MLB Player News

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.

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.