MLB Player News

Wacha (2-0) notched three strikeouts in three scoreless innings in Wednesday's 9-3 Grapefruit League victory over the Nationals. He gave up two hits and one walk.

Wacha worked three innings for the second straight start and boasts a perfect ERA through his first eight spring innings. He threw 53 pitches, 33 of which found the strike zone Wednesday. His superb showings this spring are going a long way to solidifying his bid for the fifth starter role, and Wacha remains highly satisfied with the way his conditioning is coming along. "I felt good out there, throwing a lot of strikes, working down in the zone," said Wacha, who's yet to allow an earned run in eight spring innings. "I didn't see any velocity [readings] out there today, but I know it feels good whenever I'm letting loose and letting it go. I'm just really happy with the way the arm feels and the body feels, for sure."

Cole threw three scoreless innings on two hits and no walks Wednesday against the Dominican Republic. He didn't record a strikeout, DK Pittsburgh Sports reports. "I felt strong," Cole said. "I tried to just keep getting as many reps with the fastball as I can, just continue to build strength."

Cole used his slider for the first time this spring but was more pleased with the rest of his repertoire. "I thought the changeup had good action today as well as the curveball," he relayed. "I hit both sides of the plate well. I changed height on the fastball well. It was good." Coach Mike Lavalliere recently said Cole potentially offers the best changeup among all Pirates pitchers. An effective off-speed pitch could work wonders for Cole, who throws hard across the board aside from the curve (which he uses only 10 percent of the time).

Glasnow allowed six earned runs on five hits and four walks in 2.1 innings against the Dominican Republic's WBC squad Wednesday. He struck out one batter.

After striking out six of seven Orioles in his first spring outing, Glasnow has struggled his last two times out. Few pitching prospects carry his upside, but it's looking like the 6-foot-8 righty might well begin 2017 in Triple-A. He's working on a shortened stride and a new-grip changeup, both of which may need further refining in the minors.

Houser (elbow) was optioned to minor-league camp Wednesday.

The 24-year-old is still recovering from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in July, so this move is simply procedural in nature. He'll continue his rehab process with the hopes of throwing off a mound by June while preparing for a return at the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018.

Kershaw was near perfect in his third spring training start, firing three hitless innings while walking one and striking out three against the Giants on Tuesday.

The Giants stacked their lineup with seven right-handed batters in an effort to test their in-state rival's ace. Kershaw walked their leadoff batter, picked him off first, then proceeded to retire the next eight batters he faced. The Dodgers' ace already dismissed any concerns regarding the herniated disk in his back that cost him two months last season, and now he is letting his play do the talking. Kershaw has posted a 0.00 ERA with a 0.17 WHIP in through three spring appearances, confirming the notion that he is the clear-cut top arm in fantasy.

Cease is likely to begin the 2017 season with Low-A South Bend, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Cease, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014, tossed just 44.2 innings in 12 starts for short-season Eugene last year, so the Cubs will probably look to gradually ramp up the 21-year-old's workload in 2017. As is the case with many young pitching prospects, Cease needs to improve his control, but he is the organization's top pitching prospect and could develop into a frontline starter down the road.

Cueto will throw a live batting practice session Wednesday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Cueto was unable to arrive in Giants camp until March 4 due to visa issues with his father, but since he was working out some in the Dominican Republic during the delay, he seems to be relatively close to getting back into game action. The righty will likely pitch for San Francisco sometime in the next week before making a decision about whether or not he'll compete in the World Baseball Classic.

Wainwright (1-0) fired three scoreless innings in Tuesday's 9-2 Grapefruit League win over the Marlins, surrendering three hits and striking out two.

After giving up a pair of solo home runs in his last trip to the mound against the Braves last Thursday, Derek Dietrich's double served as the longest hit against the former 20-game winner Tuesday. He scattered two other singles and fired 44 pitches overall, with a heavy emphasis on his changeup. Although he's focused on showcasing the pitch in past springs, Wainwright appears intent on utilizing it with regularity in the coming season despite only throwing it 2.3 percent of the time in 2016. That notion was only reinforced by the effectiveness with which Wainwright deployed it Tuesday, something that didn't escape his boss's attention. "Whenever you're seeing the hitters up there taking the swings that they're taking, it's just a great sign," manager Mike Matheny said. "A lot of the times it's hard to even tell from the side because it has a lot of characteristics as far as depth and speed as his cutter when he throws it in the mid-80s. But definitely some great results against those left-handed hitters. That cutter will speed them up and the changeup, obviously, will slow him down."

DeSclafani (elbow) threw a side session Tuesday from a bullpen mound and will throw another one later this week before getting slotted for his first spring training start.

The Reds have already stated that DeSclafani won't be ready for Opening Day, though they haven't yet committed to him beginning the year on the DL. In fact, it's been suggested that he could start the second regular season game. However, given the ability to back-date DL stints by having him pitch in minor league spring training games, and given the off-days present early in the season, it also wouldn't be a surprise if he had a brief DL stint.

Eflin (knee) said he did not feel anything after his throwing session Tuesday, the Philly Daily News' Matt Gelb reports.

While Eflin has yet to appear in a game this spring, it sounds like he is healthy and should be able to get into Grapefruit League action shortly. He is expected to open the year at Triple-A, serving as organizational rotation depth.