MLB Player News

Chavis secured a bench spot for the Nats even though his numbers this spring weren’t overly impressive. He’s a .237 hitter in the majors, but gives the Nats a right-handed bench bat who can play multiple infield positions.

With J.P. Crawford (shoulder) uncertain for next week’s season opener, it could very well be Rivas starting at shortstop in his place. Any sort of extended absence by Crawford would kick the door wide open for top prospect Colt Emerson to break camp in the big leagues since he would offer a much higher offensive ceiling.

Dollander came out of the bullpen in this one and was a bit all over the place, tallying four strikeouts while also handing out three free passes. The 24-year-old former top pitching prospect appears to have a spot in Colorado’s season-opening rotation despite a rough spring. Given his immense talent, he could make a leap rather quickly, which makes him worth monitoring on early-season waiver wires.

Murakami is one of the more challenging hitters to forecast fantasy-wise since his track record in Japan suggests he’s going to have some serious contact issues as he adjusts to facing big-league pitching. The power is very real. It wouldn’t be surprising if Murakami reached the 30-homer plateau in his White Sox debut. The question is whether he’s going to strike out nearly 35 percent of the time while doing it.

Spring training stats don’t matter but we’re obligated to point out that Kurtz is apparently saving all of his hits for the regular season. The 23-year-old elite slugger is batting .205 (9-for-44) with three homers in 17 Cactus League contests. There is zero reason to be concerned.

Meidroth isn’t known for his over-the-fence pop as evidenced by just five round-trippers in 122 games as a rookie last year. Still, he’s capable of putting a charge into one on occasion, while boasting strong on-base skills. He’ll occupy the leadoff spot for Chicago going into the year, which makes him a cheap source of runs scored in deeper mixed leagues as a middle infield option.

Kay was officially named to Chicago’s starting rotation earlier on Tuesday by manager Will Venable. The 30-year-old lefty signed a two-year, $12 million pact during the offseason after spending the last couple years pitching overseas in Japan. He’s more of a late-round flyer than a reliable mixed-league contributor heading into the year, especially for a rebuilding White Sox squad.

Morales is pretty much guaranteed a spot in the Athletics’ season-opening rotation, but he’s been hit extremely hard this spring, posting a bloated 7.16 ERA and 15/10 K/BB ratio across 16 1/3 innings of work. The hard-throwing 23-year-old’s fantasy appeal is limited to deeper mixed leagues based on his extremely hitter-friendly home ballpark.

Emerson took Padres veteran starter Germán Márquez deep in the third inning for his second round-tripper in his last three games. He also doubled in the ninth inning, just for good measure. With starting shortstop J.P. Crawford (shoulder) potentially headed for the injured list, the door remains slightly ajar for Seattle’s top prospect to break camp in the majors. The most likely scenario involves turning to utility infielder Leo Rivas as a temporary stopgap, but if Crawford is facing an extended absence, it would make sense for Emerson to take the reins instead. The 20-year-old prodigy possesses outstanding bat-to-ball skills and took a significant step forward in the power department last year, launching 16 homers in 130 games across three levels to finish the season at Triple-A. He’s at least worthy of a speculative late-round pick in all fantasy drafts.

Márquez generated 13 swinging strikes and finished with a near-elite 35 percent CSW in this one as he continues to build a strong case for cracking San Diego’s season-opening rotation. His spot appears virtually locked up with fellow veteran Joe Musgrove (elbow) heading to the injured list at the outset of the year. He gave up only three hits with homers by Luke Raley and Colt Emerson accounting for most of the damage against him.