MLB Player News

Poor command hurt Woods-Richardson’s day. He threw just 40% of his pitches in the strike zone and stayed near the heart of the zone whenever he did actually throw a strike. He was effectively wild through four innings, but the Royals finally broke through with two runs in the fifth inning which ended Woods-Richardson’s afternoon. It’s now been eight times in nine starts where he hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning. Woods-Richardson is scheduled to face the Reds at home next time out.

Ryan’s dominant Midsummer Classic outing showed why every contending team in baseball should be attempting to pry him away from Minnesota ahead of the upcoming trade deadline. He struck out a pair of batters and needed just 10 pitches to twirl a flawless frame. It’ll take a massive haul to extract the first-time All-Star from the Twins, but virtually every contender should be picking up the phone, if he’s truly available. He’ll likely kick off the second half with a challenging road tilt against the Rockies at high-octane Coors Field.

Skenes authored a dominant performance in his second consecutive Midsummer Classic start for the National League, striking out Tigers stars Gleyber Torres and Riley Greene on a triple-digit heaters before coaxing a harmless groundout from Aaron Judge to cap a flawless opening frame. The 23-year-old fantasy ace closed out the first half with a major league-leading 2.01 ERA and 131/30 K/BB ratio across 121 innings (20 starts). He’ll kick off the second half with a favorable matchup this weekend against the rebuilding White Sox.

Skubal got into trouble right away when Shohei Ohtani dunked a single into shallow center-field and Ronald Acuña Jr. reached on a slow roller to second base before Ketel Marte sliced a two-run double down the right-field line. He managed to wriggle out of the frame without any further damage, picking up a strikeout of Manny Machado on the first successful automatic ball-strike (ABS) challenge in major league history in the process. The 28-year-old fantasy ace finished the first half with a sparkling 2.23 ERA and 153/16 K/BB ratio across 121 innings (19 starts). He’ll kick off the second half this weekend with a road tilt against the Rangers.

Campusano was summoned for Sunday’s first-half finale with Gavin Sheets away from the club on paternity leave. The 26-year-old backstop has done some serious damage at the Triple-A level this season, but it hasn’t carried over into the big leagues during limited opportunities.

Gray headed to Arizona after Sunday’s scheduled rehab outing for Triple-A Round Rock was rained out. The 33-year-old righty, who has been out since spring training recovering from a fractured right wrist, has a pair of starts under his belt already and will likely only need one or two additional tune-up outings before he’s ready to rejoin Texas’ pitching mix.

Buttó landed on the injured list earlier this month with an undisclosed illness. The 27-year-old righty, who has posted a strong 2.47 ERA across 43 2/3 innings (31 appearances) this season, figures to be ready to rejoin New York’s relief corps shortly after the All-Star break.

Holman will be on the shelf until at least mid-August as he recovers from right shoulder tendinitis. The 25-year-old righty has posted a lackluster 5.09 ERA across 23 innings (22 appearances, two starts) this season in the big leagues. There’s a chance he doesn’t make it back to the Athletics’ relief mix until the late stages of the second half.

No word yet on how much time Sewald figures to miss. Cleveland will make a corresponding roster move following the All-Star break. The 35-year-old former stopper missed two months earlier this season with a shoulder strain. There should be an update on his status at some point in the coming days.

Nittoli opted out of his minor league contract with Milwaukee after posted a respectable 3.86 ERA across 28 innings (27 appearances) this season at the Triple-A level. The 34-year-old journeyman has made 15 appearances in the big leagues between five different organizations since 2021.

Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo reports Southisene will receive a $2.622 million signing bonus, which is well below the $3.983 million slot value for the 22nd pick. The 18-year-old prep shortstop is several hyperspace jumps from the big leagues, but we’ve seen plenty of position players with his profiles develop into impact fantasy contributors in short order.