MLB Player News

Ryan struck out four and walked none on the day while registering a 21 percent whiff rate and 29 percent CSW. Ryan saw his velocity tick up slightly on all of his pitches, which is nice to see from a health standpoint, but he continues to struggle to find a reliable secondary pitch to complement his four-seam fastball. Today his splitter had just two whiffs on 14 swings while posting a 14 percent whiff rate and 24 percent CSW. His slider was almost two mph harder today and had a 50 percent CSW on 10 pitches, but it also got hit hard. It’s a situation to continue monitoring, but you’re certainly not mad at the results today. He’ll face the Mets next time out.

Alexander, who was claimed off waivers from the A’s last month, could go multiple innings tonight if needed. The 32-year-old journeyman had a 1.74 ERA in 20 2/3 innings over four appearances for Sugar Land.

He’ll be inserted in between Robbie Ray and Logan Webb in the rotation, with Hayden Birdsong apparently getting pushed back to Friday. Verlander has been on the IL since May 19 with a strained pectoral muscle. He might still have a little value in mixed leagues, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to leave him reserved for his first start back.

Sitting Bell in favor of Andrés Chaparro is a good call and should be the norm against left-handers, but this is just the second time all season that Lowe has been out of the lineup, even though he’s been a major disappointment in batting .228/.297/.369. The Nationals have James Wood DHing and Chaparro playing first base tonight.

Stanton is back after missing the first 2 1/2 months with epicondylitis in both of his elbows, but will he help? He certainly did last October, but at this point, he’s a 35-year-old DH with a 105 OPS+ over the last three seasons. The Yankees have a 121 OPS+ as a team this year and have gotten a .275/.369/.576 line from the DH spot. Stanton will probably get a chance to play regularly for now, and he’s worth trying in mixed leagues. Ben Rice will likely lose much of his playing time and could be droppable. Jasson Domínguez and Trent Grisham will also likely lose some at-bats.

Reyes hit .194/.242/.226 over 34 plate appearances in his bit role with the Bombers. His versatility makes him handy to have around as a 26th man, but he’s just a lifetime .245/.305/.342 hitter in the majors.

The Tigers are plenty familiar with Hernández from all of the time he spent on the Royals. The 28-year-old Hernández was waived by the Phillies last week after posting a 5.26 ERA in 25 2/3 innings of relief work. He’s out of options, so he’ll likely take the spot of either Matt Gage or Tyler Owens in the Tigers pen.

That’d seem to set up Raley to return right after the All-Star break if things go well. Raley had a 2.80 ERA in 54 2/3 innings for the Mets in 2023 and pitched seven scoreless innings last year before getting hurt, so he could turn into a key piece of the pen if he’s right.

White had a 2.83 ERA and a 53/17 K/BB over 35 innings in nine starts for High-A Beloit. He’s one of the game’s top pitching prospects, but he’s probably not going to be rushed to the majors by a Marlins team that is at least two years away from contending. Maybe he’ll debut next summer if he remains healthy.

José Tena was sent down last night to open up a spot. The 22-year-old House, who was drafted 11th overall in 2021, will make his major league debut after hitting .304/.353/.519 with 13 homers for Rochester. Expectations are that he’ll be the everyday third baseman for now. House lacks plate discipline, but there’s the chance he’ll hit for a reasonable average and decent enough power to stick around. The guess here, though, is that he’s not quite ready yet.