MLB Player News

Hillman doesn’t come with the upside of the Indians’ first two picks (LHP Brady Aiken and RHP Tristan McKenzie), but there’s certainly a lot to like in the 6-foot-2, 180-pound left-hander. The 18-year-old is a good athlete with a clean delivery, and he has a projectabale arsenal that includes an above-average fastball (89-92 mph) and curveball as well as an average changeup. The Central Florida commit pitched to a 0.65 ERA with 82 strikeouts against 18 walks in 65 innings this spring for Olympia HS (Fla.).

McMahon’s first homer of the season came in a big spot in the eighth inning, and with the game tied at two. Stepping in to pinch-hit for Amed Rosario and with a runner on first, McMahon blasted an opposite-field homer to left to put the Yankees up 4-2, putting them in position to take the first game of the weekend series. McMahon has struggled out of the gate this season and entered the game batting .140. Hopefully, this kickstarts a much-needed turnaround for the veteran lefty.

What a week for Jackson. This two-out home put the finishing touches in a six-run eighth inning that the Orioles entered trailing 4-0. Over his last seven games, he has five home runs, 13 RBI, and a .429 batting average. It’s hard to have a better week than that and the Orioles might have a difficult decision on their hands with Jackson Holliday due back relatively soon from his broken hamate bone and the expectation that he could unseat Jackson at second base.

As if there was any doubt left, Helsley is officially back. His six saves are tied with Mason Miller and Paul Sewald to lead the league and he’s allowed just two earned runs across 8 1/3 innings. In this outing, he wisely walked José Ramírez – who Orioles pitchers walked four times in total – and made mincemeat of the other hitters he faced. Helsley has been integrating a new splitter into his repertoire and it was his most thrown pitch in this outing with six of his 15 total thrown. That’s by far the highest rate of splitters he’s thrown so far.

It wasn’t pretty, but Bassitt matched Tanner Bibee for the five innings he was out there and left this game at 0-0. Often lauded for the depth of his repertoire, Bassitt has pared it down this season and did so in an even more pronounced way here practically only throwing his curveball, sinker, and cutter. Combined, those three pitches didn’t allow a single hard-hit ball as Bassitt forced a heap of lazy fly balls all night long. He’s lined up to face the Royals next time out.

Well, it seems like the Orioles’ plan was to not let Ramírez beat them in this one. With that intention, they succeeded. Only one of these walks was ‘intentional’ by the letter of the law and that was the only time Ramírez came around to score. Otherwise, they were careful and he didn’t try to be the hero. It’s just a shame that his teammates couldn’t do more with their opportunities in a game the Orioles wound up coming from behind to win. He’s still getting his this season on the whole with four home runs and a league-leading nine stolen bases.

Bibee and Chris Bassitt traded zeroes through the early part of this game in a finesse pitcher’s duel. He leaned on his cutter as primary pitch and it beautifully set up his changeup and curveball. Combined, those three pitches accounted for 15 of his 17 total swings-and-misses and it’s great to see his cutter back working as a plus pitch. His results on the season haven’t been great so far – even still with a 4.81 ERA after six scoreless innings – but that cutter is the key to him regaining something near his 2024 form. He’s scheduled to face the Astros next time out.

Riley has finally begun to get going. This was his first multi-homer game since May 4th of last year and he didn’t have a single long ball on his ledger until the Braves’ most recent game this past Wednesday. His quality of contact had been trending up over the last week or so though and suddenly, he’s on a power surge. Here’s to hoping he’s emerged from the two-year funk he’s been trapped in.

For all of the joking about the Braves immediately bringing Pérez back after he was designated for assignment and then elected free agency when he passed through waivers, he held a quality scoreless here. It was a classic Pérez outing too, trying to mix speeds and live on the edges. Then getting very fortunate on tons of hard-hit balls put in play to keep putting zeroes on the board. Nevertheless, he got the job done and is scheduled to face the Nationals next time out if he gets another turn in the rotation.

The Phillies were practically never in this game as the Braves clobbered them. Yet, there was a moment in the bottom of the first when it was still just 2-0 and Harper followed a Kyle Schwarber hit by pitch with a single. A walk followed, but the heart of the Phillies order could not cash in on the opportunity. Such has been the story of their season so far. Alas, Harper has put up solid numbers with a .286 batting average, four home runs, and .932 OPS thus far.

Yikes. Walker got absolutely eviscerated in this one. The Braves loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning and it felt like Walker never caught his breath. They wound up with six runs home by the end of the second and the rout was on. Walker’s stuff has lost its zip and his command is so-so at best. It doesn’t feel so out of place to see him with a 9.16 ERA a few weeks into the season. His days in the Phillies’ rotation are likely numbered with Zack Wheeler making his way through a rehab stint.