MLB Player News

Swanson is unlikely to be demoted despite his poor start at the plate, Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. "He's a young player," Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said Monday. "He's very talented. He knows he belongs here. We all know he belongs here. He doesn't have the type of swing that is conducive to slumps. He's just trying a little bit too hard right now, which is normal. Every hitter goes through this. They want to get off to a really good start and when they don't you see them try to start trying a little bit too hard."

The numbers back up the idea that the young shortstop is simply having some really bad luck to begin 2017. Swanson's .173 BABIP is over 200 points below his 2016 mark in the majors, while his hard-hit ball and line-drive percentages are comparable to last year's performance. The 23-year-old may already have been dropped in shallow fantasy leagues by impatient GMs, but the Braves are still confident that hits will begin falling in for Swanson very soon, making him a potentially worthwhile player to stash on your bench if you have room to wait for his production to come around.

Owings went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and a stolen base in Monday's 7-6 win over the Padres.

The homer was his second on the season, and Owings has now driven in 13 runs to go with five stolen bases and a .319/.356/.464 slash line. The 25-year-old super-utility player is one of the more underrated fantasy commodities in baseball. He can contribute modestly in the home run and RBI departments while also providing 20-steal speed in deep mixed formats.

Seager went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a pair of walks in Sunday's win over Arizona.

The trip to Chase Field was kind to the slugging shortstop, as he went 5-for-9 with a home run and five RBI in the three-game series with Arizona, boosting his batting average north of .300 in the process. Seager has been as advertised this season, leading all major-league shortstops with 15 RBI through 19 games.

Owings is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

Owings is off to a very encouraging start to the 2017 season, but he will head to the bench Sunday against Brandon McCarthy and the Dodgers. Nick Ahmed will take over as the starting shortstop in his absence.

Baez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.

Baez had picked up starts in the Cubs' last four games, but he'll take a seat in the series finale with Ben Zobrist (back) cleared to return to the field Sunday following a two-game hiatus. Though he doesn't have a clear path to an everyday starting role, Baez's ability to play three infield spots will routinely afford him four or five starts a week, making him a safe lineup option in the majority of fantasy leagues.

Rojas left Saturday's game as a precautionary measure after feeling leg tightness, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

Adeiny Hechavarria entered the game following Rojas' departure. Rojas should be considered day-to-day heading into Sunday's series finale against the Padres. Prior to his departure, Rojas had gone 0-for-2 at the plate.

Diaz hit a solo home run in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter during Saturday's win over Milwaukee.

Diaz burst onto the scene as a freshman, and he outproduced expectations based on his pedigree. Though he's already up to four home runs and is a key cog for the Cardinals, the risk of a sophomore slump still looms, but more of the same from Diaz could put that concern to rest in a hurry.

Crawford will go on the bereavement list for three days next week, NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic reports.

The exact days he will miss have not been announced, but this will limit him to four games, at most, next week. Eduardo Nunez and Kelby Tomlinson are internal options to fill in at shortstop while Crawford is out, and top prospect Christian Arroyo will not be considered for a brief call-up.

Diaz is out of Saturday's lineup against the Brewers.

He is hitting .239 with three home runs and zero walks through 67 at-bats. Greg Garcia will get the start at shortstop and lead off against righty Chase Anderson.

Seager is out of Saturday's lineup against the Diamondbacks, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports.

The Dodgers will deploy a righty-heavy lineup with lefty Robbie Ray on the mound for Arizona. Enrique Hernandez will start at shortstop and lead off.