MLB Player News

Cueto latches on with the defending World Series champions after an underwhelming, injury-plagued campaign last year with the Marlins. The 38-year-old veteran righty will presumably head to Triple-A Round Rock to serve as emergency starting pitching depth and is unlikely to wind up making an impact for fantasy managers at this extremely late juncture in his pretty remarkable 16-year career that dates back to 2008.

The 23-year-old budding superstar opened the scoring with a mammoth 412-foot (104.5 mph EV) two-run blast to center off of Jake Irvin, giving the Cubs an early lead that they would never relinquish. The dynamic 23-year-old outfielder went hitless the remainder of the evening, finishing the night 1-for-5. On the season, he’s now slashing .275/.312/.557 with 16 homers, 53 RBI, 49 runs scored and 21 stolen bases in what has been an unbelievable breakout campaign.

Happ smacked an RBI double off of Jake Irvin in the second inning that extended the Cubs’ early lead to 3-0. He then broke the game open with a 405-foot (108.6 mph EV) two-run blast off of Jackson Rutledge in the sixth that made it 5-0. He also had a crucial outfield assist in the third inning, cutting down Robert Hassell III at second base as he tried to stretch a single into a double. He also tacked on an RBI single in the ninth to cap off the Cubs’ scoring. With his three-hit attack, the 30-year-old outfielder is now hitting .259/.348/.373 with four homers, 25 RBI and three stolen bases on the season.

Shaw hustled out an infield single to open the second inning, then raced around to score on Ian Happ’s one-out RBI double. The 23-year-old then poked a single into center off of Zach Brzykcy in the seventh inning and swiped second base before getting stranded there. He also singled and scored in the ninth inning. Shaw has struggled so far in his rookie campaign, slashing .248/.331/.336 with just one homer, seven RBI, six stolen bases and a 27/14 K/BB ratio over his first 127 plate appearances.

Unfortunately for fantasy managers, Rea didn’t record a single strikeout in the otherwise terrific outing. The biggest threat against him came as the Nationals put runners on the corners with two outs in the third inning, but he got James Wood to fly out to left field to end the threat. Rea got just six whiffs on 80 pitches on the night, posting an underwhelming CSW of 21 percent. Now 4-2 on the season, he’ll carry a respectable 3.59 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and a 43/17 K/BB ratio (57 2/3 innings) into a tough matchup against the Phillies in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old outfielder singled in his first at-bat off of Colin Rea but was cut down attempting to stretch it into a double. He also singled off of Caleb Thielbar to load the bases with two outs in the seventh inning, but the Nationals were unable to scratch out a single run. Hassell has done a decent job in his time with the Nationals, slashing .269/.269/.346 with one homer, six RBI and one stolen base in his first 51 plate appearances. With Jacob Young nearing a return from the injured list, Hassell’s useful life from a fantasy perspective may be coming to an end soon.

The 28-year-old right-hander also issued a pair of walks while striking out three batters on the night. The trouble started in the opening inning as Pete Crow-Armstrong tagged him for a two-run homer to center. Ian Happ added on a run-scoring double in the second inning. Irvin finished his day with three scoreless frames, but by that time the damage had already been done. He got nine swings and misses on 94 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 20 percent. He’ll try to get back on track as he carries a 4.02 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and a 50/22 K/BB ratio (78 1/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Mets in New York.

Doval allowed a leadoff single to Manny Machado and then a one-out single to Gavin Sheets before getting Jose Iglesias and Jake Cronenworth to end the threat and snag his eighth save of the season. Doval is now the closer in San Francisco, but his strikeout rate is down significantly, and it’s hard to feel secure with him in the ninth-inning role. Fantasy managers who have Doval should also scoop up Randy Rodriguez, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning and has a 0.64 ERA with a far better strikeout rate than Doval on the year.

So this is happening, huh? Smith was signed earlier this week and has started two straight games at first base while going 3-for-8. It had been expected that Jerar Encarnacion would come off the IL and play first base, but he started this game in left field, so it’s clear Smith will get a runway with the first base job for now.

The 25-year-old hurler had allowed six runs on eight hits and a walk in his four-plus frames before departing with a trainer in the fifth inning. His velocity and spin rate were both down on Thursday, which may have sparked concern and been part of the reason for his removal. Look for the Cardinals to provide an update on his status as soon as more information becomes available.

Machado laced a 102 mph shot off Robbie Ray for his eighth home run of the season and also added a 107.2 mph single on the day. His was the only extra base hit of the day for the Padres, but Machado has been a steady presence for the team all season.