MLB Player News

Milner heads to the Windy City after spending the previous season with the Rangers where he posted a strong 3.84 ERA — 3.39 FIP — and 58/21 K/BB ratio across 70 1/3 innings over 73 appearances. The 34-year-old veteran southpaw has experienced a noticeable decline in both fastball velocity and strikeout percentage last year, but he should remain an effective middle relief option for Chicago on a short-term pact.

Caminero got the Rays going with a solo home run in the third inning of this one and found himself in the middle of two rallies later on. He’s beginning to heat up, reaching base in five consecutive games. We’re just waiting for the home runs – this was his third – to start pouring in like last season.

Working in a bulk relief role following opener Cole Sulsler, Scholtens cruised against the feeble White Sox lineup. He had a very slider-heavy approach as they accounted for nearly half of his total pitches against a mostly left-handed lineup. It worked out here despite only forcing five total swings-and-misses. He lines up for a two-start (or two bulk appearance) week coming up against the Reds and Twins at home.

It’s been a nightmarish start to the season for Montgomery. After closing last season on a 50-homer pace through his 71-game debut, he has just a .175 batting average and 24 strikeouts through 18 games thus far. His raw power and defense remain elite, but it’s fair to fear how much this strikeout issue could hold him back.

The Rays never let Burke settle in here. After a one-two-three first inning, there was constant traffic on the bases and couldn’t miss enough bats to quell those rallies. In fact, he only forced three swings-and-misses all outing against a lineup that isn’t particularly tough to hold down. Yet, he’s on tap for a mildly interesting two-start week against the Diamondbacks and Nationals coming up. Proceed with caution.

Waldschmidt does a little bit of everything well and projects to hit for both average and power at the highest level. He’s off to a strong start at the Triple-A level, hitting .333 with two homers and one steal in 17 games. The 23-year-old’s path to the majors is a bit complicated with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (knee) kicking off his rehab assignment and expected back soon. However, he should make it to Arizona sometime around midseason.

Weiss has pitched reasonably well with the exception of a disastrous relief outing at Coors Field earlier this month. The 29-year-old is too risky to trust in shallow mixed leagues, but he might be a decent streaming option in extremely deep formats since he’ll get the Rockies at Daikin Park. He’s unlikely to work more than a couple innings since he threw 64 in his last relief appearance.

Is Elder… good now? Sure, it was still the Marlins, but he was in complete control yet again. He allowed just two total hard-hit balls and very little traffic on the bases. Something has clicked with his slider which has become his primary pitch this season rather than the sinker he’s leaned on in the past. That slider was nasty diving low and below the zone all night while forcing all nine of his swings-and-misses. He’s lined up for a two-start week against the Nationals and Phillies coming up.

Iglesias worked around a two-out single by Xavier Edwards to cruise to another save. He now has four on the young season and is yet to give up a run with seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings pitched. The age-less wonder remains a very steady and reliable closer.

Finally, Riley hit his first home run of the season. It was a 400 foot blast at 109 mph off the bat and you could see the weight lifted off his shoulders as he rounded the bases. He still has an uphill climb ahead of him with just a .229 batting average and .645 OPS through 19 games after two consecutive poor seasons.

Hicks just continues to hit. His homerun briefly gave the Marlins a pulse in the eighth innings and his runs batted in gave him 18 on the season which is tied for the fourth-most in the league. He has an elite bat-to-ball ability with some of the lowest strikeout and whiff rates in the league and has found a groove this season by being more aggressive in the strike zone. Also, he’s started every game the Marlins have played against a right-handed pitcher this season and hit fourth in each one. He is a viable option at catcher in practically every league type.