MLB Player News

Lyles will start the Rockies' home opener Friday against San Diego, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Manager Walt Weiss made the announcement earlier in the week that he'll be employing a four-man rotation to start the year, and Saturday's confirmation on Lyles means that he is officially the number four pitcher in the Rockies' rotation. At Coors Field last season, Lyles went 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA and 1.416 WHIP in five starts. Fortunately, Lyles will be facing a relatively weak Padres lineup in his first start of the season.

Matz pitched five scoreless innings while allowing two walks and striking out six batters in a 8-1 victory over Chicago Friday.

Matz is one of the Mets' most highly-touted prospects as in the minors, he holds a career 2.25 ERA over 380.2 innings to go along with 393 strikeouts. In his limited time in the majors last year, he continued to display his abilities as he posted a 2.27 ERA in 35.7 innings with 34 strikeouts. The Mets are stacked at starting pitching and Matz only enhances that talent pool. He'll likely be on an innings limit this year but even with that, the 24-year-old could offer great fantasy value given his track-record of producing in every pitching category.

Stripling was named the Dodgers' fifth starter Friday, J.P Hoonstra of the Los Angeles News Group reports. "This is what we see in the near term as far as ross taking the ball every fifth day," said manager Dave Roberts.

After battling with Carlos Frias for the final spot in the rotation all spring, Stripling officially won the job Friday and will make his season debut April 8 when the Dodgers take on the Giants. Stripling was susceptible to the long ball this spring, allowing three home runs in 11.0 innings of work. However, his ability to miss bats (11 K this spring) likely helped his cause in earning the final rotation spot. With Stripling officially locked in as the fifth starter, Frias was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Wheeler (elbow) was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday.

After missing the entire 2015 season, Wheeler is nearing the end of his recovery from Tommy John surgery. The 25-year-old went 11-11 with a 3.54 ERA in 2014, and although he will likely miss the first couple months of the season, he will have the opportunity to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation with Bartolo Colon once healthy.

Perez is one of two finalists for the final spot in the Braves' pitching staff, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

John Gant is the other competitor for the roster spot. Perez is the front-runner to fill in the fifth rotation spot on Apr. 12 (the first time a fifth starter will be needed), so it may save the Braves some hassle to just have Perez on the roster from the get-go. However, Perez is slated to pitch in the Braves' Grapefruit League finale, which would mean he wouldn't be available out of the bullpen to start the season.

DeSclafani (oblique) could start the season on the disabled list, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

There were thoughts that the right-hander could simply be pushed back to the fifth starter spot in the rotation, but that may not be enough time to get him back to health. The Reds are hopeful that he can go through a throwing progression and throw in a simulated game prior to starting for Cincinnati, so his timetable should become clearer as these points in his rehab process are reached.

Gray (abdomen) threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Thursday, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports.

The young right-hander appears to be progressing well in his rehab process, but he acknowledged that he still has a ways to go yet as well. The next steps in his rehab program include a simulated game in the near future followed by a rehab start with Triple-A Albuquerque. His return date should be clear depending on how those two outings go.

Stripling and Carlos Frias appear to be the final two candidates to open as the Dodgers' No. 5 starter, Eric Stephen of True Blue LA reports.

Stripling is a bit of a surprise candidate, as although he got off to a nice start this spring, he allowed five runs in five innings in his last start Tuesday, including three home runs. Stripling missed all of 2014 due to Tommy John surgery, returning last year to post a 3.88 ERA in 13 starts for Double-A Tulsa.

Bergman will start the season coming out of the bullpen now that the Rockies have decided to begin the year with a four-man rotation, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports.

The right-hander was a leading candidate for the fifth starter role with Jon Gray (abdomen) set to start the year on the disabled list, but Bergman will act as a long reliever since the Rockies don't actually need a fifth starter until around April 16. Depending on how quickly Gray recovers, though, Bergman could wind up in the rotation if the fifth starter spot is still vacant when mid-April comes along.

Mejia is returning to Double-A to begin the 2016 season.

He made 12 appearances in Richmond last season, after serving a 50-game suspension due to a positive test for a stimulant. Assuming that he pitches well to begin the season, Mejia should quickly move on to Triple-A for the first time in his career in 2016.