MLB Player News

Allard allowed five hits and a walk while striking out five over five scoreless innings for Double-A Mississippi on Sunday.

The 19-year-old lefty's strikeout rate has taken a step back in his first four starts at Double-A, as he has only a 14:5 K:BB through 21 innings, but his 1.29 ERA and 1.10 WHIP indicate that Allard hasn't been overmatched at all despite his youth relative to the hitters he's facing. The 2015 first-round pick has an enviable combination of polish and projectability, and if he continues not just holding his own but thriving at Double-A, Allard's already high fantasy stock will jump through the roof.

Wheeler (1-2) allowed four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six over seven innings in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Nationals.

He got ambushed in the first inning -- Adam Eaton reached on a HBP that barely grazed his elbow, followed in quick succession by a Trea Turner infield single, a Bryce Harper opposite-field single and a Daniel Murphy grand slam. However, Wheeler settled down nicely after that, holding the Nats scoreless for the next six innings and giving the Mets a chance to get back into the game. The right-hander ended his night throwing 65 of 101 pitches for strikes in his longest outing so far this season. While Wheeler's 5.40 ERA isn't great, it isn't reflective of his 1.11 WHIP or 21:6 K:BB through 21.2 innings. He'll get a chance at revenge on the NL East leaders Saturday in Washington.

Eflin allowed one run on three hits over seven innings Sunday in an eventual 5-2 win over the Braves. He struck out three and did not walk a batter in the no-decision.

Eflin didn't strike many batters out, but the Braves were not able to make solid contact on his pitches. He generated six groundouts to first base and six shallow pop-ups to the outfield. The young righty has allowed just three runs in his first two starts this season, so he's off to a promising start heading into Saturday's road tilt against the Dodgers.

Strasburg will be placed on the paternity leave list as he awaits the birth of his child, Mark Zuckerman of MASN reports.

Strasburg will be eligible to return three days after being placed on the list, which means he will likely make his return during the Nationals' upcoming series this weekend against the Mets. In the meantime, Jacob Turner is a prime candidate to take his turn in the rotation, getting the start Monday with Joe Ross getting bumped into Strasburg's spot Tuesday.

Strasburg will likely not start for the Nationals on Tuesday even though he would be on normal rest by then, Mark Zuckerman of MASN reports.

The Nationals pushing back Strasburg does not appear to be injury-related. Instead, the team seems to be saving him so that he is able to pitch against the Mets later in the week.

Mahle threw a perfect game at Double-A Pensacola against Mobile on Saturday night, Baseball America reports.

Mahle struck out eight and needed just 88 pitches to go the distance. This continues a blazing start to the 2017 season for Mahle, as he has allowed only two earned runs over four starts, a span covering 26.2 innings. A 2013 seventh-round pick, Mahle was not considered to be a great prospect for the Reds, somewhere in the 10-15 range within their organization, while he now sits as the team's 17th-ranked prospect.

Anderson allowed an unearned run on six hits and a walk while striking out six batters over six innings during Saturday's loss to St. Louis.

The outing brought Anderson's ERA down to 1.13, and he's shown an uptick in the punchout department with a 8.3 K/9 and 22.9 strikeout percentage through four starts. The 29-year-old righty posted a 5.09 FIP last season and allowed a 36.6 hard-hit percentage, so it might still be too early to dub him a breakout candidate. He's still worth keeping tabs on and a speculative grab isn't out of the question, either. Anderson projects to face the Braves next.

Lynn (2-1) allowed a single run on just three hits and two walks while striking out seven batters over six innings during Saturday's win over Milwaukee.

The Brewers have scored the fifth-most runs in baseball, so this was an impressive outing from Lynn. He has now allowed just one run through 13 innings while striking out 12 batters over his past two starts. He appears to be back in the groove following 2015 Tommy John surgery and sports an impressive 3.35 ERA and 8.6 K/9 over 132 career starts. He lines up to face the Reds next.

Ray moved to 2-0 on the season during Saturday's 11-5 victory over the Dodgers, surrendering five runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out six over 5.1 innings.

The five earned runs were the most Ray has conceded in any of his four starts this season, but with the Diamondbacks offense providing some ample run support, the lefty had plenty of room for error. Ray has compiled a 3.42 ERA and 30 strikeouts over 23.2 innings this season, but will likely need to rein in the walks (14) in order to make that ERA sustainable over the course of a full season.

Maeda's next start may be delayed so he can work on his pitching mechanics, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Manager Dave Roberts believes that Maeda is being too aggressive when throwing his fastball, which is resulting in a lack of control. Maeda's next scheduled start is Thursday against the Giants. While the Dodgers have yet to decide whether or not they'll move his next start, they're entertaining the possibility due to his struggles. Maeda gave up six runs over five innings in Saturday's loss to the Diamondbacks, bringing his ERA and WHIP up to 8.05 and 1.53, respectively.