MLB Player News

Olson went 1-for-4 with a solo homer, two walks and two runs in Thursday's win over the Tigers.

The 27-year-old smashed his second home run of the year off Buck Farmer in the fifth inning. Olson is currently slashing .235/.357/.441 -- an improvement over last season's miserable .195/.310/.424 line, but still a far cry from what we saw from him in the last three full MLB campaigns. That said, he's trimmed his strikeout rate and is still drawing walks at a healthy clip, so there's cause for optimism here.

Guerrero went 3-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs in a loss to the Royals on Thursday.

He smoked a solo shot off Kyle Zimmer in the seventh inning, launching the ball a whopping 456 feet. It was the third of the year for the prodigal 22-year-old, who's currently slashing .413/.526/.674 in 2021. He's picked up multiple hits in six of the last eight games, a span in which he's driven home eight runs.

Kirilloff was returned to the Twins' alternate training site Thursday.

Kirilloff made his regular-season debut for the Twins as the 27th man for Wednesday's doubleheader against Boston and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout while appearing in both games of the twin bill. The 23-year-old could return to the major-league club on a more long-term basis in the near future, but he'll head back to the team's alternate camp in St. Paul for now.

Olson (thumb) is starting Thursday's game against the Tigers.

Olson sat out Tuesday's series finale against the Diamondbacks due to a bruised left thumb, but he'll start at first base and bat fifth against Detroit on Thursday. He's off to a cold start this season, slashing .226/.324/.355 with a home run and six RBI in nine games.

Calhoun isn't starting Thursday's game against the Nationals.

Calhoun went 1-for-5 with a run and three strikeouts in Tuesday's loss to Oakland. He'll take a seat for the second time in the last four games with Pavin Smith starting in right field Thursday, batting sixth.

Gurriel went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two walks in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to Detroit.

The first baseman continued his phenomenal start to 2021, as he now boasts a .429 average with five RBI, 11 walks and only four strikeouts. Gurriel appears to have returned to form after an underwhelming 2020 campaign, again resembling the player who hit .298 with 31 homers two years ago. The 36-year-old has long gone under the radar as a strong offensive contributor, largely due to sharing a lineup with the likes of Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa, among others, but if the first two weeks are any indication, Gurriel is on his way to a stellar offensive campaign.

Solano went 2-for-3 in Wednesday's 3-0 win over Cincinnati.

The infielder is now hitting .353 in the young season, but he only has three RBI and is slugging just .412. Solano has started just two of San Francisco's last five games, and it appears the 33-year-old will not be the everyday starter at second base in 2021. His lack of base-stealing prowess and power potential will keep his numbers modest, but as long as Solano continues making contact at a high rate, he'll hold legitimate fantasy value in deeper formats.

White will sit for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Orioles.

White was sidelined for three games last week while dealing with a quadriceps issue. He returned to start the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday before sitting for the nightcap. It's likely that he'll return to the lineup for the evening game this time around.

Smith went 3-for-5 with an RBI in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Phillies.

It's the first multi-hit performance of the year for the 25-year-old, who's managed only five total hits over his first six games. That was still enough to boost Smith's batting average to .286 (8-for-28) and he has produced solid power numbers with two homers and six RBI, but his 0:11 BB:K is a cause for concern.

Lowe went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday against the Rays.

Lowe smacked three home runs in his first five games with the Rangers, but he collected just one hit in his next 21 at-bats prior to the Wednesday's game. He snapped that cold spell by crushing a leadoff homer in the second inning for his fourth long ball of the season. Lowe also missed a golden opportunity for more production four frames later by grounding into a double play with the bases loaded and no outs. Through 50 plate appearances this season, Lowe is hitting .239/.300/.522 with four home runs, 15 RBI and six runs scored. However, to maintain that level of production, he'll need to cut back on his 36 percent strikeout rate.