MLB Player News

Giolito will open the season at Double-A Harrisburg, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

The Nationals' top pitching prospect was reassigned to minor league camp last week after being invited to his first major league spring training this year. Giolito will be the staff ace at Double-A to start the season, and he'll likely need a solid number of appearances before the Nationals consider recalling him.

Greinke pitched with a case of the flu on Monday, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports.

Greinke was uncharacteristically shaky in his Diamondbacks debut Monday, allowing seven runs over just four innings of work. Rosenthal's report sheds some light on why Greinke did not look like himself on the mound against the Rockies. According to Rosenthal, Greinke was adamant about not missing his start despite being sick. Look for Greinke to bounce back in his next scheduled appearance Saturday.

Greinke (0-1) was lit up by the Rockies in his Diamondbacks debut on Monday, as he allowed seven runs on nine hits and a walk over four innings in a loss. He struck out two and allowed three home runs.

Greinke pounded the strike zone, as he threw 55 strikes in his 82 pitches, but the Rockies were all over him. He thrived in Los Angeles, but the thin desert air in Arizona will punish him much harder for his mistakes. Greinke last allowed more than 1.0 HR/9 as a starter way back in 2005 with the Royals, so it's hard to imagine he won't get this figured out pretty quickly. Still, there's no way to spin the disappointment of the $200 million dollar man coming out of his first start with a 15.75 ERA.

Kershaw (1-0) started dominating right out of the gate Monday, limiting the Padres to a single and a walk while striking out nine over seven scoreless innings in a 15-0 blowout.

Kershaw's coming off a down year last season, by which we mean he had an ERA over 2.00. Of course, getting under that mark is extraordinarily challenging (which doesn't even come close to describing how amazing it is that he did it twice in a row), but outings like this one seem like a good start in that endeavor. He'll draw another NL West foe in the Giants on Saturday.

Teheran looked strong in his Opening Day start Monday against Washington, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four. He received no decision in the eventual extra-inning loss.

Despite putting too many runners on, Teheran limited the damage and was in line for the win before Jason Grilli blew the save in the ninth. After a down year in 2015, Teheran is off to a better start in 2016. He next takes the hill against the Cardinals on Saturday.

Gray (abdomen) threw a 55-pitch live batting practice session Monday, MLB.com's Thomas Harding reports.

He's starting the year on the 15-day DL, with the likes of Christian Bergman ready to fill in if Gray isn't ready by the time the Rockies need a fifth starter April 14 or 16. Gray's status will continue to be updated as he progresses, but Monday's session represents an encouraging sign.

Anderson will start Friday's game against the Astros, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Todd Rosiak reports.

He will start the Brewers' fourth game of the season, as Matt Garza (shoulder) will be skipped the first time through the rotation, although when the Brewers are healthy Anderson slots in as the No. 5 starter. Anderson will oppose Scott Feldman for the Astros in what could be a fairly high-scoring affair.

Ramirez threw eight innings in spring training, allowing five earned runs, nine hits and one walk while striking out eight.

Ramirez's spring ERA of 5.63 is in line with last year's 5.32 in the majors. While not awful, it earned him a spot in Triple-A Louisville to begin this season. Ramirez pitched well in Triple-A last season with a 2.72 ERA and 7.53 K/9, and if he can be that effective again this year, he'll likely make another appearance in the majors.

Ryu (shoulder) will throw live batting practice Thursday or Friday, Eric Stephen of SB Nation reports.

Ryu appears to be progressing through his rehab process nicely and is now clear to face live hitters for the first time. This all keeps him on track to return in mid-May.

Rea will be the starting pitcher Friday against the Rockies, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

It was unclear whether Rea or Drew Pomeranz would be the fourth starter for the Padres to start the season, but it appears that Rea has claimed the spot. He's slated to face Jordan Lyles in his season debut.