MLB Player News

Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto had a sharp outing in his rehab start for Class A Dayton on Tuesday night. He worked five scoreless innings, giving up just three hits while striking out four.

The right-hander also did not walk a batter as he continues to recover from lat and oblique injuries. 

"Yeah, I’m feeling ready," Cueto told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Cardinals starter Lance Lynn threw a career-high 124 pitches in his outing against the Mets on Monday night but told MLB.com on Tuesday that he does not worry about pitch counts. The right-hander has thrown at least 101 pitches in all but two of his eight starts this year.

"For me, pitch count has never been an issue my whole life," he said. "I would never put a ceiling on it. If they told me I could go out and throw 150 if the situation called for it, I would. And I don't think I would have any issues doing it."

Manager Mike Matheny added that he is not hesitant to push his starters deeper into their pitch counts.

"[Monday] was really the first day we really stretched somebody, and a lot of people say that 120 is really not a number to be concerned about," Matheny said. "Lance has been there many times, especially through his minor league career. It's something he can handle.

"If we see something early that we don't like, it doesn't matter if it's on pitch 20 or 120, we've got to respond more to what we see and how they feel and the information they give us back. We watch these guys pretty close and see them enough to know when there are little issues, hopefully before they become big issues."

Marlins starting pitcher Nate Eovaldi, who is on the 60-day disabled list with inflammation in his right shoulder, is expected to throw a 30-pitch bullpen session Thursday, according to The Sun Sentinel. The team does not have a timeline for his return yet.

The Dodgers announced that pitcher Zack Greinke will return from the disabled list to start Wednesday's series finale against the Nationals. The right-hander has been out since suffering a broken collarbone on April 11.

Greinke went 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in two starts before landing on the DL.

Mets starting pitcher prospect Zack Wheeler is headed to New York to have his right clavicle examined after he reported pain in the area Monday, according to assistant general manager John Ricco. Wheeler will miss his next start for Triple-A Las Vegas.

"I think we're being a little conservative," Ricco said, per ESPN.

Wheeler has rebounded after a slow start. He's 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA and .242 opponents' batting average through eight starts. He also has 47 strikeouts in 43 1/3 innings.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said Monday the promotion of top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler is "not about Super-2 status," but there is no urgency to recall him from Triple-A Las Vegas despite the team's struggles in the starting rotation. Alderson said the problems in the rotation are related to three or four players as each member other than Matt Harvey has posted a losing record and an ERA above 4.60.

"What I said before with respect to Wheeler ... there will be a time when his performance converges with our need," he told WFAN in New York. "I'm not here to say we don't need him at this point, but we have to make (sure) that we're comfortable and that he will be comfortable and that we don't set him back in his development and ultimately his career in New York."

Alderson said he would prefer to bring along the 22-year-old Wheeler in a similar fashion to Harvey, who made his MLB debut last July after dominating the Triple-A level. The promising right-hander has displayed marked improvement recently in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, allowing just three runs over his past three starts (20 innings).

"What we want to do, in Wheeler's case, is what we did with Harvey," the third-year GM said. "That is to create the right moment for him to begin his major-league career and have success from the outset, and go forward. That doesn't mean bringing him up in July. ... We want to make sure that he has the best chance to succeed and he's not viewed as the savior of the Mets."

Cardinals' starters have gone deeper into games this year, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The rotation is a averaging 101.5 pitches per start. No other National League rotation has averaged over 100 pitches per start. The team's rotation has the second best FIP in baseball, with a 2.81 mark. The high pitch counts may be a result of the team's success in the rotation. It also shows the Cardinals are willing to let their starters go deeper in games if they are experiencing success. The team has already seen Adam Wainwright and Shelby Miller turn in complete games.

It's impossible to accurately predict complete games or shutouts for Fantasy purposes, but it's encouraging to know the Cardinals will let their starters throw a higher workload if things are going well.

Diamondbacks starting pitcher Wade Miley lost for the second time in three May starts Monday against the Braves, despite carrying a shutout into the fifth inning. Miley threw only 47 pitches in the first four innings but another 39 to the final 11 batters he faced, as the Braves scored seven times between the fifth and sixth innings.

"I was sort of messing up," Miley said. "Early in the game I was hitting spots and pitching down in the zone but then, just like that, I couldn't get it down anymore. I left pitches up and they capitalized."

Miley allowed seven runs, which were the second-most in his career. According to MLB.com, entering the game Miley had held hitters to a .178 batting average on his first 45 pitches but batters had hit .353 from his 46th pitch on.

"He didn't make the pitches he needed to make," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "This team, you don't want to give them anything because you know they are going to hit a home run. That is what they do well. We put guys on and they hit home runs."

Diamondbacks starting pitcher Patrick Corbin heads into Tuesday's outing against the Braves having won three straight starts and remaining undefeated after seven starts. He's at the beginning of a breakout run, which manager Kirk Gibson believes can last.

"Just maturing and understanding his abilities," Gibson said, per MLB.com. "He has developed his pitches and he's much better at locating them. His velocity has ticked up a bit too because he's growing into his frame. He understands game plans and executes them. He's just good at all facets. He's highly competitive and he's not intimidated by any situation."

Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley pitched four shutout innings at home on Monday against Atlanta. Everything fell apart beginning in the fifth inning.

Miley, who held a 1-0 lead going into the fifth, allowed a sacrifice fly and a two-run homer as he took a 3-1 deficit into the sixth inning. He didn't retire another batter before allowing four more runs.

Miley gave up seven runs -- six earned -- on six hits and two walks over five official innings. He surrendered two long balls and threw 86 pitches. Solid until Monday, Miley's ERA is 3.75.

Miley took the loss to fall to 3-2. He was coming off a win his last time out in L.A. He's mostly been good this season and will look to rebound his next time out Sunday in Miami.