MLB Player News

Lara has been held back in extended spring training to begin the minor-league season as he recovers from an oblique strain, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Lara is one of the few high-upside prospects left in Atlanta's farm system, but he'll have to wait a few weeks before he makes his season debut. The 6-foot-3 righty only logged 9.1 innings at High-A Rome last season after pitching 72 innings at Single-A Augusta, so he'll presumably head back to Rome once he's fully healthy.

Paxton (2-0) picked up the win Monday, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk over six innings against Minnesota. He struck out four.

Paxton nailed his first quality start of 2024 on Monday, getting on the board in the category after securing eight quality starts in 19 appearances last season. While he only allowed four base runners, Paxton was tagged for a pair of runs when Manuel Margot launched a two-run homer in the third to plate Austin Martin, who reached via walk. With one of baseball's best offenses behind him, Paxton seems primed to reach double-digit wins for the first time since 2019 if he can stay healthy.

Morton (1-0) didn't factor into the decision Monday, allowing four runs on five hits and five walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out four.

Morton's walks came back to bite him, with three of his four earned runs scored by players he walked on base. Most of the damage came in the fifth, when Morton opened up the inning by issuing a pair of free passes before Brandon Nimmo launched a three-run home run. Even with Monday's struggles, Morton owns a solid 3.18 ERA across 11.1 innings after blanking the White Sox in his 2024 debut.

Montgomery allowed two runs on two hits and three walks while striking out three over four innings for Triple-A Reno on Sunday.

Montgomery, who threw 60 pitches, made his debut in game action after signing with the Diamondbacks late in spring training. The goal was get through four innings and 65 pitches, so mission accomplished on both fronts for the left-hander. A normal five-day routine lines up Montgomery to throw again Friday (April 12) then next Wednesday (April 17). The pitcher earlier this spring targeted his Arizona debut for April 19, which falls outside the five-day routine, given his appearance Sunday.

Gallen threw a career-high-tying 40 curveballs in Monday's loss to Colorado, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Gallen ran counter to what starters normally do in Coors Field; pitchers tend to stay away from breaking stuff because the altitude limits the break. "Just knowing what I've done here and how I've had success, it seems that my curveball tends to play up a little bit here," Gallen said. "I just felt like I was getting some pretty good responses from the hitter so we just kind of stuck with that. [Coors is] a place where I try not to get beat with my third and fourth pitches." Gallen was heavy on the four-seamer and curve, throwing 87 of them among his 108 pitches, and fanned a season-high 10 batters in a no-decision.

Assad pitched five-plus innings against San Diego on Monday, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out seven batters in a no-decision.

The Cubs staked Assad to an 8-0 lead through four frames, and he appeared well on his way to a win after completing five scoreless innings. However, the right-hander gave up a two-run homer to Jake Cronenworth before being pulled in the sixth, and the Padres went on to score five more runs in that frame along with two in the eighth to pull out an improbable comeback victory. Assad's overall line was pretty decent -- he struck out seven and allowed just six baserunners -- though he needed 104 pitches to get 15 outs. He figures to get at least a few more turns in the rotation to try to nail down a permanent starting role with Jameson Taillon (back) not yet ready to make his 2024 debut and Justin Steele (hamstring) out until May.

Darvish pitched three innings, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four batters in a no-decision against the Cubs on Monday.

All of the damage on the scoreboard against Darvish came in the second inning, when he retired the first two batters he faced before allowing six straight Cubs to reach base in a four-run outburst. The veteran hurler was pulled after three frames with San Diego down 4-0, but a late Padres offensive surge took him off the hook for his second loss. Darvish logged a season-low three innings in the contest while giving up a season-high four runs, so it's safe to say that this was his worst outing of the campaign so far. He's still pitched pretty well overall though, as he holds a 3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 20:8 K:BB through four starts covering 18.2 frames.

Snell (0-1) took the loss against Washington on Monday, pitching three innings and allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five batters.

Snell did well enough in the strikeout category and didn't allow any extra-base hits, but the control issues that were really his only flaw last year resurfaced in his first game as a Giant. The left-hander threw just 39 of 72 pitches for strikes and, unlike during his Cy Young 2023 campaign, he couldn't navigate around the free passes he issued. All of the damage against Snell came in the second inning, when he gave up three runs after walking two of the first three batters he faced. Snell's strikeout potential and history of success should make him a must-start option in fantasy every time he takes the mound, but the control issues are enough to make managers worry about his ability to come close to last year's level of excellence.

Williams (2-0) earned the win over San Francisco on Monday, allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out two batters over five innings.

Williams gave up a run in the first inning but kept the Giants off the scoreboard for the rest of the outing and was backed by plenty of run support. The right-hander notched only five whiffs and two punchouts, but he allowed just three baserunners after the first frame. Williams has started the season well, allowing a modest three runs over 10.1 frames. His 7:5 K:BB isn't as promising, though that hasn't prevented him from earning half of Washington's four wins thus far.

Freeland allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks over five innings in a no-decision Monday. He struck out two during the win over Arizona.

Freeland worked three scoreless frames before the Diamondbacks plated four runs in the fourth inning. While it wasn't a very impressive performance, it was a dramatic improvement after he'd been tagged with 17 runs over his first 5.2 innings. However, he forced just four swinging strikes Monday, his lowest of 2024. Freeland is now sporting a 6:6 K:BB with a 16.03 ERA through three starts. He's projected to take the mound in Toronto this weekend.