MLB Player News

The two sides were able to reach an agreement on a $4 million slightly above-slot deal for the 22nd overall pick just a few hours prior to Thursday’s signing deadline, according to MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis. Honeycutt possesses one of the widest range of potential outcomes of any prospect from the 2024 MLB Draft as he pairs an impressive power/speed combo with clear contact issues. The 21-year-old is an elite potential Gold Glove Award-caliber defensive center fielder, which might be enough by itself to carry him to the big leagues. He’ll obviously need to make some improvements with his plate skills, but the path to fantasy relevance is abundantly clear if he’s able to make some strides with his swing decisions.

Wetherholt underwent imaging Friday that came back clean after he missed two games with groin soreness, which qualifies as a positive development for the Cardinals and fantasy managers. The 23-year-old rookie appears likely to return in the near future, possibly as soon as Sunday’s series finale at Busch Stadium. Fellow rookie Bryan Torres draws another start at the keystone with Masyn Winn moving up to the leadoff spot.

No surprise here after Crawford was hit by a 95.6 mph fastball in the third inning of Friday’s series opener in Detroit. The encouraging news is that X-rays came back negative and he’s considered day-to-day. Top prospect Colt Emerson takes over at shortstop in his absence with Patrick Wisdom getting a turn at the hot corner.

Lewis returns to the big leagues after nearly a month at Triple-A, where he tore the cover off the ball, hitting .333 (20-for-60) with 10 homers across 15 games. The gap between Triple-A and the big leagues feels wider than it has in recent memory, which makes projecting immediate success for Lewis a challenge as he returns to the majors. He’s clearly regained some confidence at the plate, which is an important variable. He’s expected to see time at third base, first base and DH moving forward. At a minimum, Lewis is worthy of a speculative add in deeper mixed leagues on the chance he can translate his strong Triple-A run into sustained success at the highest level.

Outman has been removed from Minnesota’s roster after hitting just .156/.229/.250 with zero homers and four steals over 49 games this season, while also striking out in just over 41 percent of his 70 plate appearances. The emergence of Kody Clemens as a viable outfield option seems to have made Outman expendable, especially since he wasn’t offering anything at the plate. At 29 years old, it’s difficult to image a path to a starting role anywhere based on his present trajectory.

Torres is hitting .538 (7-for-13) with one homer and three RBI in three games since returning from the injured list earlier this week. The 29-year-old second baseman appears poised to continue leading off for Detroit with rookie star Kevin McGonigle hitting second.

It’s a challenging spot for Morris right out of the gate as he’ll face the Astros at hitter-friendly Daikin Park. The unheralded 23-year-old was called up earlier this week after posting a respectable 4.45 ERA and 49/26 K/BB ratio across 60 2/3 innings over 11 starts for Triple-A Las Vegas this season. He’s not a recommended streaming option for fantasy managers but he’s another name to watch closely since he appears to have a spot in the club’s rotation for now.

Braydon Fisher will take the ball as Toronto’s opener. The big question is what happens to Miles once Dylan Cease (hamstring) and Max Scherzer (forearm) are ready to rejoin Toronto’s rotation in the near future. The 25-year-old has pitched well in a bulk relief role recently, despite getting lit up for six runs by the Orioles last weekend. He’s a reasonable streaming option in deeper mixed leagues based on his season-long numbers, but Baltimore has had success against him and will be seeing him for the second time in less than a week, which amplifies the risk.

Schwellenbach remains limited to playing catch from flat-ground during the beginning stages of a throwing progression as he continues his recovery from surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow back in mid-February. The 26-year-old remains without a definitive return timetable and it sounds like he won’t make it back to Atlanta until the late stages of the second half.

Chapman was able to power through the minor ailment to fire a scoreless ninth inning against the Yankees on Friday night to record his 13th save of the season. It sounds like the 38-year-old veteran closer will be able to manage the issue for now, but fantasy managers should keep a close eye on the situation. It’s possible the Red Sox will try to stay away from him on back-to-back days, which would likely result in Justin Slaten getting a look in a save situation.

This is getting ridiculous. Anderson lowered his ERA to a microscopic 1.29 mark across 49 innings over 10 starts this season by allowing just one baserunner and needing just 73 pitches (47 strikes) to navigate five nearly-perfect frames. He posted nine strikeouts for the third time in his last five starts. The 21-year-old southpaw, who was selected third overall in last year’s MLB Draft, is on the fast track to Seattle and figures to get his opportunity later this summer, especially if the club is in contention for a playoff spot. His arrival doesn’t feel imminent, but the Mariners might not be able to hold him off too much longer if he keeps this up.