MLB Player News

Moustaskas went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in Saturday's comeback victory over the White Sox.

With all the talk surrounding Aaron Judge and his 31 home runs, you'd be hard-pressed to find many casual fans that know which AL player is ranked second behind the Yankees' rookie. Moustakas' two-homer night -- giving him three home runs in last two games -- puts him just three shots back of Judge on the season, and third overall in the majors. The third baseman's 62 RBI rank 10th in the AL, and his .566 slugging percentage ranks fifth through 87 games. Now in his seventh MLB campaign, Moustakas is having a breakout season that makes him a must-start across all formats.

Bregman went 1-for-4 with a solo homer Saturday against the Orioles.

Bregman launched his ninth homer of the campaign to open the scoring for the Astros in the fifth inning of a winning effort. His overall slash line of .263/.347/.424 doesn't look good, but he's starting to turn things around at the dish, batting .321/.424/.464 in 66 July plate appearances. His owners should take advantage while he's in a groove and park him in their lineups.

Chapman went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and two RBI in Saturday's loss to the Mets.

This was Chapman's third home run in 72 plate appearances in the majors, and after posting a .589 slugging percentage with Triple-A Nashville this year, the rookie's power upside is intriguing. Unfortunately, he also sports a concerning 36.1 strikeout percentage and underwhelming .185/.250/.415 slash line with Oakland. There is some appeal in deep leagues, but Chapman's unlikely to be a serviceable asset in the majority of settings until he shows more consistency at the dish.

Arenado went 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Friday's 13-5 loss to the Pirates.

He is completely locked in at the plate right now, and even the All-Star break didn't manage to derail Arenado's momentum. Over his last nine games, the 26-year-old is slashing an absurd .425/.439/1.025 with seven homers, 13 runs and 19 RBI.

Moncada went 1-for-4 with a triple and four RBI in Friday's extra-inning loss to the Royals.

His bases-loaded three-bagger off Ian Kennedy in the third inning staked the White Sox to a 5-1 lead, but James Shields and the bullpen couldn't hold it. Moncada has yet to strike out in two games since being called up, an encouraging sign for a player who fanned 28.3 percent of the time at Triple-A Charlotte this year.

Machado went 2-for-5 and scored twice in Friday's loss to the Astros.

Machado's sixth multi-hit game in his last 11 contests pushed his average up to .239, its highest point since early April. He's been on fire this month, going 23-for-69 (.333) with three home runs, 11 RBI and 11 runs. It's safe to say the third baseman's first-half woes are now in the rearview mirror.

Moustakas went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run during Thursday's win over Detroit.

Dating back to before the All-Star break, Moustakas had just two RBI through his previous eight games, so this was a nice outburst at the dish. He's raised his game to another level in 2017 and checks out as a high-end fantasy asset with 25 homers, 59 RBI, 46 runs and a .275/.305/.544 slash line.

Asuaje is not in the lineup Thursday against the Giants, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Asuaje has been a pleasant surprise for the Padres this season, batting .312 in the big leagues, but he'll head to the bench with southpaw Madison Bumgarner taking the hill for San Francisco on Thursday. Jose Pirela will move to the infield to replace him while Matt Szczur, Jabari Blash and Hunter Renfroe hold down the fort in the outfield.

Suarez went 2-for-3 with two solo home runs in Thursday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

Suarez accounted for all of the Reds' offense in a 12-2 blowout. The 26-year-old was in a bad way at the plate throughout most of June (.190 average, two homers), but he seems to be heating up again with five extra-base hits in his last three games. His overall numbers still look strong despite the recent funk -- his .360 OBP represents a dramatic improvement from a year ago (.317).

Newman was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.

The first-round draft pick (2015) didn't overwhelm anyone with the bat at Double-A this season, as his slash line was just .259/.310/.359. Newman was heralded as a solid middle infield prospect after mashing at the lower levels of the minor leagues, but his prospect shine has faded a bit after showing little power and posting a rough batting average in a repeat of the Double-A level.