MLB Player News

Melancon (1-1) recorded his first win of the season Thursday against Milwaukee. He blew a save opportunity in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Giants scored four runs in the top of the 10th frame and held on for the victory while he was still the pitcher of record.

This was Melancon's worst outing since Opening Day, and he had allowed just two earned runs over his previous 16 appearances (15.2 innings) since April 2. Fantasy owners got the bonus win to soften the blow of Melancon's poor outing, and considering his track record, Thursday's outing is less of a concern than the Giants' struggles to score runs and create save opportunities for their closer.

Ottavino (shoulder) is expected to be activated from the disabled list Friday against the Cubs, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Ottavino said his shoulder felt great following his bullpen Wednesday, clearing the way for him to rejoin the big club before the weekend. He should reclaim his spot as a primary setup man for Colorado upon his return.

Iglesias needed just seven pitches during a scoreless ninth inning to collect his 12th save of the season during Thursday's win over St. Louis. He also recorded two strikeouts.

With two wins, 12 saves, a 0.57 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 10.9 K/9, Iglesias is cementing himself among the top closers in the real and fantasy game. He entered Thursday's outing with a 50.0 groundball percentage while limiting opposing hitters to a 19.7 hard-hit rate, and those traits combine perfectly with his strikeout ability. Iglesias is legit.

Bracho was recalled from Triple-A Reno on Thursday.

With Zack Greinke heading out on paternity leave, Bracho will rejoin the big club for the fourth time this season. While the 24-year-old compiled an impressive 1.53 ERA and 30:6 K:BB through 17.2 innings with Reno, he hasn't enjoyed the same success against major-league hitting this season; Bracho allowed six runs (five earned) across 2.1 innings of previous work. He did manage to strike out five batters, so his strikeout potential remains a strength. His stay in the majors will likely be brief with Greinke expected back before next week's series against the Tigers.

Jackson has a 0.93 ERA and 0.93 WHIP since being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett in mid May.

It's still a small sample size for the 25-year-old, but he has issued only two walks in 9.2 innings since his call-up. Jackson could earn a larger role if he maintains his numbers but is currently limited to low-leverage situations for the Braves.

Nelson (4-3) struck out six while allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings in Wednesday's win over San Francisco.

The third inning was the only one where he had much of any trouble, as he surrendered an RBI double to Brandon Belt followed by a Buster Posey two-run homer. Otherwise, Nelson cruised, as he often has this season. Once the minor leagues' best pitcher, he's been a subpar major leaguer in prior seasons, but Nelson has improved his control and increased his strikeout rate this year -- and in fact, the .332 BABIP against him suggests that he might yet lower his current 3.45 ERA.

Blach (4-3) gave up five runs on nine hits over six innings in Wednesday's loss to the Brewers. He struck out three without a walk.

As usual, Blach showed great control, throwing 73 of his 104 pitches for strikes, but he didn't miss many bats, and this time that bit him. The rookie is good at getting batters to hit the ball on the ground, but his meager total of 26 strikeouts in 64.1 innings is a major blotch on his fantasy value. Still, in today's pitching-thin environment, he's a credible back-end or streaming starter in many formats.

Treinen is having a poor 2017 so far with a 6.66 ERA and 1.97 WHIP through 24.1 innings.

Treinen had a rough April and beginning of May, but has showed a righting of the ship in his last nine appearances. Since a May 8 game in Baltimore he has a 3.37 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with eight strikeouts and two walks. Last season, the 2011 seventh-round pick had an ERA of 2.28, a large reason he started this season as Washington's closer, and his recent improvement has shown promise that he's on his way to a return to last year's form.

Ellington has given up seven runs in seven innings since being recalled from Triple-A New Orleans in the middle of May.

The 26-year-old's stats this season have been inflated immensely from his last appearance, when he gave up six runs in 0.1 innings in a June 6 game against the Cubs. Before that game, he had pitched 10.1 innings this season with a 0.87 ERA, an impossible pace to maintain given his 2.03 WHIP. Ellington's true self probably sits somewhere between the pitcher who showed up against Chicago and the one who pitched in the games before that, but the high WHIP suggests it lies closer to his June 6 outing than the games beforehand.

Rodney didn't allow a baserunner and struck out a batter to record his 15th save of the season during Wednesday's win over the Padres.

Rodney has now gone 12 appearances and 11.2 innings without allowing an earned run and has converted nine of 10 opportunities with a 0.60 WHIP during that stretch. The veteran clearly has a firm grasp on the closer role for the time being, but with a 4.33 ERA dating back to the 2015 campaign, it's probably only a matter of time before Rodney has another ninth-inning implosion.