MLB Player News

Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto turned in a fantastic start Friday against the Rockies.

Cueto allowed two runs on eight hits over eight innings. He struck out six and walked two during the outing. The Rockies actually struck first against the Reds ace. In the second inning, Nolan Arenado smacked a leadoff home run to put his team ahead by one. Cueto was touched up again in the sixth. He allowed a run after giving up a walk, single and a double. Cueto would settle in after that and record the final two outs of the inning via the strikeout. 

With the win, Cueto improves to 15-6. He'll take on the Cardinals in his next start.

Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn picked up a win Friday against the Royals.

Lynn allowed one run on six hits over six innings of work. He struck out six and walked one during the outing. Lynn started things off well, tossing four scoreless innings to open the game. The Padres managed to strike in the fifth. After giving up two singles, Lynn allowed a run-scoring double. He was able to get out of the inning without giving up any more runs. 

With the win, Lynn improved to 13-8. He'll take on the Reds in his next start. 

Braves pitcher Alex Wood picked up a win Friday against the Athletics.

Wood allowed two runs on four hits over six innings of work. He struck out one and walked three during the outing. Wood started out strong, tossing three scoreless innings to open the game. In the fourth, he ran into some trouble. After giving up a double to the leadoff hitter, Wood gave up a two-run shot to Nate Freiman. He recovered to pitch two more scoreless innings. 

With the win, Wood improved to 9-9. He'll take on the Pirates in his next start. 

Mets pitcher Zack Wheeler struck out 10 hitters Friday against the Cubs.

Wheeler allowed two runs on four hits over 6 2/3 innings of work. He struck out 10 and walked four during the outing. Wheeler had to pitch out of jams occasionally during the start. After putting two men on to open the second inning, Wheeler managed to strike out the side. He wasn't so fortunate the following frame. Wheeler allowed two runs to score on two singles, a walk and a groundout. Walks continued to plague Wheeler over the rest of the start, but he was able to work around base-runners.

With the win, Wheeler improved to 8-8. He'll take on the Athletics in his next start. 

Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton lasted just three innings Friday against the Nationals. 

Morton allowed five runs on seven hits over three innings of work. He struck out three and walked three during the outing. Morton ran into trouble almost immediately. Morton allowed the first six batters to reach base. Two reached via the walk, while the other four chipped in with singles. Three runs crossed the plate when the inning had ended. Morton managed a scoreless second inning, but ran into trouble again in the third. He allowed four batters to reach base during the inning, and gave up two additional runs. 

With the loss, Morton dropped to 5-12. He’ll take on the Braves in his next start. 

It's a shame he pitches for the Diamondbacks. With a 2.19 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings in his last six starts, Chase Anderson has the look of something worthwhile in Fantasy.

The strikeout rate is especially encouraging for a pitcher who throws a sinker as much as he does. Frankly, he needs it since all that sinkerballing doesn't yield a high percentage of ground balls. Missing bats helps reduce the damage of home runs, keeping his ERA respectable.

If I sound less than completely enthusiastic, it's because I am. The stuff doesn't blow me away, and he doesn't profile as much better than a mid-rotation type, if that.

But if he can maintain the strikeout and walk rates from his last four starts, Anderson will be another useful streaming type in Fantasy. Again, it's a shame he pitches for the Diamondbacks.

Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu will likely be placed on the disabled list, according to MLB.com.

The club has not made the move just yet, but Ryu is expected to land on the DL. Ryu is dealing with a glute injury. He was already set to miss his next start. Ryu has a 3.28 ERA over 137 1/3 innings. 

Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom is expected to throw for the first time Saturday, ESPN.com reports, and manager Terry Collins thinks he might miss just the minimum amount of time.

"Is he going to come off on time?" Collins said. "History would say, yeah, probably due to the issue he had. But he may not."

Though deGrom was shut down last weekend due to rotator cuff tendinitis, this injury is clearly not considered serious at this point. He could make his return to the rotation Saturday against the Dodgers. 

Diamondbacks pitcher Chase Anderson turned in a quality start Thursday against the Marlins.

Anderson gave up three runs on nine hits over six innings of work. He struck out five and walked two during the outing. Anderson had some trouble with Giancarlo Stanton during the outing. Stanton singled in all three at-bats against Anderson, including an RBI single in the third inning. Adeiny Hechavarria added a triple in the sixth to bring the Marlins within a run. Anderson was pulled from the game after the sixth inning.

The Marlins found a way to battle back, giving Anderson the no-decision. He’ll take on the Nationals in his next start.

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg turned in an excellent start Thursday against the Mets. 

Strasburg allowed one run, zero earned, on three hits over seven innings of work. He struck out eight and walked two. The only blemish against Strasburg came in the fourth inning. After a throwing error put a runner on second, Strasburg allowed a steal and a sac fly. The run was not charged to Strasburg. 

With the win, Strasburg improved to 9-10 on the year. He'll take on the Diamondbacks in his next start.