MLB Player News

Freeland will get the ball for Tuesday’s series opener in Cincinnati after missing just over two weeks with shoulder inflammation. The 32-year-old offers some limited appeal as a low-upside streaming option in deeper mixed leagues since it’s a road matchup against one of the weaker lineups in the game this season.

This was the Luke Raley game. His third inning grand slam momentarily broke this game open before the White Sox stormed back in the bottom of the frame. Then, he pushed their lead back to four with a three-run home run in the seventh that effectively put this game away. He only has four hits over the past week, but three have gone over the fence and have brought his total to eight on the season along with an .890 OPS.

The White Sox were all over Hancock in this one. Munetaka Murakami greeted him with a loud home run in the first inning and then after being spotted a 5-1 lead, Hancock gave it right back in a four-run third. Most of that damage came from a Colson Montgomery three-run double on a first-pitch fastball that was right down the middle. That fastball was hit hard overall despite being one of the key contributors to Hancock’s breakout so far this season. It was impressive to see him settle down enough to get through six frames despite those struggles and he’ll have a chance to get back on track against the Astros in Houston next time out.

He’s done it again. Murakami launched his 15th home run of the season in the first inning of this one, which tied Aaron Judge for most in the league. Another key mark, this was Murakami’s first home run that went out to left field. Also, his 15 long balls over 38 games is the fastest any player has reached that mark in White Sox history. Not just rookies, every player in their 125 years of existence. His batting average has begun to trend down a good bit as his strikeout rate and whiff rate remain near the bottom of the league, but his .948 OPS is elite and it looks like he will continue to mash.

Most of the damage against Burke came via a two-out grand slam by Luke Raley. Even more frustrating, it came on an 0-2 fastball that Burke threw right down the middle. Alas, his command which has been great to this point was spotty here with far too many pitches bleeding into the heart of the plate. He also struggled to get on top of his knuckle-curve as many of them either hung in the zone or floated to miss way outside against the lefties. He’ll have a chance to right the ship next Thursday against the Royals.

Misiorowski is an alien. That’s the only explanation for his first inning where his fastball averaged 103 mph. Yes, averaged 103 mph. All he threw were fastballs and missed an immaculate inning by about an inch when Aaron Judge laid off a tough pitch. While his velocity tapered off following that inning, his effectiveness didn’t. Only two runners managed to reach scoring position and was able to put all three of his pitches wherever he wanted to. He’s now gone back-to-back starts without giving up a run and has a 2.45 ERA and outrageous 70:17 strikeout to walk ratio across 44 innings this season. His next start is scheduled to come at home against the Padres.

Vaughn was part of a classic Brewers group effort to do away with Max Fried and the Yankees in this one. He scored runs in each of the second and third innings as they built their huge lead and has been swinging the bat well in his few games since coming off the injured list. He’s reached base safely in all four games to go along with one home run and four RBI.

Jones’ debut went just about as expected against Jacob Misiorowski. In his first at-bat, Miz blew him away with three fastballs that were all at least 102 mph and then a diabolical 89 mph back-door curveball that was dotted on the corner. It was a true welcome to the big leagues moment. He managed to work a walk in his next plate appearance before striking out again in his final one. There will likely be plenty of both walks and strikeouts for Jones as a big leaguer.

There’s not much to say here. Aranda was responsible for one of the Rays’ four hits on the night, all of which were singles as the Red Sox held them in check all evening. Aranda is slashing an impressive .444/.516/.481 in the early part of May, but has just one extra-base hit and four RBI to show for his efforts.

Fried fell victim to one disastrous inning here. The first five hitters reached safely against him in the second via three singles and two walks. Four of them wound up coming around to score despite very little hard contact by the Brewers. Nevertheless, the rest of his start was pretty clean despite him not having his best stuff. His next start is scheduled to come against the Orioles in Baltimore.

Chapman continues to be one of the most reliable closers in the game. The hard-throwing lefty struck out two of the three batters he faced and needed just 18 pitches to retire the Rays and secure the 2-0 victory. It’s the eighth save of the season for Chapman, whose ERA now sits at 0.71 on the season.