MLB Player News

Ruiz made a big-time statement by ordering a combo meal in his first start since being recalled earlier this week from Triple-A Las Vegas. The 25-year-old speedster walloped a two-run blast off Cardinals starter Steven Matz in the third inning, homering for the second time in three games since returning to the big leagues, and also picked up a stolen base later in the contest. The central question moving forward for fantasy managers is whether Ruiz can continue to hit for some semblance of power, while also improving his plate skills to the point that his game-changing speed makes a long-term difference for the rebuilding Athletics. He’s certainly worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy formats on the possibility that he’ll stay on Oakland’s roster for the remainder of the season.

Ross was solid in this one, allowing just two hits while walking just one batter. His six strikeouts marked the third time on the year in which he struck out five or more batters, as the veteran righty was in control for much of the afternoon. He did give up a two-run homer to Nick Gonzales in the fourth inning, but bounced back to retire the next four batters he faced before being pulled. Ross picked up his second win of the season in this one, and will look to notch his third in his next start which is scheduled for Monday against the Marlins.

Priester got through the first inning unscathed but was lit up for multiple hits in the second inning, with the biggest hit coming on a two-run homer by Sal Frelick. RBI singles by Brice Turang and Christian Yelich would give the Brewers an early 4-0 lead before the inning finally came to an end, but Priester would go on to pitch four more scoreless frames before being pulled. Priester has been solid this year, posting a 4.33 ERA over five starts while posting a 17:10 K:BB ratio. Despite this, his record now sits at 0-4. He’ll look to pickup his first win of the season on Sunday against the Cubs.

He’s now allowed just two runs over his last 25 innings. Sale’s slider carved up the Cubs all game, with a 44 percent whiff rate and 34 percent CSW on the pitch. The average exit velocity on all contact against Sale was just 81 mph as the left-hander mowed down the Cubs’ order. The effort gave him a 2.54 ERA on the year to go along with 61 strikeouts to just eight walks in 49 2/3 innings. He has been every bit the ace he was back before his injuries and there’s no reason to doubt he can keep it up as long as he can stay healthy.

Harris hit a solo shot off of Jameson Taillon in the fourth inning that traveled 426 feet and left the bat at 106.7 mph. It was his fourth home run and 15th RBI of the season. The 23-year-old is one of quite a few Braves hitters who aren’t living up to their typical production early in the season. Still, there is nothing under the hood that suggests Harris is struggling, and he should be in for a solid summer ahead.

Olson took a fourth-inning pitch from Jameson Taillon and clobbered it 432 feet at 108.2 mph off the bat. He also had a 105.2 mph double in his first at-bat of the game. It hasn’t been the best start to the season for the slugger, but he’s still barreling the ball an impressive amount pulling the ball more than ever, and swinging and missing only a little bit more than normal. His zone contact is the highest it’s been since 2021, so both the power and batting average should be coming shortly.

Taillon allowed just one run on four hits in the first three innings, with three of those hits coming in the first. He started off the fourth inning by allowing a home run to Michal Harris II but then Taillon committed a fielding error and would later throw a wild pitch, both of which extended the inning and caused the right-hander to throw more pitches, allow more hits, and more unearned runs. It was a sloppy inning that overshadowed Taillon’s impressive 28 percent whiff rate with 12 whiffs coming on 43 swings. His sweeper and cutter were particularly strong on the day, but he struggled with his command and the Braves made him pay. Taillon will carry a 1.61 ERA into a start against the Pirates this weekend and is a strong streaming candidate for that game.

He’s back! After Puk was a disaster as a starting pitcher to begin the year, the Marlins transitioned him back to the bullpen while he was on a rehab assignment and then immediately thrust him into high-leverage outings. Tanner Scott did pitch the ninth in a tie game on Tuesday, but he also allowed one hit and walked one which has been par for the course for him this year. For his part, Puk allowed three soft fly outs to strand the extra runner in the bottom of the tenth inning and secure the save. There’s certainly a chance he claims back the closer role from Scott, so he should be added in all leagues just in case.

Not exactly a thrilling way to earn a victory, but Sánchez had a hard-hit groundball in the top of the 10th inning that drove in a run and gave Miami a 1-0 lead. The 26-year-old is hitting just .237 on the season, but he’s making a lot of hard contact and his name was all over the Statcast bat speed and short swing leaderboards that came out this week. He’s a talented hitter, but he’s simply hitting too many groundballs right now. Still, he plays every game against right-handed pitching and hits in the middle of the Marlins’ lineup, so he’s a name you should keep an eye on. A slight approach change could lead to big results.

Olson didn’t walk a batter or allow an extra-base hit all night. His slider was sharp on the night, helping him to a 29 percent whiff rate and 29 percent CSW overall. The 24-year-old now has a 2.09 ERA on the season with 41 strikeouts and just 15 walks in 47 1/3 innings. He somehow has no wins to show for it, but that should change soon. He gets a solid two-start week next week against the Royals and Blue Jays, and fantasy managers who were lucky enough to scoop him up on waivers should be thanking whoever dropped him (or didn’t draft him) earlier in the season.