MLB Player News

Incredible. That describes how good Witt Jr. is and how atrocious the White Sox are. With the Royals trailing 5-4, the star shortstop blasted a grand slam off John Brebbia to make it 8-5 Kansas City and gave Witt Jr. his 19th homer of the year. He also doubled for the 30th time while also singling twice to improve his slash to a remarkable .347/.391/.597. It’s tough to overstate just how good this guy has become in such a short time.

This is getting ridiculous. Anderson lowered his ERA to a microscopic 1.29 mark across 49 innings over 10 starts this season by allowing just one baserunner and needing just 73 pitches (47 strikes) to navigate five nearly-perfect frames. He posted nine strikeouts for the third time in his last five starts. The 21-year-old southpaw, who was selected third overall in last year’s MLB Draft, is on the fast track to Seattle and figures to get his opportunity later this summer, especially if the club is in contention for a playoff spot. His arrival doesn’t feel imminent, but the Mariners might not be able to hold him off too much longer if he keeps this up.

Culpepper’s latest homer was a 395-foot opposite-field shot to right-center that extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Minnesota has ostensibly cleared the runway for him to arrive in the majors as their shortstop of the present and future by moving Brooks Lee over to third base. The 23-year-old former first-round pick is hitting .467 (7-for-15) with two homers and one steal in four games since the start of June. He’s slashing .270/.374/.500 with 14 round-trippers and 13 thefts across 55 games overall. Needless to say, he’s one of the more intriguing stash candidates in the minors for fantasy managers given his power/speed combo and proximity to the big leagues.

Helsley completed another bullpen session on Friday at Camden Yards and figures to head out on a minor league rehab assignment early next week. The hard-throwing 31-year-old stopper has been out with elbow inflammation since late April. His return figures to push Rico Garcia, who has been outstanding during his absence, back to more of a fireman-type role before the ninth inning. It’s a bit unclear how many tune-up appearances Helsley will need given the lengthy layoff, but he figures to return to Baltimore’s bullpen by mid-June.

Muncy came off the bench in the eighth inning of Friday’s Freeway Series opener against the Angels following a scary first-base collision with Diamondbacks infielder Ildemaro Vargas earlier this week. The 35-year-old seems to have managed to avoid serious injury after passing concussion protocol. There’s a chance he’s back in the lineup at some point this weekend.

Vargas entered the late stages of Friday’s one-sided affair to give Ketel Marte a break from the field. The 34-year-old veteran appears to have avoided serious injury after a brutal first-base collision with Dodgers infielder Max Muncy earlier this week. All signs point to him avoiding a trip to the injured list.

Walls was back at shortstop and hitting ninth after missing a pair of contests earlier this week for precautionary reasons due to left hamstring tightness.

Neto returned to the leadoff spot and picked up a pair of thefts after missing three games earlier this week as a result of whiplash symptoms stemming from a home-plate collision last weekend. The 25-year-old shortstop’s absence was out of an abundance of caution and he passed concussion protocol earlier this week. He shouldn’t miss any additional time.

Garcia came off the bench to deliver a run-scoring ground out in the ninth inning of Friday’s contest. The 26-year-old has been held out of Kansas City’s lineup for six consecutive games with a right hamstring strain. It’s baffling why the Royals opted against putting Garcia on the injured list after he suffered the injury last weekend. It remains unclear whether he’ll return to the lineup this weekend, but the fact that he was available off the bench during Friday’s series opener seems to indicate that he’s trending in the right direction. It’s undoubtedly a frustrating situation for fantasy managers.

Nootbaar made an instant impact during his season debut, collecting a pair of hits, including an RBI double in the sixth inning of Friday’s series opener at Busch Stadium. The 28-year-old reached base safely in two of six plate appearances out of the leadoff spot following a 10-week absence at the outset of the year recovering from offseason surgery on both heels. He’ll have some fantasy appeal in deeper mixed leagues as the Cardinals primary leadoff option against right-handed pitching.

Langford finished 1-for-4 in his return from the injured list following a six-week absence recovering from a forearm strain. The 24-year-old power/speed combo threat was thrown into the leadoff spot for Friday’s series opener at Globe Life Field and should continue hitting near the top of the lineup until further notice.