MLB Player News

Emerging Twins rookie first baseman Kennys Vargas ran his hitting streak to begin his major league career to four games by playing the role of hero in a Tuesday night defeat of San Diego.

Vargas slammed a three-run homer in the sixth inning to provide the entire offense in the win. He is 6 for 18 with a .556 slugging percentage and has earned the cleanup spot for the Wednesday game against the Padres.

Chances are most mixed-league owners won't have reason to pick up Kennys Vargas this year. He plays the deepest position in Fantasy and wasn't a particularly high-profile prospect coming up through the Twins system.

But at 6-feet-5, 275 pounds, he looks every bit like a power hitter and made good on it with 17 home runs in only 356 at-bats at Double-A New Britain. And while he isn't exactly Joey Votto at the plate, he isn't a swing-at-everything type either. His flaws as a hitter aren't so evident that they preclude him from holding down an everyday job.

So why the lack of hype? Well, in addition to being big, he's slow. And not exactly agile. His shortcomings may confine him to a DH role long term, kind of like another big, slow, lumbering type who the Twins decided wasn't worth the trouble named David Ortiz. You think they'll make that mistake again?

Ortiz was actually Vargas' favorite player growing up, and now he's become a mentor of sorts. According to an MLB.com report from back in spring training, the two are in frequent contact, so the similarities between them go beyond just size.

Owners in AL-only leagues should have already added Vargas, and owners in mixed leauges will want to keep tabs on him as a possible Khris Davis-like sleeper for next year.

The Pirates announced Tuesday outfielder Andrew McCutchen suffered an avulsion fracture of cartilage near his left rib, but are not yet planning to place him on the disabled list.

 "We continue to evaluate Andrew’s progress and he will remain on the active roster," general manager Neal Huntington said. " We want to take the appropriate time to make the best possible decision for Andrew and for the Pirates."

McCutchen suffered the injury while swinging Sunday, one day after he was hit in the back by a pitch against the Diamondbacks. 

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas was on the bench Sunday against the Athletics for the first time in 12 games in favor of Christian Colon. Manager Ned Yost explained Tuesday to MLB Network on how he plans to handle the playing time at third base moving forward.

"It's not a strict platoon," Yost said. "Right now, we're just looking for ways to improve the offense and score more runs."

The Pirates are expected to place outfielder Andrew McCutchen on the 15-day disabled list, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He could miss 3-4 weeks due to an oblique injury, a source told the Post-Gazette.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen said that his X-rays didn't reveal anything, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

McCutchen was removed from Sunday's game with left side discomfort, and the team will know more about the extent of his injury Monday. He has hit .311/.411/.536 line with 17 home runs, 67 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 412 at-bats.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen was removed from Sunday's game with left side discomfort, the team announced.

McCutchen delivered a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game, but he was seen clutching his side on his way back to the dugout. The team replaced him in the field in the bottom half of the inning. McCutchen went 1 for 2 with a walk and an RBI before exiting, and he now owns a .311/.411/.536 line with 17 home runs, 67 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 412 at-bats.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley went 2 for 6 with a walkoff home run in his team's 4-3 win over the Rangers Sunday.

Brantley led off the bottom of the 12th inning by slugging the game-ending home run, which gave him his fourth straight multihit performance but only his first home run of the second half. He has hit .322/.382/.516 with 16 home runs, 69 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 419 at-bats.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt went 1 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 9-0 win over the Mets Sunday.

Belt made his return from the disabled list Saturday with a two-hit performance and followed up one day later with his first home run since July 5. Off to a fast start in August after a sluggish July, Belt owns a .250/.312/.471 line with 11 home runs and 24 RBI in 172 at-bats.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has been activated off the 7-day concussion disabled list and is in the lineup Saturday night against the host Mets.

Belt, who has spent about half the season sidelined by injury, hopes to gather some momentum upin his return. He had four hits in his last 25 at-bats before going down.