MLB Player News

The groundball single from Yankees prospect Brandon Lockridge knocked him out of the game. Sam Coonrod then finished up the one-hit shutout. Vasil, a Futures Game pick this year, has a 4.52 ERA and a 102/30 K/BB ratio in 89 2/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A. It’s possible he could make his MLB debut before the end of the season, but it seems unlikely, since he’s already surpassed his career high for innings and he’s not on the 40-man roster.

Signs of life. Fantasy managers will certainly take it after Crews got off to an ice-cold start at this dish this season, hitting .040 (1-for-25) through seven games, which led to him being dropped to the ninth spot in Washington’s batting order. The 23-year-old top prospect is universally-regarded as one of the most well-rounded hitters to break into the big leagues in recent years, so we’re extremely confident that he’s going to figure it out.

Manzardo walloped a 383-foot (103.3 mph EV) solo shot off of left-hander Tyler Anderson in the fourth inning that tied the score at 2-2. That would wind up being the extent of the Guardians’ offense in the ballgame. The 24-year-old slugger struck out in each of his other three plate appearances, finishing the afternoon 1-for-4. On the season, he’s now slashing .258/.324/.645 with three homers and nine RBI.

Carroll smacked a leadoff triple against Nationals starter Trevor Williams and added a clutch ninth-inning double when facing closer Kyle Finnegan as part of an impressive three-hit performance, which raised his batting average to .282 (11-for-39) with three homers through 10 games. He hasn’t attempted a stolen base yet this season, which qualifies as a serious eyebrow raiser.

Finnegan got the call to protect a one-run lead in the final frame and needed 23 pitches (16 strikes) to get the job done. He struck out rookie Tim Tawa to kick things off before giving up a double to Corbin Carroll. He won a nine-pitch battle with Geraldo Perdomo before getting Randal Grichuk to ground out to extinguish the threat. He’s converted all three of his save opportunities to open the year and looks like one of the better closer values from spring drafts.

Williams got off to a rocky start when he coughed up a leadoff triple to Corbin Carroll, who scored on ensuing batter Geraldo Perdomo’s sacrifice fly, and a second-inning solo shot to light-hitting catcher Jose Herrera. He managed to keep Arizona’s high-powered offense scoreless until the fifth inning when Pavin Smith drilled a run-scoring single with two outs in the frame. He tallied six strikeouts and only issued a pair of walks. He’s in line for a favorable matchup next Sunday when he squares off against the Marlins down at loanDepot park.

Burnes finished with only three strikeouts, surrendered seven hits, and struggled uncharacteristically with his control, handing out a staggering four free passes. The 30-year-old fantasy ace’s cutter has looked on point from a velocity and movement standpoint, which makes it challenging to pinpoint the exact reason why he struggled to command it in this outing. He’s issued seven walks through two starts to open the year, which is highly unusual. We’re confident he’ll turn things around given his track record and how his stuff has looked so far, but he hasn’t been dominant in his Arizona debut. He’ll attempt to get back on track when he faces the struggling Brewers on Saturday at Chase Field.

The 26-year-old right-hander struck out three opposing hitters on the day and didn’t issue a free pass. Most of the damage done against him came via the long ball, with Logan O’Hoppe blasting a solo shot in the second inning and Jorge Soler swatting a go-ahead solo homer in the sixth. Ortiz got 10 swings and misses on 81 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 30 percent. Now 0-2 on the season, he’ll carry an uninspiring 8.44 ERA, 1.88 WHIP and a 5/4 K/BB ratio (10 2/3 innings) into Saturday’s divisional battle against the Royals.

Alvarez already had a single and a sac fly on the day when he took Griffin Jax deep to tie the game in the ninth. The later went ahead on a Jose Altuve single in the 10th. Alvarez’s homer was his first in nine games this season. His relatively slow start might continue in Seattle this week, but it’s only a matter of time until he truly busts out.

Blanco allowed five hits and walked three before exiting with the bases loaded in the second. Fortunately, Luis Contreras got Willi Castro to fly out, preventing Blanco’s ERA from sustaining more damage. Blanco is only a streaming option in shallow leagues, and he’s not worth using in a home start versus the Angels next weekend.

Hader was brought into a tie game to start the ninth and then stayed in after the Astros took a two-run lead in the 10th. He faced six hitters and retired all of them, striking out three in the process. It’s possible he’ll be available again tomorrow after throwing 29 pitches today, but if not, Bryan Abreu could get a save chance.