MLB Player News

it took longer than anticipated, but Painter’s MLB debut was awfully impressive; even when considering the Nationals aren’t exactly the toughest lineup in the sport. Painter allowed just four hits and one walk, and didn’t have a run charged to him until the sixth. His four-seam fastball averaged 96.7 mph and he threw several pitches above 98, and he generated nine swings and misses among his 84 offerings. Painter will be back on the bump and look to build on this effort against the Giants on Monday.

Fried was dominant yet again on Tuesday, holding the Mariners off the board over seven frames to extend his scoreless streak to 13 1/3 innings across his first two starts. He scattered three hits and one walk while collecting six strikeouts. The 32-year-old left-hander has a chance to continue his excellent start when he takes on the Marlins in New York on Sunday.

Gilbert recorded two quick outs before the Yankees strung together three straight hits to plate two runs in the opening frame. He settled in to keep New York off the board until running into more trouble in the sixth. Three hits and a walk plated two more runs, knocking Gilbert from the game at 95 pitches. One inherited runner would come in to score, charging Gilbert with five runs on the day. He struck out six on 14 whiffs but threw just 54 strikes. The struggles to complete six frames go back to last season, when he did it just eight times in 25 starts. The 28-year-old right-hander will look to bounce back when he takes on the Rangers in Texas next Monday.

With the Red Sox looking at 21 called strikes, Brown needed just 78 pitches to get 18 outs tonight. He has 17 strikeouts while allowing just one run in 10 2/3 innings to date, and now he gets to face the Rockies next time out. It is at Coors Field, but that’s usually not the same kind of issue in April as it might be in July.

That’s the good. The bad is that, because he threw 50 pitches, he’ll probably be swapped out for a fresh arm prior to Wednesday’s game. Bolton, who signed a minor league deal in January, was just added to Houston’s roster before the game. He had a 5.79 ERA in 34 career appearances with the Pirates, Mariners and Guardians coming into tonight.

The one encouraging thing about Bello’s outing tonight was that his cutter performed incredibly well; he threw it 21 times for seven whiffs, five called strikes and three instances of soft contact, though two of those turned into hits. Nothing else stood out, and he just didn’t have an answer for Yordan Alvarez, who homered and doubled off him. He’s not a mixed-league quality starter right now, but he’ll probably be adequate for Boston if the Red Sox choose to start hitting at some point. He’ll face the Brewers next.

The double was a 418-foot blast to center off Brayan Bello in the first. It would have been gone in 26 ballparks, according to Statcast, but Ceddanne Rafaela nearly turned it into an out before coming up just short at the wall. Alvarez didn’t leave it to chance in the fifth, delivering a 399-foot blast far over the wall in right. He’s looked fantastic so far, and he could easily have five homers, rather than three, through his first six games. It’s understandable to worry about durability, especially since he’s going to be asked to play a fair amount of left field, but he’s one of the handful of players with a real shot at winning AL MVP honors.

The homer was hit just 346 feet and would have been an out in a lot of ballparks, but he’ll take it. The walk came five pitches after Smith somehow got away with a phantom swing and a miss for strike three, but he’ll also take that. Smith doesn’t seem quite ready to bust out as a star as a sophomore, but if he keeps playing regularly, he’ll probably offer some mixed-league value.

We’re not going to compare him to Kristian Campbell just yet, but this one was ugly. Anthony’s first three strikeouts all came on three pitches against Hunter Brown. He made it up to five pitches before taking a called strike three from Cody Bolton in the eighth. Anthony looked great in the WBC and had three hits in Boston’s opener last week, but he’s 1-for-17 with 10 strikeouts and two walks in his last four games, all of which have been losses for the Red Sox.

Sánchez blistered a solo homer off Cole Sulser for his first homer of the 2026 campaign. The veteran backstop isn’t likely to see consistent playing time — at least not the kind that you’re looking for in a fantasy option — but there’s still plenty of pop in his right-handed bat when he does get into the game.

Simpson showed off his speed with his first — and likely not last — three-bagger of the year as well as his second steal of the campaign. The 25-year-old isn’t going to provide much power, but helping in the average and steals category is well within reach for one of the fastest players in the sport.