MLB Player News

The Giants definitely needed at least one rotation addition, and Verlander remains a reasonable bet at age 42, even though last season with the Astros was pretty disastrous. The three-time Cy Young Award winner wound up with a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts before being left out of Houston’s postseason plans, but he was excellent in 2023 (3.22 ERA in 162 1/3 IP) and he just won a Cy Young in 2022 at age 39. He’ll join Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks and probably Kyle Harrison in the San Francisco rotation. It’s an ideal landing spot for fantasy purposes as Oracle Park remains one of the most pitcher-friendly venues in baseball. He’ll be a late-round pick in fantasy drafts this spring based on his track record alone.

Kurtz has now played in half as many games this year (59) as he did as a rookie (117). He’s less than one-third of the way to last year’s home run total of 36, but his .289 and .290 batting averages are a match, and he leads the majors with a .440 OBP. Last year, he finished at .383.

Jump, who gave up four runs in five innings against the Mariners in his first MLB start, allowed just three hits with his average fastball up to 96.9 mph tonight. It was 95.9 mph in his first start and 95.8 mph in Triple-A this season. In spite of that, he still only generated five whiffs on 45 swings. Jump still seems like a tough play in mixed leagues at the moment. He’ll face the Astros on the road on Sunday.

Scott Barlow allowed a walk and a single to start the ninth with a one-run lead. He then retired Alex Bregman and Seiya Suzuki, but at that point, the A’s turned to the lefty Harris to face Ian Happ and were rewarded with a routine fly to center. Harris broke a tie with Joel Kuhnel and Mark Leiter Jr. by becoming the first A’s reliever with five saves this season. The situation doesn’t seem worth investing in right now.

Taillon surrendered a homer to Nick Kurtz in the third and then three singles to score the second run in the fourth. At least it did go as his first quality start in a month. Taillon’s velocity has been climbing in recent outings, and he might prove to be useable mixed-league starter at some point. He’ll likely face the Giants on Sunday.

Freeman gave the Dodgers an early lead with a two-run homer off Mike Soroka in the first inning. He later singled in the fifth. The 36-year-old first baseman enjoyed an excellent month of May, hitting .287 with five homers. Tuesday’s blast was his ninth of the season while hitting .274/.360/.475 with 30 runs scored and 32 RBI across 253 plate appearances.

Carroll put the Diamondbacks on the board with a solo homer off Eric Lauer in the third inning. He later added a base hit in the eighth. The 25-year-old outfielder is slashing an excellent .289/.380/.545 with eight homers, 38 runs scored, 29 RBI, and seven steals across 245 plate appearances.

Scott was summoned in the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead to close it out against the Diamondbacks. He worked around a base hit, striking out one to secure the win and convert his sixth save of the season. It was a nice recovery after giving up three runs in his last outing.

Lauer kept the Diamondbacks off the board through two innings before giving up a solo homer to Corbin Carroll in the third. He allowed the first two runners to reach in the fifth, then gave up a run on a sacrifice fly. Lauer struck out the next batter and was replaced on the mound at 70 pitches, falling one out short of qualifying for a win. He scattered five hits and one walk while striking out just one. The 31-year-old left-hander ends the day with a 5.74 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and a 31/18 K/BB ratio across 47 innings. But Tuesday’s start makes it three runs over 10 2/3 innings with the Dodgers. Lauer lines up for a start against the Pirates in Pittsburgh next Tuesday.

Soroka gave up a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman in the first inning. Shohei Ohtani would drive in two more with a triple in the second inning. Soroka settled in to give the D-backs four more scoreless frames, ending his day after six innings with six strikeouts. The 28-year-old right-hander will take a solid 3.49 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and a 66/15 K/BB ratio across 67 innings into a start against the Nationals in Arizona on Sunday.

Pederson’s doubles were hit 107.5 and 105.5 mph off Dustin May. He’s hit .357 with five homers and 10 RBI in his last 13 games, taking his OPS to .828. That’s a mere 214 points better than where he finished last year.