MLB Player News

Reynolds is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Nationals.

It's the first day off this season for Reynolds, who boasts a .288/.400/.470 batting line with three home runs in his first 18 games this season. Billy Cook will handle left field and bat ninth for the Pirates in Thursday's series finale.

Ashby (4-0) earned the win in relief Wednesday against the Blue Jays after pitching a scoreless eighth inning, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three.

Ashby allowed a two-out single to Daulton Varsho and later walked Vladimir Guerrero, but he closed out the frame by punching out Myles Straw. Ashby has been a reliable arm out of the bullpen for the Brewers, posting a 22:6 K:BB across 13.2 innings in 10 appearances. His 3.29 ERA is far from appealing, but he should continue to have strong fantasy upside due to his ability to miss bats while also maintaining a high-leverage role out of the Brewers' pen.

Jones (illness) will start at designated hitter and bat third in Thursday's game versus the Royals.

Jones missed out on a start against a lefty Tuesday because he was battling a stomach bug, but he's feeling well enough to give it a go Thursday versus southpaw Kris Bubic. The 28-year-old slashed .288/.393/.577 with seven home runs in 122 plate appearances against left-handers last season.

Patrick didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Blue Jays, tossing 6.2 innings of one-run ball while allowing three hits and two walks. He struck out two.

The 9:7 K:BB is a bit concerning for Patrick, as the inability to record strikeouts and the failure to pitch deep into games have limited his upside considerably despite holding a 0.95 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP through his first four starts. Patrick pitched past the sixth inning for the first time this season, and he'll look to build on this performance in his next start, which is tentatively scheduled for next week at home against the Tigers.

Boyd (biceps) will make a rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports.

Boyd is expected to require just the one rehab outing, setting him up to rejoin the Cubs' rotation as soon as Tuesday at Wrigley Field against the Phillies. The veteran southpaw has missed the last two weeks of action with a left biceps strain. Boyd allowed eight runs (seven earned) with a 17:3 K:BB over 9.1 innings in his first two starts of the season before getting hurt.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in Wednesday's win over the Blue Jays.

Contreras came through for the Brewers in the eighth inning, when his single to right field scored David Hamilton to tie the game. This two-hit performance also extended Contreras' hitting streak to 10 games, a stretch in which he's slashing .350/.435/.475 with a .910 OPS, a home run, six RBI, six runs scored and a 6:5 BB:K across 46 plate appearances.

Stephenson is not in the lineup for Thursday's tilt versus the Giants.

Stephenson started behind the dish in the first two games of the series, so he'll get a breather for Thursday's matinee. P.J. Higgins will do the catching and bat ninth for the Reds.

Rogers (1-1) was tagged with the loss in relief Wednesday against the Brewers, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk over an inning.

Rogers had opened the season with a streak of eight scoreless appearances, but he was tagged with both runs in the eighth -- an RBI single from William Contreras and an RBI groundout from Brice Turang. Even though this was far from being Rogers' best outing, he still has a 0.93 ERA across his first 9.2 innings over nine appearances this season. He should remain a trustworthy arm out of the Blue Jays' pen as long as he can continue to limit the damage like he's done in the past, but his 5:4 K:BB is a bit concerning from a fantasy perspective.

Cease didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Brewers, giving up two hits and three walks while fanning six across six scoreless innings.

Cease completed six innings for the first time this season, and the hard-throwing right-hander continues to rack up strikeouts. He has punched out at least six in each of his four starts on his way to 32 strikeouts over 20.2 innings, although he's also walked 12, which is pretty high even by his standards. Cease has a 1.74 ERA in four starts, but he also carries a 1.26 WHIP that's largely the byproduct of the amount of free passes he's handing out. He's slated to make his next start next week on the road against the Angels.

Burke (0-2) was tagged with the loss Wednesday against the Rays after allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks across 5.1 innings. He struck out two.

Burke looked in cruise control early on, but he gave up homers to Junior Caminero and Jake Fraley, as well as an RBI double to Jonathan Aranda, en route to his second loss of the season. The 26-year-old right-hander has completed at least six innings in just one of his four starts and has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) in 20.1 frames, so he's far from being a reliable option in most formats, although the 17:6 K:BB does give him some appeal as a low-end starting option. Still, it's hard to trust Burke to pitch deep into games, which limits his upside considerably.