MLB Player News

Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones said that starting pitcher Justin Verlander is "trying to get back to the basics" after allowing seven earned runs in his last start, the Detroit Free Press reports.

"He wants to get back to the basics and quit thinking so much about the delivery -- just repeat his delivery, hit his spot with each pitch and not think about the process," Jones told the Free Press after Verlander's bullpen session Saturday. "Between starts, he wants to get away from thinking about the process and focus on hitting the glove and getting all of his pitches working. He was very good today."

Verlander is 4-4 with a 3.17 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 54 innings.

The Rays have selected starting pitching prospect Jake Odorizzi to make Monday's start against the Blue Jays, the team announced Saturday. Odorizzi takes the rotation spot of David Price, who is on the disabled list with a triceps strain.

Part of the trade that sent former Ray James Shields to Kansas City, Odorizzi is 4-0 with a 3.83 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 47 strikeouts in 44 2/3 innings over eight starts with Triple-A Durham this season.

Orioles No. 2 prospect Kevin Gausman managed a career-high 10 strikeouts over six innings in his latest start with Double-A Bowie Friday, Milb.com reports.

Gausman, who has reportedly given up his powdered doughnut diet with a promotion to Baltimore on the horizon, improved to 2-4 with Bowie as he allowed just a run on four hits and a walk over six frames with 10 Ks against Trenton.

Gausman has given up two or fewer runs in five straight starts as there has been growing speculation he could become an answer for a Baltimore starting staff that has struggled with injuries and performance.

"It's nice. Anytime you put another win in that column, it feels good," said Gausman, whose other victory came on April 11. "I'm definitely excited. I felt good, and going forward, hopefully I can keep doing the same thing."

Baltimore GM Dan Duquette squashed rumors that Gausman was coming up to the show. He's not on his way yet, but if he keeps pitching this well, it will be hard for the Orioles to hold him back.

White Sox starter Chris Sale, who pitched a one-hit, complete game shutout his last time out, followed up with another dominant performance against the Angels Friday night.

Sale, who made his ninth start of the season, allowed just three hits over 7 2/3 innings of work as he earned his fifth win of the season. He struck out 12 and walked three in a 3-0 victory.

Sale has extended his scoreless streak to 23 innings. He has not allowed a run in his last two starts -- both coming against the Angels. Sale is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday at home against the Red Sox. He is 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA in four starts at home this season.

Twins starter Vance Worley, who allowed five runs his last time out, turned in a solid performance but did not manage to factor into the decision Friday night against the Red Sox.

Worley, who made his ninth start of the season, surrendered a run-scoring single to David Ortiz in the opening frame for his only damage of the night. He was charged with an unearned run and six hits over six innings of work. He walked three and struck out one in a 3-2 defeat in extras.

Worley saw his ERA improve from 7.15 to 6.20 after Friday's performance. He is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday at Atlanta. He went 0-1 with a 6.52 ERA in two starts against the Braves last season.

Orioles starter Jason Hammel endured another rough outing as he picked up his second loss of the season Friday night against the Rays.

Hammel (5-2), who made his ninth start of the season, surrendered a three-run home run to Kelly Johnson in the third inning. The right-hander was charged with a season-high seven runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings of work. He struck out four and walked two in a 12-10 defeat.

Hammel suffered his first loss since April 7. His ERA has increased from 4.10 to 5.72 after allowing 13 runs and 18 hits over his last two starts. The 30-year-old will make his next start Wednesday at home against the Yankees. He allowed three runs -- two earned -- over six innings in his previous meeting against the Yankees on April 13.

Astros starter Jordan Lyles turned in a decent performance but settled for a no-decision Friday night against the Pirates.

Lyles, who made his fourth start of the season, surrendered a solo home run to Andrew McCutchen in the opening frame. He was charged with two runs -- one earned -- and four hits over five innings of work. He struck out four and walked two in a 5-4 defeat.

Lyles has allowed three runs or less in three of his first four starts. He is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday at home against Kansas City.

Rays starting pitcher prospect Jake Odorizzi is the most likely option to fill in for David Price in the starting rotation, a source told The Tampa Bay Times. The Rays have yet to officially announce Monday's starter against the Blue Jays.

Odorizzi, along with Chris Archer, Alex Torres and Alex Colome, are all under consideration to replace Price in the rotation while he is out. Price is hoping to be out until at least early June.

Allowing no earned runs in two of his first three starts, the White Sox's Jose Quintana was one of the hottest claims off the waiver wire in early to mid April, but since then, his numbers have taken a turn for the worse. Over his last four starts, he has a 5.16 ERA.

Worse yet is the lack of innings. Only four times in eight starts has he gone a full six. This is from a guy who seemingly went seven or eight in each of his first 15 starts as a rookie last year.

The problem for him is that second and third time through the lineup. In innings 1-3 this year, he has a 1.13 ERA. In innings 4-9, he has a 7.17 ERA. To me, that's a sign of major-leaguer hitters catching up to his lack of pedigree. Keep in mind he wasn't a top prospect. He earned his spot in the majors by overachieving in the minors.

I'm not saying Quintana isn't a useful pitcher in Fantasy, but in standard mixed leagues, you can probably find better on the waiver wire.

Yes, Tigers ace Justin Verlander is coming off a miserable start, and if you look at the PitchFX data, his average fastball velocity for this season is about two miles per hour lower than it was last season -- a significant drop by any standard.

But why is it only an issue now? Why wasn't it when he was dominating with a 1.55 ERA over his first seven starts? This is a game, right? It's supposed to be fun? So why are you inventing things to worry about?

Yes, inventing them, because according to that same PitchFX data, he averaged 95.5 miles per hour in that start, the hardest he's thrown this season. In fact, he hasn't thrown that hard over a full season since 2009. Velocity wasn't Verlander's problem Thursday. The Rangers were.

I'll offer you Matt Harvey for him right now.