MLB Player News

Ohtani’s homer off Tanner Bibee was 116.7 mph off the bat, matching his third-highest EV on a homer this year, and was projected at 450 feet. It was his 30th solo shot. That’s easier to understand now that he’s hitting leadoff, but those voting for NL MVP should note that Ohtani is slugging .665 with the bases empty, .544 with men on and .342 with runners in scoring position.

Both of Jones’ home runs came off of Jose Berrios, which is nice to see, and he has 10 home runs on the season. However, the 24-year-old also has a 33 percent strikeout rate, 20.5 percent swinging strike rate, and just a 59 percent contact rate overall. That is not going to work at the Major League level.

Eyanson is fast becoming one of the top pitching prospects in Boston’s loaded prospect class. A third-round pick in 2025, Eyanson allowed one run on seven hits in 20 1/3 High-A innings this season with a 34/3 K/BB ratio. He certainly needs to face a higher level of competition.

Montgomery is the 31st-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, and came to the White Sox from the Red Sox as part of the Garrett Crochet trade. The 23-year-old is hitting .313/.429/.606 in 27 games at Double-A this season with six home runs and two steals. He also has 32 strikeouts, which is a bit more than you’d like to see, but 21 walks will also help to counteract that a little bit. Montgomery is an advanced prospect and could debut for the White Sox towards the end of the season.

The issue is considered “minor,” and the expectation is that he won’t be out long, but any absence is going to delay his potential call-up to the big leagues. Moore is hitting just .219 in 21 Triple-A games, but he has a .437 on-base percentage due to a 27.2 percent walk rate. He has a solid 40 percent hard-hit rate, but he’ll need to take that elite plate discipline and start to turn those at-bats into hits.

Berríos also struck out just one batter and walked four on the day. His sinker sat just 90 mph, but he was also able to throw 70 pitches, so the Blue Jays could feel comfortable bringing him back into the rotaiton this week. He’s not a recommended option in fantasy leagues given his injury and his poor performance during his rehab assignment.

Torkelson struck out in his other three at-bats tonight, but he had the biggest blow in the game after Jack Leiter faced the minimum through four innings. Riley Greene walked to start the fifth and then Torkelson sent a slider 388 feet to left-center. It’s Torkelson’s sixth homer of the year. The other five were all hit in consecutive games from Apr. 22-26.

Hurter was the Tigers’ third pitcher of the game, entering in the third inning. He allowed two hits, walked one and struck out two while throwing just 38 pitches to get his 10 outs. We’d still like to see what Hurter could do as a regular starter, but outings like this are as close as he gets in Detroit. Since debuting in 2024, he’s 14-4 with a 2.35 ERA in 126 1/3 innings over five starts and 62 relief appearances.

Leiter allowed five hits, walked one and struck out 10, which would seem to translate to giving up one or two runs. However, after four perfect innings, Leiter issued his one walk right before a Spencer Torkelson homer in the fifth. In the sixth, he gave up another run after a leadoff triple that Evan Carter nearly caught on a dive in center (and which would have been a single if he hadn’t missed it entirely) and a single. In the seventh, he allowed two singles before being pulled with two outs, and the Tigers went on to score four times in the inning. It truly was an encouraging showing from the 26-year-old Leiter, no matter what the line says. Still, he’s now 1-3 with a 5.45 ERA ahead of a start against the Cubs.

Hitting .216/.248/.388, Burger is back in negative WAR territory in 141 plate appearances this year after finishing there in 376 plate appearances last season. The Rangers don’t have any great alternatives, but it wouldn’t hurt to give Justin Foscue a look. He’s hitting .287/.407/.426 with as many walks as strikeouts (22 or each) in Triple-A. Burger, on the other hand, has a 43/5 K/BB ratio.

After a brief surge late last month took his OPS from .609 to .742, Machado came into this one 1-for-10 in his last three games. Still, he took Anthony Kay deep today to help the Padres salvage one of the three games in a home series against the White Sox. He now has five homers and 18 RBI on the season.