MLB Player News

It's nice to see Royals catcher Salvador Perez stringing together hits. Many Fantasy owners took a big stake in Perez during the preseason and have yet to see the rewards, so for Perez to provide a promising batting average is encouraging.

While Perez is batting .338 (23 for 68) in his last 19 games, I still caution Fantasy owners to keep expectations in check. As I wrote in the preseason, I didn't believe in Perez's home run numbers early in his MLB career and I still don't. Perez was more of a gap hitter in the minors and his 13.1 percent home run to fly ball ratio last season, per FanGraphs.com, was definitely high for him. This season, Perez's HR/FB ratio is 5.6 percent, which is definitely closer to what can be expected.

Perez can be serviceable as a low-end starter in deep mixed leagues. But I'm not shocked by his lack of power through the first month of the season.

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart smacked his second home run of the season on Saturday afternoon during a 4-2 win over Oakland. Stewart went 1 for 3 and is batting .275.

Stewart went deep off starter Bartolo Colon in the third inning for a solo shot. He has homered twice in his last 10 games with four RBI over that span. Stewart has four RBI this year. He is the team's every-day catcher with Francisco Cervelli injured and Austin Romine not yet ready to see consistent starts. 

Royals catcher Salvador Perez is starting to heat up at the plate, posting two straight multi-hit games for the first time this season. However, he has struck out 19 times in 93 plate appearances after totalling just 27 strikeouts in 305 plate appearances last season.

Perez has hit .278/.290/.378 with a 19:1 K:BB ratio this season.

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart was a little underwhelming in his first weekend as New York's starting catcher. Stewart, who was given Monday off with Austin Romine making his first start, went just 1 for 7 in two games. 

Stewart struck out twice and singled for his only hit against Toronto pitching. He was 1 for 9 with two walks and three Ks in the series overall. Stewart is batting .267 for the year with a homer and one RBI. 

The Indians recalled catcher Yan Gomes from Triple-A Columbus Sunday after placing catcher Lou Marson on the 15-day disabled list with a sore right shoulder. Gomes hit .211 (4 for 19) in six games for Cleveland before his demotion Wednesday.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez finally got on the board Saturday against the Indians after not hitting a home run in his first 19 games. He launched a two-run bomb off starter Scott Kazmir in the second inning and finished 1 for 4 in the 3-2 win.

Perez is batting .273 with eight RBI.

Yankees backup catcher Chris Stewart has been a pleasant surprise in a limited role, but he will likely be asked to carry a much heavier burden for at least the next month. Starter Francisco Cervelli went down Friday with a fractured right hand, an injury that will cost him at least six weeks after surgery.

The Yankees will likely make a move to fill in the backup spot, but Stewart should get the first crack at the starting role, thanks to his .333 batting average so far. Despite entering a larger role, Stewart is unlikely to make much of an impact for Fantasy owners. He is a career .223 hitter, with five home runs in 372 at-bats. He is playing for his glove, not his bat, and most Fantasy leagues don't reward for caught stealing and pitches successfully blocked in the dirt.

Everyday at-bats will likely expose Stewart as incapable of handling a large share of the catching duties, and it would not be a surprise if he is eventually backing up former top prospect Austin Romine before long. Beyond deep, two-catcher, AL-only Fantasy formats, Stewart is likely not worth your time. 

Royals catcher Salvador Perez has yet to hit a home run this season in 19 games played. He's hitting .274/.280/.356 in 75 plate appearances.

Perez homered in his first game of 2012 en route to hitting 11 home runs in 305 plate appearances, and he had multiple home runs in June, July, August and September of last season. He'll attempt to notch his first homer of 2013 in this weekend's series against the Indians.

The Indians optioned catcher Yan Gomes to Triple-A Columbus Wednesday after activating catcher Lou Marson (neck) off the disabled list. Gomes hit .211 (4 for 19) with one triple, two home runs and three RBI in six games.

Yan Gomes received the start behind the plate for the Indians in Sunday's series finale against the Astros and had a productive day at the plate. He went 2 for 4 with a home run in the 5-4 win.

Gomes launched a solo shot off starter Erik Bedard in his first at-bat before leading off the fourth inning with a triple.

The 25-year-old is batting .211 with two homers and three RBI through 19 at-bats.