MLB Player News

Quero is now hitting .379 in the early going with a 1.017 OPS while fellow catcher Kyle Teel has cooled off and is batting just .235 with an .831 OPS. It’s only been seven games, so we don’t want to read into anything too much, but if the White Sox were inclined to give one of their catching prospects a look in the big leagues, Quero seems to have the upper hand right now.

Adames got the Giants on the board in the opening inning as he worked a walk off of Jacob Lopez with the bases loaded. He then gave them the lead with a 432-foot (102.4 mph EV) majestic blast off of Lopez in the third. The 29-year-old shortstop then strolled to the dish once more with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and again picked up an RBI by drawing a walk. His bat has started to show signs of life in recent weeks and he’s now hitting .226/.313/.370 to go with 11 homers and 45 RBI.

Matos smacked a two-run ground rule double off of J.T. Ginn in the fifth inning that extended the Giants’ lead to 5-1. That would be his only hit in five at-bats on the night, but it played a key role in the victory. He has struggled mightily at the dish overall this season, slashing just .176/.222/.376 with four homers, nine RBI and a pair of stolen bases in his first 90 plate appearances with the Giants.

The 23-year-old right-hander scattered three hits on the evening, though he also issued five free passes. The lone tally against him came on a solo shot off the bat of Tyler Soderstrom in the fourth inning. The poor command led to an elevated pitch count of 90 (46 strikes) through five innings, which prohibited him from working deeper into the game. Birdsong got 10 whiffs on the evening while posting a solid CSW of 29 percent. He’ll see if he can build off of this strong start and further improve upon his 4.11 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 68/33 K/BB ratio (65 2/3 innings) when he takes on the Dodgers at home on Saturday.

Soderstrom got the A’s on the board in the fourth inning with a 432-foot (105.3 mph EV) solo shot off of Hayden Birdsong that pulled the A’s to within a run at 2-1. That would be as close as they would get. The 23-year-old slugger also doubled off of Camilo Doval in the ninth inning, finishing the night 2-for-4. On the season, he’s slashing a respectable .253/.334/.436 with 15 homers and 49 RBI in 370 plate appearances.

On the plus side for fantasy managers, the 27-year-old southpaw did manage to punch out eight batters on the night while walking one. Lopez walked Willy Adames with the bases loaded in the first inning to force in a run, then served up a solo homer to him in the fourth inning. He then turned the ball over to the bullpen with two men on and one out in the fifth inning and both inherited runners came around to score. Lopez got 15 swings and misses on 88 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 34 percent. He’ll bring a 4.26 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 64/19 K/BB ratio (50 2/3 innings) into Saturday’s matchup against the Blue Jays.

The 26-year-old superstar led off the home half of the first with a single off of Jack Leiter but wound up getting stranded at third base. He then walked to open the third inning, stole second base and scored the Padres’ first run on an RBI single by Luis Arraez. Tatis also drove in a run of his own with an RBI double in the fourth inning, giving the Padres a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish. He’s enjoying another solid season at the dish, slashing .261/.355/.444 with 15 homers, 39 RBI and 19 stolen bases through his first 87 ballgames.

Arraez got the Padres on the board and evened the score at a run apiece with a two-out RBI single off of Jack Leiter in the third inning. He also singled in the opening inning, but the Padres wound up stranding the bases loaded without pushing a run across. With his two-hit attack, the 28-year-old professional hitters is now slashing .292/.325/.401 with four long balls, 34 RBI and four stolen bases.

The 34-year-old right-hander wasn’t messing around in this one, striking out Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford in succession on swinging third strikes before getting Jonah Heim on a ground ball to second to end it. Suarez has now made good on 25 of his first 28 save chances on the season while posting a 3.82 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and a 40/12 K/BB ratio across 37 2/3 innings.

Hart came on after David Morgan allowed a run on four hits over 1 1/3 innings of work and he retired all 11 batters that he faced in order — two of them via the strikeout. The 32-year-old southpaw needed just 43 pitches (32 strikes) to get through 3 2/3 innings. It’s actually a bit surprising that they didn’t let him go longer with how well he was pitching. Hart generated seven swings and misses on the night — five of those on his sweeper — while posting a CSW of 33 percent. It should be enough to earn him another opportunity with the Padres next week, though the return of Yu Darvish on Monday could change things.

Seager gave the Rangers an early 1-0 edge with a run-scoring double off of David Morgan in the opening inning. That would wind up being their only tally in the ballgame. The 31-year-old shortstop is mired in a bit of a disappointing first half by his standards, slashing just .245/.348/.440 with 11 homers, 25 RBI and one stolen base in his first 253 plate appearances.