MLB Player News

Leon was in Royals camp this spring as a non-roster invitee. The 35-year-old veteran journeyman should be able to latch on somewhere else as emergency catching depth.

The veteran threw 53 of his 82 pitches for strikes while walking three and striking out one. Even though he wasn’t sharp, he may have thrown enough pitches to convince the organization that he’s ready to return to an MLB mound. Given his success in Milwaukee, when he’s ready to pitch, he is going to take a spot in the rotation. That means one of Quinn Priester, Chad Patrick, or Jacob Misiorowski will need to head to the minors, unless the Brewers opt to go with a six-man rotation. As of right now, it would appear that Patrick would be the odd man out.

Yorke was acquired from Boston at last year’s trade deadline for Quinn Priester, so the Pirates are probably not thrilled about how well Priester has looked after overhauling his arsenal in Boston this offseason. Yorke is slashing .276/.346/.374 with four home runs and 11 steals in 64 games in Triple-A this season. At some point, he probably deserves a look in Pittsburgh.

Alvarez slashed .236/.319/.333 slash line with three homers in 138 plate appearances this season for the Mets, while also regressing defensively. He’s just 23 years old, so there is plenty of time for Alvarez to figure it out, but the team needs him to get back to driving the ball in the air while also improving behind the plate.

Morani was acquired by the Red Sox in the off-season while he was working his way back from Tommy John surgery. He completed his rehab assignment and was assigned to Triple-A Worcester, where he has allowed one run on two hits in 2 1/3 innings while striking out three and walking one. With Brennan Bernardino struggling of late, Morani could get a shot in the Boston bullpen soon.

Jones’ home run was off rehabbing starter Tanner Houck, and he now has 18 on the year in the minor leagues. While the power is impressive, Jones also had a 34 percent strikeout rate at Double-A and has six strikeouts in three games at Triple-A. He also had an outrageous 18.5 percent swinging strike rate in Double-A, so it’s unlikely that Jones ever hits for a passable average at the big league level, but the power should carry over.

Boyle entered the game in the third inning behind a follower and proceeded to throw five innings, walking three and striking out eight. Just 49 of his 83 pitches went for strikes, so there is still some work to be done on his command, but Boyle also gets plenty of swings and misses, so he can make up for that. Even with the Rays in good shape for the playoffs, perhaps they decide to trade away impending free agent Zack Littell to open up a spot for Boyle.

He allowed four hits while walking three and striking out four, but only 47 of his 81 pitches went for strikes. The Cardinals are going to need to see more consistency from Mathews before he threatens for MLB innings.

While those are not eye-opening numbers, Walker played the whole game in right field, which is more important to the Cardinals. He should play another game or two in the outfield to confirm he’s healthy enough for back-to-backs and then could return to St. Louis. How the team will manage starts between Walker, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, and Alec Burleson will be the bigger fantasy question.

The 38-year-old recovered well from a three-inning, 51-pitch simulated game vs. Single-A Lake Elsinore on June 25th and then felt even better after his bullpen session three days later. Padres manager Mike Shildt said that the next step could be some form of simulated game this upcoming week before possibly sending Darvish out on a short rehab assignment.

The veteran should soon progress to live swings and might need a short rehab stint before returning to the Giants’ lineup. He is currently aiming to return for the Giants’ final series before the All-Star break from July 11-13.