MLB Player News

Turner went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo homers, walk and stolen base in Saturday's 7-3 loss to the Braves.

The dynamic leadoff man continues to terrorize pitching around the majors and was the only member of the Nationals line to have an impact Saturday. He led off the game with a 374-foot solo shot to left and followed up with a 389-foot encore in the fifth to get Washington to within 3-2. Turner has five multi-hit outings in his last six games and 10 overall in what has been an outstanding September so far. He also has three homers in his last pair of contests and is now slashing .356/.377/.585 in 253 at-bats.

Crawford was moved down to sixth in the batting order Friday, going 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in an 8-2 win over St. Louis.

Crawford had spent some time over the past couple of weeks batting cleanup for a struggling Giants offense. He didn't play his way out of the role; Hunter Pence and Brandon Belt have just been swinging hot bats of late, affording manager Bruce Bochy the luxury of putting his core pieces back in their usual lineup slots. Moving out of the cleanup spot is never a positive for a player's fantasy value, but Crawford accrued the majority of his 80 RBI batting fifth, sixth or seventh this season, so his value won't take a big dip, especially with so many solid on-base options batting in front of the All-Star shortstop.

Gordon went 3-for-7 with a double, two stolen bases and a run in Friday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Phillies.

The speedy second baseman extended his hitting streak to eight games with the multihit effort, his third over the last four games. Gordon has also swiped five bags over the last two contests, with a double and triple over that span as well. The recent success has certainly been a welcome sight, but his September line still stands at a mediocre .237/.250/.322.

Arcia went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in Friday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Cubs.

His 428-foot solo shot in the second off John Lackey opened the scoring on the afternoon, the 22-year-old's second round-tripper of September. Arcia has hit safely in three of his last four games and has three RBI over his last two contests. Despite a much better month to date than his dismal .189/.260/.305 August, Arcia is still hitting just .219 over rhe first 146 at-bats of his major league career.

Turner went 4-for-5 with two RBI, a home run, two stolen bases and four runs scored.

Turner has been the catalyst for a Nats offense that has come alive over the second half after a lackluster first. A player who can hit for power, run, steal bases and play defense will always will always find a good home in fantasy lineups.

Crawford (knee) underwent arthroscopic surgery Wednesday but is expected to be fully ready for the start of spring training, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

According to Zolecki, Crawford had surgery to remove a loose body from his left knee. He'll be on the shelf for roughly one month before he can resume baseball activities. Fortunately, the timing of Crawford's surgery won't affect his availability for the start of spring training.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Giants.

Jedd Gyorko gets the nod at shortstop Thursday against San Francisco's Johnny Cueto in place of Diaz. The recently activated Diaz had played in three straight games since coming off the DL on Monday after missing more than a month with a fractured thumb. Diaz could return to the lineup Friday when the Cardinals face left-hander Matt Moore.

Gordon went 2-for-5 and scored twice in Wednesday's victory over the Braves.

Despite riding a seven-game hitting streak, Gordon's September average is a lowly .208. Although he typically isn't depended on to drive in runs, the speedster has failed to register a single RBI in 53 at-bats this month. On the bright side, Gordon has scored four runs over his last three games.

Diaz hit his 15th homer, a two-run shot, in a 2-for-2 game with a walk Tuesday against the Cubs.

In his first start back in the lineup after missing 37 games with a thumb injury, Diaz looked healthy as ever. Despite the time he has missed, Diaz still ranks 16th among major league shortstops with 15 home runs. His power has been one of the biggest surprises of the season, and if he can keep bringing it in September, it could be just the catalyst the Cardinals need to survive the National League Wild Card race.

Diaz is back in the starting lineup Tuesday, batting eighth and playing shortstop.

Diaz was activated off the disabled list Sunday, but this will be his first start since coming off the disabled list. It's unclear how the Cardinals plan to distribute playing time down the stretch considering the recent success Greg Garcia, Jedd Gyorko, and Kolten Wong have all been having, but that should become clearer as the month rolls along.