MLB Player News

Ekness earns his first promotion to the majors after recording a surreal 21/6 K/BB ratio across 12 2/3 innings for Triple-A Jacksonville this season.T he 24-year-old features an upper-90s fastball/sinker combination paired with a devastating sweeper, which should enable him to excel in high-leverage spots. His arsenal may be deep enough to transition into a traditional starting role at some point in the future like Michael King, Reynaldo López, Seth Lugo and Clay Holmes have in recent years. He’s an interesting name to watch in deeper fantasy formats in the coming months.

Dunn is heading back to Cincinnati to undergo additional evaluation and imaging after leaving Friday’s game against the Pirates in the sixth inning with elbow discomfort. He’s served as Cincinnati’s primary top-of-the-order table-setter since late May. It’s unclear whether he’ll require a trip to the injured list, but it seems likely ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Brewers. There should be an update on his status later this weekend.

Keys is at first base and hitting sixth against the Rangers in his major-league debut with Vladimir Guerrero getting a break from the field at DH and George Springer taking a seat. The unheralded 23-year-old power-hitting prospect has put together a true breakout campaign after making some mechanical tweaks to his swing, slashing .284/.409/.619 with 21 homers and seven steals in 286 plate appearances in the upper levels of Toronto’s system. He’ll need to produce at the dish to keep his roster spot with the Blue Jays, but he’s an interesting bat-first prospect that fantasy managers should have on their radar screens, especially in deeper mixed leagues.

Piñango remains a defensive liability, but the Blue Jays are probably willing to overlook that if he’s running a 45 percent hard-hit rate. The 24-year-old rookie was just shipped back to the minors earlier this week after hitting .283/.331/.433 with four homers and 18 RBI in 138 plate appearances. He gets another look at the highest level with Jesús Sánchez requiring a trip to the injured list with a sprained ankle.

Sánchez underwent a precautionary MRI to rule out any structural issues after initial X-rays came back negative for any fractures. There should be some clarity on his status later this weekend, but fantasy managers should anticipate a multi-week absence. The 28-year-old corner outfielder suffered the injury during Friday’s contest against the Rangers. He’s put together a decent Toronto debut, hitting .274/.316/.437 with seven homers and 29 RBI through 234 plate appearances over 73 games.

As expected, Schneider heads back to the minors with slugging prospect Sean Keys ascending to the big leagues. The 27-year-old has hit just .153/.282/.296 with three homers and one steal in 118 plate appearances over 49 games this season. His multi-position versatility is valuable in a bench role, but he simply hasn’t hit enough for the Blue Jays to justify keeping him around as they attempt to make a playoff push.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that the Pirates are going to manage Griffin’s workload carefully as he returns from a forearm strain that cost him nearly an entire month. The 20-year-old prodigy went 2-for-4 with a leadoff homer in his return from the injured list on Friday evening. He’s looked like a five-category fantasy monster since the start of May after taking a couple weeks to get acclimated to the big-league level. It’ll be Jared Triolo taking a turn at shortstop in his place. He should be ready to roll for Sunday’s series finale.

De La Cruz has gone 1-for-9 at the dish across three games since returning from the injured list earlier this week. The 24-year-old fantasy superstar moves atop Cincinnati’s lineup for the first time this season after mostly hitting second or third. It’s possible this is merely one-game change with typical table-setter Blake Dunn sitting out due to an elbow injury. It’s a situation worth monitoring for the next couple days.

We need to come up with a better term than piggybacking. Seriously. Gilbert takes the ball for a traditional start with Hancock doing the same for Sunday’s series finale. The decision pushes George Kirby back to Monday’s opener against the Angels. The whole Mariners rotation situation is challenging to understand and remains a massive headache for fantasy managers. There have to be some changes coming from a personnel standpoint after next month’s All-Star break because this seems too chaotic to work as a strategic approach for an extended period.

Cerantola fortifies Kansas City’s beleaguered bullpen in the wake of Friday’s calamitous 22-1 defeat at the hands of the upstart White Sox. The 26-year-old rookie has allowed four runs over four innings for the Royals this season in his first shot at the highest level.

Spence retreats to the minors after allowing a staggering 10 runs over 1 1/3 innings during Friday’s apocalyptic 22-1 loss to the White Sox. The 28-year-old has allowed 22 runs over 9 1/3 innings at the big-league level this season.