MLB Player News

The return of Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper has pushed Anthony Rendon down in the lineup.

With Harper back, Jayson Werth moves to the two-spot. Rendon has been pushed down to seventh against Brewers pitcher Yovani Gallardo. Rendon has also been mired in an 0-for-17 slump, which may have prompted the move. 

Rendon is hitting .310/.360/.431 in 116 at-bats. 

Nationals rookie infielder Anthony Rendon put an end to a 0-for-17 slump with a two-run double in the eighth inning of Sunday's 13-2 rout of the Mets. Rendon finished 1 for 5 with one run scored and two strikeouts.

Despite the mini-slide, Rendon capped June batting .330 (30 for 91) with one home run, seven RBI, 10 doubles and 12 runs in 22 games.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez continued his impressive June performance Saturday by going 1 for 3 and hitting his 20th homer of the season in his a 2-1 win over the Brewers.

The homer was Alvarez's 10th in June, giving him a .330/.402/.725 line in 91 at-bats in the month. The elite numbers have brought his season line from .198/.258/.401 on June 1 to .247/.310/.522 with 20 home runs and 53 RBI in 251 at-bats.

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura made a rare appearance in the third spot of the batting order Thursday, going 1 for 4 and scoring a run against the Cubs in a 7-2 loss.

It was Segura's second time batting third this season, with the other coming April 7. He has a 10-game hitting streak and has hit .332/.364/.521 in 307 at-bats.

Nationals second baseman Anthony Rendon pushed his hitting streak to six games Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, tying a season high with three hits. Rendon has five multi-hit games during his hitting streak.

Rendon is batting .462 (12 for 26) with three doubles in his last six games. He has gone 10 games without a home run or RBI, but Rendon is batting .392 (29 for 74) with a .554 slugging percentage and .970 OPS in 18 games since his early June recall.

"He’s swung the bat like a veteran," manager Davey Johnson said, per MLB.com. "He’s hit every pitch that’s thrown up there at him. He’s got a quick bat and he’s aggressive, he hits all types of pitches."

When DJ LeMahieu inherited the starting job at second base for the Rockies just over a month ago, I doubted he could hold down a regular role. With Josh Rutledge back with the club and filling in at shortstop while Troy Tulowitzki (rib) is on the disabled list, it may still seem like only a matter of time before LeMahieu gets squeezed out of the lineup, particularly when Tulowitzki returns.

Not only is Rutledge struggling, but LeMahieu is making a strong case to hold down the keystone position. Just as he's done in the minors, LeMahieu is hitting for average, batting .291, and he's made good on all nine of his stolen base attempts. There's actually room for LeMahieu to improve his batting average, as he is striking out at a much higher rate than he had in the minors. Meanwhile, he rarely pops out and uses his speed to maintain a high batting average on balls in play. LeMahieu could actually maintain his .351 BABIP and inch his batting average above .300.

Over the last 28 days, LeMahieu ranks 11th among second basemen in standard Rotisserie and Head-to-Head value. Though he doesn't walk or homer much, LeMahieu can continue to help enough with average and steals to be worth starting in far more than 18 percent of the Fantasy leagues on CBSSports.com.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez has been named the National League player of the week. 

Alvarez hit .414 with a .452 on-base percentage. He clubbed four home runs. Alvarez is hitting .237/.303/.513 in 236 at-bats. He's hit 19 home runs. 

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez continued to swing a red-hot bat as he homered for the fourth time in as many days Sunday afternoon against the Angels. 

Alvarez, who was bumped to the No. 3 slot in the order, unleashed a solo home run in the first inning. He added a double and finished 2 for 5 with two runs scored and an RBI in a 10-9 win in extras.

It Alvarez's his fourth consecutive multi-hit game. He is hitting .563 (9 for 16) with three doubles, four homers and eight RBI during that span. He has hit safely in each of his last eight games. He is hitting .237 with 19 homers and 51 RBI in 236 at-bats.

Nationals second baseman Anthony Rendon went 2 for 5 with one strikeout and one double Sunday against the Rockies. It was his ninth double.

Rendon had his third multi-hit game in his last four starts and eighth multi-hit game since his early June recall. Rendon is batting .369 (24 for 65) with one home run, five RBI and eight doubles in 16 games since his recall.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado hit his sixth home run of the season in his team's 7-1 win over the Nationals Saturday. It was his only hit in four at-bats.

Arenado has turned things around after a sluggish May, hitting .286/.318/.476 with two home runs and 10 RBI in 84 at-bats this month. Saturday's home run was his second on the road, where he's hit just .234/.273/.340 in 94 at-bats.