MLB Player News

Roycroft has shuttled back-and-forth between the Cardinals’ bullpen and Triple-A Memphis over the last few months and will likely continue to do so for the rest of the year. The 26-year-old righty has pitched to a solid 3.07 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 13/8 K/BB ratio across 14 2/3 innings (12 appearances) this season in the big leagues.

Tolle struck out six and walked two on the day, but two of his four hits allowed were solo home runs. The left-hander threw 69 percent of his pitches for strikes while posting an 11 percent swinging strike rate and 29 percent CSW. His typically dominant four-seamer had just a nine percent swinging strike rate against right-handed hitters on the day, but his secondary pitches were solid enough to keep this game from getting away from him. That makes this a modestly confidence-inducing start heading into a good matchup against a banged-up Mariners offense in Seattle on Sunday.

Abel threw 44 of 61 pitches for strikes in his second rehab start at the Triple-A level. The 24-year-old has looked outstanding in those outings and figures to only need one additional tune-up before returning to Minnesota’s rotation. He’s worth stashing in any fantasy leagues where he wound up hitting the waiver wire.

In his second start back from the injured list, Cease allowed four hits and walked four while striking out seven. He posted 16 whiffs on the day with a 15 percent swinging strike rate, but he threw only 61 percent of his pitches for strikes. He really struggled to land both his curve and changeup for strikes, but, luckily, he threw enough strikes with his four-seam fastball, and his slider missed more than enough bats. He gets a tougher test against the Cubs next week, but he’s obviously somebody you’re keeping in your lineups.

With Clayton Beeter having thrown on back-to-back days, Varland was called on to protect a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Tuesday. He allowed a solo home run to Lane Thomas but no other damage and picked up his sixth save of the season. Varland came into today with an 8.53 ERA in his last eight games, so we still expect Beeter to get the majority of save opportunities in this bullpen going forward.

Teel was close to making it back from a hamstring strain that he suffered during the World Baseball Classic before suffering an LCL sprain last month that knocked him out for a couple weeks. He’ll likely remain in the minors through the rest of the week, but has a chance to make it back to Chicago before the end of June for his long-overdue season debut.

Mead roped a three-run home run off Daniel Lynch in the seventh inning with the score tied at three. It was Mead’s 11th home run of the season and 34th RBI. He has cooled a bit of late since becoming a full-time player, going just 10-for-46 (.217) since June 1st with three home runs and nine RBI. That being said, he’s still hitting the ball hard, and a 9/4 K/BB ratio in two weeks of game action is pretty solid. We’d expect another strong stretch to be coming his way.

Schultz struck out four, issued three walks and threw 38 pitches (21 strikes) in his first rehab outing. The towering 22-year-old southpaw will need a few additional tune-up outings to continue building up his pitch count and stamina before rejoining Chicago’s rotation, most likely in early July.

All of Witt’s hits were singles, but one of them knocked in a run in the fifth inning, and he was also able to swipe a base. The Royals’ offensive struggles have hurt his counting stat production, but Witt is having another strong season with a .290/.364/.454 slash line to go along with the 27 steals and 29 RBI.

Pérez will make his first rehab start roughly three weeks after hitting the injured list with a right leg strain. The 23-year-old righty is likely to need a couple outings to build up his pitch count and stamina before returning to Miami’s rotation. It certainly looks like he’ll make it back by late June or early July.

Thomas clubbed a solo home run off Gus Varland in the ninth inning for his fourth home run of the season. It hasn’t been a great season for the 30-year-old, but he has been playing more regularly with Vinnie Pasquantino hurt and Jac Caglianone moving to first base. Since June 1st, Thomas has gone 11-for-41 (.268) with three home runs, eight runs scored, and seven RBI. It’s not electric production, but he’ll lead off against lefties and could be an option in deeper formats for the next month or so.