MLB Player News

Alexander retreats to the minors after allowing five runs over 4 1/3 innings in long relief during Wednesday’s blowout loss to the Dodgers after starter Lance McCullers Jr. left the contest with a finger injury. The move frees up a spot for Houston to bring up a fresh arm for Friday’s series opener against the Reds.

Vargas launched a 410-foot home run in the third inning that left the bat at 106.5 mph, and then hit another one 404 feet at 112.9 mph later in the fifth inning. The 26-year-old now has nine home runs and 21 RBI on the season to go along with a .228/.369/.471 slash line. He’s adjusted his launch angle to not be as dramatic, so he’s hitting fewer fly balls, but he’s making much harder contact with a 13 percent barrel rate and a career high 44 percent hard-hit rate. The batting average should rise closer to .240, and he’s going to be a valuable fantasy asset in many leagues this season.

Kay also allowed three hits and two walks while striking out five and posting a below-average 26 percent CSW and eight percent swinging strike rate. It wasn’t a dominant day for Kay, but he made the big pitches when he needed to, posting a 46 percent PutAway Rate, which is well above his season-long average of 28 percent. His changeup was really his only pitch that missed bats, and has been his best pitch all season. We would avoid starting him against the Cubs next week.

The Padres also got a homer from Ty France in a game they won despite being outhit seven to five. Machado’s homer off Matt Svanson was his first hit in his last six games, pushing his average back up to .197.

Vásquez gave up six hits and walked none, but there were enough deep counts that it took him 94 pitches to get his 15 outs. Still, he lasted long enough to get the win, which is most of what matters here. Vásquez moved to 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA. He’ll pitch in Milwaukee next week, making him a middling play in mixed leagues.

Entering in the eighth for the second time this season, Miller got a Jordan Walker groundout with two on to end a threat. In the ninth, he walked two and struck out four, with the third of those reaching on a wild pitch. JJ Weatherholt was caught looking to end the game with the bases loaded. Miller threw 29 pitches, so he might take a seat on Sunday. If so, Jason Adam could be the choice to close.

May took the defeat to fall to 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA, but that hardly tells the whole picture. Since giving up 13 runs in his first two outings, he’s turned in five quality starts in six tries, with his lone miss being an outing in which he allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings. He’ll work at home against the Royals next week. We still wouldn’t rate him as a good option in mixed leagues, but he’s definitely holding up his end of the bargain with the Cardinals so far.

The veteran struck out six and walked nobody, while also throwing nearly 70 percent of his pitches for strikes and posting a 20 percent swinging strike rate. All of that is tremendous, and he got to two-strike counts on 78 percent of the hitters he saw. The issue is that he also gave up a home run and an average exit velocity of 96.7 mph on the contact he allowed. The Mariners have said they want Castillo to piggyback with Bryce Miller (oblique) when he comes off the IL, but Castillo also has a 6.57 ERA on the season, so there’s a chance that Miller could simply take the rotation spot if he pitches well. Castillo no longer needs to be held in 12-team redraft leagues.

Jung is now up to five home runs and 20 RBI with a .319/.372/.519 slash line. He’s finally healthy after nagging injuries over the last few years, and he has been the most consistent bat in the Rangers’ lineup this season. There may not be a true breakout here, but Jung is at least emerging as the hitter we expected him to be before the injuries kicked in.

After coming to Chicago with much fanfare in the off-season, the 32-year-old is hitting .233/.328/.333 with three home runs, 13 RBI, and a 31/22 K/BB ratio in 39 games. He’s making enough contact, and his hard-hit rate is actually in line with previous seasons,s but his bat speed is trending down, and he’s hitting more groundballs than he ever has. There’s still plenty of time for him to figure it out, but it hasn’t been the best start to the season.

He struck out six and walked three while giving up just three hits. Kelly entered Saturday’s outing with a 9.95 ERA through his first four starts, so this was easily his best outing of the season. The veteran right-hander gave up some hard contact early on, but he really found his comfort level as the night went on. Some fantasy managers will want to see more before starting Kelly with confidence, but given his track record, he could quickly find himself back in the circle of trust. It’s truly a tough call next time out against the Rockies in Colorado.