MLB Player News

Ramon Ortiz failed to impress with two turns out of the fifth spot in the rotation, so Monasterios will get another shot. The 21-year-old right-hander allowed one run over four innings in his first major league start against the Pirates on May 1. The Rule 5 pick has a 1.90 ERA over 23 2/3 innings this season.

Giménez has been one of the surprise stars of the start of the season, going 6-for-18 with three home runs. Early Statcast data also shows that Giménez has moved farther back in the batter’s box this season and has opened his stance up more. Those changes could theoretically allow him to see the ball deeper and turn on it easier, which might mean this early power surge isn’t as fluky as it may initially have seemed.

Ornelas impressed in spring, hitting .294 with one home run in 57 plate appearances. He’s started off strong in Triple-A as well, going 5-for-12 with five runs scored and two RBI in three games. He figures to get the first crack at an outfield job if the Padres decide to move on from veterans like Jason Heyward or Gavin Sheets.

The Pirates decided last week to keep Cameron Mlodzinski over Harrington for the final spot in the rotation, but Mlodzinski allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings, and it appears the Pirates will now turn to Harrington, who will start on Tuesday against the Rays. The 23-year-old has yet to make a start in the minors this season, but he posted a 2.61 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 115/19 K/BB ratio in 117 1/2 innings last year split between Double-A and Triple-A. Harrington does not have the swing-and-miss upside of Paul Skenes or Jared Jones, but he has elite command and a deep five-pitch mix. His four-seam fastball is just around 92 mph, so he will need to rely on that command and sequencing to help him against MLB hitters, but he should be added in deeper formats and can be treated as a streamer right now in shallower leagues.

Tucker is already up to three homers, and this one came off Johnny Pereda in the ninth inning. Yes, that’s a position player, and yes it still counts. Tucker is off to a roaring start with the Cubs, boasting a slash line of .300/.423/.742 over Chicago’s first seven games. That’ll play.

Congrats to Wilson on his first MLB homer. The 23-year-old was clearly working on driving the baseball in Arizona, and while he’s never going to come close to being an elite power option, it’s nice to see some early results. Wilson is an underrated fantasy option in redraft leagues, and offers considerable — and also underrated — upside in keeper formats.

Busch hit one of four homers in the blowout win, and it was the first one of the 2025 campaign for the 27-year-old. The former first-round pick will need to rake to justify being on a fantasy roster in large part because he’s not going to see much time against southpaws. But he’s certainly talented enough to be an effective — if never dominant — option in most leagues.

Welcome to Sacramento. The Cubs were able to put together 21 hits, eight extra-base knocks and 18 runs in the first MLB game at the A’s new “home.” Kelly has been a non-factor at the bat for the last few years, but he took advantage of his surroundings — and poor pitching — for one of this best offensive games of his career. Good for him.

Because Rea worked the final three innings, he’s credited with a save. Just a perfect stat. No notes. Zero flaws to it whatsoever. Rea will continue to work as a multi-inning reliever and hope no one changes the rule if he gets to finish another game like this.

Brown was far from great in this one, but didn’t need to even resemble greatness with the Cubs putting up an 18-spot Monday. The right-hander was able to strike out five, but he also walked two while throwing 45-of-75 pitches for strikes. Good enough. Brown will need to pitch better than he did Monday against the Padres over the weekend.

Estes allowed nine hits, four walks and three homers. None of that is ideal. All of that, in fact, is bad. Estes struggled to end the 2024 season, and his extreme flyball rates aren’t likely to play well in a Triple-A park. His next outing is in Colorado on Sunday. Hard pass.