MLB Player News

Miley was hit in the shoulder area by a line drive in Friday's Grapefruit League game and was forced to leave the game, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

It's a scary situation for Miley, who was immediately escorted to the clubhouse by a trainer. The southpaw is considered a back-end starter this season for Baltimore, despite posting a 6.17 ERA in 11 starts with the O's last season. Consider him day-to-day for now.

Verlander said he wasn't hitting his spots in Thursday's spring training start, in which he gave up three earned runs over two innings, the Detroit Free Press reports.

"I'm not concerned with the results right now," Verlander said. "I'm concerned with the results of my pitches. I'm not concerned with the results of what those guys do with the ball when they put it in play." Fantasy owners shouldn't be concerned either, as pitchers often take a little time to get rolling in spring training. Verlander should be an elite fantasy pitching option this season.

Keuchel (shoulder) is scheduled to work a simulated game Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The 29-year-old's recovery from rotator cuff inflammation rumbles on, and making it through this practice affair will probably send him on to starting his five planned Grapefruit League outings. If fantasy players can land him at a discount, it'll mitigate the risk involved with his shoulder and offer a safe chance to land a significant portion of what the southpaw did during his 2015 AL Cy Young season.

Keuchel (shoulder) is expected to throw another bullpen session Saturday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The bullpen will Keuchel's third of the spring and he's come out of the other ones fine. If he's going to start the regular season on the active roster, Keuchel should start facing competition this coming week.

McCullers (elbow) will throw a simulated game Saturday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McCullers has been brought along at a measured pace during spring training after the right hander rehabbed an elbow injury that ended his 2016 season prematurely. He's currently behind Houston's healthier starters, but remains on the schedule laid out for him at the start of camp.

Rodriguez did not allow a hit or walk and struck out two over two innings in Thursday's game against Tampa Bay.

Rodriguez used all three of his pitches, hitting 94 mph on the stadium gun and, most importantly, emerged from the outing feeling healthy. This outing, his first start since suffering a minor knee injury over the winter, was already a significant one for the Red Sox but took on greater importance after it was announced David Price (forearm) had an appointment to visit two renowned elbow specialists. The hand-wringing over three starters -- Rodriguez, Steven Wright and Drew Pomeranz -- for two rotation spots appears to have solved itself. If Price is out to open the season or misses an extended period of time, Rodriguez is the obvious fill-in.

Darvish threw a simulated contest Thursday, giving up three runs on three hits (including a home run) and two walks, while striking out three in 2.2 innings, Dave Sessions of MLB.com reports. He threw 31 strikes in 51 pitches.

The right-hander's line looks ugly, but his outing was mostly to get his stuff right before logging an actual spring game. While the club will continue his progression at a controlled pace, Darvish -- who spun a 3.41 ERA last year with 132 strikeouts in 100.1 frames after returning from Tommy John surgery -- will remain coveted as a fantasy ace.

Smyly fired two scoreless innings in Wednesday's 7-4 Cactus League victory over the Indians, surrendering only one walk and notching a pair of strikeouts.

The offseason acquisition from the Rays impressed his first time out and looked sharp throughout while firing 31 pitches overall. It was naturally an encouraging start for Smyly, who racked up a career-high 12 losses and 4.88 ERA in Tampa in 2016. The Mariners have high hopes for Smyly recapturing his previous form as one of two southpaws (along with James Paxton) in the projected 2017 starting rotation. "He was very crisp," manager Scott Servais said. "He went right after them, good breaking ball. It was nice to see. First time out in a Mariners uniform, he looked very comfortable."

Quintana is set to throw a simulated game Friday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

The consistent southpaw is set to compete for Colombia in the World Baseball Classic next week, so Chicago is taking it easy with him. Barring any bad spring happenings, Quintana should settle in on mixed-league draft day as a capable second fantasy starting pitcher.

Gray struck out four over two scoreless innings in Wednesday's 5-0 Cactus League loss to the Padres, surrendering only one hit.

Gray's start belied the dominance that was to come, as he surrendered a leadoff double to Travis Jankowski. However, he then set down the next six men he faced, firing 19 of his 27 pitches for strikes. The ace of the A's staff refrained from throwing his slider, but showcased all of his other pitches, with his curveball and fastball particularly standing out. Now that he's officially out of the World Baseball Classic due to an insurance issue, Gray can fully focus on preparing for 2017, a season that he hopes will be nothing like a rocky 2016 campaign in which he endured two DL stints and racked up a career-worst 5.69 ERA. "He's come here on a mission this year," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "I think for a lot of reasons there were some issues last year, but a healthy Sonny Gray is going to pitch well. [Today is] the type of stuff that we're used to seeing."