MLB Player News

He only recorded two strikeouts and was taken deep by Jason Bartlett. Volstad had given up just one run in his first three spring outings to earn a spot among the starting five, but he was due for an outing like this. He can’t be counted on for much even in NL-only fantasy leagues this season.

It’s worth noting that Laureano, who is batting .250 (7-for-28) with one homer and 14 strikeouts in 11 spring games so far, was awful in spring training last year before putting together his strongest season in over a half-decade. The 31-year-old corner outfielder’s 23-homer, seven-steal effort between the Padres and Orioles last season was fueled by a significant uptick in hard contact and barrel rate. If those stick he’ll be an excellent late-round value in fantasy drafts this spring.

Mahle scattered one hit and threw 54 pitches (37 strikes), extending his scoreless innings streak to 10 this spring. The 31-year-old’s durability issues are well documented at this stage of his career, but he remains an effective fantasy contributor when he takes the ball. San Francisco is an ideal landing spot, and he projects as a viable back-end rotation stabilizer in shallow mixed leagues.

Buehler appears penciled into a spot in San Diego’s season-opening rotation with veteran Joe Musgrove (elbow) requiring a trip to the injured list. We’re hesitant to draw any firm conclusions based on spring training outings, especially since this one came against a watered-down San Francisco lineup featuring only a few regulars. Not to mention that Buehler was abysmal for long stretches between the Red Sox and Phillies last year. His fastball velocity hasn’t returned to previous career levels and there’s little reason to believe he’ll be a fantasy-relevant option again.

Muncy was unable to establish himself as an everyday option for the rebuilding Athletics before finishing last year in a versatile utility role. A strong performance this spring ensures that he’ll open the regular season as the Athletics’ starting third baseman but the lack of any real power/speed combo upside limits his realistic fantasy appeal to AL-only formats.

Calling hitter’s paradise Sutter Health Park his temporary home won’t do Springs any favors but he’s a perfectly cromulent innings-eater in deeper mixed leagues when he’s taking the ball on the road. The lack of big-time strikeout upside remains his biggest obstacle to mixed-league relevance. The 33-year-old lefty has posted a lackluster 7.94 ERA and 11/9 K/BB ratio across 11 1/3 innings this spring.

Miller needed 22 pitches to slam the door on the Dominican Republic during Sunday’s heavyweight semifinal matchup at loanDepot park and would be pitching for the third time in the last five days, if called upon during Tuesday’s WBC title game. It seems highly unlikely that Miller or the Padres would want to tax him that heavily from a workload standpoint in late March, especially since these are high-pressure environments, which can be especially stressful on a pitcher’s arm.

Rojas tested positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance, earlier this month while getting ready to play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. The 25-year-old outfielder will be ineligible for the postseason once he returns, which won’t be until June 25, at the earliest. His path to playing time with the Phillies will be in a reserve role moving forward with prospect Justin Crawford taking over as the club’s starting center fielder.

It’s an extremely encouraging update. Vogt added that Ramírez remains day-to-day with left shoulder soreness after initial evaluation revealed merely inflammation. “He’s feeling much, much better today, so we’re going to reassess him day by day. He should be just fine in a few days,” Cleveland’s skipper told reporters on Tuesday afternoon. The 33-year-old franchise cornerstone suffered the injury on a slide during Sunday’s spring contest against the Athletics. Fantasy managers should anticipate Ramírez, who has posted back-to-back 30-homer, 40-steal campaigns, being ready for next week’s season opener. He remains a first-round selection in all fantasy drafts.

Bazzana won’t be officially reassigned for a couple days but the first-overall selection from the 2024 MLB Draft won’t break camp in the majors. The 23-year-old second baseman was away for most of the spring competing for Australia in the World Baseball Classic. He’ll open the minor league season back at Triple-A Columbus and figures to ascend to the big leagues at some point in the second half, if not sooner.

Smith is the notable inclusion here after an impressive Cactus League outings against the division-rival Royals over the weekend where he struck out five over two scoreless innings. The 22-year-old southpaw projects as an impactful fantasy contributor once he reaches the majors based on his stratospheric strikeouts rates throughout his career.