MLB Player News

Edwards allowed a hit and a walk, but still pitched a clean eighth inning Thursday against the Braves to record his 21st hold of the season.

The 21 holds puts Edwards in sixth place in the National League in that category. He also struck out another batter Thursday, and his elite 12.9 K/9 makes him an interesting fantasy option, especially in leagues that count holds.

Neris earned his 17th save with a scoreless ninth inning Thursday in Miami despite surrendering a hit and a walk with one strikeout.

Neris loaded the bases on a hit by pitch, a single and a walk, but struck J.T. Realmuto out swinging to seal a 3-2 win. The 28-year-old closer has now converted 11 consecutive save opportunities to improve to 17-for-20 on the year.

Suter (shoulder) said he felt great after Wednesday's minor-league rehab start and is ready to be activated, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Suter looked sharp in his lone rehab start for Low-A Wisconsin on Wednesday, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing just two baserunners, and his next start should be for the Brewers. He could be activated as early as Sunday with Matt Garza having his turn in the rotation skipped. Suter only tossed 56 pitches in his rehab appearance, so he'll likely be working with a pitch limit if he ends up returning to a starting role over the weekend. The 28-year-old has compiled a 3.79 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 59.1 innings with the big club this season.

Erceg, 22, is hitting .400 with two home runs and 12 RBI over his last 10 games for High-A Carolina.

Perhaps most impressively, Erceg has tallied more walks (10) than strikeouts (7) over that span. His slash line now sits at .258/.309/.421 on the season, and Erceg has 15 home runs and 81 RBI in 126 contests. He was recently named to the All-Star team for the Carolina League. Erceg should begin the 2018 campaign at Double-A.

Stephenson (3-4) earned the win over the Mets on Thursday, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out seven over six innings.

He outdueled Jacob deGrom, facing just one batter over the minimum over his final three frames, and has now picked up wins in each of his last three starts. The 24-year-old is still walking batters -- he's issued 10 free passes in his last 16.2 innings -- and thus remains a high-risk play on a start-by-start basis. But Stephenson's been missing bats at a good clip lately and is finally starting to look like a viable major-league pitcher after initially failing to come close to meeting his prospect hype. With a strong September, Stephenson could effectively cement himself into the 2018 rotation.

The Marlins are expected to promote Peters to start Friday against the Phillies, Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel reports.

Peters' season was interrupted when a comebacker fractured his left thumb in April, but he's dazzled in nine starts for Double-A Jacksonville (1.97 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 across 45.2 innings). The 5-foot-9, 195-pound southpaw packs more punch in his fastball than his frame suggests, as his velocity can often touch the mid-90s. The poor performances by the back end of the Marlins' rotation could afford Peters an extended run as the regular season comes to a close. Though he'll likely have typical newcomer bumps in the road, Peters could offer sneaky NL-only value down the stretch.

Bowman fired a scoreless ninth inning in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Brewers.

The 26-year-old right-hander has bounced back from two rough outings in which he allowed five earned runs over just one-third of an inning versus the Pirates and Padres. He's generated two consecutive scoreless appearances, but sports an unsightly 7.36 ERA over 11 trips to the mound in August. Despite his occasional struggles, Bowman does have three victories and 21 holds on his ledger, so he retains fantasy viability in a variety of formats.

Rodney struck out one batter in a clean ninth inning against the Dodgers on Wednesday to earn his 34th save of the season.

Rodney needed just 11 pitches to put away the Dodgers after registering a 31-pitch save Tuesday night. He remains a perfect 12-for-12 in save opportunities since the All-Star break, a 15-inning stretch over which he owns an impressive 2.40 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 20:5 K:BB. While he's struggled at times this season, Rodney has kept a hold on the closer's role and looks like he could be en route to his first 40-save season since 2014.

Hand picked up the save Wednesday, tossing 1.1 perfect innings while striking out two in a 5-0 win over the Giants.

Hand was summoned in the top of the eighth to protect a four-run lead with two runners on and the potential tying run on deck, allowing him to barely meet the qualifications for a save opportunity. The dominant lefty breezed through the final four batters of the game while picking up his 14th save of the season. The former starter has pitched in multiple innings 16 times this season, giving Hand a slight edge over more-conventional closers who generally aren't available for more than one frame.

Blach will stick in the rotation after Johnny Cueto (forearm) returns from the disabled list Friday, MLB.com's Chris Haft reports.

Blach may have felt like he was pitching for his rotation spot in Wednesday's loss to the Padres, but he will avoid a demotion to the bullpen with the Giants deploying a six-man rotation going forward. The rookie didn't pitch particularly well, taking his fourth consecutive loss while allowing three runs on five hits with two walks and just one strikeout over 5.2 innings. The soft-tossing lefty has surrendered six home runs in his last four starts after posting a league-best 0.7 HR/9 over his previous 19 outings. Blach's next start will be pushed back to next Tuesday, but the scheduling change will not get him out of a dangerous matchup on the road in Colorado.