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Chris Owings SS | LAD
Diamondbacks' Chris Owings: Returns to lineup
Owings (head) is in the lineup Saturday against the Padres.
Owings missed a pair of games after suffering a head contusion Thursday against the Giants. He's good to go Saturday and will hit fifth while playing right field.
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Johan Camargo SS | SF
Braves' Johan Camargo: Set for first start
Camargo will make his first start of the year Saturday against the Mets.
Camargo was on the bench for his first three games since returning from an oblique injury. Ryan Flaherty has posted a 165 wRC+ as the primary third baseman in Camargo's absence, a figure more than double his career wRC+ of 78. Camargo could retake the starting role when Flaherty's numbers fall back to earth.
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J.P. Crawford SS | SEA
Phillies' J.P. Crawford: Rides pine Saturday
Crawford is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Pirates.
Scott Kingery will take over at shortstop against lefty Steven Brault as Crawford sits following five consecutive starts. The 23-year-old Crawford was showing some encouraging signs at the plate last week, but he's fallen cold again, collecting just two hits in his last 12 at-bats. He's struck out 15 times in 51 total at-bats, and if he doesn't pick it up a little bit, Crawford could find himself being the odd man out of the infield rotation more frequently.
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Javier Baez SS | DET
Cubs' Javier Baez: Stays hot Friday
Baez finished a triple short of the cycle in Friday's blowout win over the Rockies, going 4-for-6 with a double, a home run and four RBI.
Like a lot of hitters, Baez enjoyed hitting at Coors Field. The young infielder could continue to post great numbers all weekend in the thin air, as he's scorching hot at the plate. Over his past four games, Baez is 10-for-20 with two home runs and 10 RBI. Lock him into your lineup and enjoy the ride.
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Orlando Arcia SS | MIN
Brewers' Orlando Arcia: X-ray results negative
The X-rays on Arcia's right ankle injury came back negative Friday, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Arcia appeared to roll his right ankle returning to first base after an eighth-inning single and was helped off the field. The severity of the injury remains unclear at this point, but the young shortstop at least seems unlikely to play Saturday. Eric Sogard would be the favorite to step in at shortstop if Arcia is held out of the lineup.
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Orlando Arcia SS | MIN
Brewers' Orlando Arcia: Exits with ankle injury
Arcia exited Friday's game against the Marlins with a right ankle injury, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Arcia rounded first base in the eighth inning after a single and sustained the injury returning to the base as the Marlins attempted to catch him off the bag. The severity of the injury is unclear at this point, but the 23-year-old was helped off the field while putting no weight on his right leg.
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Brandon Crawford SS | STL
Giants' Brandon Crawford: Heads to bench against lefty Friday
Crawford is not in the lineup Friday against the Angels, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Crawford will head to the bench to avoid a lefty-on-lefty matchup with Angels' starter Andrew Heaney. Kelby Tomlinson will replace him at shortstop for the evening.
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Chris Owings SS | LAD
Diamondbacks' Chris Owings: Held out Friday
Owings (head) is not in the lineup for Friday's game against San Diego, Jody Jackson of Fox Sports Arizona reports.
Owings remains on the bench after suffering a head contusion during Thursday's game against San Francisco. Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports that he did pass the concussion protocol, so he will be available off the bench if needed and should be good to start future contests.
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Johan Camargo SS | SF
Braves' Johan Camargo: Still not starting
Camargo is not in the lineup Friday against the Mets.
Camargo has been back from the disabled list for three games but has yet to start a game. He's made two pinch-hit appearances, so he seems to be ready to play, but Ryan Flaherty is hitting well (.352/.453/.481 through 16 games) so the Braves are in no rush to get Camargo back into the lineup. Camargo is much younger than Flaherty, but he was never a particularly promising prospect, so the Braves won't be desperate to get him as much playing time as possible.
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J.P. Crawford SS | SEA
Phillies' J.P. Crawford: Bat heating up
Crawford is hitting .360/.407/.680 over his past eight games after starting the season with one hit in his first seven contests.
Crawford was supposed to have a solid but unspectacular bat, with most of his value coming from his glove and his on-base ability. His career numbers through his first 140 major-league plate appearances sit at .212/.319/.331. It's a slightly disappointing line but it's not terribly far from what he's expected to do. A player like Crawford, who's always had a good feel for hitting and an excellent approach, could easily add something more to his game as he matures, though, and this hot stretch could be the start of that. It's a very small sample, but the 23-year-old has been working to shorten his swing, according to The Athletic Philadelphia, so it's possible that this hot streak is just the beginning of a new and improved Crawford.