Byron Buxton Picks Up The Intensity

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (foot) worked out in St. Paul on Wednesday and picked up the intensity. Buxton was able to run and take live swings just a week after being carted off the field with a sprained left foot. The 26-year-old was adamant that he would be ready for Opening Day against the […]

Miguel Sano Looking Comfortable At First Base

Minnesota Twins first baseman Miguel Sano is making a smooth transition to first base. After impressing throughout the intrasquad scrimmage games, Sano made a few strong plays in Minnesota's 4-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. The 27-year-old ranged towards second base to field a grounder, firing a strong throw to first. Later on, […]

Jake Odorizzi Moved To IL With Back Soreness

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi (back) will start the 2020 season on the Injured List. Odorizzi was scratched from his scheduled start in the team's final intrasquad scrimmage game with what was described as "a minor back issue." Minnesota is likely just being cautious with the 30-year-old in anticipation of the shortened season. Rich […]

Doc Redman Looks to Bounce Back at 3M Open

Doc Redman missed his first cut since the layoff at the Memorial Tournament last week, losing 2.1 strokes around the greens and 6.0 strokes putting. Prior to the tough showing at Jack's Place, the Clemson alum had placed T21 or better in each of his last three tournaments. He should be able to get back […]

Matthew Wolff Defends at TPC Twin Cities

Matthew Wolff will look to defend his only career win at TPC Twin Cities after beating out Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke a year ago at the 2019 3M Open. Wolff gained an absurd 9.5 strokes on approach during that tournament, a number he hasn't come close to reaching since. The Oklahoma State alum did […]

Homer Bailey Roughed Up By Cubs

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Homer Bailey had a rough start in a 4-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Bailey lasted three innings, allowing five hits and four earned runs, three of which came on home runs. The veteran did strike out three batters, though he struggled at times with location. He hung a splitter to […]

Si Woo Kim Brings Hot Irons to 3M Open

Si Woo Kim gained an impressive 5.2 strokes on approach over his four rounds at Muirfield Village Golf Club during the Memorial Tournament last week. He paired that with 3.1 strokes gained on the greens to land a T18 finish at Jack's Place. Having made his fourth straight cut since the layoff, Kim will look […]

Blue Jays Likely To Activate Nate Pearson July 29

According to a source, the Toronto Blue Jays are expected to activate starting pitcher Nate Pearson on July 29, which will mean they gain an extra year of team control. It’s a wise move since he’ll only miss one turn through the rotation, and he could use a little more conditioning after struggling in an […]

Zack Wheeler Welcomes Baby Boy

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler and his wife had a healthy baby boy Monday night, according to manager Joe Girardi. Wheeler had considered opting out of the season to not risk needing to quarantine from his family, but is scheduled to pitch the second game of the season Saturday. Wheeler is entering his first […]

Nick Senzel Getting More Comfortable In Center Field

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Senzel had spent his entire career as an infielder until last season, when the team made him a full-time outfielder. After a difficult learning curve, Senzel recently stated that he is "100 percent comfortable" in center field these days. He also lost about 20 pounds during lockdown, which will increase his […]

Kwang-Hyun Kim Earns An Exhibition Game Save

St. Louis Cardinals closer Kwang-Hyun Kim earned a save in Wednesday's exhibition win over the Kansas City Royals. Kim threw just 15 pitches and struck out the side in his first appearance since surprisingly being named closer. Giovanny Gallegos was expected to close until Jordan Hicks was ready, but then Gallegos was late to Summer […]

Sauceda's Slants: Finding POWA in the Infield

We recently introduced our new hitter metric, POWA (which stands for Prediction of wOBA Attempt), to more appropriately align and weight new Statcast metrics to better predict future performance. You can read the introductory piece for the full details and a 2019 POWA leaderboard, but the gist of it is: POWA is nearly 10% more […]

Fernando Tatis Jr: Budding Star or Overvalued Too Soon?

Major League Baseball has seen a much-needed influx of bright young stars over the past two seasons, including Ronald Acuna Jr. and Juan Soto. A third top prospect, Fernando Tatis Jr., also fits that description but seems to get less attention than the other two, probably due to playing for a small-market, west coast club. […]

Erik Van Rooyen Returns To Minnesota

Erik Van Rooyen is a native of South Africa, but spent his college days playing golf for the University of Minnesota. "EVR" will be very familiar with this week's 3M Open host course, TPC Twin Cities, as it is often used by the Gopher golf program for practice. Van Rooyen heads home off a hot […]

Ke'Bryan Hayes Sent To Altoona

The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned third base prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes to their alternate training site in Altoona on Wednesday. This doesn't come as a surprise, as Hayes missed most of summer camp after testing positive for COVID-19. The team's No. 2 prospect still has a decent shot at making his major league debut in 2020, but […]

Jose Martinez, Yonny Chirinos Expected To Be Ready

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said the team expects both first baseman/outfielder Jose Martinez and pitcher Yonny Chirinos to be ready to be on the Opening Day roster. Both players were out until this past weekend after testing positive for COVID-19. It remains to be seen how much either player will be able to […]

Ji-Man Choi Could Hit Leadoff Against Righties

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that the team could use Brandon Lowe, Ji-Man Choi or Yoshitomo Tsutsugo in the leadoff spot against right-handed pitchers this year, but Cash really likes the consistency of quality at-bats that the team gets from Choi, so he seems to be the favorite. The South Korean hitter probably […]

John Means On Track To Make Season Debut In Second Series

Baltimore Orioles left-hander John Means was slated to be the team's Opening Day starter Friday against Boston, but left-arm soreness pushed back his first start. Per manager Brandon Hyde, there's a "really good chance" that Means is on the hill when the Orioles face the Marlins in the second series of the year, which is […]

Alex Cobb To Start Game 2 For Orioles

Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde announced Wednesday that veteran right-hander Alex Cobb would take the mound Saturday, while southpaw Wade LeBlanc would close out the series against the Red Sox on Sunday. While both seem to have their spot in the Baltimore rotation locked down for the time being, neither is likely a fantasy relevant […]

Dodgers, Mookie Betts Reach 12-Year Extension

The Los Angeles Dodgers and outfielder Mookie Betts agreed to a 12-year, $365 million contract extension on Wednesday, according to sources familiar with the deal. Combined with the one-year, $27 million deal Betts is currently on, the total comes out to 13 years and $392 million. The Dodgers will keep the former American League MVP […]

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Taking Batting Practice Wednesday

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (side) will take batting practice ahead of Wednesday’s exhibition contest versus the Red Sox. With a day off on Thursday before the team's regular season opener, starting pitcher Tanner Roark will throw live batting practice, and Gurriel is expected to participate in that as well. The 26-year-old experienced […]

Ryan O'Hearn Cleared For Baseball Activities

Kansas City Royals first baseman Ryan O'Hearn has been cleared for baseball activities, his first step towards returning to the Royals after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the summer. It's likely that O'Hearn will miss at least the first week of the regular season, and maybe more, while he starts to get back into gear. […]

Marcus Stroman Placed On IL With Left Calf Muscle Tear

MRI results Wednesday revealed that New York Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman has been diagnosed with a left calf muscle tear. He has been placed on the injured list. It does not appear he will need surgery, but it is unclear how long Stroman will be sidelined. Depending on the severity of the muscle tear, […]

Brett Phillips And Bubba Starling Make Royals Roster

Kansas City Royals manager Mike Matheny announced that outfielders Brett Phillips and Bubba Starling would be part of the team's roster going into opening day. Both players have limited big league experience and figure to see a few starts per week each as the season begins. The Royals just moved fellow outfielder Hunter Dozier (COVID-19) […]

Rich Hill Named As Probable Starter For July 25

Minnesota Twins pitcher Rich Hill was named as a probable starter for the second game of the team's three-game set against the Chicago White Sox. Hill will start in place of Jake Odorizzi (back), who is dealing with back stiffness. The veteran hurler gets a relatively tough matchup against a White Sox lineup that could […]

Robert Gsellman Likely Headed To The Injured List

New York Mets relief pitcher Robert Gsellman (triceps) is likely headed to the injured list to begin the season due to his right triceps issue. The expectation is that the IL stint will be backdated and Gsellman should be back with the team roughly a week into the season. In 2019, Gsellman produced a 4.66 […]

Aroldis Chapman Still Testing Positive For Coronavirus

New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman is still testing positive for coronavirus as of Wednesday. Chapman is now mostly symptom-free according to manager Aaron Boone, but Chapman is ineligible to rejoin the team until he tests negative twice over a 24-hour period. Given that Chapman will likely need time to get back into game […]

Gadzhimurad Antigulov Needs A Win To Turn Things Around

Gadzhimurad Antigulov (20-6) has started his UFC career 2-2, but those two losses have come in his last two bouts. Dangerous on the ground, 15 of Antigulov's 20 victories have come by submission. The Russian wrestler averages an astounding 9.51 takedowns per 15 minutes, though all four of his UFC bouts have ended in the […]

Kris Bryant Scratched From Lineup

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (back) was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with back stiffness. Manager David Ross hinted that had this been a regular season game, Bryant would likely be playing. The Cubs are just playing it safe with the former National League MVP, who is a prime candidate for a bounce back season. […]

Cubs Name Alec Mills The Fifth Starter

The Chicago Cubs have named starting pitcher Alec Mills their fifth starter to open the season. Mills had a 2.75 ERA over nine appearances (four starts) for the Cubs in 2019. He also struck out 42 batters over 36 innings. With Jose Quintana (thumb) not expected to miss much time, Mills place in the rotation […]