MLB Player News

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford continued his recent hot hitting ways in Wednesday's series finale against the Diamondbacks. He went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBI in a 3-2 loss.

The 26-year-old singled to lead off the fifth inning before driving in Gregor Blanco with a double in the seventh. Then in the bottom of the ninth with his team trailing by one, Crawford launched a game-tying, solo shot off David Hernandez. It was his fourth long ball.

Crawford is batting .320 (24 for 75) with 10 RBI.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford made his 22nd consecutive start on Wednesday against the Diamondbacks as he and Hunter Pence have been the only two players to start every game for San Francisco.

He entered the contest batting .296 with eight homers and eight RBI through 71 at-bats.

"A couple of years ago I was in and out of the lineup," Crawford told MLB.com. "Last year I was in there a lot of the time then kind of toward the end I started getting platooned. Being in there every day, it's good for the confidence, it's good for getting into a little rhythm."

Manager Bruce Bochy added that he hopes the 26-year-old sees more than 150 starts this season.

"He's our shortstop. He's a very gifted shortstop," Bochy said. "He's young. He can handle it, going out there every day. This is part of being an everyday regular player, especially when you're the shortstop. Those guys usually run out there more than anybody."

Mets manager Terry Collins moved Ruben Tejada into the leadoff spot Tuesday against the Dodgers for the first time this season. In 87 career games as a leadoff hitter, Tejada is batting .286 with a homer, 21 doubles, 21 walks, 25 RBI, 39 runs and three stolen bases.

Tejada enters Tuesday in a 0-for-11 slump, dropping his season average from .271 to .220.

Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada went 0 for 3 in his return to the starting lineup during a 2-0 win over Washington on Sunday. Tejada, who was held out of the lineup for the first time Saturday because of a minor ankle issue, is now 0 for 11 in his past four games to drop his batting average to .220.

The 23-year-old also made a nifty stop to his left in the seventh inning to retire Kurt Suzuki -- an encouraging sign as he is currently tied for the major-league lead with six errors.

Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada (ankle, foot) returned to the lineup for Sunday's series finale against Washington after missing his first start of the season the previous day for precautionary reasons. Tejada rolled his ankle during Friday's game and was limited to pinch-hitting duties during Saturday's loss.

Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada made a pinch-hitting appearance Saturday against the Nationals. The 23-year-old drew a walk and scored a run in the fourth inning.

Tejada, who rolled his ankle Friday, is expected to be available Sunday.

"I'm good," Tejada said to MLB.com. "They made the decision to keep me out of the starting lineup today. But I'm ready if they need me to play defense, pinch-hit, something like that. I'm ready to play."

Scott White posted Friday that he is not a believer in  Brandon Crawford's apparent breakout so far this season for the Giants.

Crawford has been one of the five best shortstops in all of Fantasy through the first three weeks of the season, thanks to a .328 batting average, three home runs and 12 runs scored.

Are there any signs that point to him sustaining this success?

Crawford has shown an improved eye at the plate, walking in 9.1 percent of his plate appearances and striking out in 16.7 percent. Both of which are better than his career norms and have helped him to a .328 batting average and .409 on-base percentage.

Unfortunately, he is also fueled by a .364 batting average on balls in play that he almost certainly will not be able to sustain. However, he does have a solid 21.3 percent line drive rate that indicates he is making good contact.

If Crawford can sustain his refined approach at the plate, he may be able to keep a solid batting average, but the biggest place he is likely to fall off is in the power department.

After entering the season with just seven home runs in 631 at bats at the major-league level, he already has three in 58 at bats. Usually, an increase in home runs can be explained by a batter making a more concerted effort to put the ball in the air, but that has not been the case thus far for Crawford. He has hit a career-low 27.7 percent of his batted balls in the air, a sure sign that this power spike is not sustainable.

White's skepticism regarding Crawford seems justified, so Fantasy owners who are rushing out to grab him (added in 42 percent of leagues over the last week) should know that this is likely as good as it gets for the 26-year-old. 

Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada missed his first game of the season Saturday against Washington because of a foot/ankle injury he suffered the previous night, ESPN.com reports. Tejada, who has played in all 15 games this season to produce a .232 batting average, said he was held out as a precaution and was available to serve as a pinch hitter.

Brandon Crawford's third home run Thursday put him one off his career high and made him the No. 3 shortstop in standard Head-to-Head leagues so far this season, behind only Jed Lowrie and Troy Tulowitzki. Yet as much as I'd like to believe it's at least halfway legitimate, I don't see any evidence of it.

I've scoured the Internet looking for explanations but can't find anything concrete. Some sources point to his improvement in the second half last year, but he still produced only a .697 OPS then, which would relegate him to the bench for just about any other team. Apart from the heavy-hitting California League, where his numbers were as silly as everyone else's, his OPS was right around .700 throughout his minor-league career as well. I'm thinking that's who he is.

For now, I'm dismissing his early-season production as an aberration, but I'd love to hear any theories suggesting otherwise.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford responded positively to being moved up to fifth in the batting order Thursday against the Brewers. Crawford led the offensive charge in a 7-2 loss, going 3 for 4 with a solo home run, a double and two runs.

Crawford is batting .354 (11 for 31) with three home runs and seven RBI in nine career games at Miller Park. Crawford extended his hitting streak to 11 games Thursday. He's batting .432 (16 for 37) with three doubles, three home runs and seven RBI during the streak.