MLB Player News

Andrus went 2-for-4 with his second stolen base of the season in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Mariners.

Felix Hernandez and the Mariners bullpen did an exceptional job in limiting the potent Rangers offense in the series opener, but Andrus was still able to maintain his hot start to begin the season. It's the fourth two-hit game in a row for the shortstop, who has shown some heretofore unseen pop in the process. Eight of his 14 hits this season have gone for extra bases, including three home runs, putting him just five off the career-high eight long balls he slugged in 2017.

Altuve went 3-for-3 with two walks, two doubles and two runs scored in Friday's 7-2 win over Oakland.

Altuve is scorching right now, having reached base 11 straight times. After opening the season 4-for-25 with eight strikeouts and one walk, the 26-year-old second baseman is 10-for-18 with only one strikeout and seven walks over his last five games. As Brian McTaggart of the Astros' official site reports, Statcast indicates Altuve is making more of an effort to use the opposite field. Both of his doubles Friday went to right field and 41.2 percent of his batted balls are going the opposite way, including nine of his 14 hits (64.3 percent).

Merrifield is hitting .364/.400/.864 through 22 at-bats over six games with Triple-A Omaha.

One of the more surprising decisions across all of MLB this spring was the Royals choice to roster Raul Mondesi over Merrifield. The former is currently slashing .148/.179/.259 through 30 plate appearances in the big leagues while the latter tears up minor-league pitchers. It's tough to gauge where the organization stands on this one considering Merrifield would likely improve the Royals offense, but Mondesi is a big part of the club's future plans. If Merrifield continues to destroy Triple-A arms, the team might have no choice but to bring him up and find a place for the 28-year-old to play.

Espinosa went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and three RBI during Thursday's loss to Texas.

At this point of his career, you know what you're getting from Espinosa. The 29-year-old infielder has ample pop, decent speed and an excellent glove, but he struggles in the batting average and on-base percentage columns. With full-time at-bats, Espinosa should approach last year's career-high 24 home runs and 72 RBI, though.

Motter went 2-for-4 with a double and two-run home run in Wednesday's 10-5 loss to the Astros.

Motter blasted his first long ball of the season in the third with Kyle Seager aboard, giving the Mariners a seemingly comfortable 5-0 lead at the time. The 27-year-old has been red-hot in his first two games starting in place of Jean Segura (hamstring), going 5-for-8 with four doubles in addition to Wednesday's round-tripper and pair of RBI. Motter was not quite ready for big-league pitching in a 34-game cup of coffee with the Rays last season (.188/.290/.300 over 93 plate appearances), but appeared much more comfortable this spring while hitting .295 with three homers and 11 RBI. That improvement has translated to the regular season thus far, leaving the shortstop position in good hands while Segura recovers.

Barreto is hitting .440/.516/.800 with two home runs and an 8:3 K:BB in 25 at-bats with Triple-A Nashville.

He has been extremely fortunate on balls in play, so his slash line can be largely ignored, but it's clear that he is making plenty of hard contact, with four extra-base hits through seven games. Barreto is also walking at a career-best 9.4 percent clip, which is offset by his career-high 25 percent strikeout rate. The A's will likely wait until June or July to promote Barreto, but it's good to see the 21-year-old showing no early signs of being overmatched at Triple-A.

Altuve went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two walks during Wednesday's 10-5 win over the Mariners.

Altuve struggled to begin the year but has looked more and more like himself over the last four games, collecting seven hits and five walks to drive his OBP up to .356. He has also stolen his first two bases and scored all four of his runs on the season. He still has just one extra-base hit to his name, but one could assume that will not last long as he continues to heat up.

Andrus went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Angels.

The 28-year-old is showing early signs of a power spike in 2017. After hitting 14 home runs from 2011-14, he popped 15 over the last two years including a career-high eight in 2016, but now has three -- along with three doubles and a triple -- through eight games to begin the current season. If Andrus is able to add 15 or so homers to his typical 25-plus steals, he could plant himself firmly in the top 10 among fantasy shortstops.

Semien went 0-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and his fourth stolen base of the season in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Royals.

The 26-year-old came into the season better known for his power and strikeouts but seems to be taking his new leadoff duties very seriously, walking eight times in nine games to begin 2017. Semien's previous career high in steals is only 11, set back in 2015, but at this rate he could blow past that mark in May. All that said, he is hitting .172 (5-for-29) and is still looking for his first homer of the campaign, so while the shortstop is providing value it's likely not coming in the form Semien's fantasy investors expected.

Motter went 3-for-4 with three doubles and a run scored in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to the Astros.

Entering the starting lineup in place of Jean Segura (hamstring), who landed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday, Motter broke out of an 0-for-7 skid to begin the season with an excellent night at the dish. Motter is expected to serve as an everyday option at shortstop until Segura returns, with manager Scott Servais indicating that Segura should be good to go in the minimum 10 days. While Motter could carry some appeal in AL-only and deeper mixed leagues, the short-term nature of his starting assignment means that fantasy owners shouldn't get overly invested in him.