MLB Player News

Ouch. Hayes is hitting a pretty incredible .142/.195/.225 through 128 plate appearances. Statcast thinks he’s been extremely unlucky, as he entered tonight with a .262 xBA and a .417 xSLG. He has underachieved some on his xSLG previously, but never like this, and his average and xBA have always matched up very closely prior to this year. Hayes also has a career-best 16 percent strikeout rate. So, he’s probably not going to continue to be anywhere near this bad. It’s just hard to sell Reds fans on that idea right now.

Pannone will also start on Wednesday, which is curious because Shane Drohan was the scheduled starter. There is no word yet on whether Drohan is hurt or will just be used as a bulk follower. Pannone has not pitched in the big leagues since 2023. He has a 4.13 ERA in 72 innings across 16 appearances (15 starts) in Triple-A this year.

Dallas has operated primarily as a starter in the minors, but he has a 1.93 ERA in 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Blue Jays this season. He will provide length out of their bullpen for the remainder of the week.

Van Eyk threw 3 1/3 innings out of the bullpen on Tuesday to cover for Shane Bieber’s short start. His reward is a trip to the minors so that the Blue Jays can bring up a fresh arm for the bullpen.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Guerrero Jr. is “feeling better” and “probably available to pinch-hit” if needed. We would not expect to see Guerrero Jr. play today, but it seems like he’ll avoid the injured list. Kazuma Okamoto will start at first base with Ernie Clement at third base and Davis Schneider at second base.

The Mets likely only want Robert Jr. to play in one game of the doubleheader, thanks to his checkered injury history, so they will opt to play him in Game 2 against left-hander Chris Sale. Tyrone Taylor will start in left field and bat seventh.

Missing a game against Tarik Skubal may not be the worst thing in the world. In 21 games in June, Holliday is hitting .353/.493/.412 with seven runs scored, three RBI, and one steal. That also comes with a 31 percent hard-hit rate and no barrels. It’s nice that the batting average is so high, but Holliday is just producing empty average for your fantasy teams right now. Jeremiah Jackson will start at second base and hit eighth on Wednesday

Despite hitting well in 138 plate appearances for the Marlins, the team has seemed reluctant to give him at-bats against right-handed pitching over Jakob Marsee. With Jesus Luzardo on the mound today, Ruiz will get a start, but the Marlins face only one more lefty this week, so his playing time might be limited.

Williams had internal brace elbow surgery last July, so it’s been a little over a year since he’s been on the mound for the Nationals. He struggled in 82 2/3 innings for the Nationals last year, but was a dependable pitcher for them in 2024.

The Pirates are just taking it day by day for now, but this more serious oblique injury could mean that Hernandez is unable to make it back by the end of the minor league season. The Pirates are likely going to be cautious with their top pitching prospect, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if we don’t see Hernandez on a mound again until 2027.

With no off day until August 10th, the Pirates are cycling through bullpen pitchers to ensure that they have some fresh arms ready to go. We should see Mattson back up this summer.