MLB Player News

Yohel Pozo homered off him. Gordon spent about half of his rookie season in the Astros’ rotation, going 6-4 with a 5.34 ERA in 14 starts and six relief appearances. He’s not a threat to be part of this year’s season-opening group unless injuries strike, but he is jockeying for position with the team’s other fallbacks.

It’ll be Michael Soroka drawing the starting assignment for Canada after they advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in tournament history. Webb, who will be making his final WBC appearance on Friday, struck out six over four innings of one-run ball last week against Brazil.

It’s the first three-homer game in WBC history. Italy’s win means Team USA advances as well and will face Canada in the quarterfinals. Italy will take on Puerto Rico. Jon Berti also homered for Italy, which went undefeated in pool play. Pasquantino didn’t get all of the way into any of his three homers, which checked in at 342, 349 and 337 feet. For the Royals last season, the shortest of his 32 homers was hit 358 feet. He’ll have a chance to hit a few homers in that range this year with Kauffman Stadium bringing the right field corner in from 353 to 344 feet.

Nola could have gotten Team USA eliminated had he struggled tonight, potentially leading to some awkwardness with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. Instead, he kept Team Mexico quiet throughout, striking out five along the way. He could pitch again if Italy’s run continues into the WBC final.

The two big blows against Assad were 342- and 349-foot home runs. The 28-year-old’s velocity was again better than normal, and he threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of the 17 batters he faced. If Jarren Duran could have jumped a little higher on Vinnie Pasquantino’s first homer and Jon Berti’s had gone a foot to the right, it would have been a solid outing.

The second-overall pick in last July’s MLB Draft, Bremner made his professional debut on Wednesday in a spring training contest against the White Sox after missing time earlier in camp with elbow soreness. The 21-year-old righty should move quickly through the Angels system after a standout collegiate career at UC Santa Barbara. Guzman made his big-league debut last year while Ynoa was in camp as a non-roster invitee reclamation project.

Stanton’s two homers traveled a combined 826 feet, according to Statcast. The 36-year-old veteran slugger’s fantasy appeal is strictly limited to deeper mixed leagues given his well-documented injury history and power plus counting stats profile. He’s still capable of unleashing the occasional gargantuan homer but he hasn’t topped 115 games in a half-decade, which limits his realistic full-season projection to somewhere in the 25-30 range.

Lagrange generated nine swinging strikes on 19 swings and topped 102 mph five times with his fastball. The flame-throwing 22-year-old right-hander’s top-of-the-scale velocity puts him in a unique class from every other pitching prospect in the game. The Yankees will continue trying to iron out his command issues and develop him as a starter in the upper minors. The general consensus among scouts and evaluators is that he’s ticketed for a relief role where his raw stuff could make him one of the more dominant high-leverage arms in the game.

Schlittler struck out the side in an electric opening frame and lived consistently in the mid-to-upper-90’s with his fastball, cutter and sinker in this one. It’s encouraging to see him out there hitting the upper-90’s consistently after dealing with a back issue early on in camp. The 25-year-old righty should be a top-30 range starter in fantasy drafts this spring and offers some significant strikeout upside based on what he showed in the upper minors and with the Yankees in his big-league debut last year.

Johnston is a name to know for fantasy managers in extremely deep mixed leagues and NL-only formats since he projects to open the year as Colorado’s starting first baseman with Blaine Crim potentially hitting the injured list with an oblique injury. The 28-year-old was claimed off waivers from the Marlins last November after finally getting his opportunity at the highest level last year. He’s one of the few cold corner options with some decent stolen base potential and should benefit from hitting at Coors Field’s high-octane environment.

It’s not quite time to panic but Robles has gotten off to an ice-cold start at the plate this spring, hitting .083 (2-for-24) through eight games. The 28-year-old missed most of last season after suffering a dislocated left shoulder in early April. He’s the type of streaky hitter that tends to pile up hits and stolen bases in bunches but right now he’s in the middle of a cold spell.