Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran pitched a clean ninth inning in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers. Although his 1.42 ERA in 6 1/3 innings pitched so far in the season is encouraging, it's unfortunate that he still has zero save opportunities through 16 games. The Twins are now sitting at 5-11, so hopefully, they can turn it around and provide Duran with some more opportunities soon. All that aside, Duran has looked effective in his seven appearances, with an opponent batting average of .136 to go with the low ERA. Although the strikeout numbers are down, it's too early to sound the alarm. More importantly, the Twins need to give him some more consistent opportunities. Next for the Twins is a three-game home series against the New York Mets.

New York Mets pitching prospect Nolan McLean continued to perform well during his second start of the campaign. On Sunday afternoon, McLean tossed five innings of one-run ball against Double-A Hartford. In this outing, McLean struck out six batters and allowed three walks and four hits. In his first start of the regular season on April 6, McLean tossed four shutout frames and struck out an impressive eight batters. The 23-year-old right-hander is considered the No. 5-ranked prospect in the Mets system on MLB Pipeline. Last summer, the Oklahoma State product spent most of his time with Double-A but held a modest 4.19 ERA. However, it appears McLean is beginning to turn the corner. If he continues to perform well, he should be in the mix for a mid-season Triple-A debut.

Texas Rangers third baseman Jake Burger went 1-for-3 with a double and two strikeouts in Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners. It's the 29-year-old's second double of the season and fourth extra-base-hit in total (two home runs). Burger is off to a sluggish start at the dish in 2025, carrying a .151/.182/.302 slash line with a 1/15 K:BB ratio over his first 15 games. Unfortunately, even the under-the-hood numbers are poor, as the former first-round pick's average exit velocity (89.1) and hard-hit rate (42.1%) are sitting at career-low figures. Furthermore, he's still striking out 27.3% of the time, and his barrel rate has dipped for the second straight season. However, Burger has a hit in four consecutive outings, so maybe his bat is finally waking up.

Los Angeles Dodgers outfield prospect Kendall George hit two home runs and swiped a bag during Sunday's contest against High-A Lansing. In this game, George would tally three RBI, score three runs, and hold a 2:1 BB:K. These were George's first long balls of the regular season. Before Sunday, George held an underwhelming .120/.273/.120 slash line through the first seven games of the regular season. During this slow start, George did not tally an extra-base hit. Last summer, the 36th overall pick from the 2023 MLB Draft spent the entire 2024 campaign with Low-A Rancho. Across 86 games, he posted a strong .279/.384/.328 slash line. Fantasy managers should expect the Atascocita HS product to remain with High-A during most of the 2025 season.

Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Chase Petty tossed five shutout innings against Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon. Petty struck out four batters in this outing and allowed just three hits. He served up one free pass. Since allowing six earned runs and six hits in his first start of the campaign, Petty has begun to turn the corner. Over his last two outings, Petty has allowed just one run with a 1.33 WHIP across nine overall frames. Last summer, Petty spent most of his time with Double-A before receiving a brief taste of Triple-A. Through 127 innings of work with Double-A Chattanooga, Petty posted a modest 4.39 ERA with a 1.35 WHIP. The former 26th overall pick could push for a mid-season MLB debut if he continues to succeed with Triple-A Louisville.