MLB Player News

It’s the third straight contest that Yelich has missed due to a nagging back issue — and he has played just one in the Brewers’ last 10 ballgames. Tyrone Taylor will draw another start in right field in his place on Monday night and will bat ninth against Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals.

Teheran struck out four. His 4.40 ERA in 11 starts and three relief appearances for the Brewers isn’t particularly impressive, but it’s partly a product of his bad outings being really bad; 22 of the 35 earned runs he allowed came in three starts. He’s going to deserve a major league deal this winter, even if it’s just to serve as a swingman initially.

Mitchell, coming back from shoulder surgery, has these final four games to audition for a spot on the postseason roster, but in truth, he needed just one pitch; he doubled to left on the very first offering he saw against Daniel Hudson. Even if he’s not a starter in October, Mitchell should be able to contribute on the bases and on defense. And, after today, there’s reason to think he might actually be a starter against righties.

The abbreviated start cost Burnes a win. He got just one of those in his final 12 starts, even though he’s mostly excelled of late. Fortunately, he did get exactly the four strikeouts he needed for 200. He’ll take a 3.39 ERA into his Wild Card start next week.

Hudson got four double play balls, though that was only the difference between a generic loss and getting blown off the mound. He ends the year 6-3 with a 4.98 ERA and a 45/34 K/BB ratio in 81 1/3 innings. The Cardinals would have to ante up $3 million or so to keep him in arbitration, so they’ll probably move on.

Winn hasn’t looked overmatched, but his audition certainly hasn’t gone as hoped. His defensive numbers are also a mixed bag. He’s just 21 and he wasn’t expected to be a factor in the majors this year before he excelled in Triple-A, so this start isn’t particularly discouraging. Still, it looks like the Cardinals might need a stopgap shortstop for the beginning of next year. Fortunately, Paul DeJong will be available. More likely, the team will just play Tommy Edman at short until Winn earns another chance.

The homer was Torkelson’s 30th. He had four the first two months, 11 the middle two months and now 15 the last two months. It’s a little bit of a bummer that he’s still hitting just .233 and that his strikeout rate is a bit worse than where he was as a rookie, but it’s been a pretty encouraging year for the 2020 draft’s No. 1 overall pick.

Gipson-Long’s fourth and final start was his weakest effort since his callup, which just demonstrates how impressive his September has been. He finishes up with a 2.70 ERA and a 26/8 K/BB ratio in 20 innings. It’ll be interesting to see what the Tigers do with their rotation this winter. Even if Eduardo Rodriguez opts out, they’ll still have an intriguing top five of Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Gipson-Long, Casey Mize and Matt Manning. It’d be nice to have Rodriguez back or a similar replacement, but either way, there’s quite a bit of upside here.

All of the runs came in the seventh. It’s just the second time in 12 starts for the Royals that he’s given up more than three earned runs. Ragans finishes up 7-5 with a 3.47 ERA overall, but he was 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA and an 89/27 K/BB ratio in 71 2/3 innings for Kansas City. We worry some, just because pitchers who experience velocity spikes like Ragans did often get hurt soon afterwards, but he showed legitimate ace potential these last two months.

Hernández became the favorite for saves in the Royals bullpen after Scott Barlow was traded, but he’s since given up 19 runs and walked 14 in 15 innings over 19 appearances. There’s a good chance the Royals will decide to give up on him this winter, though there will probably be quite of bit of interest in an arm as strong as his.

That’s 134 strikeouts in 337 plate appearances for Pratto, even though the Royals aren’t using him against lefties any longer. At this pace, he’d have 239 strikeouts with 600 plate appearances. He hasn’t had multiple hits in any of his last 25 games. It’s simply been a disaster of a season for the 24-year-old, who was also abysmal in Triple-A (.180/.290/.342 in 131 PA). He shouldn’t be in the Royals’ plans for the beginning of 2024.