MLB Player News

Oh dear. Not exactly the way you want to go out in your final start of the campaign. Gant struck out three and walked two over his four innings of work. While he did keep the ball in the park, the 29-year-old right-hander was repeatedly bullied for RBI knocks, with the Royals tagging him for two runs in the first inning, two runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth inning before he was mercifully relieved of his duties. Gant ends the 2021 campaign the owner of a dreary 5.61 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 92/71 K/BB ratio across 33 2/3 innings with the Twins after shuttling over to the Twin Cities from St. Louis via trade at the end of July.

Soroka was handed a 10-0 lead before he threw a single pitch, so all he had to do was avoid a disaster to pick up a win. He wasn’t terribly effective, but disaster averted. The 27-year-old allowed six hits with a walk, and he fanned three before leaving after 94 pitches. Soroka still has an ugly 5.81 ERA, and fantasy managers should be able to find a better option for their lineup for his scheduled start Thursday against the Rangers.

Oh dear. Pfaadt melted down in spectacular fashion, allowing six hits and also hit two batters in one of the worst starts — if not the worst — we’ll see from a hurler in 2025. The 26-year-old right-hander had been shaky in May with a 5.40 ERA coming into Saturday’s start, but shaky doesn’t even begin to cover it tonight. His ERA ballooned from 3.90 to 5.05 in the start, and it’s worth noting that the Nationals would score three more runs in the first before the D-Backs came up to bat. Pfaadt can’t possibly be this bad when he faces Atlanta on Thursday.

McCutchen swatted his fourth homer of the season when he took Dylan Cease deep for a solo shot in the fifth. He also walked and singled to improve his slash to .265/.370/.388. The power is a semblance of what it once was, but every once in a while there’s a reminder of when McCutchen was one of the best outfielders in all of baseball.

Falter didn’t beat the Padres with swing-and-miss stuff; he struck out just one in the contest and generated only three swings-and-misses. He was effective nevertheless, as he held the San Diego lineup to just two hits and one free pass. That lowers Falter’s ERA to 3.14 on the campaign, and more often than not, the 28-year-old southpaw has been effective on the mound in 2025. He’ll face his former organization in the Phillies next week.

Cease allowed seven hits, and the 29-year-old also issued a walk while throwing 59-of-95 pitches for strikes. The right-hander had done a much better job of getting deep into games for most of May, but his last two outings were much more in tune with his struggles of April. Cease will try to get June off to a good start while lowering his 4.66 ERA when he faces the Giants on Thursday.

It’ll be the first major league callup for Melton, who has hit .254/.371/.508 in 17 games for Triple-A Sugar Land in between injuries this season. A fine prospect, he’s probably not ready to stick in the majors just yet. Still, the Astros need the help with Dezenzo potentially joining Chas McCormick and Yordan Alvarez on the IL.

Reynolds singled in a run in the first and doubled home another in the seventh. The 30-year-old has a respectable 34 RBI on the season over 59 games, but they’ve come with a disappointing slash of .237/.304/.379.

Raleigh took a pitch at his eyes and smashed it into the right-field bleachers to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 3-2 game in the fourth off Bailey Ober. That’s his 22nd homer of the season, and it ties him with Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead. He also walked to improve his slash to a ridiculous .264/.386/.630 with 44 RBI.

Wallner was making his return from the injured list after missing over a month with his hamstring strain, and in his first at-bat back he homered off Bryce Miller — who also was making his return off the IL — to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. The 27-year-old has enormous power, and while he’s not a great bet to hit for average, those looking for some run-production should look at Wallner if he’s still available.

Young also drew a walk. The 21-year-old was making his MLB debut, and he ended it with a fielder’s choice RBI to score Miles Mastrobuoni on a close play at the plate. That’s the first time a rookie has had a walk-off RBI in his debut since Samad Taylor back in 2023 for the Royals. Young is one of the best infield prospects in baseball, and is worth roster consideration in a wide variety of eligible formats.