MLB Player News

Torkelson checked out fine after being hit by a pitch during a simulated game earlier this week in Tigers camp. There was some initial concern when the incident occurred but it seems like the power-hitting first baseman managed to avoid serious injury. He’s a strong corner infield option for fantasy purposes in drafts this spring following an impressive 31-homer rebound campaign last year.

It looked as though the 21-year-old phenom had connected on his first big league home run in the second inning, only to see Jackson Merrill pull it back from over the center field wall. He still made his mark on the game though. McGonigle strolled to the dish with the bases loaded and two outs in a 2-2 game in the eighth inning. Padres’ skipper Craig Stammen turned to left-hander Wandy Peralta to try to get him out, but McGonigle battled him for 10 pitches, fouling off four two-strike offerings and working the count full before lining a go-ahead two-run single into right field that proved to be the difference. He’s off to a sizzling 5-for-8 (.625) start to his big league career with two runs scored and four RBI.

Torres drew a leadoff walk off of Michael King to open the sixth inning and ultimately scored the Tigers’ first run on a two-out RBI single off the bat of Spencer Torkelson. He also worked a walk during the team’s go-ahead rally in the eighth inning, racing around to score on Kevin McGonigle’s two-run single. He’s now 2-for-6 (.333) with four walks and three runs scored through the first two games of the 2026 campaign.

The 38-year-old right-hander wasn’t messing around in this one, needing just 11 pitches to strike out Gavin Sheets, Jake Cronenworth and Nick Castellanos in succession — each of them on swinging third strikes. He got five whiffs on his 11 offerings, including two each on his cutter and sinker. So far, so good for one of the most reliable bullpen arms in the league.

The 32-year-old southpaw struck out five batters on the evening while allowing just one base on balls. Three of the seven hits against him were infield singles — including a pair in the fourth inning that the Padres used to manufacture their first run. Valdez generated 11 swings and misses on 83 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 31 percent. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling when he does battle against the Cardinals in the Tigers’ home opener on Friday.

Merrill smacked a leadoff double off of Framber Valdez to start the second inning, but never advanced past there. He then reached on an infield single in the fourth but was ultimately cut down at the plate on a fielder’s choice. The 22-year-old outfielder then walked in the sixth inning, advanced to second on a pickoff error and scored on Ramon Laureano’s RBI double. It was a nice bounceback for Merrill after going hitless in the Padres’ opener on Thursday.

King racked up six strikeouts on the evening while also issuing four free passes. He allowed just one hit in the contest — a leadoff single to Zach McKinstry in the fourth inning — and he was erased on a double play. King started the sixth inning by issuing a walk to Gleyber Torres before turning the ball over to the bullpen and he ultimately scored after an error extended the inning. He generated 14 swings and misses on 82 pitches on the night, registering a strong CSW of 33 percent. He’ll try once again to get in the win column when he takes on the Red Sox in Boston on Friday.

He’ll presumably replace an IL-bound Christopher Morel. De Los Santos went 2-for-4 with a homer and a walk for Jacksonville tonight. The Marlins presumably will give him a fair amount of playing time at first for now, with Connor Norby moving around between first, third and DH.

Alvarez was reponsible for one of the Astros’ two runs on the night, with his solo homer off Yusei Kikuchi in the fifth inning providing the final run in the defeat. Alvarez is just 1-for-8 in his first two games to start the season, but has seen three of his at-bats come against lefty pitching. The Angels and Astros are off on Saturday and will conclude their opening series on Sunday.

Trout hit his second homer in as many games in the fifth inning to push the Angels’ lead to 5-2. Trout is off to a blazing start through the first two games of the season, going 4-for-6 at the plate while also drawing four walks. It’s only two games, but Trout’s early power display after failing to homer in 41 spring at-bats is encouraging.

Lowe broke things open for the Angels in the second inning when he took Mike Burrows deep for a three-run shot, putting the Angels up 4-1. Lowe, who also doubled in this one, hit just 11 homers in 396 at-bats last season but does have one 20 homer season on his resumé. He could have some fantasy upside in deeper leagues, especially if he sees some base-stealing opportunities.