MLB Player News

As much of a disaster as Dansby Swanson has been offensively, Hoerner has been just as bad for about eight weeks now. In 46 games since Apr. 22, he’s hit .202/.283/.246 with 11 runs scored and 11 RBI in 205 plate appearances. He’s actually struck out only nine times during the entire stretch, but just putting the ball in play doesn’t necessarily mean good things are going to happen (sorry, baseball commentators). Statcast thinks Hoerner has been pretty unlucky, but his EV numbers are all worse than usual and defenses are taking away some of his singles because they’re just not too worried about him hitting the ball over the heads of outfielders. He’s going to have to swing with a little more authority if he wants to keep defenses honest.

De La Cruz singled, went deep and also walked, reaching base safely in all three of his plate appearances during his rehab debut. He also logged five innings at shortstop. The 24-year-old fantasy superstar looked impressive while kicking off his rehab assignment and figures to return to Cincinnati’s lineup at some point later next week. He’s been on the shelf recovering from a hamstring strain since late May.

Ramos took lefty Charlie Barnes deep in his second rehab contest at the Triple-A level. The 26-year-old outfielder is working his way back from a right quad strain that put him on the shelf back in mid-May. It’s possible he’s ready to rejoin San Francisco’s outfield mix this weekend.

Teel’s return to Chicago’s catching mix appears imminent after a monster performance at the dish while also handling all nine innings behind the dish during his latest rehab contest. The 24-year-old backstop has been snake-bitten by injuries this season, missing the first three months due to hamstring and knee issues. He figures to rejoin the upstart White Sox for his season debut at some point this weekend.

Made matched a season-high with four RBI in the opener of Friday’s twin bill, reaching base in three of his five plate appearances. He delivered a bases-loaded double to clear the bases as part of an eight-run second inning before adding another RBI single a couple frames later. He tacked on an additional run-scoring single in the nightcap before the game was suspended due to inclement weather. It felt fitting that only the elements could slow down baseball’s top prospect on one of the best nights of his career. Perhaps most encouraging, he showed no signs of rust in his return to Biloxi’s lineup after suffering a left quad contusion on a collision with teammate Josh Adamczeski earlier this week. The 19-year-old phenom remains on a rapid trajectory toward Milwaukee and could potentially arrive in the majors early next season.

With Seattle transitioning to a six-man piggyback rotation schedule through next month’s All-Star break it doesn’t seem like Anderson, the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball, will factor into the club’s plans until later this summer. The 21-year-old, who was selected third overall in last year’s draft, has reeled off 27 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings and holds a microscopic 1.02 ERA across 61 2/3 innings through 12 starts at the Double-A level. He’s put together one of the most impressive professional debuts in recent memory. He’ll arrive in the majors at some point later this season and should make an immediate fantasy impact. Anderson is worth stashing away in all fantasy formats until further notice.

Puk underwent an MRI earlier this week after suffering a shoulder injury during the final stages of his minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno. The 31-year-old southpaw will be reassessed in one month before he’s cleared to resume throwing. He’ll ostensibly have to race against the clock to make it back to Arizona’s high-leverage mix before the regular season wraps up.

Durbin’s 367-foot homer gave the Red Sox their lone run off Bryce Miller through five. Durbin also homered Wednesday, and he’s hit .292 with four homers in his last 18 games, raising his OPS from .479 to .609. He’s not a bad CI option in 12-team leagues now that he’s shaken off his playing time concerns.

Suarez pitched scoreless ball for the sixth time in 14 starts this season to win for the first time since Apr. 27; he was 0-1 with a 3.34 ERA in his previous seven starts. He’ll next face the Rockies in Coors, where he has a 3.20 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance over the course of his career.

Miller struck out seven and walked one while losing for the first time in seven outings since debuting last month. The Mariners will probably continue to toy with their rotation through the All-Star break, but even so, Miller needs to be regarded as a top-20 SP going forward. He has a 1.58 ERA and a 43/5 K/BB through 40 innings.

He’s not the first reliever to give up five runs to the Red Sox since Tanyon Sturtze in 2008, but it doesn’t seem totally unrealistic, does it? The Mariners are piggybacking their six starters through the All-Star break, and it seemed like Castillo would get a start the next time through after relieving tonight. However, it was already very clear that he should be sixth in line for starts, and it’s hard to understand why it’d make sense to pitch any of the Mariners’ other five starters behind him next week.