MLB Player News

The 28-year-old right-hander has been sidelined since the end of May with a right lat strain, but he’s progressing nicely in his recovery and nearing a return to the big-league rotation. After facing live hitters a couple of times it’s likely that he’ll need at least one — probably two — minor league rehab starts before he’s ready to return. If all goes according to plan, he should return before the end of August.

Both of Mullins’ hits were singles, and these were his first two steals of the season. He’s been hitting sixth for the Rays against right-handed pitchers, so there should be some chances for RBIs this season, but he’s also slashing just .133/.156/.167 so far this season with two runs scored. The Rays paid him a lot of money, for them, this season, so he’s not likely to lose his job, but he needs to produce more consistently before he can be on fantasy radars.

Both hits were singles, which isn’t a huge surprise. Simson is slashing .414/.469/.483 on the season with two steals. He hits at the bottom of the order, so you’re not going to get many RBIs or runs from him, but the batting average has been great. You’d like him to have more than two steals, considering he’s been on first base 12 times this season, but those should come in due time.

Lee had an RBI single in the third inning, which gave him his second RBI of the season. He’s also slashing just .188/.235/.188 on the season. With top prospect Kaelen Culpepper off to a strong start to the season, Lee is going to need to turn on the offense or risk losing his starting job.

Abel also struck out three and walked three while throwing 63 percent of his pitches for strikes. This was Abel’s first start of the season after he pitched in long relief in his first appearance. His four-seam fastball was great in this one. He has elite extension and vertical movement, which helps offset his mediocre velocity. The pitch had a 16 percent swinging strike rate and 31 percent CSW. The issue for Abel is that none of his other offerings helped much. He got some whiffs on his sweeper, but only threw five of them in total. Until those secondaries find some consistency, it’s going to be hard to trust Abel in most fantasy leagues, but there is a clear foundation for success here. We might take a chance on him next week against the Tigers if you’re in deeper formats.

This was always the assumption after Pérez (4 1/3 scoreless innings) outperformed José Suárez (4 ER in 3 2/3 IP) against the A’s on Tuesday. Pérez could stay in the rotation until Spencer Strider makes his way back from an oblique strain.

Matz also walked two and struck out eight on the night, in what was a much better start than we saw his first time out this season. The left-hander had just a nine percent swinging strike rate despite his eight strikeouts, but he got ahead early with his sinker to continually put him in advantageous counts. Matz’s changeup usage was up significantly in this one, a key change that the Rays are making with him this season. He struggled to command that pitch tonight, but it would be a nice change for him this season. However, Matz is probably not worth starting in shallower formats next week against the Yankees.

Lowder’s velocity tonight was 1-1.5 mph down from last weekend against the Red Sox, but he was able to get ahead in the count and generate mostly mediocre contact. We wouldn’t call it an encouraging outing — he didn’t have the cold weather excuse while pitching in a dome in Texas — but it was a successful one. He’s due to make a rare start on four days’ rest Thursday in Miami, so it will be interesting to see how that goes.

Fortunately, Joe Pederson grounded into a double play after the first walk. The Rangers tried to rally again afterwards, but Pagán struck out Evan Carter to end the game. It’s his third save in four tries. The Reds have now used Pagán, Tony Santillan and Graham Ashcraft on consecutive days, so Connor Phillips might be in line for a save chance on Sunday.

In spite of the lengthy layoff, Rocker was pretty sharp tonight in striking out three and walking one. The 26-year-old started ramping up his slider usage this spring and kept at it tonight, throwing the pitch one-third of the time. Interestingly, itaveraged 85.8 mph, up from 84.5 mph this spring and 84.2 mph last year. Rocker wasn’t enough of a strikeout pitcher to succeed last year, when he finished with a 5.74 ERA in 14 starts, but a harder slider could help there. Now isn’t the time to go picking him up, though, as he’s due to face the Dodgers next weekend.

Pederson got to play a full game for just the second time this season, but it was no help, and he’s now 0-for-14 to start the year after going just 7-for-40 with one extra-base hit this spring. His exit velocity numbers are actually really good; nine of his 12 balls in play have been hit hard, including three of four tonight. It seems like the Rangers should be patient here, but it’s also easy to understand why they might not be after Pederson’s struggles last year and Andrew McCutchen’s quick start.