MLB Player News

The Diamondbacks will work with Pfaadt in the minors to correct the issues they spotted during the pitcher's five-start run in the majors, Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic reports.

Pfaadt was sent back to the minors Saturday after posting an 8.37 ERA over 23.2 innings. Command was the number one issue that haunted Pfaadt in the majors. He didn't miss many bats, gave up too much loud contact and was in the 15th percentile in strikeout percentage (16.8). The club identified a mechanical issue that consisted of Pfaadt transferring his weight too early, causing his arm slot to drop, which led to wavering command. Additionally, the right-hander had heavy usage of his fastball. "I don't know of anybody that lives at 65% fastball rate and is a starting pitcher and gets away with it for six or seven innings," manager Torey Lovullo said. The Diamondbacks viewed that fastball usage as a red flag, but he could get away with it in the minors. Not in the majors, however, where patient hitters waited for fastballs over the middle of the plate. Pfaadt will likely need to correct the mechanical issue and introduce all his pitches if he's going to reach his potential.

Matz will be available out of the bullpen for the Cardinals' upcoming two-game series versus the Royals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Matz remains winless at 0-6 with a 5.72 ERA through 10 starts this season. With a scheduling quirk leading to consecutive days off (Wednesday and Thursday), the Cardinals won't need a fifth or sixth starter for a while. It's possible Matz could rejoin the rotation during a road series in Texas from June 5-7. With Matthew Liberatore up in the majors, Matz may eventually be ticketed for the bullpen on a more permanent basis if he can't get his season on track.

Cabrera allowed three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out five over 5.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Angels on Saturday.

Cabrera came up an out short of his third quality start, but this was far from a good performance. Walks continue to be an issue for the right-hander, who has issued at least four free passes in six of his 11 outings this season. He's now at a 5.02 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 66:35 K:BB through 52 innings. Cabrera is lined up for a favorable home start versus the Athletics next week.

Davies (0-1) took the loss against Boston on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three batters over 3.1 innings.

Davies didn't figure to go deep into Saturday's start given that he hadn't pitched in the majors since April 8 due to an oblique injury, but he made his outing even briefer due to control issues. The right-hander threw just 41 of 75 pitches for a strike and walked a pair of batters, though he navigated out of trouble until giving up three singles to the first four batters he faced in the fourth. Davies was replaced after the third hit and went on to take the loss. The veteran figures to retain a spot in Arizona's rotation, but he has neither the ratios nor the strikeout numbers to be worth consideration in a majority of fantasy formats.

Verlander allowed six runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out two over five innings in a no-decision versus the Rockies on Saturday.

Verlander left the game in line for the loss before the Mets rallied to tie the game in the sixth inning. This is the second time in five starts that Verlander's allowed six runs but he's also had a pair of very good starts and one average one after missing the first month-plus of the season with a shoulder strain. The 40-year-old is at a 4.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 22:6 K:BB across 30 innings. He's lined up for a home start versus the Blue Jays.

Flaherty allowed one run on seven hits and one walk while striking out four batters over seven innings in a no-decision against Cleveland on Saturday.

Flaherty has struggled mightily with free passes this season -- he entered Saturday with 33 walks over 51 innings -- so it was a a big step in the right direction for him to walk just one batter in the outing. The improved control helped the right-hander tie his season high with seven innings, and he picked up just his third quality start over 11 appearances. Flaherty induced only six swinging strikes and posted a modest four punchouts, but this was nonetheless one of his best starts of the campaign. Though his 4.81 season ERA is nothing to celebrate, it's trending in the right direction again after ballooning to 6.29 following a 2.1 inning, 10-run blowup against the Angels on May 4.

Anderson allowed a run on four hits and a walk while striking out four over five innings in a no-decision versus the Mets on Saturday.

Anderson has seemingly defied Coors Field for three straight starts, allowing just three runs over 15.2 innings since he joined the Rockies. The right-hander was able to limit the damage to a Pete Alonso solo shot in the fourth inning, but the Rockies' bullpen couldn't maintain the lead. Anderson now has a 1.31 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB over 20.2 innings overall.

Williamson allowed four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three over 4.1 innings in a no-decision versus the Cubs on Saturday.

This was pretty similar to Williamson's last outing, though this was the first time in three starts he's avoided giving up a home run. He threw 52 of 81 pitches for strikes Saturday, but he's now logged a 12:9 K:BB over his first 14.1 major-league innings. Getting the walk rate under control would go a long way to solidifying his place on the Reds' roster. He's added a 5.02 ERA and 1.47 WHIP so far, numbers he'll look to improve upon in a tough tentative home start versus the Brewers next week.

Wacha did not factor into the decision Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings against the Yankees. He struck out four.

Wacha continued his domination in May, finishing the month with a 3-0 record to go along with a 0.84 ERA and 7.3 K/9 through five starts (32.0 innings), all of which were quality starts. However, his streak of starts without allowing a home run came to an end at four, as Wacha gave up a solo homer to DJ LeMahieu in the seventh. Wacha has flashed an impressive strikeout punch this season, collecting double-digit Ks twice already. He will have another opportunity to put up gaudy punchout numbers in his next projected start, which comes against a Cubs team that strikes out fifth most in MLB.

Taillon allowed four runs on six hits across 4.2 innings and didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 8-5 loss to the Reds. He walked one and struck out five.

For the fifth straight start, Taillon failed to complete five innings, and he's allowed four earned runs or more in four consecutive outings. On the heels of another poor showing, the righty is now sitting on an 8.04 ERA overall, and while he's been the victim of some bad luck (.378 BABIP, 48.9 percent strand rate), Taillon hasn't helped himself by serving his pitches up on a platter for hitters. According to BaseballSavant.com, Taillon ranks in the 13th percentile among all pitchers in barrel rate allowed (career-worst 11.7 percent, up from 8.3 percent in 2022).