MLB Player News

Barger’s home run was a 407-foot shot that capped off a four-run fifth inning to take the lead. It was his 14th home run on the season to go along with 42 RBI and a .272/.325/.521 slash line in 75 games. The 25-year-old has certainly played his way into the long-term plans for the Blue Jays.

Let’s start with the bad news. Jones served up a solo homer to Kody Clemens and a two-run blast to Trevor Larnach a couple frames later, with both long balls coming against his fastball. Not great. There were some positive takeaways for the dynamic 24-year-old as he averaged 99 mph on his fastball and topped out at 101.5 mph in his first major-league start since September 27, 2024. He finished with six strikeouts and only handed out two free passes. Jones remains a work in progress after missing last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, but his talent and strikeout upside are undeniable, which makes him worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy leagues. He’ll make his next start against the Astros at Daikin Park on Thursday.

Fairbanks came on to work in a 7-7 game in the 10th inning after the Marlins came up empty in the top half of the frame. He got Juan Soto to fly out to center to start the inning, keeping Vidal Brujan at second base, but MJ Melendez followed with a walk-off two-run blast that ended it. Fairbanks now holds an unsightly 7.53 ERA and 1.40 WHIP over 14 1/3 innings on the season while converting six of his first eight save chances.

Bradley turned in his shortest outing of the season in this one, surrendering five hits, including a gargantuan 450-foot homer to Oneil Cruz in the third inning. He piled up six strikeouts and only walked two batters. The lackluster effort snapped a streak of three consecutive quality starts since April 29. He’s been one of this season’s more impressive breakthrough arms with a solid 3.21 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 65/21 K/BB ratio across 56 innings of work. He’ll take the ball at home against the division-rival Royals on Thursday.

Caissie ambushed a first-pitch splitter from Tobias Myers for a 397-foot (103.4 mph EV) two-run blast that tied the score at 7-7 in the eighth inning. That would wind up being the extent of the Marlins’ offense in the game though. The 23-year-old outfielder finished the night 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and is now hitting .232/.286/.399 with five long balls and 28 RBI on the season.

On the plus side for fantasy managers, Meyer racked up six strikeouts on the evening while issuing three free passes. The Mets got to him early in this one, pushing four runs across in the opening inning. They added on single runs in the third and fourth, including a solo shot off the bat of Mark Vientos. Meyer generated 10 swings and misses on 106 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 30 percent. He’ll attempt to bounce back as he brings a stellar 2.97 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 74/25 K/BB ratio (66 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Nationals in Washington.

Vargas got the White Sox on the board in the third inning with an RBI double off of Troy Melton. They then scratched out a run off of Kyle Finnegan in the ninth inning to force extra innings. After the Tigers scored once in the top half of the frame, the White Sox were down to their final out with Drew Romo still standing on second base when Vargas obliterated an 0-1 changeup from Drew Anderson for a 391-foot (102.3 mph EV) two-run shot that sent the White Sox’ faithful into a frenzy. With his 2-for-5 night, Vargas is now slashing .235/.365/.485 with 13 homers and 34 RBI on the season.

Fedde issued three free passes on the night while striking out three. He worked as a bulk reliever behind Brandon Eisert who got the first four outs in the ballgame. All the damage done against him came on a two-run blast by Dillon Dingler in the third inning. Fedde got six whiffs on 84 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 29 percent. Still 0-5 on the season, he’ll carry a 5.40 ERA and 1.48 WHIP into Wednesday’s battle against the Twins in Minneapolis.

It was a line drive missile off a Mitchell Parker slider, landing 414 feet away from the plate to right-center, that gave the Padres a late 7-5 lead they’d hold on to. Merrill briefly fell to hitting .194 earlier this week, but he’s now fought his way back to .201/.274/.332 on the season with 10 stolen bases and five home runs. If you could cover your eyes and forget about the batting average, the surface numbers are alright. But we can’t do that. Merrill will need to hit better over the summer to return value equivalent to his draft position for fantasy managers.

Dingler opened the scoring in the ballgame as he walloped a 361-foot two-run shot off of Erick Fedde in the third inning. The hard-hitting backstop finished the night 1-for-4 and is now slashing .231/.319/.468 with 11 homers and 34 RBI on the season.

Finnegan came on to protect a two-run advantage in the ninth and got into trouble as he allowed two consecutive one-out singles that put runners on the corners. The White Sox then dropped down a sacrifice bunt to score the tying run. Finnegan escaped further damage, but the Tigers went on to lose in the 10th as Drew Anderson blew another one-run lead. The Tigers’ bullpen is in complete shambles at the moment.