MLB Player News

Wheeler did not receive a decision in Wednesday's loss to the Pirates, tossing seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts while allowing five hits and a walk.

Wheeler was dominant, as he didn't allow an extra-base hit and induced 22 swinging strikes en route to throwing 75 strikes out of his 105 pitches on the night. A ninth-inning implosion by closer Jeurys Familia cost the 28-year-old a chance at his first win since April, but it was still good for his fourth quality start in six tries in June. The righty sports a 4.47 ERA and 8.7 K/9 heading into Wednesday's tilt against the Blue Jays.

Ray (3-0) got the win Wednesday, tossing six shutout innings with six strikeouts, two walks and two hits allowed against the Marlins.

Making his first start in nearly two months after dealing with an oblique issue, Ray was terrific in this one. The lefty attacked hitters with first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 21 batters he faced, and he's now struck out 51 over just 33.2 innings this season (13.6 K/9). With Clay Buchholz (oblique) landing on the DL, Ray was forced to come back a bit earlier than initially planned and was lifted after 83 pitches Wednesday, but he figures to be able to go deeper going forward as he continues to stretch out. He'll take a 4.01 ERA into Monday's start against the Cardinals.

Castillo didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Braves, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits and a walk over four-plus innings while striking out four.

After setting down 11 straight batters to begin the game, Castillo fell apart with two outs in the fourth inning, then allowed the first two hitters he faced in the fifth to reach base before getting the hook. Despite his clear upside, the right-hander's inconsistency, both from start-to-start and within an outing, makes him a very difficult player to rely on in a fantasy lineup. Castillo will carry a 5.85 ERA into his next start Monday at home against the White Sox.

Houser was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs after throwing two scoreless innings in Wednesday's game against the Royals, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

While he did his job perfectly in Wednesday's game, the fact that he threw two innings will lead the Brewers to summon a fresher arm from Triple-A in advance of this weekend's series against the Reds. Houser has allowed just one earned run with six strikeouts in nine MLB innings this season. He has thrown exactly two innings in four of his five relief appearances. Look for him to return to the big-league bullpen sooner than later.

Buehler (ribs) will throw a three-inning rehab outing with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Buehler could rejoin the big-league rotation next week, presumably either Tuesday or Wednesday against the Pirates. It was originally reported that Buehler would throw a bullpen session Thursday, so the fact that it will be a rehab start moves up his timetable. Manager Dave Roberts has said that the Dodgers could briefly operate with a six-man rotation when Buehler returns.

Keller was promoted Wednesday from Double-A Altoona to Triple-A Indianapolis, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

After posting a 0.69 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in four June starts, the Pirates' top pitching prospect will be rewarded with a promotion to the highest level of the minors. While this may spark speculation that Keller could eventually reach the majors this season, the Pirates are a pretty conservative organization with such decisions, and there are plenty of other young arms who are close to big-league ready that the team probably wants to evaluate in this rebuilding year. Keller appears primed to make his big-league debut in early 2019. He finishes this season's run at Double-A with a 2.72 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 76:32 K:BB in 86 innings.

Lopez could be called up to start Saturday's game against the Mets, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.

Lopez just reached the Double-A level for the first time this season, but he has put himself in the mix for a big-league rotation by spot by posting a sparkling 0.62 ERA over eight Double-A starts and following that up with a 3.38 ERA over his first four starts at the Triple-A level. Expect the Marlins to officially reveal their starter for Saturday's contest in the near future.

Alcantara will be called up from Triple-A New Orleans and start Friday's game against the Mets.

The Marlins need to add a couple starters to their rotation this weekend, and one of them will be Alcantara, who will be making his first career big-league start Friday. Alcantara is the Marlins' top pitching prospect, but with both Dan Straily (suspension) and Jose Urena (shoulder) returning in the near future, he could head back to New Orleans after Friday's outing. Still, Alcantara, who owns a respectable 3.71 ERA ERA and 64:34 K:BB over 85 Triple-A innings this year, will get a shot to show what he can do at the top level as a starter.

Ray (oblique) was activated from the 10-day disabled list Wednesday and will start against the Marlins.

Ray is possibly being rushed back, as he was originally scheduled to make one more rehab start but will start in Miami instead. He threw just 66 pitches in his most recent rehab start so may be on a limited pitch count, but the Diamondbacks needed to call on him anyway as Clay Buchholz hit the disabled list with an oblique injury. Alex Avila was placed on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring in a corresponding move.

Darvish (triceps) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Thursday, after which the Cubs will determine if he's ready to rejoin the big club over the weekend or if he requires another minor-league start, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Darvish experienced no complications while playing light catch Tuesday, one day after he covered five innings in a rehab start for Low-A South Bend. While he was sharp in that outing, he only threw 57 pitches, so Darvish would likely have his workload restricted if he were to return from the 10-day disabled list to start Saturday or Sunday against the Twins. Once Darvish is added back to Chicago's rotation, one of Tyler Chatwood (paternity list) or Mike Montgomery will likely head to the bullpen.