MLB Player News

The Blue Jays may turn to the team's No. 5 prospect Marcus Stroman, who just returned from a 50-game suspension, to make Friday's start against the Orioles, MLB.com reports. 

The other options appear to be Chad Jenkins and prospect Sean Nolin, which have been previously reported. 

Stroman's next scheduled start is Friday after making an appearance with Double-A New Hampshire. He struck out six over five scoreless innings in that outing. 

"Stroman, Nolin, you got those guys that we're high on," manager John Gibbons said Wednesday. "Those are guys we're going to count on down the road."

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire expressed great disappointment with starting pitcher Vance Worley, who was optioned to Triple-A Rochester following Wednesday's loss at Atlanta. Worley, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Philadelphia, allowed three home runs in the loss and saw his ERA jump to 7.21.

"We're looking for performance here," Gardenhire said, per the Pioneer Press. "We got him in a trade. We need performance. You've seen what's happened here in a row with our starters. We needed him to step up, and it didn't work out."

Gardenhire hopes the demotion will get the right-hander on track.

"He needs to go down and get going," Gardenhire said. "I think we're just searching for the guy that we got in the trade. He's got the stuff. Now he's got to put it out on the field."

The Twins demoted Vance Worley to the minors after his miserable start against the Braves Wednesday. They haven't said Kyle Gibson will take his place, but considering the top prospect was a top candidate to fill the last opening in the Twins' rotation -- a spot that ultimately went to Samuel Deduno -- you have to be intrigued by the possibility.

Like Al Melchior said on Wednesday's Fantasy Baseball Today, Gibson doesn't have much left to prove in the minors. He's no Kevin Gausman or even Zack Wheeler, but in leagues where the next big thing is inevitably the next hot claim, perhaps now is the time to make a move for him.

The Twins may have acquired Vance Worley this offseason to be their ace, but with his demotion to Triple-A Rochester, his 2013 season continues on a nightmarish trajectory. Worley recorded only three quality starts in ten attempts and exceeded three strikeouts just once.

The key to Worley's success the previous two years had been a high called strikes rate, but only 18 percent of his pitches were strikes looking as compared to 22 percent in both 2011 and 2012. According to BrooksBaseball.net, he's been getting less horizontal movement on both his four-seamer and his sinker, and accordingly, batters have been swinging at those offerings more often.

Worley hasn't gotten wild or lost velocity; he just hasn't been deceptive. He's probably never going to dominate hitters, but if he can work out his issues in the minors, Worley can still be a pitcher who is viable in standard mixed leagues.

Twins starting pitcher Vance Worley dropped to 1-5 after Wednesday's 8-3 loss at Atlanta and will not get the chance to go for his second win next time out, as he was optioned to Triple-A Rochester following the game, according to MLB.com.

Worley struggled from the get-go Wednesday. He allowed the first three runners to reach base and surprisingly escaped the first inning having allowed just one run. He tossed a scoreless second inning before the Braves added two more runs in the third inning, including one on Ramiro Pena's home run. But Worley fell apart in the fourth inning. Justin Upton led off with a home run and six batters later Evan Gattis parked his first career grand slam.

Worley allowed eight runs on 10 hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three, as his ERA jumped from 6.20 to 7.21. The Twins have yet to name Worley's replacement. His next turn through the rotation would have been Monday at Milwaukee.

The Rays made a change to their rotation plans Wednesday. They announced Alex Cobb and Jake Odorizzi will swap places, with Cobb starting Sunday against the Yankees and Odorizzi moving back to Monday against the Marlins.

Odorizzi made his season debut Monday against the Blue Jays, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk in five innings. He struck out six.

The Rays made a change to their rotation plans Wednesday. They announced Alex Cobb and Jake Odorizzi will swap places, with Cobb starting Sunday against the Yankees and Odorizzi moving back to Monday against the Marlins.

Cobb won for the second time in May Tuesday against the Blue Jays, allowing one run on three hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings. Cobb has posted a 3.00 ERA and .207 opponents' batting average in four May starts. He also has struck out 27 batters in 24 innings this month.

If you've arrived at Kevin Gausman's player page wondering if you should pick up the Orioles pitching prospect with the news he'll make his major-league debut Thursday, the answer, as Al Melchior and I discussed on Fantasy Baseball Today, is an emphatic YES.

He was the fourth overall pick in last year's draft, so you know his talent is off the charts, and unlike Trevor Bauer, whose quick ascension to the majors last year was marred by terrible control, Gausman knows how to locate his high-90s fastball, issuing 1.0 walks per nine innings in his eight starts at Double-A Bowie this year.

Most likely, it's not just a one-and-done scenario either. The Orioles have struggled to fill the fifth spot in their rotation since Wei-Yin Chen went on the DL with an oblique injury, and even after Chen returns, Gausman will likely stick over Freddy Garcia, provided he meets his end of the bargain.

No one can say for sure if Gausman will live up to his potential right away, but the chances of him emerging as an out-of-nowhere ace make him well worth the gamble in all leagues. He now ranks 62nd at starting pitcher for me (and 44th for Al).

Orioles starting pitcher Jason Hammel has posted a 10.43 ERA and .409 opponents' batting average in his last three starts after opening the year with a 3.79 ERA and .244 opponents' batting average in his first six starts.

"It's not mechanical at all," Hammel said, per MASNsports.com. "You try to mess with things that are pretty sound, you'll get yourself in even more trouble."

Hammel, who will be on the mound Wednesday against the Yankees, said in a recent side session he worked on his fastball command and keeping his pitches down in the strike zone to induce more groundball outs.

"This last (side session), all I did was throw fastballs, because that is what I've been struggling with, the fastball. Sometimes you have to go back to basics," he said. "It is not necessarily the (lack of) sink, but my pitches are up in the zone. Two-seamer has been good at times, but the misses overall with all pitches have just been too hittable up in the zone and badly executed. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with my pitches, but they've just been too hittable right now."

Rangers starting pitcher Martin Perez had his best start of the season Tuesday for Triple-A Round Rock, tossing seven scoreless innings in a win against Reno. He allowed three hits and struck out seven, while throwing 49 of 77 pitches for strikes.

Perez, who began the season on the disabled list after fracturing his left wrist in spring training, is in line to be considered to start during Monday's doubleheader against the Diamondbacks. However, manager Ron Washington said Wednesday the team hasn't discussed Perez as an option, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Washington added the team wants to be certain Perez has built up his stamina to pitch a full game without limitations. Tuesday was the first time he surpassed 70 pitches in a start this season.

"He just started throwing and had a good game (Tuesday) night," Washington said. "We’re not going to take one game and all of the sudden he’s ready to pitch. We’ll make that determination when we feel we need to make that determination."