MLB Player News

Castro, 25, batted .306/.343/.354 with zero homers and 30 RBI in 98 games last year in the Reds’ minor league system. He’ll act as organizational depth for Chicago.

Christmas arrives early this year with Santa officially being called up for Friday’s series opener against the Cubs at Wigley Field after recording a microscopic 1.42 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 24/7 K/BB ratio across 19 innings for Triple-A Sugar Land this season. The hard-throwing 23-year-old figures to operate in middle relief for the Astros, but could work his way into high-leverage spots at some point.

Arozarena took hard-throwing Chicago reliever Jordan Hicks deep for a 396-foot moonshot to left-center field that gave Seattle a three-run lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. It was his fifth round-tripper of the season. The 31-year-old power/speed combo fantasy threat is hitting a robust .324/.413/.515 with 14 runs scored, three homers, 10 RBI and seven steals in 19 games since the start of May.

Antonacci’s contact-oriented approach has allowed him to fit seamlessly atop Chicago’s lineup since moving into the leadoff spot earlier this month. The 23-year-old top-of-the-order table-setter is slashing .339/.406/.403 with three RBI and four steals in 18 games since the start of May.

Emerson struck out in two of his three at-bats out of the eighth spot in the lineup and also committed a throwing error at shortstop. The 20-year-old prodigy has gone 1-for-11 with one homer and three RBI in four games since being called up from Triple-A Tacoma. There are plenty of reasons to envision Emerson as a legitimate franchise cornerstone for Seattle, if he continues his present trajectory, but it might be unrealistic to expect him to blossom into an immediate fantasy star, especially since he’s been working his way back from a wrist issue that he dealt with last month.

Ferrer got the call to protect a two-run lead in the final frame with Andrés Muñoz unavailable after pitching each of the previous two days. The 26-year-old southpaw served up a leadoff homer to veteran lefty-masher Randal Grichuk, but managed to settle down afterwards, striking out Munetaka Murakami, Derek Hill and Colson Montgomery to end it. Simply put, Ferrer has been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball this season with a sparkling 1.90 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 22/3 K/BB ratio across 23 2/3 innings. He’ll continue to vulture the occasional save when Muñoz is unavailable.

Burke piled up five strikeouts and issued three walks. The damage against him came on run-scoring doubles by Dominic Canzone and Patrick Wisdom in the second and fourth innings. He’s failed to complete five frames in three consecutive starts after accomplishing the feat in six out of seven outings to open the year. He’ll carry a respectable 4.08 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 46/14 K/BB ratio across 53 innings into a home outing against the Twins on Tuesday.

There’s nothing official from the Marlins on their rotation plans for their upcoming three-game series against New York after White was scratched from his scheduled start for Triple-A Jacksonville on Wednesday. The 21-year-old top pitching prospect is hardly a finished product, especially from a command standpoint, but he has the stuff to pitch in the majors at some point in the near future. He’s worthy of a speculative stash in all fantasy leagues on the chance that he’s up relatively soon, but it sounds like he may have to wait a bit longer for his opportunity.

Marte has been sizzling at the plate lately, with Wednesday’s performance marking his fourth multi-hit game in his past six contests. He hasn’t been his usual self this year, with his walk rate in particular dropping meaningfully. With a track record like Marte’s, it’s usually only a matter of time until positive regression hits.

Kelly struck out four and didn’t walk anyone as Arizona went on to sweep San Francisco in three games. The veteran righty allowed a whopping 19 earned runs over a three-start sample earlier this year, but he’s pitched much better over his past three contests, which include a complete game at Coors Field. He’ll look to continue mixing and matching with his six-pitch arsenal in his next outing, a repeat matchup against the Giants, but this time in San Francisco.