MLB Player News

Williams, 21, has a 3.67 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 54 strikeouts in 54 innings with Low-A Wisconsin.

These numbers are right in line with what Williams accomplished over 89 innings with Wisconsin last year. A shoulder injury kept him sidelined until May 12, and it could be a contributing factor in him only logging five-plus innings in four of his 13 appearances. Williams still has the repertoire of a future mid-rotation starter, with the upside to be a tad better than that, but given his age, it would be nice to see him get a taste of High-A before the end of the season.

Estevez worked his way out of a major jam to lock up his eight save of the year versus the Braves on Friday.

Estevez allowed a double to Adonis Garcia and walked Ender Inciarte to start the ninth. The runners advanced on a sacrifice and Erick Aybar walked to load the bases before Estevez recovered to get Chase d'Arnaud on a popup and strike out Peterson for his eighth save in 11 chances. Although it appears Estevez is the hands-down closer right now, the Rockies bullpen has options if the rookie wants to play with fire. He's now 8-for-9 in save chances this season.

Mayers might be an option to be called up from Triple-A to start Sunday's game against the Dodgers after Tyler Lyons was used out of the bullpen Friday.

The Cardinals need a spot starter Sunday after there was a doubleheader earlier in the week, and unless they opt to go with a bullpen game, Mayers seems like the most likely candidate to get the call. He is not on the 40-man roster, but he is pitching pretty well at Triple-A, and would be pitching on an extra day's rest Sunday. Alex Reyes, the Cardinals' top prospect, started Thursday's game for Memphis, so he is not an option, and other top pitching prospects, Tim Cooney and Marco Gonzales, are still on the minor league DL. Mayers, 24, has a 2.62 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 86:36 K:BB in 106.2 innings across Double-A and Triple-A this season.

Jansen blew his fifth save of the season Friday against the Cardinals. He surrendered a two-out solo shot that tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth.

Jedd Gyorko blasted the first pitch he saw from Jansen, handing the closer his second blown save in his last three tries. The ninth-inning man had only allowed one home run all season before Friday. Entering the game, Jansen had struck out Gyorko in four of the eight at-bats against him, making this pill a little harder to swallow. Expect to see Jansen back out there when the first chance at a rebound comes up over the weekend in St. Louis.

Nelson (6-8) allowed four runs, two of which were earned, on four hits and three walks while striking out three over five innings to take the loss Friday against the Cubs.

Nelson gave up all four of his runs in the first two innings before settling down until his exit in the fifth inning. He's now held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in five of his last six starts to lower his ERA to 3.40 on the year. He'll make his next start Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.

Estevez came in to clean up Jason Motte's mess in the ninth inning Thursday, inducing the final out of a 7-3 win over the Braves for his seventh save.

It didn't look like Estevez was headed for a save chance here until Motte imploded in the ninth, giving up three hits, a walk and two runs before the Rockies called in their closer. Estevez needed just two pitches to get Jace Peterson on a groundout and end the game. Since taking over, the rookie has been everything fantasy owners could ask for from a ninth-inning man who has to pitch in Colorado, and it doesn't seem as though anyone's going to take his job from him.

Melancon struck out one in the course of a perfect ninth inning Thursday against the Brewers for his 28th save in 31 tries.

The Pirates' closer had allowed a run in consecutive outings, so it's nice to see him clean up efficiently in this one. Melancon may not carry a very impressive strikeout rate by the standards of his peers, but he's still been putting up some of the most unimpeachable ratios in the game for years.

Jansen worked around a hit and struck out one to earn his 28th save of the season Thursday versus the Nationals.

Thursday marked Jansen's first save since blowing his fourth of the season on July 16 against the D'Backs, which also snapped a 14-game streak of not allowing an earned run. The ninth-inning man ranks fourth in saves so far this season, but owns the league's best WHIP (0.70) among closers.

Making his first start for Triple-A Reno since getting demoted on July 14, Miller went 6.2 innings on Tuesday, allowing four hits and three earned runs while striking out 10. He walked two.

While Miller will need to string together a few solid outings before the Diamondbacks and fantasy owners can trust him again, Tuesday's outing was certainly a step in the right direction. At the MLB level this season, Miller is 2-9 with a 7.14 ERA and 1.75 WHIP.

Law has yet to allow a run through six relief appearances in July.

Law has totaled five innings pitched in that span and has given up just two hits with six strikeouts. This is encouraging for the rookie who gave up six runs over 13 innings pitched in June. Law now has a 2.65 ERA along with a 1.06 WHIP that ranks best among Giants' relievers with at least 10 appearances.