MLB Player News

Muller tossed five innings against the Angels on Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out three batters. He did not factor in the decision.

Muller got the Opening Day nod for Oakland despite pitching in just three big-league games last season, and he rose to the occasion. The southpaw was by no means overpowering -- he notched just five swinging strikes and three punchouts -- but this was nonetheless a promising start to the campaign after he allowed 11 runs over 12.1 innings in the majors last year. Fantasy managers may want to see Muller succeed over multiple outings before plucking him off the waiver wire, though he appears to be locked into Oakland's rotation and has shown enough success in the minors to be worth a speculative add in deeper formats.

Snell (0-1) took the loss Thursday against the Rockies, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk over 4.1 innings. He struck out nine.

Snell's season debut echoed a trend for him in recent campaigns -- he struck out plenty of batters but threw so many pitches (93) that he was unable to go deep into the game. To the left-hander's credit, he issued just one walk, and two of the three runs against him came after he departed the contest. Snell should be a great source of punchouts again this season as long as he stays healthy, but he hasn't posted an ERA better than 3.24 or a WHIP better than 1.20 since his Cy Young 2018 campaign.

Marquez (1-0) earned the win Thursday, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks over six innings in a 7-2 victory over San Diego. He struck out five.

Marquez quieted an intimidating Padres lineup, allowing just five hits. Though three of those knocks went for extra bases, Marquez was able to get through six frames having yielded just a pair of runs. The right-hander threw 57 of 87 pitches for strikes and carried over the momentum from a strong spring during which he allowed just one run over 17 frames. Marquez's Opening Day performance may have fantasy managers feeling intrigued, but it's worth remembering that he posted an ugly 6.70 ERA on his home field last season.

Valdez did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing six hits and zero walks over five scoreless innings against the White Sox. He struck out four.

Valdez yielded six hits in the outing, but only one (a Tim Anderson double) went for extra bases. Last year's MLB leader in quality starts appeared on his way for another to begin 2023, but he was pulled after throwing 85 pitches across five innings. Nonetheless, this was a strong opening to the campaign for Valdez as he looks to put together a second straight All-Star season.

Alcantara did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing three runs on three hits and four walks over 5.2 innings against the Mets. He struck out two.

This goes down as a disappointment for those who drafted Alcantara, but he had 14 swinging strikes on 96 pitches, which suggests the strikeouts should tick back up. Alcantara has never been the most dominant arm in terms of whiffs, but he's been over eight strikeouts per nine the past three seasons. The right-hander excels by using his changeup and sinker to keep the ball on the ground while rarely handing out free passes, and fantasy GMs feeling a twinge of panic about their Alcantara shares should keep in mind he walked five Giants on Opening Day last season, and the rest of the campaign turned out pretty well.

Greinke (0-1) allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out four across 5.1 innings to take the loss Thursday against the Twins.

Greinke kept pace with his counterpart Pablo Lopez, as he held the Twins scoreless until the top of the sixth inning. As has been the case in recent years, Greinke's success came from his ability to induce soft contact rather than generate swings and misses. That will lead to more volatile outcomes, but he managed a respectable 3.68 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across 137 innings in 2022 and began the new campaign in good form as well.

Cease did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing one run on two hits and zero walks over 6.1 innings in a 3-2 win over Houston. He struck out 10.

Cease fired 62 of 86 pitches for strikes Thursday and allowed just two singles and a hit-by-pitch. The right-hander tied a franchise record by recording 10 Opening Day punchouts, and he racked up 15 swinging strikes against the defending World Series champions. Cease broke out with a career-best campaign that earned him second place in AL Cy Young voting last season, and based on his results Thursday, he could be on a trajectory to solidify his place among MLB's best pitchers in 2023.

Lopez (1-0) allowed two hits and three walks while striking out eight across 5.1 scoreless innings to earn the win Thursday against the Royals.

Lopez made his first start for Minnesota and had little trouble setting down the Royals. He generated 17 swinging strikes on only 85 total pitches and also induced five groundball outs to stay out of trouble throughout his Opening Day outing. While his ability to stay on the mound has been a concern throughout his career, Lopez has posted an ERA of 3.75 or better in each of the last three campaigns.

Nola allowed five earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four across 3.2 innings in Thursday's loss to the Rangers. He did not factor into the decision.

Nola out-dueled Jacob deGrom for much of his outing, as he blanked the Rangers through three frames. However, things deteriorated quickly in the fourth inning when he allowed five of the first six batters he faced to reach base. That stretch culminated with a three-run homer by Robbie Grossman. Nola is coming off an excellent 2022 season during which he posted a 3.25 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, so there's no need to panic over one poor outing to begin the new campaign.

DeGrom allowed five earned runs on six hits and no walks while striking out seven across 3.2 innings in Thursday's win over the Phillies. He did not factor into the decision.

DeGrom was making his Rangers' debut, though things didn't go as planned as he allowed at least one run in three of the four innings he pitched. All six of the hits he allowed went for extra bases, one of which was a two-run homer by Alec Bohm. On the other hand, deGrom did show flashes of his usual dominance by striking out seven on 13 called strikes and 10 swinging strikes across 73 pitches. While it was far from his best performance, it's way too early to grow concerned about deGrom's potential to produce moving forward.