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Zak Kent RP | WAS
Rangers' Zak Kent: Out with oblique strain
Kent is on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Round Rock with a strained oblique, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
The 6-foot-3 righty struck out three in three scoreless innings during his first start of the year for the Express on April 4 but has not pitched since. Kent boasts an excellent fastball/slider combination, but he is still working on developing starter-caliber command and secondaries beyond his breaking ball. He has six career starts at Triple-A under his belt and is on the 40-man roster, so we could see Kent pitching in the majors in some capacity later this season.
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Emiliano Teodo RP | TEX
Rangers' Emiliano Teodo: Out with forearm issue
Teodo is on the injured list at High-A Hickory with minor forearm tightness, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
With young, hard-throwing pitching prospects, there usually isn't such a thing as "minor" forearm tightness, but per Grant's report, Teodo is only expected to need several days off from throwing before ramping back up. He has some of the best stuff in the system, but Teodo may not have good enough command or control to start long-term. The 22-year-old can touch 101 mph with his four-seam fastball as a starter and also has a plus slider that can touch 94 mph.
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Connor Prielipp SP | MIN
Twins' Connor Prielipp: Dealing with general elbow soreness
The Twins don't want to rush Prielipp back as he gets symptomatic treatment for general elbow soreness, according to president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
We can't really downplay any elbow issue with a pitcher, especially one like Prielipp who recently returned from Tommy John surgery. However, as Falvey notes, Prielipp's fastball/slider combination was outstanding in camp prior to him getting shut down, so there is enough upside here to be patient in deeper dynasty leagues unless the diagnosis worsens.
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Kenta Maeda SP | NYY
Twins' Kenta Maeda: X-rays clean on ankle
X-rays turned up negative on Maeda's left ankle after he was struck by a comebacker Thursday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
Maeda took a 111.6 mph line drive off his left leg in the second inning of his start Thursday afternoon against the Red Sox and did not return for the third inning, but he was walking around the postgame clubhouse without a limp and didn't even have the ankle wrapped. It sounds like he might be able to fill his next scheduled turn in the Twins' rotation next week against the Yankees. The 35-year-old righty allowed one run (on a solo homer) over two innings Thursday before exiting. He issued one walk and recorded no strikeouts.
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Mason Miller RP | SD
Athletics' Mason Miller: Brings heat in MLB debut
Miller didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 12-2 loss to the Cubs, allowing two earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five across 4.1 innings. He also uncorked a wild pitch and hit a batter.
The much-anticipated major-league debut of the hard-throwing right-hander went very well from an individual standpoint, even as the Athletics suffered a 12-2 loss that was mostly the fault of the bullpen. Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports Miller threw his trademark four-seam fastball on 53 of his 81 pitches, generating 27 swings and six whiffs in the process. Miller's heater also averaged a blistering 99.3 mph, maxing out at 102.5 mph and registering at 100 mph or higher a whopping 15 times. The highly encouraging outing against a hot lineup -- which included a second inning during which he struck out Cody Bellinger, Edwin Rios and Patrick Wisdom -- is one of the few reasons for optimism thus far in what appears to be another forgettable season for the rebuilding Athletics. Miller's opportunity to put together an even better encore is slated to come early next week against another talented lineup in that of the Angels.
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Kenta Maeda SP | NYY
Twins' Kenta Maeda: Exits after being struck by liner
Maeda was removed from Thursday's start against the Red Sox after being struck on the left ankle by a comebacker, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
A 111.6 mph screamer off the bat of Jarren Duran appeared to catch Maeda flush on the ankle in the bottom of the second inning. Miraculously, Maeda was able to gather himself to throw Duran out at first base before crumpling to the ground in pain. He was able to walk off the field under his own power. Maeda has been diagnosed with a left ankle contusion for now, but he's headed for X-rays to see if there's any more damage. The righty allowed one run over two innings before being lifted.
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Carlos Rodon SP | NYY
Yankees' Carlos Rodon: Shut down from throwing
Rodon (back) won't throw for a few days and is set to undergo a CT scan Thursday, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Rodon has already undergone some testing on his back, which came back normal, but he'll also have a CT scan just to be safe. The Yankees still believe the back problem to be minor issue, though it will push back the left-hander's return timetable. Once he faces live hitters -- which could come right after the shutdown period -- Rodon is expected to be about a month away from action, which means he probably won't make it back until at least the latter part of May.
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Luis Severino SP | ATH
Yankees' Luis Severino: Slated for more live BP
Severino (lat) is scheduled to throw one more live batting practice session before possibly starting a rehab assignment, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.
Severino had a successful split bullpen Thursday, throwing 15 pitches in the bullpen and another 20 in live batting practice. He's now headed to the Yankees' spring training complex to continue his rehab and could conceivably be ready for a rehab assignment at some point next week.
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Spenser Watkins SP | WAS
Orioles' Spenser Watkins: Goes on Triple-A IL
Watkins was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday due to a right fourth finger laceration, Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports.
It doesn't seem to be anything that would keep him out for a long time, but he won't be an option for the Orioles for a while. Watkins holds a 4.15 ERA in three starts for Norfolk this season.
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James Kaprielian SP | TOR
Athletics' James Kaprielian: May have lost rotation spot
Kaprielian tossed a scoreless inning of relief in the Athletics' 4-0 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday.
Prior to Tuesday's contest, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay told Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle that his plans for Kaprielian and the rest of the team's rotation were fluid beyond Thursday's off day, but at least for now, the right-hander looks like he may be viewed as the team's sixth starter. Kaprielian's relief appearance came three days after he was blasted for six runs over 3.2 innings in a start against the Mets, inflating his season ERA to 12.15. Oakland has already named JP Sears, Shintaro Fujinami and Kyle Muller as its starters for the three-game weekend series in Texas, so Kaprielian looks like he's been pushed to the back of the pitching schedule. In order to allow Fujinami to remain on a once-a-week pitching schedule, Oakland is expected to maintain a six-man rotation, but even Kaprielian's hold on the No. 6 starting spot could be precarious. Both Drew Rucinski (hamstring) and Paul Blackburn (finger) are in the midst of rehab assignments and could soon be ready to return from the 15-day injured list to give Oakland additional rotation options.