MLB Player News

Kopech fired five scoreless innings, permitting four hits and one walk while striking out eight for High-A Salem on Wednesday. In three starts this season, he has not allowed a run in 13.1 innings.

A masterful performance for Kopech, who is trying to salvage the 2016 season after missing two-and-a-half months due to a fractured hand suffered during spring training while getting into an altercation with a teammate. He's anxious to put behind him the off-field problems that have surfaced the past year, including a 50-game suspension last season after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Darvish (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Wednesday and is expected to be activated from the disabled list to start Saturday against the Cubs.

Darvish will join a rotation in desperate need of depth. Along with Darvish, the Rangers currently have Derek Holland and Colby Lewis on the disabled list. Expect Darvish to be on a pitch count when he takes on the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Saturday. He hasn't pitched since June 8.

Through 18 first-half starts, Stoman (7-4) posted a 4.89 ERA and 1.33 WHIP while tallying an 83:33 K:BB through 116 innings.

Entering the season as Toronto's ace, Stroman was disappointingly far from fulfilling his preseason expectations. His WHIP is way out of whack from his previous years and the right-hander's 2.6 BB/9 is well beyond his career average. Many predicted Stroman to rack up the K's, but his 6.4 K/9 ranks 78th among 96 qualified pitchers. He only had 24 MLB starts entering the season, so the expectations surrounding the relatively-inexperienced 25-year-old may have been a bit unfair. It's worth noting that most of the damage done to Stroman came courtesy of the Red Sox and Orioles, who have the No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, OPS in the majors. In six combined starts against those powerhouses (three versus each), Stroman went 1-2 with an 8.90 ERA, .365 BAA and a 22:11 K:BB. Outside of the Red Sox and Orioles, he made starts against nine other organizations, going 6-2 with a 3.55 ERA, .225 BAA and a 61:22 K:BB versus that group. Stroman makes a great buy-low candidate as his numbers tell an exaggerated story of how his 2016 campaign has gone so far.

Cobb allowed a run on two hits and a walk and struck out a batter over just one inning in his second rehab start Monday for High-A Charlotte.

Cobb topped out at just 87 mph as he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery. He threw just 27 pitches and looks like he still has a long way to go before he's ready to return to the Rays rotation. He is expected to be back by early August, but if his velocity doesn't pick up, that prognosis may prove too optimistic.

Cobb will make his second rehab start for High-A Charlotte on Monday night, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The rehabbing 28-year-old emerged from his first start without setbacks, an outing in which he surrendered three earned runs on two hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. While the stat line wasn't pretty, it represented Cobb's first time on a mound against live opposition since Tommy John surgery. He'll look to be sharper in Monday's outing and is still eyeing an early August return to the big league club.

Milone (2-2) gave up two earned runs on five hits and three walks in Sunday's 15-5 victory over the Rangers. He struck out three.

The 29-year-old left-hander wasn't overly impressive, but did enough for the second consecutive start to notch the win. Milone did so on the road in a tough park for pitchers and against a potent Rangers lineup. He's settled down over his last two starts, giving up only three earned runs over the last 11 innings while lowering his ERA a full run to 5.23. He'll look to continue building on his recent success in the second half of the season.

Odorizzi (3-5) gave up four runs on six hits and a walk over five innings Sunday, striking out four, in a loss to the Red Sox.

He wasn't particularly sharp, throwing 52 of 86 pitches for strikes and generating just six swinging strikes, but with David Price dealing for Boston, Odorizzi would have needed to be just about perfect to have a shot at a win. He's managed just one quality start over his last six outings, adding a full run to his ERA over that stretch to send it soaring to a season-high 4.47 heading into the All-Star break.

Keuchel allowed just one run with five strikeouts and two walks across seven strong innings Sunday versus the Athletics. He did not factor into the decision.

Keuchel threw the ball well, as he pounded the zone at a 62-percent clip and induced nine swinging strikes, but he was on the hook for the loss until Evan Gattis tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. The 2015 Cy Young award winner has struggled to replicate his previous form this season, but he has now pieced together five consecutive quality starts and has lowered his ERA nearly a full run to 4.80. His next outing will come after the All-Star break.

Carrasco (5-3) lasted just 3.2 innings Sunday, allowing five runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out four in a loss to the Yankees.

The Indians committed two errors behind him, adding to Carrasco's pitch count and eventually forcing him from the game after 81 pitches, but at least the shaky defense helped him avoid too much damage to his ERA. He got out of the game in the nick of time too, as the Yankees exploded for six runs in the top of the fifth inning. Carrasco will carry a career-best 2.47 ERA into the second half, but his 1.10 WHIP and 72:20 K:BB in 73 innings are a little off the pace he set in 2014-2015.

Eovaldi (7-6) threw 4.1 scoreless innings Sunday, allowing just one hit and three walks while striking out three, to pick up his first career relief win in an 11-7 victory over the Indians.

It's a nice bonus for anyone with Eovaldi shares after they got the bad news he'd been dropped from the rotation heading into the All-Star break. The outing might be enough to allow him to regain his starting role in the second half, but Luis Severino also seems to have turned things around at Triple-A so there's no guarantee Eovaldi will be the Yankees first choice when they need a fifth starter again.