MLB Player News

Bielak is part of the Astros' 60-man player pool.

Bielak had his first bit of Triple-A experience at Round Rock in 2019 and trained with the major league players in spring training. He should be considered as starting depth and will likely train with the group of players at Houston's secondary location.

Whitley is part of the Astros' 60-man player pool.

Whitley may not make it to the eventual 30-man roster (or three-man taxi squad), but the Astros want their top pitching prospect to get work in as part of the extended roster.

Singer will be named to the Royals' 60-man roster pool Sunday, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Manager Mike Matheny indicated in March that the 23-year-old was in contention for the fifth spot in the starting rotation, so it's not much of a surprise he'll be among the team's 60 players for the shortened season. Singer hasn't played at the Triple-A level and had only 16 starts at Double-A Northwest Arkansas last year, but he made a strong impression with a 3.47 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 85:26 K:BB across 90.2 innings. He appears to have a strong chance of making his big-league debut in 2020, even if he doesn't start out in the rotation.

Giolito was on a regimented throwing program while the baseball season was on pause, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Giolito spent the delay at home in Sacramento, where he threw regularly to high-school, junior-college and minor-league hitters in simulated games. ''I'm trying to get my innings in at a 15- to 20-pitch range, going through my entire warmup routine,'' Giolito said. ''That's where I'm at. Communicating with Coop and Has [pitching coaches Don Cooper and Curt Hasler], and we're going to have a program going forward.'' The right-hander added that he's been in regular communication with the rest of the starting rotation, all of whom were on similar paths. It is presumed Giolito will pitch the new Opening Day for the White Sox.

Ryan is expected to be named to Tampa Bay's 60-man roster pool, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 24-year-old received an invite to major-league spring training but was reassigned to minor-league camp shortly before operations were shut down. Ryan began 2019 at High-A Charlotte and earned a late-season promotion to Double-A Montgomery, delivering a 3.38 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in three starts.

Baz is expected to be named to the Rays' 60-man roster pool, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 21-year-old is one of Tampa Bay's top prospects, so his place in the pool is mostly for developmental reasons. Baz spent last season at Low-A Bowling Green and posted a 2.99 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 87:37 K:BB across 81.1 frames.

Sandoval is a candidate to remain a starter as manager Joe Maddon said he plans to utilize a six-man rotation this season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The 23-year-old appeared set to begin 2020 in the starting rotation with Shohei Ohtani (elbow) and Griffin Canning (elbow) unavailable to pitch in the spring, but both should be ready for the delayed Opening Day next month. However, since Ohtani will remain on a once-per-week pitching schedule, Sandoval should still have a chance to retain a spot in Maddon's six-man rotation. Sandoval made his big-league debut in 2019 and posted a 5.03 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 42:10 K:BB over 39.1 innings (10 appearances).

General manager Jerry Dipoto notes Kikuchi's stamina should already be relatively high entering summer camp due to the throwing sessions he's been putting in over the last month, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

In reviewing the status of the team's projected starters ahead of the start of summer camp July 1, Dipoto assessed that Kikuchi and Justin Dunn may sport two of the most conditioned arms in the rotation at this point, considering they've worked out regularly at the Mariners' spring training facility in Peoria, Arizona and have been throwing "full tilt" against live hitters while building up to as much as 60 pitches. That level of activity bodes well for Kikuchi's chances of handling a fairly hefty workload right from the start of the shortened season, although Dipoto notes Seattle is expected to utilize a six-man rotation and have one starter "piggyback" another in early-season games.

McClanahan is expected to be part of the 60-man player pool that will report to the Rays' summer camp, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The fireballing southpaw left a lasting impression in his first and only Grapefruit League start before spring training was suspended by teasing 100 mph on the radar gun on multiple occasions versus the Red Sox. McClanahan had also largely breezed through his first four minor-league stops since being drafted in the first round back in 2018, but he scuffled to the tune of an 8.35 ERA and 1.99 WHIP over 18.1 innings at Double-A Montgomery last season. Nevertheless, McClanahan remains one of the organization's brightest pitching prospects; consequently, it appears the Rays will give him an opportunity to continue his development via his inclusion in the player pool, even though it may not lead to any 2020 major-league action.

Skubal will likely be on the Tigers' 20-man taxi squad when the regular season gets underway, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Skubal is one of the Tigers' prized pitching prospects, joining Matt Manning and Casey Mize. All three seem destined for the taxi squad, where they'll be able to continue their development in the likely absence of a minor league season. Skubal had a productive 2019 campaign split between High-A and Double-A, working entirely as a starter. The organization likely wants him to remain a starter long term, but the lefty could serve as an effective bullpen weapon sooner versus later if the club wants to go in that direction.