11 pick in next year’s draft as compensation for the failed signing.

It may be a serious understatement to say Hoerner is on fire at the dish, with five multi-hit performances in his last eight games since April 7. The 28-year-old second baseman took Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo deep into the left-center field seats for his first round-tripper of the season in the fifth inning to give the Cubs a commanding 5-1 lead at the time. He also added two more hits and a stolen base, just for good measure, raising his batting average to .324 through 18 games this season.

It qualifies as a garbage time homer for Harper since the Phillies were trailing by more than a touchdown in the ninth inning of this one, but it counts all the same for fantasy purposes. It was his lone hit in four at-bats. The 33-year-old fantasy standout has gone deep four times in 18 games this season, including twice in his last five contests.

Turner’s first-inning homer was the only offense Philadelphia was able to muster against Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga for six innings to open the contest. The 32-year-old veteran shortstop is off to a bit of a slow start, hitting .260 (19-for-73) with two homers, seven RBI and one steal through 18 games.

Imanaga got plenty of support from Chicago’s offense and put together a masterclass, generating an eye-popping 26 swinging strikes to finish with a surreal 39 percent CSW on 97 pitches (67 strikes). He limited Philadelphia to just three hits and one walk with a first-inning solo shot by Trea Turner representing the lone tally against him in this one. The 32-year-old’s fastball velocity remains up nearly two miles per-hour from last year as he’s been consistently in the 92 mph range this season, which has increased the effectiveness of his entire arsenal. He’ll carry a sparkling 2.45 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 31/5 K/BB ratio across 22 innings over four starts into a rematch with the Phillies at Wrigley Field on Tuesday.

Not good. Luzardo was torched for 12 hits, his highest in a single start since last May he was clearly tipping pitches against the Brewers, including a two-run homer by speedster Nico Hoerner in the fifth inning. He finished with only four strikeouts and issued one walk. The unexpected meltdown raises Luzardo’s ERA from 6.23 to an unsightly 7.93 through four starts. The 28-year-old southpaw will attempt to turn things around in a rematch with the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Monday. At this point it’s getting challenging for fantasy managers to keep throwing him out there.

Following Mason Montgomery as an opener, Mlodzinski was stellar in a bulk role. His command was especially impressive, living on the edges and not giving the Nationals anything to hit. Against a mostly left-handed lineup, he was really able to lean on his splitter and seemed to put it exactly where he wanted every time he threw it. He’s had a great start to the season with a 1.77 ERA along with a 20:8 K:BB ratio through 20 1/3 innings as he’s increased the usage of that splitter. He’s lineup up for a two-start (or two-bulk-appearance) week against the Rangers and Brewers coming up.

In a game without much offense, O’Hearn accounted for three of the Pirates’ five total hits. The most meaningful of which was a two-out knock in the first innings just after Bryan Reynolds drew a walk. That set up Marcell Ozuna and Nick Gonzales to drive in the game’s only two runs. On the season, O’Hearn has a .333 batting average with three home runs and 13 RBI despite sitting against every left-handed pitcher the Pirates have faced thus far.

Is Santana securely back as the Pirates’ closer? He’s now received their last three save opportunities and converted two of them after it looked like Gregory Soto could’ve been zeroing in on the role. Instead, the left-handed Soto pitched the eighth inning of this game and faced lefties James Wood and Daylen Lile. Santana has the inside track at the moment, but expect Pittsburgh to still take the situation into account as to who gets the opportunities for saves.

A very strange statline for Abrams that will be great for his on-base percentage. His Nationals were shutout, but he got himself on base every time he came to the plate. It’s been a banner season for him so far with a .367 batting average and 1.175 OPS through 18 games. He’s hitting the ball harder than he ever has and our fingers are crossed that his breakout is finally here.

Irvin fought his way through five effective innings here despite not having anywhere close to his best command. Too many curveballs and sinkers found themselves in the heart of the plate and he was fortunate the Pirates didn’t do much damage against them. On the flip side, the two runs he did allow came via a two-out blooper by Marcell Ozuna followed by an infield single from Nick Gonzales. This game always finds a way to even itself out. Irving is scheduled for a two-start week against the Braves and White Sox coming up. Proceed with caution.