MLB Player News

Montero is expected to start in place of the injured Noah Syndergaard (back) on Friday against the Marlins, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Montero was the backup plan for Thor if the ace was initially unable to make his previously scheduled start Sunday, so this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The 26-year-old struggled as a reliever with the big club to start the season, posting a 9.45 ERA and 3.60 WHIP before being optioned back to Triple-A, where he settled in as a starter. In two starts (10.1 innings) with Las Vegas, Montero allowed just two runs on four hits with an impressive 16:3 K:BB. It's unclear whether Montero will replace Syndergaard for more than one game, but that probably hinges on Friday's performance.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo reiterated Saturday that Rodney is the team's closer and will receive the next save opportunity that arises, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

Rodney blew his second consecutive save in Saturday's 7-6 loss to the Rockies, with the meltdown inflating his season ERA to 12.60 and his WHIP to 2.30. While Rodney ultimately went unused in Sunday's 13-inning win, it appears that was mostly a byproduct of having tossed 34 pitches the night before rather than any reluctance on Lovullo's part to turn to the veteran in a high-leverage siutation. Based on Lovullo's comments, it sounds as though Rodney will have some leeway to right the ship, but Rodney's fantasy owners shouldn't hesitate to begin eyeballing potential replacements. Archie Bradley (1.13 ERA and 19 strikeouts over 16 innings) and J.J. Hoover (1.86 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 9.2 innings) would seemingly be the top candidates to pick up saves if Rodney is eventually dumped from the closing role.

Law threw a scoreless inning while striking out three on the way to his third hold of the season in Sunday's extra-inning loss to San Diego.

Law rediscovered his strikeout stuff after carrying a pedestrian 5.6 K/9 into Sunday's matchup. He will have to limit the amount of batters he is allowing to reach base (1.46 WHIP) if he wants to keep his ERA below the three-run mark. Still, the 26-year-old was dominant in a large enough sample size last season (2.13 ERA in 55 innings) to earn holds league owners' trust.

Jansen struck out one to record a one-out save in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Phillies.

The elite closer is now 7-for-7 in save chances this year and has a nice 15.8 K/9 in 9.2 frames. Jansen's ERA dropped to 1.86 on the year after the three-pitch outing. The hard-throwing right-hander is of the best closing options in the game for fantasy owners.

Pivetta (0-1) allowed two runs on nine hits (one home run) while walking one and striking out five over five innings in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Dodgers.

Pivetta was making his major league debut, and he didn't look half bad while filling the temporary rotation spot vacated by Aaron Nola (back). The 24-year-old Pivetta could be one-and-done as far as spot starts, as Nola is expected back in short order. If Pivetta is forced to make any more starts, he's a risky fantasy streamer despite Sunday's decent outing.

Melancon allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits (one home run) while walking none and striking out one in one inning as he blew his second save of the season in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Padres.

Melancon blew his first save on Opening Day and had then tossed eight scoreless outings, including five saves, before his blowup against the Friars. The right-hander allowed a two-run homer to pinch hitter Hector Sanchez. It's not the start Melancon's owners were hoping for, but the season is still young, and the Giants will give him plenty of rope. He remains one of the more attractive fantasy firemen for the long haul.

Blach allowed three hits while walking two and striking out one over seven scoreless innings for a no-decision in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Padres.

While filling in for Madison Bumgarner (ribs, shoulder) in the rotation, Blach has filled in admirably, allowing just two runs in 12 innings in his two starts so far. He's not striking out many batters (five in 17.2 innings), though, so don't rely on him as anything more than a streaming option in NL-only leagues.

Iglesias threw two scoreless innings Sunday against the Cardinals to get his fourth save of the year. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two.

The Reds' bullpen usage patterns may have cost Iglesias a couple of saves, but his owners also got 14.1 innings of elite ratios, 16 strikeouts and a win in one month. If he can maintain that sort of pace, that's 85-90 innings and around 95-100 strikeouts.

Hudson recorded only one out Sunday while giving up five runs on four hits and one home run against the Marlins.

Hudson saw his ERA jump from 5.59 to 9.90 because of the outing, which was a fitting way to end a relatively dismal first month of the season. The 30-year-old still operates as Pittsburgh's primary setup man and has recorded seven holds, but he's allowed 11 runs over 10 innings.

Kontos has allowed four runs over eight innings of relief to begin the season entering Sunday's game against the Padres.

Kontos has allowed runs in only two of his 11 appearances, with eight runs and four strikeouts. The 31-year-old usually enters the game in the later innings, and so far, there is no reason to believe Kontos will not continue to appear in those higher-leverage situations.