MLB Player News
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Tarik Skubal SP | DET
Tigers' Tarik Skubal: Stellar in 18th win
Skubal (18-4) earned the win Tuesday over Tampa Bay, allowing two hits and one walk over seven scoreless innings. He struck out seven.
Skubal's now earned wins in six of his last nine outings -- he's only allowed more than two earned runs once in that span while posting a 1.94 ERA across 55.2 innings. Skubal, the current Cy Young frontrunner in the American League, will carry a 2.39 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 228:35 K:BB into his final regular-season start, likely to come this weekend at home against the White Sox.
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Steven Zobac SP | KC
Royals' Steven Zobac: Strikeout rate jumps at Double-A
Zobac notched a 3.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 65:14 K:BB in 55.1 innings across 11 appearances for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.
Zobac was effective earlier in the year with High-A Quad Cities (3.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) but his strikeout rate jumped from 20 percent to 28.6 percent after his July 9 promotion to Double-A. While the 23-year-old righty may not have a true plus pitch, he has never logged a walk rate higher than 7.1 percent and built up to 126 innings this year. Zobac projects to be a No. 4 or No. 5 starter, but he could exceed that projection if his changeup improves or if he adds a tick to his low-90s fastball that already has good movement.
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David Sandlin SP | BOS
Red Sox's David Sandlin: Fails to build up workload
Sandlin logged a 5.61 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 32 strikeouts in 25.2 innings across eight starts for Double-A Portland.
Sandlin struck out 82 batters over 57.1 innings while splitting the season between High-A and Double-A. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs reports that Sandlin was limited by a forearm issue this season, and indeed, he didn't pitch between May 4 and June 15. Sandlin can touch 100 mph with his fastball and has a wicked slider, but he only logged five innings in a start once this year and will turn 24 in February.
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Mitch Bratt SP | TEX
Rangers' Mitch Bratt: Tough first taste of Double-A
Bratt logged a 5.45 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 33:12 K:BB in 33 innings over seven appearances for Double-A Frisco.
He wasn't as bad as his ERA, as 54.2 percent of his baserunners scored, but Bratt's walk rate jumped from 5.3 percent at High-A to 8.2 percent at Double-A while his strikeout rate dipped from 27.8 percent to 22.4 percent. Bratt's 22.5 K-BB% was the ninth-best mark among High-A pitchers who threw at least 70 innings, leading to his promotion to Double-A at the end of July. Bratt lacks high-end stuff, so he needs to be commanding his pitches to have success. Youth is working in his favor, however, as Bratt was the seventh-youngest pitcher with at least 30 innings at Double-A this year.
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Josh Knoth SP | MIL
Brewers' Josh Knoth: Ends season on shelf
Single-A Carolina placed Knoth on the 7-day injured list Aug. 27 with an undisclosed injury.
It was an understandably uneven first full season for Knoth, who turned 19 just a couple weeks before landing on the shelf. The 6-foot-1 righty logged a 4.48 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 96:40 K:BB in 84.1 innings across 21 starts, although his 3.58 xFIP suggests he was a bit unlucky. He had three starts with seven strikeouts and one start where he struck out nine in 4.2 innings, so the swing-and-miss upside is there. However, he also had a five-walk start and a four-walk start. Knoth still has a high ceiling, but in addition to needing to improve his command and changeup, there's now this undisclosed injury to monitor heading into the offseason.
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Aldrin Batista SP | CHW
White Sox's Aldrin Batista: Dominant run at High-A
Batista had a 1.04 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 29:6 K:BB in 26 innings over five starts with High-A Winston-Salem.
Acquired from the Dodgers in August 2023 in exchange for international slot money, Batista posted a 3.51 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 87 strikeouts in 84.2 innings across 17 starts for Single-A Kannapolis before getting promoted to Winston-Salem on Aug. 6. Batista is a slender 6-foot-2 righty who operates with a low-to-mid-90s fastball and a pair of decent secondary offerings. He built up to a career-best 110.2 innings this year and should spend a good chunk of 2025 in the upper levels of the minors.
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Santiago Suarez SP | TB
Rays' Santiago Suarez: Shows off pinpoint control
Suarez logged a 4.11 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 115:21 K:BB in 111.2 innings across 23 starts for Single-A Charleston.
Throw out Suarez's ERA, as his 3.51 FIP and 2.97 xFIP paint a more accurate picture of his performance. Suarez's 4.7 percent walk rate was the best mark among all qualified full-season pitchers who are 20 and under. His pinpoint control and ability to handle a starter's workload are encouraging traits, although Suarez's pure stuff is more in line with a future mid-rotation starter than a front-line starter. The Rays have several exciting pitching prospects coming off breakout seasons, but Suarez's floor (assuming reasonable health) is as high as any other arm in the system.
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Marco Raya SP | MIN
Twins' Marco Raya: Makes final start at Triple-A
Raya threw five scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks in his first start with Triple-A St. Paul on Friday. He was promoted for the final weekend of the season after posting a 4.06 ERA with a 9.4 K/9 at Double-A Wichita.
Raya wasn't overly impressive at Double-A with a 4.3 BB/9, as walks have been a concern the last two seasons (4.3 BB/9 at Double-A in 2023 as well). Raya also didn't go more than five innings in any outing after being limited to three-inning appearances most of 2023 as he worked his way back from shoulder issues. It's not clear if his future is as a reliever or starter, but he could contend for a major-league job next spring.
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Hayden Birdsong SP | SF
Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Collects fifth win
Birdsong (5-5) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six over five innings to earn the win over the Diamondbacks on Monday.
Birdsong has followed up a seven-start winless stretch with back-to-back victories. The rookie right-hander has allowed seven runs over 18.2 innings across four starts in September. He's at a 4.66 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 77:40 K:BB through 67.2 innings over 15 starts this season. Birdsong is tentatively projected to make his last start of the regular season at home versus the Cardinals.
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Eduardo Rodriguez SP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Eduardo Rodriguez: Handed fourth loss
Rodriguez (3-4) allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out eight over 4.2 innings to take the loss versus the Giants on Monday.
Rodriguez gave up three long balls, including an inside-the-park homer by Matt Chapman in the third inning that put the Giants ahead. The five runs allowed matched a season high for Rodriguez, and this was the third time he failed to complete five innings. He's now at a 5.56 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 44:17 K:BB through 45.1 innings over nine starts. The southpaw is tentatively projected for one more start in the regular season, which would be at home versus the Padres.