MLB Player News

Kopech will make his spring debut Tuesday against the Padres, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Kopech will follow starter Lance Lynn, so he'll get to see the best San Diego has to offer. It's unknown whether he'll pitch more than one inning Tuesday, but he's expected serve a multi-inning bullpen role to start the 2021 season. "He's going to have to work hard to control his emotions and maintain his concentration," manager Tony La Russa said. "If he slips here or there, he's just human. But the fact he's going out there healthy and has worked hard to keep his delivery consistent makes us very excited to watch him." Kopech, who missed the entire 2019 season due to elbow surgery and opted out of 2020, has thrown just one inning (in March of last year) since September 2018. The White Sox plan to manage his innings but have not ruled out using him as a starter in 2021.

Baz's fastball topped out at 99.8 mph during his one-inning Grapefruit League outing against the Twins on Sunday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

The electric right-hander is thought to have a bright future, and the Rays are excited about giving him multiple opportunities in live action against big-league bats this spring. Baz's initial results were certainly encouraging, as the 21-year-old was able to work around back-to-back inning-opening walks to pitch a scoreless frame with the help of two strikeouts and a heater that averaged 97.9 mph.

Wacha fired two scoreless innings in a Grapefruit League loss to the Twins on Sunday, allowing one hit and no walks while recording a strikeout.

Adam Berry of MLB.com reports Wacha threw 15 of 21 pitches for strikes and averaged an impressive 94.4 mph on his fastball, an uptick from the 93.6 mph figure he logged with the Cardinals in 2020. Manager Kevin Cash noted after the game that pitching coach Kyle Snyder is particularly enthused with Wacha's cutter, which the veteran right-hander got two called strikes and three outs with on the seven occasions he used it against Minnesota.

Ray recorded six of his seven outs via strikeout and threw 31 of his 50 pitches for strikes during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

The veteran left-hander also walked two batters during his first inning of work, but free passes are part of the package with Ray. He topped out at 98.4 mph with his fastball but found more control when sitting 94-96 mph in the second frame. Ray struggled through a rough 2020, but the Jays are counting on him to rebound after re-signing Ray to a one-year deal in the offseason.

Dunning allowed one walk over two scoreless innings in Sunday's spring game against the Dodgers.

Dunning, who was acquired from the White Sox in the Lance Lynn trade, is vying for a rotation spot and may have surged ahead of Kyle Cody and Hyeon-Jong Yang in what was his Cactus League debut. All three pitched Sunday and Dunning was the best of the lot. "I liked the way [Dunning] competed," manager Chris Woodward told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. "He didn't get ahead of a ton of guys because his alignment was a little off and he felt like he was yanking everything. But when he needed to make a pitch, he trusted his sinker and was able to get out of the inning." Cody allowed two runs on four hits and a walk over two innings prior to Dunning's appearance, and Yang was tagged for a run on two hits, including a home run, following Dunning. Woodward indicated earlier this spring that Dunning, who has thrown just 34 innings since 2018, would be on an innings count, so if he does end up in the rotation, expect a piggy-back situation for the right-hander.

Giolito allowed one walk and struck out two over three innings in Sunday's spring game against the Rockies.

Giolito looked regular-season ready in retiring the Rockies. Chicago's presumptive Opening Day starter made his second Cactus League start and has allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out six in five innings. After throwing mostly fastballs during his first outing that he described as getting acclimated to facing hitters, Giolito largely worked on his breaking stuff Sunday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Gilbert allowed an earned run on two hits and no walks while recording four strikeouts across two innings in a Cactus League loss to the Angels on Sunday.

The 23-year-old provided plenty of reason for optimism with his outing against an Angels lineup replete with regulars, and one of his four strikeouts on the afternoon notably came against Mike Trout. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports Gilbert featured his fastball, slider and curveball during his start and overcame a bit of adversity by working out of a second-inning jam. "He's pretty close," manager Scott Servais said. "Certainly last year did him no favors and the fact that he wasn't able to pitch in a competitive game. ... But super, super high ceiling for this kid, and I love the way he goes about his business and what his future holds."

Montgomery pitched three scoreless innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League contest against Philadelphia, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out one.

Montgomery enjoyed a mostly stress-free outing, allowing only a pair of singles, both of which came in the third inning. Through two starts this spring, the southpaw has yielded just one run across five frames. Montgomery is currently slotted into the fourth spot in New York's starting rotation.

Dunn, battling for the final spot in the Mariners' six-man starting rotation, fired two scoreless innings in a Cactus League tie with the Athletics on Saturday, allowing a hit and two walks while recording two strikeouts.

Dunn battled some adversity early, loading the bases with a hit and the two free passes in the first before the inning was rolled over. The break in the action certainly seemed to help, with the young right-hander coming back to pitch a scoreless frame in the second that included the pair of whiffs. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports Dunn unveiled a new-grip changeup during the outing and also impressed with a fastball that consistently hit 95 mph and ticked up as high as 96. "It's just kind of got to the point of where it's game time, now let's get it on the plate," Dunn said. "Before it was create as much movement as possible, get this stuff as sharp as we can. And now that we're in games, get on the plate and see how efficient we can execute pitches."

Skubal pitched two scoreless innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles. He allowed one hit and struck out two.

Casey Mize and Matt Manning might have a little more hype, but Skubal is another promising young arm in Detroit. The lefty looked sharp in his spring debut, and he's hoping to build off an uneven MLB debut in 2020, when he posted a 5.63 ERA and 1.22 WHIP across eight games (seven starts). Skubal did strike out 37 batters in his 32 innings of work last season, though he also averaged 3.1 walks per nine innings. If the 24-year-old can exhibit better control in 2021, he certainly has the stuff to put up solid numbers.