MLB Player News

Nikorak underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday and will miss the entire 2017 season, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Nikorak, the 27th overall pick in the 2015 draft, spent the past two seasons at rookie ball with limited success, but he had yet to pitch in 2017. He'll move his focus toward being ready for the 2018 season as he moves up Colorado's organizational ladder.

Hill (finger) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Thursday, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The southpaw was placed on the 10-day disabled list April 7, and if all goes well, Hill could return when first eligible on April 16. His fantasy owners had to prepare themselves for these types of absences in exchange for getting performance that's frequently elite when he's healthy. Either way, the waiting game continues.

Anderson notched eight strikeouts over 4.2 innings in his debut for Low-A Rome. He gave up one run on two hits and three walks against West Virginia.

This was Anderson's first start above rookie ball and he handled himself quite well. Obviously he walked too many batters, but the swing-and-miss potential was on full display. Anderson was tabbed as a safety-over-upside pick when the Braves saved some money by taking him with the third overall pick last year, but his 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame also allows one to dream a little on his stuff taking a jump up. There may be more long-term upside here than most originally expected.

Toussaint tossed five shutout innings in his first start for High-A Florida, giving up two hits and two walks while striking out six.

The Braves opted to split up last year's legendary Low-A Rome rotation, sending Max Fried, Kolby Allard and Mike Soroka to Double-A, while Toussaint and Ricardo Sanchez were promoted on a normal pace, moving up one level to the Florida State League. Toussaint's electric stuff should allow him to dominate High-A hitters this year even if his control remains shaky, but if he throws more strikes, his stock will really take off.

Stripling was perfect through 1.2 innings Wednesday, striking out four in a win over the Cubs.

With the Dodgers having a plethora of veteran rotation candidates, the 27-year-old was pushed into a relief role this spring. He has excelled as a reliever, posting a 1.42 ERA with 10 strikeouts and no walks in 6.1 innings. Stripling had moderate success as a swingman last season (3.96 ERA and 1.26 WHIP), but early results point to an improvement this year. If an injury-prone Dodgers rotation opens up a spot for the young righty, he would garner immediate deep-league value.

Anderson (1-0) struck out seven while allowing just three hits and two walks (one intentional) over seven scoreless innings in a win over Toronto on Wednesday.

He certainly wasn't the marquee name on the mound in this one -- Marcus Stroman started for Toronto and pitched a complete game -- but Anderson stood out for the second straight start. Now that he's muffled the Rockies in his first start and the Blue Jays in his second, Anderson merits interest in fantasy circles. That said, his past doesn't seem to suggest a ton of upside, so he should still be approached with caution.

Velasquez (0-2) gave up five runs on five hits, four walks and hit a batter over five innings in Wednesday's loss to the Mets. He struck out seven.

The loss completed a three-game sweep for the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. It's nice to see the young righty making hitters miss -- 17 strikeouts in his first two starts -- but he's only pitched nine total innings, giving up nine runs, 10 hits and seven walks in that time. Unfortunately for hopeful fantasy owners, we're just seeing more of the same from Velasquez: lots of strikeouts with too many walks and homers. He'll see better days than this when he draws better matchups, but Velasquez is scheduled to enjoy a couple extra days of rest before starting again next Wednesday on the road against these same Mets.

Wheeler (1-1) gave up three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out four over 5.2 innings in a win against the Phillies on Wednesday.

This start -- his first win since 2014 -- was better than the box score, as the righty cruised through five scoreless frames, only to be yanked after loading the bases in the sixth; Hansel Robles promptly gave up a grand slam to Maikel Franco, accounting for all three of Wheeler's runs. Still, it's concerning that he seemed to run out of steam and ended up throwing just 85 pitches before being removed; it seems like Wheeler still needs to build up his endurance after a lengthy absence from MLB action. He's slated to meet the Phillies again Tuesday, this time at Citi Field.

Freeland (1-1) got crushed for six runs on eight hits and three walks over 4.2 innings in Wednesday's home loss to the Padres.

Things started off rough for him, as he spotted the Friars a four-run first inning, but the lefty actually calmed things down for a little while thereafter, only to give up two more runs and get yanked in the fifth. A 2014 first-round pick, Freeland has made his way to the majors quickly and delivered a solid MLB debut in his last start, but he's not exactly a whiff artist and the downside of pitching for the Rockies is well documented. At best, he's an asset only in deep or keeper formats who's used solely for his road starts. With that in mind, Freeland's next outing will come on the road Tuesday against the Dodgers.

Eflin tossed five scoreless innings Tuesday in his first start at Triple-A Lehigh Valley since coming off the disabled list. He allowed five hits, walked three and struck out four.

Eflin started the year on the disabled list to allow him some extra time to recover from offseason knee surgery. The Phillies are expected to place Clay Buchholz (forearm) on the disabled list Wednesday and will have an opening in their rotation, and Eflin is a prime candidate for the spot since he is on the same schedule as Buchholz. That said, the entire rotation at Lehigh Valley is on the 40-man roster, so the Phillies have options to fill their rotation opening.