MLB Player News

Mikolas has been atrocious in his three outings with the Nationals, and Washington will hope that working in bulk will lead to better results. They almost literally can’t get worse. PJ Poulin will open ahead of Mikolas on Tuesday.

Harris gets the nod atop Atlanta’s lineup against Mets starter Freddy Peralta after going 7-for-14 with two homers and seven RBI during the first three games of the series. The 25-year-old outfielder has been a streaky fantasy contributor the last few years. He’s in the middle of a strong stretch at the moment, hitting .299 (35-for-117) with four homers, 19 RBI and two steals over his last 30 games.

May suffered a right ankle contusion during his previous outing against Atlanta last week and simply hasn’t thrown a ton of pitches in any single outing since reeling off a one-hitter against the Padres back on June 15. The Cardinals aren’t going to push him too much from a workload standpoint with the All-Star break literally around the corner. The firm pitch count dampens his appeal for fantasy purposes, especially against a Milwaukee lineup that tends to do considerable damage against right-handed starters.

Azocar receives another call to Atlanta’s bench mix with Eli White away from the club on paternity leave. It’ll likely be another short stint for the 30-year-old journeyman after going 5-for-15 with one steal in nine games for the Braves earlier this year.

White will be away from the club for a couple days on paternity leave. The 32-year-old has been a strong fit with Atlanta as a reserve outfielder the last few years. He’s delivered a respectable .227 (25-for-110) average with four homers and four steals in 119 plate appearances over 53 games this season.

Camargo went 1-for-2 during his lone game for Atlanta back on June 17. The 27-year-old backstop is a strong bet to pass through waivers unclaimed and remain with the Braves as emergency catching depth behind emerging star Drake Baldwin.

Murakami will kick off a rehab stint with Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday with the goal of returning to Chicago prior to next week’s All-Star break. The 26-year-old rookie slugger should only require a handful of minor-league tune-up contests to get back up to speed. He’s been out with a hamstring strain since late May. Fantasy managers should plan to have Murakami back in the mix by the end of the week and he should be a full-go coming out of the Midsummer Classic.

Schwarber earned the automatic ejection from Monday’s frustrating one-sided affair following a sixth-inning strikeout. He finished 0-for-3 with three punchouts and also drew a walk. The 33-year-old slugger leads the majors with 30 first-half round-trippers and is one of five Phillies headed to next week’s All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park.

Uceta has been on the injured list with lingering shoulder issues since spring training and his odds of making it back this season are fading quickly. The fact that he keeps suffering setbacks means that season-ending surgery is probably a realistic outcome. The track record for pitchers coming off major shoulder procedures isn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows either. In the meantime, unheralded Bryan Baker has excelled as Tampa Bay’s closer and was named to his first All-Star Game earlier this week. There should be a clearer idea of his next steps at some point in the coming weeks.

Graceffo returns to the big leagues with rookie reliever Max Rajcic hitting the shelf with an elbow injury. The 26-year-old has delivered a respectable 3.35 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 18/19 K/BB ratio across 40 1/3 innings across 35 appearances at the highest level this season. He’ll continue operating in low-leverage spots for the Cardinals.

Rajcic will undergo further evaluation and imaging to determine the severity of the elbow issue. The 24-year-old rookie has posted a 5.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 8/6 K/BB ratio across nine innings since being promoted to the majors back on June 18.