MLB Player News

Lantigua spent all of last season at Triple-A Buffalo, posting a .305/.435/.469 triple-slash line with 12 homers and 28 stolen bases across 578 plate appearances. The 25-year-old infielder boasts a contact-oriented approach, and doesn’t offer a ton of over-the-fence pop, but could get a shot at some point as a versatile reserve infielder at the highest level.

The Reds entered the ninth inning facing a one-run deficit and were down to their final out against Tigers’ closer Kenley Jansen with no one on base. Spencer Steer kept hope alive with a two-out single before Lowe stepped up and played the role of hero. He crushed an 0-1 sinker for a 396-foot (104.6 mph EV) two-run shot that sent the Reds’ home faithful into a frenzy. He also swatted a solo shot off of Kyle Finnegan in the sixth inning. The 30-year-old finished the night 2-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI and is now slashing a solid .257/.333/.514 with a pair of homers and eight RBI on the season.

McLain victimized Tigers’ left-hander Framber Valdez for a 421-foot (106.8 mph EV) two-run shot in the fifth inning to get the Reds on the board. Then after a lengthy rain delay, he walloped a 419-foot (106.3 mph EV) two-run shot off of Will Vest that tied the game at 5-5 in the seventh inning. The dynamic 26-year-old also drew a walk in the ballgame, finishing the night 2-for-4. He’s now hitting .213/.339/.330 with two homers, eight RBI and four stolen bases through his first 112 plate appearances on the season.

The 26-year-old southpaw struck out four batters on the night while issuing a pair of walks. He struggled to keep the ball in the yard in this one, serving up solo homers to Riley Greene in the second inning and Javier Baez as part of a three-run uprising in the third. Abbott generated eight swings and misses on 89 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 28 percent. He’ll attempt to put this one behind him and improve upon his disappointing 6.59 ERA and 1.78 WHIP when he takes on the Rockies at home on Thursday afternoon.

Torkelson got off the schneid when he hit his first home run of the season in Wednesday’s victory over the Brewers. He followed that up by crushing his first career walk-off home run to sink the Brewers on Thursday afternoon. Then on Friday night, he clobbered a solo shot off of Tony Santillan in the eighth inning, igniting a three-run rally. He finished the night 2-for-3 with a walk and a pair of runs scored and is now hitting .210/.347/.370 with three homers and 10 RBI on the season. A notoriously streaky hitter, Torkelson should be started in all fantasy leagues at the moment until he starts to show signs of cooling off.

The Tigers held a 5-3 advantage in the seventh inning when a lengthy rain delay struck. When play resumed, the Reds struck for four runs in the home half of the seventh to take a 7-5 advantage. The Tigers stormed right back in the eighth as Spencer Torkelson crushed a solo homer to pull the Tigers within a run. Carpenter then launched a first-pitch fastball from Tony Santillan for a go-ahead 368-foot (97.8 mph EV) two-run shot. He finished the evening 1-for-2. On the season, the 28-year-old slugger is slashing just .221/.321/.500 with six homers and 15 RBI.

Jansen was tasked with facing the heart of the Reds’ lineup with a one-run lead to protect in the ninth inning of this one. He dispatched of Elly De La Cruz on a fly ball to left and Sal Stewart on strikes before allowing a two-out single to Spencer Steer that put the tying run on base. He then got ahead of Nathaniel Lowe 0-1 before Lowe crushed a sinker for a walk-off home run. Jansen has converted six of his first eight save chances on the season while posting a respectable 3.68 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 9/3 K/BB ratio over 7 1/3 innings.

The 32-year-old southpaw also issued five free passes on the evening while striking out four. He cruised through the first four innings unscathed and went in to the fifth with a comfortable 5-0 lead. After allowing a two-run homer to Matt McLain and a single to Elly De La Cruz though, Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch had seen enough and went to his bullpen with Valdez two outs shy of qualifying for a victory. He got eight swings and misses on 89 pitches on the night, posting a solid CSW of 28 percent. He’ll carry a 3.41 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and a 24/14 K/BB ratio (34 1/3 innings) into a tough matchup against the Braves in Atlanta on Thursday.

He will not stop. As usual, Murakami’s long ball was a sight to behold. He somehow got his bat head on a changeup from Miles Mikolas that was spotted well on the low-and-outside corner and launched it 415 feet over the center field fence. This was his sixth home run in his last seven games to bring his total up to 11 on the season. That pushed Murakami into a tie with Yordan Alvarez for the most in the league. We’re witnessing a legendary power surge from someone who’s becoming must-watch television. Just continue to be mindful of his swing-and-miss and high strikeout rate, as they could still derail what looks like it could be a magical rookie season.

As there is closer carnage around the league, Domínguez is swimming right along with six saves. Only Mason Miller, David Bednar, Paul Sewald, and Riley O’Brien have more so far. Of course, it hasn’t all been a walk in the park, but Domínguez has converted three consecutive save opportunities and has plenty of job security at this moment.

In a revenge game against his former team, Fedde pitched well over his first few innings before completely losing the strike zone in the fifth inning. He walked three batters in that frame, the last of which forced in a run. Yet, most of the rest of his outing was relatively clean. He just didn’t force many swings-and-misses and doesn’t profile as a particularly intriguing option ahead of his next appearance against the Angels.