MLB Player News

Keller allowed two earned runs on five hits and no walks while striking out five across five innings Thursday against the Tigers. He did not factor into the decision.

Keller took advantage of a relatively soft matchup Thursday to turn in a strong effort. He avoided handing out a free pass for the first time this season, though his problems with the long ball persisted when he served up a home run to JaCoby Jones. Keller has proven to be highly dependent on matchups so far this season, and his inconsistency is highlighted by a 7.16 ERA through 16.1 innings. He's currently projected to draw his next start against Kansas City on Wednesday.

Lucchesi gave up three runs on two hits and a pair of walks while striking out five across three innings against the Cubs on Thursday. He didn't factor into the decision.

Lucchesi got off to a strong start, sending five of his first seven batters down on strikes. Unfortunately, he issued back-to-back walks in the third inning followed by an RBI single by Willson Contreras and a two-run double by Kris Bryant, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead. The 27-year old didn't last much longer, getting pulled after three innings and 60 pitches, 34 for strikes. Lucchesi threw only 55 pitches in his last outing, so he didn't improve much in terms of endurance. The left-hander is lined up to make his next start April 30 against the Phillies, though that hasn't yet been made official.

Williams did not factor into the decision during Thursday's win over the Mets after allowing two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out six over five innings.

All of the damage charged to Williams came from a two-run homer off the bat of Pete Alonso in the fourth inning. Otherwise, the 28-year-old turned in a decent showing, leaving the game in line for the win before the bullpen blew the lead in the seventh. Williams has given up two or fewer runs in three of his first four outings, though his one blowup means he still has a 4.66 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. He'll look to notch his third win of the year Tuesday at Atlanta.

Cabrera (biceps) has been throwing from 105 feet without issue, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Cabrera continues to increase his throwing distance since being shut down in mid-February. There remains no clear timetable for his return to game action.

Sanchez (shoulder) has been throwing from 60 feet without problem, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Sanchez has increased his throwing distance from 45 to 60 feet within roughly the last week. However, his return is far from imminent, as general manager Kim Ng told the media Wednesday that Sanchez is "a ways out" from taking the mound in game action.

Oviedo is expected to be recalled from the Cardinals' alternate site to make a spot start next week, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The Cardinals already have a full five-man rotation, with John Gant filling in as the fifth starter for the injured Miles Mikolas (shoulder). However, with Friday marking the beginning of a stretch of 17 games in 17 days, manager Mike Shildt is eager to work a sixth starter into the mix to give some extra rest to the other rotation members. Oviedo appears to have emerged as the most likely starter to join the big club after he dazzled in his lone outing with the Cardinals back on April 11, when he struck out four over 4.2 innings of long relief in a loss to Milwaukee. With St. Louis already setting its rotation for the next five games, Oviedo tentatively lines up to make a spot start next Wednesday against the Phillies in St. Louis.

Castillo did not factor into the decision, allowing one earned run on seven hits and three walks in four innings while striking out four in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to Arizona, a completion of Tuesday's suspended game.

The righty has fallen short of expectations so far this season, pitching to a 6.05 ERA and allowing three home runs along with six walks. Opposing batters hit .233 against Castillo last year, but that number has risen to .317 through four 2021 starts. Despite his early struggles, the 28-year-old boasts the elite stuff to turn things around in his fifth season and justify the high price fantasy managers paid to roster him.

Soroka (shoulder) has yet to resume throwing, although Atlanta manager Brian Snitker believes he might be able to toss a ball soon, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The right-hander's recovery from Achilles surgery got derailed by shoulder soreness at the alternate training site soon after the season began, and given that he's been shut down for more than two weeks, Soroka will need a full build-up period before he's ready to join the rotation. Atlanta's pitching depth is being tested with Max Fried (hamstring) and Drew Smyly (forearm) also currently on the IL, but the team won't rush Soroka back onto the mound.

Brubaker is lined up to make his next start Friday against the Twins, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Pittsburgh had previously listed Brubaker as the probable starter for Thursday's series finale in Detroit, which would have allowed him to throw on five days' rest following his 83-pitch, six-inning outing in Milwaukee on April 16. Rather than a desire to give Brubaker some extra recovery time, Pittsburgh may have opted to push the right-hander back a day in the schedule so he could draw a tougher assignment in Minnesota rather than Mitch Keller, who has been lit up in his first three starts. Keller will flip spots in the pitching schedule with Brubaker and start Thursday, leaving the latter -- who has been Pittsburgh's top starter so far this season -- to take the hill for the series opener in Minnesota.

Keller is slated to start Thursday's series finale in Detroit, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Earlier in the week, the Pirates initially listed JT Brubaker as their projected starter for Thursday, but since the right-hander has been the team's top pitcher so far this season, manager Derek Shelton may have wanted to save him for the weekend series with a more formidable opponent in the Twins. Keller will thus trade spots with Brubaker in the pitching order, getting a matchup upgrade as a result. Even so, fantasy managers probably can't rely on Keller to deliver a quality performance, considering how poorly he's fared in his first three starts. He's surrendered 11 runs on 16 hits and eight walks over 11.1 innings this season.