MLB Player News

Hernandez fired a scoreless inning while striking out two en route to his eighth hold in a win over the Rangers on Sunday.

Hernandez was picked up off the scrap heap to begin the season, but he has pitched like one of the Angels' top bullpen arms this year (2.73 ERA and 10.2 K/9). The 32-year-old is still getting it done with a low- to mid-90s fastball complemented by two different breaking balls with good movement. He doesn't get a ton of hold chances, but his ratios should be good enough to help those in deep holds formats.

Wilson recorded a five-out save Sunday against the Indians. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one.

Wilson entered in the eighth inning in relief of Shane Greene, whose exit was prompted by back-to-back walks. The Tigers' closer is now up to 10 saves in 11 opportunities this year, and he appears comfortable in a ninth-inning role despite having virtually no closing experience in his first five big-league campaigns.

Fulmer gave up two earned runs on seven hits across six innings in a 5-3 win over the Indians on Sunday.

Despite earning his third win in a row (after dropping the previous three), Fulmer only recorded a single strikeout. The 24-year-old heads into the All-Star break boasting a 9-6 record to go with a solid 3.19 ERA and 1.19 WHIP through 17 starts. Also, even though he hasn't been missing a ton of bats lately, Fulmer has only surrendered seven home runs and an opposing batting average of .238, which suggests he should see continued success in the second half of the season.

Puk allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning during Team USA's 7-6 win over Team World in Sunday's All-Star Futures Game.

The 22-year-old southpaw made things interesting in the ninth by allowing Team World to get to within 7-6 before getting Mauricio Dubon on a game-ending groundout. Double-A bats have been getting the best of Puk over his first three starts with Midland, as he's allowed nine earned runs on 11 hits and nine walks over 13.1 innings. However, given his body of work in his first two stops with the organization -- including his 150 strikeouts over just 107 minor-league frames -- Puk figures to turn things around in the second half of the season.

Whalen was placed on the restricted list at Triple-A Tacoma in order to deal with "personal issues," Bob Dutton of The News Tribune reports.

Whalen has been struggling with the Rainiers, going 0-7 with a 6.58 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 53.1 innings across 10 starts. The 23-year-old right-hander's return date is currently unknown due to the nature of his absence, and his departure opens up another spot on the Mariners' 40-man roster for the time being.

Honeywell became the first pitcher in All-Star Futures Game history to be named MVP in Team USA's 7-6 win over the World Team on Sunday, allowing one hit over two scoreless innings while striking out four.

The 22-year-old got the start and set the tone for Team USA's victory, fanning Alex Verdugo (RotoWire's No. 40 overall prospect), Amed Rosario (No. 9), Eloy Jimenez (No. 5) and Vlad Guerrero Jr. (No. 3) in an electric performance. Honeywell, the No. 29 fantasy prospect in his own right, has struggled a bit with his control since his promotion to Triple-A Durham in April, but he's now won five of his last seven starts with a 4.25 ERA and 51:15 K:BB in 36 innings. Perhaps most impressively, he has allowed zero home runs over that stretch. There may not be room for him right now in the Rays rotation, but Honeywell appears just about ready for his big-league debut.

Colome worked around a hit in a scoreless inning of work to earn his 25th save of the season Sunday against the Red Sox.

Colome, who allowed a single to the first batter be faced, retired the next three men with ease while throwing nine of 13 pitches for strikes. He endured a rough patch leading into July in during which he allowed 10 runs over a five-inning span, but he has since responded with three consecutive scoreless outings while recording a save in each one. Colome has proven himself to be among the top tier of closers in the American League over the last couple of seasons and will look to put his recent struggles behind him after taking a breather during the All-Star break.

Norris (groin) will not throw over the All-Star break, and it remains to be seen if he will be ready when the Tigers need a fifth starter July 18 in Kansas City, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

It is not a great sign that he has not yet been cleared to throw, but it does not sound like he will need a rehab assignment, so he could rejoin the rotation sometime in late July. If he is not ready, Matt Boyd would be an option to start next Tuesday's game.

Manager John Farrell reported Sunday that the Red Sox hope Smith (elbow, shoulder) will be able to begin mound work on Tuesday or Wednesday, Chris Mason of CNHI Sports Boston reports.

Smith was originally scheduled to begin his mound program this weekend, but it appears he wasn't quite ready so the team bumped back his start date to Tuesday or Wednesday. It's been a long and trying rehabilitation for Smith, but it's encouraging that he'll soon begin ramping up his throwing program again after suffering a setback in mid-June.

Leclerc didn't pitch in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Angels, but was warming up for a potential save opportunity before Alex Claudio was able to finish out the ninth inning, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Claudio wasn't credited with a save in the Rangers' victory, as he had pitched a scoreless eighth inning before the team's lead was trimmed to three after he allowed a run to score on a Cameron Maybin groundout in the ninth. Prior to generating the grounder, Claudio had allowed back-to-back hits, which prompted manager Jeff Banister to have Leclerc prepare to enter the game if Albert Pujols received a plate appearance. That never materialized, however, as Pujols was left standing in the on-deck circle while Claudio retired Kole Calhoun on another groundout to finish out the night. Since Matt Bush was deposed as closer July 1, the Rangers haven't had a save situation arise for any of their relievers, but based on how things shook out Saturday, Leclerc looks like he'd be first in line to close.