MLB Player News

Calhoun is out of the lineup for the first time Tuesday against the Rangers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Calhoun had started all of the Angels' first 11 games so far. The team faces just its second lefty of the season in Martin Perez. Chris Young starts in right field in Calhoun's place, as he seems likely to do against many lefties. Young has a 120 career wRC+ against lefties, compared to Calhoun's 101 mark.

Guerrero went 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, a walk and a career-high six RBI for Double-A New Hampshire in its 11-1 win over Trenton on Monday.

The Jays' top prospect has homered on back-to-back nights and is sitting on a .333/.417/.833 batting line through his first five games in the Eastern League, production that's rendered even more impressive by the fact he's been hitting in cold weather in the Northeast. Guerrero should eventually face some resistance at the Double-A level while he matches up against more advanced arms, but the 19-year-old's exceptional plate discipline may make him less vulnerable to the prolonged slumps most high-level power-hitting prospects often encounter.

Gurriel (hand) is expected to be activated off the disabled list for Friday's game against the Rangers, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Gurriel has been hitting up a storm for Double-A Corpus Christi while on rehabilitation assignment. He's 8-for-17 with four doubles, three RBI and three runs scored. He played both third and first base Monday and will serve as the Hooks' designated hitter Tuesday. His return will likely spell the end to J.D. Davis' stay on the major-league roster.

Kirilloff is 1-for-8 in his first two games for Low-A Cedar Rapids.

Kirlloff, the 15th overall pick in the 2016 draft, missed the 2017 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He's back to full strength as he played right field on Saturday. He should not be forgotten in dynasty leagues as he still has special offensive potential.

Cron went 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk in Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Red Sox.

Although he managed to slug a home run, Cron has struggled so far this season, as he entered Sunday's game with a dismal .167 batting average. Although most of Cron's starts this year have been as designated hitter, he will likely be in line to receive reps at first base with Brad Miller (groin) landing on the disabled list.

Olson went 1-for-3 with an RBI single, a walk and a run in Saturday's 7-3 win over the Angels.

The second-year slugger has picked it up since the calendar flipped to April, despite the fact that he's keeping nowhere near the torrid home-run pace he generated in his eye-popping rookie campaign. Olson has hit safely in five of the last six games, churning out multi-hit tallies in three of those outings. He's also driven in a run in three of the past four contests, but his pair of round trippers remain his only extra-base hits over his first 42 plate appearances of 2018.

Cron will serve as the Rays' designated hitter and bat cleanup Sunday against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It's not surprising that the Rays will leverage the platoon advantage and insert the righty-hitting Cron into their lineup with southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez starting for Boston, but it appears manager Kevin Cash may be growing comfortable with deploying Cron as an everyday player. The 28-year-old is picking up his fifth consecutive start Sunday, with two turns against right-handed pitching included among that stretch.

Gurriel (hand) played seven innings in the field during Thursday's game with Double-A Corpus Christi and will serve as the team's DH on Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Gurriel continues to work his way back from a hand injury and remains on track to return to the major-league club in a week. Upon his arrival, it's expected that Gurriel will be utilized as the Astros' primary first baseman after playing 139 games -- slashing .299/.332/.486 with 18 home runs and 75 RBI -- last season.

Olson went 0-for-4 and left six runners on base while striking out once in Thursday's loss to the Rangers.

Olson left three runners stranded in scoring position, as he was unable to record a hit for the first time in the last four games. He also struck out once, and this small sample size (10 strikeouts in 29 at-bats) suggests he hasn't improved much on his 27.8 percent strikeout rate from a year ago. Should he continuously fail to drive runs in, Olson could find himself in jeopardy of being moved down in the batting order, especially with Matt Chapman (.400/.455/.633 in 30 at-bats) on a tear to begin the year.

Cron went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in Wednesday's 7-2 loss to the Yankees.

Cron opened the scoring with his first-inning two-bagger that plated Kevin Kiermaier. The 28-year-old has gotten his Rays career off to a slow start overall, going 3-for-16 with a pair of doubles in the five games he's seen action in. He has hit safely in each of his last three starts, however, potentially a sign that he's beginning to come around.