MLB Player News

Baz is being held back in extended spring training to start the season, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports.

Given his pedigree (12th overall pick last year) and frontline stuff, it would not have come as a surprise if Baz had opened the year at Low-A, but the Pirates will be cautious with their prized righty. He is likely on a fairly strict innings limit in his first pro season, which may have played a role in him being held back to start the year. Baz should finish the year at Low-A if he stays healthy.

Peralta tossed five scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut Thursday in Omaha, allowing three baserunners while striking out six.

This shouldn't come as a major surprise if you've been following Peralta's progress over the past couple years. He was able to make his Sky Sox debut away from the home park in Colorado Springs, which helped him get off to a good start to the campaign. His low-90s fastball plays as a plus pitch thanks to a deceptive crossfire delivery, and his slider and changeup serve as useful secondaries. He only logged 63.2 innings at Double-A last year, so the Brewers demonstrated a lot of faith in the 5-foot-11 righty by assigning him to Triple-A. He will continue to be developed as a starter, and could end up excelling as a quasi starter who logs around four innings per outing and gets pulled before he can face an opposing lineup for a third time.

Wainwright (0-1) took the loss against Arizona on Thursday, giving up three earned runs in just 3.2 innings while serving up four hits, walking four and striking out three.

It was a rough first start of the season for the veteran in his return from a hamstring injury, as Wainwright struggled with his control. Once one of the most dominant pitchers in the game, Wainwright had a 5.11 ERA in his 123.1 innings last year and hasn't posted elite marks over the course of a full season since 2014. At this point, he can't be trusted for fantasy purposes until he shows that he's regained his old magic for a sustained period of time.

Ray (2-0) picked up the win against St. Louis on Thursday, striking out nine and walking five while giving up two hits over six innings in the Diamondbacks' 3-1 victory.

There were some velocity concerns with Ray after he gave up six earned runs to the Rockies in his season debut, but he fared much better in his second go-round. Ray has struck out 17 batters in his first two starts of the year and while his eight walks on the season are a bit more than fantasy owners would like, Thursday's start can still be considered an encouraging sign for a pitcher who posted a sterling 2.89 ERA over 28 starts in 2017.

Lucchesi struck out seven and walked three while holding the Rockies to one hit over five scoreless innings Thursday. He did not factor in the decision.

Despite making the jump straight from Double-A to the majors, Lucchesi has held his own through two starts this season. After striking out just one batter in his first outing against the Brewers, he took a step forward Thursday. Despite working with a fastball that sits in the low-90s, Lucchesi racked up 204 strikeouts in 181 innings between Low-A and Double-A. He was old for his level at those stops, but he'll continue to get starts for the Padres if he can give manager Andy Green quality innings every fifth day.

Steele, who had Tommy John surgery in August, will begin the year on the disabled list with High-A Myrtle Beach and could miss the entire 2018 season, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports.

Steele played reasonably well at the High-A level last season before the surgery, finishing with a 2.92 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 98.2 innings. The 22-year-old could have advanced up the organizational ranks this season, but the injury will likely keep him grounded in 2018.

Anderson struck out four and did not issue a walk over six scoreless innings Thursday against the Padres.

Anderson didn't factor in the decision Thursday, as he got no run support despite pitching well enough to earn the win. After getting roughed up in the season opener, control was the difference in his second start of the season as he dropped his walk total from four to zero. A road matchup in San Diego also helped matters Thursday. At this point, Anderson is someone to consider mostly when he's taking the ball away from Coors Field.

Strasburg (1-1) earned the loss after allowing four runs on five hits and two walks across six innings Thursday against the Mets. He struck out six.

Strasburg struggled after retiring the side on 11 pitches in the first inning. He balked in a run in the second frame before allowing a solo homer in the fourth inning and a two-run shot in the fifth. Strasburg has now allowed three homers through 12.1 innings despite entering the season with a career 0.8 HR/9 rate. While the 29-year-old hasn't been as sharp as he'd like to start the year, he's still whiffed more than a batter per inning while keeping a fine 3.65 ERA. The stud right-hander will look to pick things up in his next start, which is scheduled for Tuesday against the Braves.

Finnegan (biceps) will make a rehab start for Triple-A Louisville on Monday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports.

Manager Bryan Price said Finnegan's simulated game went off without a hitch, but the team will play it safe and send the injury-prone starter for another tuneup before allowing him to rejoin the big-league rotation. If everything goes well in Monday's minor-league start, Finnegan's next outing could come April 14 against the Cardinals.

DeGrom picked up the win after allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks across six innings Thursday against the Nationals. He struck out five.

It was another strong outing from deGrom, who is now 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA and 12:4 K:BB through his first two starts (11.2 innings) of the season. The righty could have easily escaped the outing without conceding a run had the Mets been sharper on defense, as a Jay Bruce error in the first inning and an errant relay throw from Jose Reyes in the third resulted in the only marks against the starter. The only tough spot deGrom found himself in Thursday came in the sixth inning after he allowed the Nationals to load the bases with no outs, but he retired the next three batters to get out of the inning unblemished. He'll look to keep things rolling in his next start, which is scheduled for Tuesday against the Marlins.