MLB Player News

Rafaela is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres, Chris Henrique of BostonSportsJournal.com reports.

Rafaela started the previous five games and posted a .779 OPS with a homer, an additional RBI and an additional run scored, but he'll receive the day off Sunday. Jarren Duran will shift to center field and Roman Anthony to designated hitter, allowing Masataka Yoshida to pick up a start in left.

The Royals returned Morgan to Triple-A Omaha following Saturday's doubleheader with the Brewers.

Morgan will head back to Omaha following a dominant relief outing in his Royals debut Saturday. After Kansas City called up the veteran righty from Omaha ahead of the second game of the twin bill and designated him as its 27th man, Morgan proceeded to strike out five batters while allowing two baserunners over three scoreless frames en route to earning his second career save in the Royals' 8-2 win.

Hurter (1-0) worked around a walk to toss a scoreless inning of relief and earn the win in Saturday's 11-6 victory over St. Louis. He didn't strike out a batter.

The southpaw worked the sixth inning behind starter Jack Flaherty, who logged four innings, and Drew Anderson, who got the fifth. Hurter kept up his good work this year, as he now has a 2.25 ERA across three appearances out of Detroit's bullpen. He does only have one strikeout in four innings of work, however, and a lack of save opportunities combined with the inability to miss bats caps his fantasy value as a middle reliever.

Vierling went 1-for-2 with a home run and three RBI in Saturday's 11-6 win over St. Louis.

Vierling didn't appear in the contest until the fourth inning, when he lifted a sacrifice fly as a pinch hitter. In the eighth inning, he put the game out of reach with his first home run of the season with a runner on. Vierling has now appeared in five of Detroit's first eight games but has only seen 10 at-bats. The lack of consistent playing time limits the veteran's fantasy value, though he would be in line for an expanded role if any of Detroit's regulars went down with an injury.

Torres went 2-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 11-6 win over St. Louis.

Torres was one of four Detroit players to go deep in the offensive outburst, and it was the first of the season for the second baseman. He batted third in this contest, down from his typical No. 2 spot, which was occupied by rookie Kevin McGonigle. Whether Torres bats second or third, he should remain a key piece of the Tigers' lineup, capable of producing solid fantasy stats all season.

Neto went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 1-0 win against Seattle.

Neto led off the game with a solo blast off Emerson Hancock, and that proved to the only run scored by either team in the contest. The talented young shortstop has gone deep three times through nine games to begin the campaign, though he's tallied just four RBI. Nonetheless, Neto is looking like one of fantasy's top shortstops again this season after posting a .793 OPS with 26 homers and 26 steals over 128 contests last year.

Hancock (1-1) took the loss against the Angels on Saturday, allowing one run on six hits and no walks while striking out five batters over 6.2 innings.

Hancock served up a leadoff home run to Zach Neto but bounced back by keeping the Angels off the scoreboard over the remainder of his outing. He tossed 58 of 82 pitches for strikes and induced 13 whiffs, but the Mariners' offense couldn't produce any runs -- largely due to Angels right fielder Jo Adell, who robbed Seattle of a homer on three different occasions. Despite the loss, this was another promising start for Hancock, who has now given up just one run across 12.2 frames while posting a 14:1 K:BB through two starts. He began the season in the rotation because of Bryce Miller's oblique strain and placement on the 15-day IL, but it's hard to see Hancock giving up his starting role if he continues to pitch anywhere near this well.

Romano earned a save against the Mariners on Saturday, striking out one batter in a perfect inning of work.

Romano entered in the ninth frame with the task of protecting a 1-0 lead. He got through the inning unscathed thanks in part to right fielder Jo Adell, who robbed J.P. Crawford of what had appeared to be a game-tying leadoff homer. Romano retired the next two batters on a popout and a punchout, giving him three saves in three chances to begin the campaign. He's putting a stranglehold on the Angels' closer role with 4.2 scoreless frames and a 7:2 K:BB through five appearances.

Kochanowicz (1-0) earned the win over Seattle on Saturday, allowing four hits and issuing two walks while striking out seven batters over 5.2 scoreless innings.

Kochanowicz gave up six runs (five earned) over four innings in his season debut against Houston last Sunday, but he was much more effective Saturday. The right-hander held the Mariners without a run over his 5.2 frames, though he got some help from right fielder Jo Adell, who robbed Seattle of one homer while Kochanowicz was in the game and two more following the hurler's departure. One particularly promising aspect of Kochanowicz's outing was his 12 whiffs and seven punchouts -- he posted a 5.8 K/9 over 111 innings last season and topped seven strikeouts only once across 23 starts. Kochanowicz will try to build upon this impressive appearance the next time he takes the mound, which tentatively lines up to be next week in Cincinnati.

Garcia went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Saturday's Game 2 win over Milwaukee.

It was Garcia's second multi-hit game of the young campaign, and he picked up only his second extra-base knock. He wasn't quite as productive in the matinee, going 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts. The infielder has logged at least one hit in six of his first eight contests, also posting one stolen base thus far. Garcia has been Kansas City's everyday leadoff man to begin the year, which should give him plenty of chances to score runs and swipe bags in the future.