MLB Player News

Albies is not in the lineup for Sunday's series finale at Miami, David O'Brien of The Athletic Atlanta reports.

Albies started the last 11 games at second base for the Braves, but slashed a horrid .163/.217/.163 in that stretch. Charlie Culberson will start at the keystone Sunday and bat sixth as Albies gets a day to clear his head.

Lowe will start in right field and bat eighth Sunday against the Red Sox, Steve Carney of Sports Radio 620 WDAE reports.

It's the third consecutive start and fifth in six games for Lowe, who has seen his playing time spike with Mallex Smith (infection) on the disabled list and the Rays making Carlos Gomez less of a priority in the lineup. Lowe has rewarded the Rays with a .563 on-base percentage over the last five games and should benefit from steady at-bats so long as he continues to draw walks with regularity. His usefulness in traditional 5x5 formats has been more limited, however, as Lowe is hitting .195 with no home runs and one steal through his first 50 plate appearances in the big leagues.

Chavis went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, two RBI and three runs scored for Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday.

Chavis is off to a quick start in his first stint at the Triple-A level. He's played two games for the PawSox, homering in both while collecting five extra-base hits in nine at-bats. There was some surprise about his production in 2017, when he jumped from a struggling minor-league hitter to one with a .910 OPS and 31 homers in 126 games. Surprise turned to questions when he was slapped with an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs in the spring, but the power surge has continued. Chavis has a 1.007 OPS with nine home runs in 40 games this season. We expect the Red Sox to have Chavis start 2019 at Pawtucket and get him more time at first base, a position of uncertainty beginning in 2020.

Altuve was hit on the left elbow by a fastball Saturday, but remained in the game, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Altuve was in noticeable pain after getting plunked in the seventh inning, but managed to stay in the game and was part of a four-run outburst in the eighth inning. That he returned to the game is a positive sign, but we need to see how the elbow responds the next day.

Frazier went 1-for-2 with a walk, a three-run homer and an additional run scored in Saturday's win over the Brewers.

Frazier walked in his first at-bat before busting the game open in the eighth inning with the homer. The 26-year-old now has four hits and five RBI over the past two games, and he's hitting a solid .339/.400/.597 across 19 games this month. Frazier could be in line for some increased playing time if Josh Harrison, who exited Saturday's game with hamstring tightness, is forced to miss any time.

Merrifield went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI against the Indians on Saturday.

Merrifield drove in one run on an RBI single against Corey Kluber in the third inning and followed that up with an RBI double in the seventh inning. He had a 12-game hitting streak snapped Friday but now has hits in 13 of his last 14 games, which has pushed his batting average up to .306 for the season. That's good enough for eighth in the American League, and he also ranks second in stolen bases with 28.

Rosario went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Nationals.

He blasted his seventh homer of the season to center field in the sixth inning, breaking open a scoreless tie. Rosario has posted improved numbers in August, hitting .273 with three home runs and six steals in 21 games, but the 22-year-old's .244/.287/.370 slash line on the season still limits his usefulness to deeper fantasy formats.

Lowe went 2-for-2 with an RBI single, two walks, a stolen base and two runs in a win over the Red Sox on Friday.

Lowe may be starting to figure out this whole big-league thing after a slow start, at least if his last few games are any indication. The rookie churned out his second multi-hit effort in as many starts Friday, even contributing his first major-league stolen base in the process. Lowe profiled well offensively at Triple-A Durham this season, particularly on the power front, racking up 28 extra-base hits (including 14 home runs) over 205 plate appearances. He's yet to get going on that front against major-league arms, but the .613 slugging percentage he generated during his time with the Bulls offers a glimpse of his upside in that department.

Frazier went 3-for-7 with a walk, a double, a run scored and two RBI in Friday's 7-6 extra-innings loss to the Brewers.

He continues to rake when given the chance -- Frazier's got a .357/.413/.589 slash line with two homers, 10 RBI and 10 runs in 17 games -- but only 11 starts -- this month. The Bucs aren't scheduled to face a left-hander until the Marlins come to town in the first week of September, and with Josh Harrison (hamstring) at less than 100 percent, Frazier could see an uptick in his playing time.

Altuve went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, a double and two runs scored in Houston's 9-3 victory over the Angels on Friday.

It was the first long ball in three games for Altuve since he came off the disabled list with a knee injury, giving him 10 on the season. He looks healthy and ready to build on the fantastic .329/.391/.469 slash line he's posted through 420 at-bats in 2018.