MLB Player News

Vitello departs Tennessee with a 341-131 record and three College World Series trips in eight seasons. The 47-year-old has no professional experience as either a coach or player, making this one of the most fascinating managerial hires in memory. He was also very well compensated at Tennessee, so he’ll probably be earning more than many MLB managers right away.

Keith finds himself atop Detroit’s lineup for the third time in the last four games after getting a break during Friday’s series opener. The 24-year-old has been a certifiable on-base machine this season, reaching safely in six straight games to boast a robust .417 on-base percentage. It’s an extremely small sample, but Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has been complimentary of his at-bats recently and appears poised to stick with him atop the lineup over Kerry Carpenter, who is hitting .160 (4-for-25) with 13 strikeouts in seven games. Star rookie Kevin McGonigle is back at shortstop and will bat second for the third time in the last four games.

No surprise here after Winn left Friday’s series opener in Detroit with hip tightness. The 24-year-old shortstop attributed the issue to overdoing it with his swing in an effort to break out of season-opening slump earlier this week prior to Wednesday evening’s car accident. It doesn’t sound like a serious concern but fantasy managers should keep a close eye on the situation this weekend. It’ll be rookie sensation JJ Wetherholt leading off with Thomas Saggese taking over at shortstop in his absence.

Jackson languished on the open market throughout the entire offseason, and spring training, after struggling to an inflated 4.06 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 38/28 K/BB ratio across 51 innings between the Mariners, Tigers and Rangers last year. Perhaps switching leagues will do the trick. The well-traveled 34-year-old veteran figures to arrive in New York’s bullpen as a middle relief option at some point this summer.

Rocker had his first start pushed back earlier this week after a minor neck issue with ace Jacob deGrom forced Texas the reshuffle their rotation. The 26-year-old former first-rounder won the final spot in the club’s season-opening rotation out of spring training and will get the ball opposite Reds pitching prospect Rhett Lowder on Saturday afternoon at Globe Life Field. He’s been extremely unpredictable from a results standpoint, so a wait-and-see approach is advisable for fantasy managers in shallow formats.

Fuentes delivered a dominant performance in his return to the minors, piling up 12 swinging strikes while averaging 97.1 mph on his four-seamer. The 20-year-old, who built up his pitch count to 72 (40 strikes) is one of the more intriguing young arms in the league as Atlanta continues to stretch him out before bringing him back to the majors as a starter. It feels like only a matter of weeks before he’s ready for a real shot at the highest level, which makes him a worthwhile stash candidate in extremely deep mixed leagues.

There are professional debuts, and then there’s whatever Hernandez just did. The 19-year-old prodigy was selected sixth overall in last year’s MLB Draft as the consensus top prep pitching arm in the class and has certainly lived up to the hype. He topped out at 99.3 mph and generated an eye-popping 18 swinging strikes on 39 pitches (30 strikes) in the abbreviated outing. He’s still a hyperspace jump or two, to borrow a Star Wars metaphor, from reaching the big leagues, but he’s clearly one of the top pitching prospects in the fantasy landscape already. He’ll be one of the biggest risers in dynasty rankings over the next few months.

Anderson’s professional debut went swimmingly as he scattered five hits and one walk, navigating traffic on the basepaths in all four frames, while generating 12 swinging strikes on 59 pitches (43 strikes). The third-overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft is one of the top pitching prospects in the fantasy landscape based on his immense strikeout upside. The 21-year-old southpaw looked extremely impressive in spring training and has a realistic chance to arrive in Seattle later this summer.

Kelly struck out two and scattered four baserunners over five impressive frames, averaging 90.4 mph on his cutter. The 37-year-old veteran got his pitch count up to 72 in his first rehab outing and figures to rejoin Arizona’s rotation at some point next week. It’s possible he’ll require an additional tune-up outing, but he’s definitely close to making his season debut after opening on the injured list recovering from a minor back issue.

Semien came through with an RBI single off of Tyler Mahle in the first inning that increased the Mets’ early lead to 2-0. He then clobbered a 407-foot (101.7 mph EV) two-run blast off of Mahle in the fourth that made it 4-0. With the two-hit effort, the 35-year-old infielder is now hitting .214/.303/.357 with one homer, five RBI and zero stolen bases in his first 33 plate appearances.

The hard-hitting backstop tagged Giants’ starter Tyler Mahle for a 415-foot (106.1 mph EV) solo shot in the fifth inning that increased the Mets’ lead to 5-0. He then victimized JT Brubaker for a 401-foot (107.0 mph EV) after an eight-pitch battle to open the seventh inning. He has been a productive option for fantasy purposes thus far, hitting .286 (6-for-21) with three long balls and three RBI.