MLB Player News

It’s an extremely small sample size, but Campbell is hitting .167 (3-for-18) with one extra-base hit through four games this season. The 23-year-old former top prospect’s fantasy stock has fallen off a metaphorical cliff over the past calendar year after opening last season in the big leagues as Boston’s starting second baseman.

Keaschall has gotten off to an extremely slow start through five games, batting .158 (3-for-19) with three RBI. It’s way too small of a sample size to overreact. The 23-year-old second baseman helped jump start Minnesota’s late rally by smacking a two-run double to left field in the seventh inning. It’s only a matter of time before he gets rolling.

The biggest question for Caglianone entering the season was whether his BABIP would normalize after he posted an outlandishly low .172 mark over 62 games during his rookie campaign last year. The 23-year-old slugger put three batted balls in play with exit velocities over 100 mph in this one, resulting in a trio of hits, including a 110.1-mph double against Twins ace Joe Ryan. One of the more popular late-round sleepers in fantasy drafts this spring, Caglianone is still searching for his first homer, but is hitting .357 (5-for-14) through five games.

Erceg was forced into action to clean up a ninth-inning mess after Bailey Falter allowed three runs and brought the tying run to the on-deck circle with one out, despite Kansas City entering the frame with a seven-run cushion. He retired Austin Martin before getting James Outman to ground out to end the contest. The hard-throwing 30-year-old will have some runway to establish himself as the Royals’ primary closing option with Carlos Estévez on the injured list with a foot contusion.

Cameron got plenty of help from Kansas City’s offense, which lit up Twins ace Joe Ryan for five runs over four innings to open the contest, enabling the young southpaw to cruise to a victory in his season debut. The soft-tosser generated only seven swinging strikes and gave up nine hard-hit balls, but managed to avoid any major damage. He’ll square off against the Guardians on Monday in a road tilt.

Ryan ran into an absolute buzzsaw in his second outing of the year as Kansas City tagged him for nine hits and forced him from the contest after just 77 pitches (49 strikes) over four frames. He finished with three strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter during a rain-soaked outing at Kaufmann Stadium. The concerning development for Ryan here is that he surrendered six hard-hit balls, including three with exit velocities over 106 mph that went for extra bases. Not great. He’ll aim for better results his next time out when he faces the division-rival Tigers on Monday in his next outing.

Ramírez gave Cleveland a commanding four-run lead with a towering two-run homer to left in the eighth inning, hammering a high fastball from Dodgers lefty Tanner Scott. The 33-year-old fantasy stalwart has gotten off to an unexpected frosty start at the plate, hitting .143 (4-for-28) with one homer, five RBI and two steals through seven games.

Pages was responsible for Los Angeles’ lone extra-base hit of the contest until Freddie Freeman went deep with two outs in the ninth inning. The 25-year-old center fielder has been one of the early bright spots for the Dodgers, hitting .429 (9-for-21) with one homer and five RBI in six games, which is a pleasant surprise since he looked completely lost at the dish during last year’s postseason run.

Freeman took Cleveland stopper Cade Smith deep with two outs in the ninth inning, crushing a gargantuan 407-foot moonshot to straightaway center field to break up a potential shutout. The entire top half of Los Angeles’ loaded lineup has inexplicably gotten off to an ice-cold start to the season. Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts, Freeman and Will Smith went a combined 1-for-18 in this one. They’re far too talented to continue flailing and it’s only a matter of time before they get back on track.

It was a bit surprising to see Smith summoned to protect a four-run lead in the final frame after giving up a pair of runs in a non-save situation the previous night. He got Kyle Tucker and Mookie Betts to fly out before serving up a 407-foot homer to Freddie Freeman. The hard-throwing 26-year-old stopper was able to settle down afterwards and prevent the inning from snowballing, getting Will Smith to fly out to preserve the win. Given his recent workload it wouldn’t be surprising to see Shawn Armstrong handle a save chance during Friday’s home opener.

Williams authored a masterful performance in an extremely challenging road matchup against a Dodgers lineup that resembles a fully operational Death Star, scattering two hits and three walks over seven frames while recording double-digit strikeouts for the fifth time in his career. The 26-year-old former top pitching prospect, who posted a sparkling 2.18 ERA across 12 second half starts to close out last year, has looked like an upper-echelon fantasy starter so far, allowing three runs with a 16/9 K/BB ratio across 11 innings of work. He’ll face the Royals on Tuesday in a home matchup.