MLB Player News

Masterson entered September with a 2.83 ERA but has watched that mark rise to 3.21 over his last five starts, so he might be wearing down. Despite the struggles at the end of the season, Masterson has had a terrific year, boasting a 1.28 WHIP and 158/65 K/BB ratio over 216 innings to go along with that 3.21 ERA. He’ll enter the 2012 season as the co-No. 1 starter alongside Ubaldo Jimenez.

It’s an absolute bombshell development after Snelling made his highly-anticipated major-league debut last Friday against the Nationals, allowing three runs over five innings. The 22-year-old top pitching prospect was slated to start Thursday’s series finale against the Twins. There’s no word yet regarding how much time the 22-year-old top prospect will miss, but elbow injuries tend to lead to significant absences, especially when UCL damage is involved. There should be some clarity on his status at some point in the coming days. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough told reporters it’ll be veteran lefty Braxton Garrett, who has been outstanding at Triple-A Jacksonville this season, coming up to fill Snelling’s rotation spot.

Caissie will patrol right field and bat eighth in his return to Miami’s lineup following a brief two-game absence due to left triceps discomfort. The 23-year-old former top prospect is hitting just .198/.254/.317 with two homers, 17 RBI and two steals in 114 plate appearances over 35 games in his Marlins debut.

Weiss noted that Acuña is making progress, and was able to run at roughly 50 percent prior to Wednesday’s game, but he won’t return during the club’s current homestand, which wraps up this weekend. The 28-year-old fantasy superstar is making steady progress towards returning from a hamstring strain, but it sounds like he won’t make it back until some point next week.

It’s hardly set in stone, but Eovaldi expressed confidence to reporters afterwards that he’ll be ready to take the ball this weekend against the Astros, most likely during Sunday’s series finale. It’s an extremely encouraging sign that he was able to resume throwing without any issues after being scratched from Monday’s start against the Diamondbacks with left side discomfort. There should be a more definitive update on his status point prior to the weekend.

Simpson returns to left field and hitting leadoff as Tampa Bay’s table-setter after missing one game with a left leg cramp. The 25-year-old speedster’s batting average and stolen base combo has made him one of the most impactful outfielders in the fantasy landscape this season as he’s hitting .314/.339/.359 with 22 runs scored, zero homers, 12 RBI and 14 steals through 40 games.

It doesn’t technically qualify as a setback, but Stanton won’t be returning to New York’s lineup as quickly as initially envisioned. The 36-year-old designated hitter remains in a holding pattern until his calf strain shows enough healing that he’s cleared to resume running. His ongoing absence means strikeout-prone prospect Spencer Jones will get a longer opportunity to show something at the highest level than originally thought.

Waldrep continues working his way back from surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in February. The 24-year-old former top prospect will progress to facing hitters in live batting practice before he’s cleared to head out on a minor league rehab assignment. It seems likely he’ll be on the shelf until around midseason before he’s ready to rejoin Atlanta’s rotation.

Horwitz has been tearing the cover off the ball recently, hitting .364 (8-for-22) with six RBI and more walks (five) than strikeouts (three) over his last seven games. The 28-year-old lacks the requisite power production to be a viable mixed-league fantasy starter, but he’s doing enough from a batting average standpoint to be a corner infield option in deeper leagues. It’ll be Jared Triolo at the cold corner on Wednesday night in his place.

Miles figures to draw the starting assignment to kick off a bullpen game after the Blue Jays decided to move on from veteran lefty Eric Lauer earlier this week. The 25-year-old rookie has compiled a respectable 3.00 ERA and 18/5 K/BB ratio across 21 innings over 12 appearances for Toronto this season. There’s some marginal streaming appeal here for fantasy managers in extremely deep mixed leagues and AL-only formats, but Miles won’t provide enough volume to be impactful in shallow leagues in the near term.

Keegan Akin, Dietrich Enns and Yennier Cano finished up. The Yankees’ only hit of the day was a double from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fifth. Bradish struck out seven and walked three while winning for the first time in five weeks and moving to 2-5 with a 4.21 ERA. The Orioles entered the day as the only team without a shutout this season. Bradish is due to make his next start Tuesday in St. Pete against the Rays.