MLB Player News

Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber's bullpen session went well Wednesday, and MLB.com reports he could be back in the rotation sooner than expected from a right middle finger injury.

Kluber threw 45 pitches while mixing in fastballs, changeups and cutters, and will likely throw just one more time before coming off the disabled list. He is expected to toss a simulate game Saturday.

"That might be his last time throwing before pitching for us," pitching coach Mickey Callaway told MLB.com. "We do a lot of things in September."

With the expansion of rosters Sept. 1, the Indians can return Kluber from the DL and essentially have him make a shorter rehab start at the major-league level. They will have extra pitchers available to pick up the slack in that case.

White Sox starter Chris Sale went eight strong innings and mowed down 12 batters Wednesday night in a win over the Astros.

Sale struck out 12 over 107 pitches as he earned the win to improve to 10-12 on the season. He allowed just one earned run on four hits and two walks. The lone run he allowed came on a Chris Carter solo homer.

Sale continues to post a solid ERA with a record under .500. That is just how it goes pitching for the White Sox these days. He makes his next scheduled outing Tuesday at the New York Yankees.

The Mariners have called up pitching prospect Taijuan Walker to start Friday at Houston, MLB.com reports. Walker entered the season as the No. 5 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com. 

Walker has gone 5-3 with a 3.61 ERA over 11 starts since being promoted to Triple-A Tacoma. He has 64 strikeouts in 57 1/3 innings with Tacoma. 

Rangers starting pitcher Martin Perez put together a quality start Wednesday afternoon in Seattle. He gave up just two earned runs over six solid innings and earned a pretty easy victory.

With the Rangers scoring 10 times by the fifth inning, and not stopping there, Perez cruised to 8-3 on the year with a 3.58 ERA. He earned the win by allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over 100 pitches, striking out three batters. His only mistakes were allowing solo homers to Dustin Ackley and Kyle Seager in the ffith and sixth innings.

Perez has won five consecutive starts now for the Rangers and is rolling down the stretch. He is scheduled to make his next starting appearance for manager Ron Washington on Tuesday at Oakland.

The Orioles have recalled top prospect starter Kevin Gausman from Triple-A Norfolk, the club announced Wednesday.

Gausman, 22, owns a 4.04 ERA despite a sharp 3.7 K/BB in 35 2/3 innings for Norfolk. Earlier in the season, he recorded a 3.11 ERA in 46 1/3 innings at Double-A Bowie and a 6.21 ERA in 33 1/3 innings for Baltimore.

White Sox starter Jose Quintana took the mound Tuesday at home against the Astros. Quintana was quality on the outing, but couldn't earn the win as Chicago didn't distance themselves from Houston until after he left.

Quintana took the no-decision and gave up three earned runs on eight hits and three walks over 7 2/3 innings. He struck out eight batters over 118 pitches and his ERA is now at 3.66 on the year.

The 24-year-old has been good this season with a 7-4 record. He's had quality starts in three straight, though he's won just one of those. Quintana will make his next scheduled start for Chicago on Monday to open a series in New York against the Yankees.

The Rays will recall pitcher Jake Odorizzi to start against the Angels Thursday, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Tampa Bay will push back David Price's next start to Friday. 

Odorizzi will make a spot start as Matt Moore is likely to return in that rotation spot for the following turn. 

Odorizzi has a 6.00 ERA over 18 innings for the Rays this season. He has a 3.33 ERA over 22 Triple-A starts. 

Tigers starter Justin Verlander had another less-than-stellar outing Tuesday night at home against the A's. Verlander was removed prior to a rain delay that saw the game end after the top of the sixth inning in a 6-3 Oakland win.

In the end, Verlander took the loss to fall to 12-10 on the year. He gave up five runs -- three earned -- on four hits and three walks over five innings in the defeat. He threw 104 pitches before leaving and allowed a two-run homer to Brandon Moss in the fifth. His ERA is at 3.73 on the season.

Verlander has now gone four consecutive outings since his last win. He's given up 15 earned runs over that stretch of 27 innings. The ace has uncharacteristcally struggled at times this season, but has also been able to flash his brilliance at times as well. He makes his next start Sunday against Cleveland and will hopefully be able to rebound.

You could make a pretty strong case that the Mariners' Taijuan Walker is the best pitching prospect in the minor leagues right now, so rumors that he could be on his way to the big leagues with Aaron Harang out of the picture have created a buzz in Fantasy.

But my response is resounding "meh," provided such a "meh" exists.

It has nothing to do with Walker's ability or major-league readiness and everything to do with innings. Already, he's at 141 1/3 this season, about 15 more than his previous high. For top pitching prospects, an increase of no more than 30-40 innings from one year to the next is preferred, and general manager Jack Zduriencik has mentioned 160 as a possible limit for Walker. Even if his next turn is in the majors, it might be one of only three starts he makes.

How many starts would you need to see from a newly summoned 21-year-old before you put him in your mixed-league lineup? I'm thinking at least two -- and that's if he dominates. Is one start from Walker really worth passing up a Marco Estrada- or Sonny Gray-type pickup? It just seems like a desperate move at this stage of the season.

Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber, who has been out due to a finger injury, threw fastballs and changeups off a mound Monday, MLB.com reports. He had no issues. 

On Tuesday, Kluber threw his slider and cutter off flat ground as he continues to make progress for the Indians. He could rejoin the Cleveland rotation in early September at this point.