MLB Player News

Because they knew this was coming, the Royals recently had Witt lead off a couple of spring games, though they’re still planning to bat him second this year. The Team USA lineup: SS Witt, 1B Bryce Harper, RF Aaron Judge, DH Kyle Schwarber, 3B Alex Bregman, C Cal Raleigh, LF Roman Anthony, CF Byron Buxton and 2B Brice Turang. Paul Skenes will start.

Crooks, who hit .133 in a 15-game cup of coffee last year in the majors, has gotten off to an unbelievable start this season, hitting .533 (8-for-15) with three homers through four games. The 24-year-old backstop’s path to at-bats with the Cardinals is extremely narrow with both Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés handling the catching duties in the big leagues. He could force his way into St. Louis’ plans if he’s able to sustain this hot streak for a couple more weeks.

Holliday is batting .308 (4-for-13) with a pair of doubles and two walks in four contests since kicking off a rehab assignment earlier this week. The 22-year-old former top-overall prospect, who is working his way back from a hamate fracture in his wrist, figures to return to Baltimore for his season debut at some point later this week.

Hinds has struggled to gain any traction at the highest level, striking out in 38.9 percent of his 95 plate appearances in the big leagues since 2024. However, he has almost nothing left to prove at the Triple-A level after hitting 38 homers and steals 41 bases combined in 206 games over the past two seasons. He’s batting .526 (10-for-19) with three homers and 12 RBI in five games this season. The 25-year-old possesses an intriguing combination of fantasy-relevant skills but will need to prove he can make enough contact to survive in the majors once he gets another opportunity.

Clark has understandably been overshadowed by Kevin McGonigle’s meteoric rise in Detroit’s system, but he remains one of the most promising talents in the fantasy landscape. The former third-overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft is hitting .278 (5-for-18) with three doubles, one RBI and three steals through five games to open the year. He figures to arrive in the Motor City later this summer as the Tigers’ center fielder of the future.

Pivetta washed away his Opening Day woes with a strong start here against the offensively inept Giants. He still struggled to miss bats or command any of his secondary offerings though. So, he responded by throwing his fastball 68% of the time and overpowering the Giants’ hitters up in the zone. He’s scheduled to Pirates on the road followed by the Rockies on the road in what’s lined up for a two-start week coming up.

Despite the eventual six-run margin of victory, Miller entered this game at a bit of a tense moment with Heliot Ramos up in the eighth as the tying run. Few moments are truly tense for Miller though as he forced a pop-up to escape that ‘jam’ and then struck out three batters in the following inning. He’s the best closer in the league and it’s truly not even close.

Few hitters have come out of the gate hotter than Laureano. He’s 7-for-18 in the early going and this home run was already his second. It was also the fatal blow in this game, stretching the Padres’ lead from two to four in the eighth inning before they wound up tacking on two more. This is an incredibly encouraging start after his huge bounceback last season.

The Giants only mustered four hits in this one and Arraez was responsible for three of them. His double – which was his first extra-base hit of the season – also set the table for the only run they’d score. With those three knocks, Arraez has pulled his batting average back above .300 and all is right in the world. Hopefully he can continue to steal some bases which would do wonders to broaden his fantasy value.

This was not a pretty start by any means. Yet, not much of the damage done against Houser was necessarily his fault. Two usually sure-handed defenders Casey Schmitt and Matt Chapman each made errors that brought an unearned run home. Then, Gavin Sheets laced a run-scoring double in the sixth inning as Houser’s last batter while Tony Vitello tried to nurse him through the inning rather than opt for a lefty reliever. At the same time, the Padres were all over Houser with 11 hard-hit balls and he was fortunate enough to keep the game as close as he did.

Massey figures to get a couple additional games under his belt before returning to Kansas City’s infield mix later this week. The 28-year-old opened the season on the shelf with a left calf strain. He kicked off a rehab assignment earlier this week.