MLB Player News

Santana will start at first base and bat fifth in Thursday's game against the Tigers.

Santana has batted out of the No. 5 spot in each of the Royals' games to date, but hitting directly beyond four-time Silver Slugger winner Salvador Perez has yet to bear fruit for the veteran. Through 19 plate appearances, Santana has produced one hit (a double) and has drawn three walks. On a positive note, Santana has struck out just once, so he hasn't looked completely lost at the plate. Expect his average to climb once his .067 BABIP normalizes.

Rizzo went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a single, a walk and a strikeout during Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Blue Jays.

Rizzo clubbed his third homer of the season in the fifth inning off Toronto starter Jose Berrios and continues to mash as the Yankees' de facto leadoff hitter. Through the first week of the season, the veteran lefty is slashing .300/.481/1.281.

France went 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI groundout during Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the White Sox.

France got the scoring started early by sending an 0-1 cutter from Dallas Keuchel into the left field bleachers. He added an RBI groundout to second base in the fifth inning to cut Chicago's lead to 4-3. Through six appearances, the 27-year-old is slashing .273/.407/.862.

Guerrero received two stitches on his finger after going 4-for-4 with three home runs, a double and four RBI during Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Yankees, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The 23-year-old was bleeding a decent amount after being accidently spiked at first base by a baserunner, but he got patched up and crushed New York pitching the rest of the evening. Guerrero was 0-for-8 through the first two games of the series but came alive Wednesday and put on a one-man show against the Yankees. The injury isn't expected to affect his status going forward, and he already illustrated it shouldn't impact his performance.

Alonso went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored and five RBI in Wednesday's 9-6 win over the Phillies.

It was an awesome display of power from the 27-year-old, who ripped RBI two-baggers in the fourth and fifth innings before crushing a three-run shot to deep right-center field off Connor Brogdon in the sixth. Alonso is off to a quick start to the season, batting .267 (8-for-30) with three doubles, two homers and 10 RBI through seven games.

Torkelson went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's loss to the Red Sox.

A day after collecting his first MLB hit, Torkelson recorded his first MLB home run and first two RBI. The .176 batting average still doesn't look great for the 22-year-old, but it seems like he's settling in after a sluggish start, so a hot streak could be on tap.

Hiura will start at second base and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

Hiura will get his third start of the season, with each of those assignments coming against left-handed starting pitchers. He'll be filling in at the keystone Wednesday for the lefty-hitting Kolten Wong, who takes a seat with southpaw John Means on the hill for Baltimore.

Cronenworth will start at second base and bat third in Wednesday's game against the Giants.

After four straight games of batting cleanup, Cronenworth will move up a spot in the order with usual No. 2 hitter Austin Nola getting the day off. Cronenworth reached base a season-high three times in Tuesday's 13-2 loss, going 1-for-2 with a double and a pair of walks in the blowout.

Manager David Bell said Solano (hamstring) will travel with the Reds for their upcoming four-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers that begins Thursday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Solano's presence on the road trip doesn't mean he'll be activated from the 10-day injured list this weekend, though it suggests that his return to the 28-man active roster isn't too far off. Once he's deemed ready to play, Solano should displace Brandon Drury as the Reds' top utility infielder and make regular starts against left-handed pitching.

Voit went 1-for-4 with a run and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to the Giants.

Voit scored the Padres' first run of the contest and pushed his hitting streak to four games with a second-inning single, but it was his theft of second base that made the most noise. Prior to Tuesday, the slugger had logged 1,292 career plate appearances without even attempting to steal. It's safe to say that Voit's fantasy managers shouldn't expect speed to suddenly become part of his skill set.