MLB Player News

Burrows peppered the strike zone in his Astros’ debut, throwing 19 of his 24 pitches for strikes. The only hit against him came on a soft infield single off the bat of Jordan Walker with two outs in the first inning while his two punch outs came courtesy of Victor Scott II and Blaze Jordan. It’s obviously just one start against a Cardinals’ team that was missing many of its regulars, but it was a very strong first impression for Burrows.

Jensen remains out of Kansas City’s lineup for the second consecutive contest after a highly-publicized incident Thursday where he overslept and was scratched from the lineup. The 22-year-old rookie backstop figures to be behind the dish for the second game of Saturday’s twin bill after veteran Salvador Perez handles the catching duties in the opening contest.

Valenzuela has been summoned to the majors for the first time to bolster Toronto’s catching situation with starter Alejandro Kirk hitting the shelf with a fractured left thumb. It’s the first call-up for the 25-year-old backstop after coming over from the Padres in the Will Wagner trade last July. He’ll serve as veteran Tyler Heineman’s caddy while Kirk is on the injured list.

Kirk suffered the injury when he took a foul tip off his left thumb in the 10th inning of Friday’s extra-inning marathon against the White Sox. It’s a significant loss for the defending American League champions, and fantasy managers as well, since he’s likely facing a multi-week absence. The 27-year-old backstop was off to a slow start at the plate, hitting (3-for-20) through five games this season. It’ll be Tyler Heineman handling the catching duties in his absence.

It’ll be Griffin’s first rehab outing since suffering an Achilles tear last June while pitching for the Mets. The 29-year-old figures to be an option for the back-end of San Diego’s rotation mix at some point in May or June. He would likely represent an upgrade over cromulent veterans Walker Buehler and Germán Márquez for the Padres.

It’s the lowest Mongomery has hit in Chicago’s lineup this season as Toronto throws lefty Mason Fluharty on Saturday afternoon in the Windy City. The 24-year-old shortstop is off to an ice-cold start at the dish, hitting .192 (5-for-26) with one homer, five RBI and one steal through seven games. He’s struck out in 34.5 percent of his 29 plate appearances so far. It’s admittedly a small sample size, but he continues to look like a batting average liability without enough big-time power upside to make him a viable mixed-league option in shallow fantasy formats.

Wheeler finished with one strikeout while allowing four hits, including a home run, and issuing a pair of walks. The results are less concerning than his fastball velocity, which averaged just 92.7 mph after sitting in the 96 mph range last year. The 35-year-old threw 49 pitches (26 strikes) in his second rehab outing as he continues to build up towards a potential late-April or early-May return to Philadelphia’s rotation coming off last year’s thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.

Strider remains without a firm timeline to begin a minor league rehab assignment, which is likely to last several weeks. He’ll need to progress to facing hitters before he’s ready for rehab starts. The 27-year-old former fantasy ace has been on the shelf since the end of spring training recovering from an oblique strain. It’s starting to look like some point in May might be an optimistic goal at this juncture.

Suzuki played five innings in right field during his first rehab contest and got three plate appearances under his belt. Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters earlier this week that the 31-year-old right fielder will remain in the minors for three-to-seven days, which puts his season debut at some point within next week.

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.