Reynaldo

López

López allowed three hits, walked two and struck out five. A Carson Benge homer accounted for the damage. He’s shown enough since returning to the rotation to reemerge as an option in deeper mixed leagues. His 21 percent strikeout rate and 10 percent walk rate are still quite a bit weaker than his marks from his successful 2024, when he came in at 27 and eight percent, respectively. López will face the Cardinals next.

López was in complete control during this outing. After letting up two hits and one run through the first four batters of the game, he retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced. His fastball was up a tick, sitting just above 95 mph and still stretching to 97 mph in his fifth and final inning of work. His slider had great bite too, forcing six swings-and-misses. He also worked up to 69 pitches, his most in a single outing since April 14th and overall, he looked much sharper than in his return to the rotation last Friday. Next up is a two-start week against the Mets and Cardinals.

López has plenty of starting experience and will jump into Atlanta’s rotation mix with Bryce Elder remaining on schedule to take the ball on Saturday with Chris Sale being pushed back to Sunday’s series finale. López is unlikely to work deep enough into the contest to deliver significant fantasy appeal. He holds a solid 3.50 ERA and 39/21 K/BB ratio across 43 2/3 innings this season.

López threw scoreless sixth and seventh innings after play resumed Wednesday. Unfortunately, pitching out of the pen hasn’t really done wonders for López’s velocity, as he averaged 93.3 mph with his fastball today. He has a 3.79 ERA in 19 innings while mostly pitching in low leverage situations since losing his rotation spot in late April.

Brought in with a 7-0 lead, López lost the shutout but didn’t create much drama in the Braves’ victory. Following a second straight shaky outing, it really doesn’t look like he’ll rejoin Atlanta’s rotation any time soon. He’s just no match for Martín Pérez at the moment.

This isn’t the kind of usage that suggests López will be back in the rotation any time soon. López, though, was back up to 94.2 mph with his eight fastballs today. He averaged just 92.5 mph last time out. He was between 93.2 mph and 94.6 mph in his four starts before being sent to the pen to work on mechanical issues.

We knew that López’s spots in the rotation were changed to TBD, but now we know he will officially be in the bullpen for the time being. It’s unclear what mechanical issues López needs to work on, but this will open up a spot in the short-term for JR Ritchie, who will start on Wednesday. Martin Perez will also start on Tuesday; although, his spot could be taken by Spencer Strider within a week.

The 32-year-old hurler was pulled during the second inning during Tuesday’s loss to the Nationals and clearly isn’t right at the moment. The Braves could opt to keep rookie JR Ritchie in their rotation while allowing López to work through his issues in the bullpen. If fantasy managers were planning on starting him or streaming him for his two starts next week, it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be making them.

López walked three and gave up three soft singles in a three-run first. The second then opened with a homer and a single, leading to his removal. López really didn’t deserve any luck while throwing just 30 of his 58 pitches for strikes, but to give up five hits and just two hard-hit balls was mostly a fluke. It’s his first loss of the year, and it leaves him with a 3.74 ERA through five starts. He’ll face the Phillies on Sunday.

It was López’s first start back since a five-game suspension for his part in the brawl with the Angels. It didn’t start out very well, as he gave up a run in the first and three more in the second before he settled down. He struggled with his command as seen in three walks and 53-of-96 pitches landing for strikes, but he was able to fan six despite generating only five swings and misses. López has a friendly matchup on paper against the Nationals on Monday.