MLB Player News

Great Britain took an immediate 1-0 lead on Nate Eaton’s leadoff homer and maintained it for four innings, but Team USA’s offense took over afterwards, with Schwarber’s homer opening the floodgates. Gunnar Henderson went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Will Smith walked twice and was robbed of a homer by Trayce Thompson in right field.

The move is not yet official because the Pirates don’t play until Friday, but they tweeted it out on their official team account, so we know this is for real. Griffin seemed poised to make the Opening Day roster at the start of spring training, but he struggled to make consistent contact and wound up being sent to Triple-A, where he went 7-for-16 (.438) to start the season with three steals and a 4/5 K/BB ratio in five games. That was enough for the Pirates to call him up in time for the home opener on Friday against the Orioles. Griffin is not on the 40-man roster, so a move will need to be made before he is promoted.

He also didn’t strike out. The 21-year-old has gone 5-for-18 to start the season with one double, two RBI, and a 6/5 K/BB ratio in five games. Seeing just a .333 slugging percentage from Eldridge is odd, and him striking out more than once per game is not ideal, but he has plenty of talent and time to keep tweaking his approach.

Ritchie averaged 94 mph on his four-seam fastball, which also picked up three whiffs. His curve stood out as an elite pitch for him in this one, but he did struggle to get ahead in the count, not throwing a single first-pitch strike with his four-seam fastball. The Braves are struggling with the health of their rotation, so Ritchie could pitch his way into MLB innings, but he will need to tighten up the command a bit.

Schultz also struck out five and walked one. He has now allowed just three hits in his first nine innings of the season. He sat 96.6 mph on his four-seam fastball and maintained that velocity for much of the game, even averaging 98.1 mph in his final inning of work. He struggled to command his sinker, which led him to get behind in some counts, but he was still a bit too overpowering for his Triple-A opponents. He had only two whiffs on a non-fastball in this one, so that will be something to monitor as he gets closer to a big league opportunity.

Through five games, Bergolla has gone 12-for-20 (.600) with three doubles, six RBI, three walks, and two stolen bases. The 21-year-old also hit .286/.342/.333 in 125 games at Double-A last year with 40 stolen bases. There is little power to speak of here, but Bergolla is a good defender up the middle and clearly has plenty of speed. If he can continue to get on base at a high rate, he could become an interesting fantasy player.

It was Bolte’s first home run of the season, but he now already has four steals. The 22-year-old is off to a hot start at Triple-A after slashing .284/.385/.417 with nine home runs and 44 steals in 114 games split between Double-A and Triple-A last season. He’s not on the 40-man roster, so he likely wouldn’t be the first outfielder called up if there was an injury, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him play his way into the big leagues over the summer.

Young also struck out four and didn’t walk a single batter while registering a 25 percent whiff rate. His velocity is down a little bit across the board from what we saw last year, but nothing too drastic for this early in the season. He also added a sinker this year, which should help him cover for what is a fairly mediocre four-seam fastball. With Zach Eflin (elbow) potentially out for an extended period of time, Young could pitch his way into a role in Baltimore.

Command was obviously an issue for Mathews here. He threw 58 percent strikes on the day and just 50 percent first pitch strikes. The good news is that his fastball velocity held at 95 mph for the duration of his outing, and he registered a solid 27 percent whiff rate. The 25-year-old will likely see some MLB innings for a rebuilding Cardinals team this year, but he’ll need to get his command in order.

France did not make the Astros as a starter and is now working to establish himself as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen. His fastball velocity was in line with what we saw last year, and he pounded the strike zone for 77 percent strikes while registering a 42 percent whiff rate. He’ll likely see some MLB innings in some capacity this season.

Both home runs were no-doubters, leaving the bat at 108.8 and 106.4 mph, respectively. They were his first two home runs of the season, but the 27-year-old is off to a nice start in Triple-A. Whitcomb has not put up good numbers in his 78 MLB plate appearances to date, but he has performed well in Triple-A and can play all over the field, so he should get another shot in Houston this year.