MLB Player News

Altuve went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Mariners. It was his first RBI of the season.

The entire Astros team broke out Tuesday with 14 hits off Seattle pitching. Altuve had been the poster child of the team's low-wattage offense but is showing recent signs of life. After striking out eight times in the first five games, the perennial All-Star and MVP candidate has struck out just once over the last four games while going 5-for-16 with three walks and two stolen bases.

Espinosa went 3-for-5 with a solo home run in a comeback victory over the Rangers on Tuesday.

The veteran's homer sparked a three-run rally off of Rangers closer Sam Dyson that pushed the game into extra innings. The three-hit performance saw Espinosa's batting average jump from .130 to .214. The 29-year-old has historically been an all-or-nothing power hitter, and he has done nothing to shake that label with his new club. As long as fantasy owners can stomach his low-200s batting average, it is tough to find a cheaper source of 20-homer potential from a middle infielder.

Andrus picked up a double, a homer and two runs in five at-bats Tuesday against Anaheim.

Always better known for his wheels than his lumber, Andrus is coming off his finest offensive season, as he set career bests in average (.302), OBP (.362) and slugging (.439) last year. We're still waiting for him to take off running (zero steal attempts so far), but the bat hasn't slumbered at all -- he's racked up six extra-base hits, including a pair of homers, in seven games.

Motter is starting at shortstop and hitting ninth in Tuesday's game against Houston, Shannon Drayer of MyNorthwest.com reports.

Jean Segura was placed on the disabled list Tuesday with a strained hamstring, so Seattle turned to Motter to fill in. Motter's major-league experience has been fairly limited to this point. Over the past two seasons, he's played in 38 games and slashed .174/.280/.279.

Mathias (shoulder) is expected to be out until early May, MLB.com's Mike Rosenbaum reports.

He suffered a dislocated left shoulder and a slight tear in his labrum while diving for a groundball in a Cactus League game on March 11, and while he has avoided surgery, rehabbing the injury will take at least four weeks. Mathias is a gifted hitter with excellent plate skills (87:48 K:BB in 115 games at High-A last year), and has a chance to be an average everyday second baseman at the big-league level. He is expected to report to Double-A Akron when healthy.

Polanco is starting at shortstop and hitting third Tuesday against the Tigers, the Star Tribune's Phil Miller reports.

This is a new look lineup, as Polanco has hit fifth, sixth and seventh so far this season. However, he is one of the Twins' only hitters who is off to a hot start at the plate (.389/.450/.667), and has a career .346/.385/.568 line in 91 career plate appearances against lefties, making him a prime option in the three hole against southpaw Matt Boyd.

Chavis was placed on the 7-day disabled list at High-A Salem after sustaining an elbow injury, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Chavis' 2016 campaign was derailed by a thumb injury, but the Red Sox don't seem to fear that the elbow issue will cast a major pall on his status for the current season. Assuming the injury proves to be the short-term concern the Red Sox believe it is, Chavis could return to action in late April and reassert himself as one of the organization's top corner-infield prospects.

Polanco went 2-for-4 with a home run in Sunday's win over the White Sox. He's hitting .389 (7-for-18) through five games this season.

Polanco's strong first week to the season should ease any concerns he could lose playing time to Eduardo Escobar. However, Polanco's glove may ultimately decide if he'll stick as Minnesota's everyday shortstop.

Andrus will start at shortstop and bat second in the order in Sunday's game against the Athletics.

The Rangers are facing a left-handed starter (Sean Manaea) for the first time all season. Manager Jeff Banister will alter his lineup a bit by moving up Andrus, who had previously occupied either the eighth or ninth spot in the lineup, and sending the lefty-hitting Shin-Soo Choo to the bench. The more favorable placement should afford more run-scoring and base-stealing opportunities to Andrus, giving him a higher ceiling as a DFS play than he normally would against right-handed pitching.

Altuve went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Friday's 5-1 loss to the Royals. It was his fourth multi-strikeout effort in five games.

When Altuve didn't strike out Friday, he hit into two double plays. Through five games, Houston's three-hole hitter is 3-for-21 with eight strikeouts and three GIDP. The strikeouts really stand out -- he had just seven games all last season with multiple strikeouts. April hasn't typically been a poor month for Altuve, who has a 10-percent strikeout rate in 309 April at-bats over the last three seasons.