MLB Player News

Javier is slated to start Sunday's game against the Angels in Anaheim.

After Javier surrendered 18 earned runs on 21 hits and six walks over 10.2 innings across his last three starts, the Astros elected to skip his final turn through the rotation prior to the All-Star break. The Astros are hoping that the extended rest allowed Javier to potentially address any mechanical flaws that may have affected his performance, as the team isn't ready to pull the plug on him as a starter in light of his strong track record for the majority of the last two seasons. Even with the recent rough patch, Javier still owns decent ratios (4.34 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 15.0 K-BB%) over his 17 starts in 2023.

Olson is scheduled to start Sunday's game in Seattle.

Prior to the All-Star break, Olson had made his last two appearances in relief, piggybacking starter Tarik Skubal for five innings and two innings on July 4 and July 9, respectively. With the Tigers optioning Alex Faedo to Triple-A Toledo last weekend, the team now has spots available in the rotation for both Skubal and Olson. The latter will take the hill for the series finale in Seattle, while Skubal will presumably start either Monday or Tuesday in Kansas City.

Flexen signed a minor-league contract with the Rockies on Thursday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Flexen has posted a 7.71 ERA over 17 appearances (four starts) at the major-league level this season but was a solid arm for the Mariners from 2021-22 while bouncing between the rotation and bullpen. He will report to Triple-A Albuquerque for now but is a good bet to join the Rockies' rotation sooner rather than later.

Prielipp has been transferred from the 7-day IL to the Full Season IL at High-A Cedar Rapids and will have season-ending surgery, TwinsDaily reports.

Prielipp was working his way back from Tommy John surgery in 2021, but he landed on the 7-day injured list April 14 with general left elbow soreness. He then made a rehab start in the Florida Complex League on June 9 and didn't make a second start. It sounds like he's had a significant setback, but there are not full details on the surgery.

Brown has a 5.76 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 74 strikeouts in 50 innings across 12 starts for Triple-A Iowa.

Brown's 15 percent walk rate and 1.6 HR/9 have resulted in ugly numbers despite a 32.7 percent strikeout rate. There have always been control/reliever concerns with Brown, and while he dominated in four Double-A starts to open the year, those concerns appear to be as real as ever for the 23-year-old righty.

Kopech (shoulder) will return from the 15-day injured list to start the White Sox's first game of the second half Friday in Atlanta, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Kopech was placed on the IL in early July with what was categorized as right shoulder inflammation, though the move may have been made mostly in order to give him extra rest. The right-hander is on pace for a career high in innings this season and had been struggling in his recent outings before landing on the IL. Kopech isn't an advisable start in fantasy against Atlanta.

Webb will not be among the Giants' starters during their first series of the second half in Pittsburgh, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Webb leads all of baseball in innings pitched, so the team will give him a little extra rest around the All-Star break. Presumably, he'll make his second-half debut early next week in Cincinnati. Ross Stripling and Alex Cobb will get two of the starts this weekend versus the Pirates, with the Giants' third starter not yet determined.

Gonzalez was promoted from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland this week, Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com reports.

The electric righty had a 2.01 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 55 strikeouts in 31.1 innings over his last six starts for the Drive, so the fact he has a 5.14 ERA on the season should be largely overlooked. Gonzalez generally logs elevated walk rates, and he will need to limit the free passes to have regular success against Double-A hitters.

Horton has a 3.89 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a 28.7 K-BB% in nine starts (39.1 innings) for High-A South Bend.

The No. 7 overall pick in last year's draft, Horton made his first four pro starts at Single-A before quickly getting the bump to High-A in early May. With a slew of promotions and graduations, Horton has a case as one of the top five pitching prospects left in the minors. He has given up five or more earned runs in two of his nine starts at High-A, but he had a dominant seven-start run from May 17 through June 29, logging a 1.76 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 30.2 innings. Given his age (turns 22 in August) and pedigree, Horton should soon get a promotion to Double-A Tennessee.

Ryu (elbow) struck out one over four scoreless innings in his most recent rehab start Sunday with Single-A Dunedin, scattering three hits and issuing no walks.

Making his second rehab start as he builds back up following his Tommy John surgery last June, Ryu spotted 27 of his 37 pitches for strikes and generated four swings and misses on the day. According to Mitch Bannon of SI.com, Ryu's fastball topped out at 88.4 miles per hour, about a tick below his average from the 2022 season. The 36-year-old lefty doesn't need premium velocity to find success, so as long as he continues to show strong command and control in his subsequent rehab outings, the Blue Jays will likely be comfortable finding a spot for him in their rotation. Since he'll likely need at least two more rehab starts to get fully stretched out, Ryu shouldn't be expected to return from the 60-day injured list any earlier than the final week of July.