MLB Player News

Well, that was unexpected. Woo has been one of the best starters in baseball over the last two seasons, but he flat-out didn’t have it Saturday. Not only did he allow nine hits, four of those hits left the park, and he only struck out one. These things happen. Woo will get a chance to bounceback — and likely will — against the Twins next week.

In a battle of 2026’s biggest surprises to date, Elder easily outdueled Justin Wrobleski, even though he was pulled 3 1/3 innings earlier than the Dodgers hurler. Elder fanned eight for the third time in nine starts this season. He reached that total just twice in 28 starts last year. The victory moves him to 4-1 with a 1.81 ERA. His strikeout rate is up nicely, but his groundball rate has fallen some as a result, and he seems due to start giving up more homers. Long-term mixed-league value still seems rather unlikely. His next start will come at home versus the Red Sox.

What year is this? Wrobleski is the first pitcher since Zach Wheeler in 2021 to go at least eight innings and allow seven runs. But only five of Wheeler’s seven were earned. He’s the first since Alex Cobb in 2012 to go at least eight innings with seven earned runs, and he’s the first since Carlos Silva in 2006 to go 8 2/3 innings with seven runs allowed. With one more out, it could have been the first nine-inning complete game with seven runs allowed since Bobby Witt threw 151 pitches on the final day of the 1993 season. Although that would have required him giving up a couple of more hits first; it was actually 5-2 when he was pulled after unfortunately hitting Mike Yastrzemski in the helmet. Wyatt Mills replaced him and allowed two inherited runners to score before finishing the game. Wrobleski, who allowed seven hits and walked one today, threw a mere 100 pitches. He actually struck out seven, besting his previous season high by one. He fell to 5-1 with a 2.42 ERA. He’s due to face the Angels next.

Muncy also hit another ball to the wall that Eli White made a great play on before crashing to the wall, and he had a 108-mph lineout in the fourth. He’s batting .273/.372/.547, though quite remarkably, he has just 15 RBI on the season. His 35 hits have driven in a total of five teammates.

Hitting one spot ahead of him, Hyeseong Kim reached on catcher’s interference once but struck out his other three times up. One of Freeland or Kim will head back to Triple-A on Monday when Mookie Betts comes off the IL. Kim has a 102-point advantage in OPS right now, so he might be the better bet to stay. However, the one kept now still figures to lose his spot to Enrique Hernández before too long.

Martin struck out nine and allowed five baserunners while throwing 105 pitches. He’s been a different pitcher to begin 2026. Martin added a cutter and re-designed some breaking pitches. His slider, in particular, has been a difference-maker and entered the outing with a 59% whiff rate on 93 pitches. The pitch models aren’t fully buying in, but his advanced metrics show enough for him to be a must-start option at home against the Cubs next time out.

Domínguez only threw 12-of-23 pitches for strikes. He has the worst strike rate in the team’s bullpen but now has nine of their 12 saves on the season. Grant Taylor still isn’t being used like a closer-in-waiting, so the expectation remains that this is Domínguez’s job to lose.

Gilbert allowed one hit and didn’t walk anyone, and he now has 52 Ks in 44 innings this year. His K% is down a bit, but Sunday’s performance was a step in the right direction. Seattle’s crowded rotation might transition to a six-man at some point, but Gilbert is lined up for a home matchup against the Padres this week.

The White Sox managed just one hit in Logan Gilbert’s six innings of work. Antonacci has now hit leadoff against six consecutive right-handers, a favorable lineup slot ahead of Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery. The White Sox are lined up for six games this week, five of which project to be righties.

Naylor got off to a slow start this year, but he’s 14-for-36 (.389) to begin May. His bat speed is down so far, but his track record warrants patience in all formats. He’s also running at the same rate as he did between Arizona and Seattle last year, already at seven thefts entering mid-May.

He did give up seven hits, and he really should be racking up strikeouts against Low-A hitters. Still, this is encouraging. Rodriguez is already up to 94 pitches already, so the Angels could, theoretically, add him to their rotation at any time. However, he’s not their current year’s first-round pick, so they’ll probably want him to face more advanced competition first.