MLB Player News

Walker is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Dodgers.

Walker will retreat to the bench for Wednesday's series finale, while Jake Lamb, who is back from a quadriceps injury, will start in his place. It remains to be seen how playing time will shake out with Lamb healthy, but Walker's .833 OPS should still help afford him plenty of opportunities.

Smith went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Tuesday's loss to the Phillies.

After going 15 games without a homer, Smith has now gone deep in back-to-back starts. The 24-year-old is slashing .321/.419/.566 on the year with six home runs and 12 RBI in 124 plate appearances, numbers which should encourage manager Mickey Callaway to continue trying to find ways to get him into the lineup more frequently.

Gurriel went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Pirates.

Gurriel's fourth-inning homer was all the Astros needed. It was the second straight game with a home run for Gurriel, who has seven for the season and is slugging .414, 24th among 26 first basemen with at least 250 plate appearances.

Votto went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in a loss to the Angels on Tuesday.

Votto plated the first and only run of the game for the Reds in the first inning, drilling a 410-foot home run to center field. It was his second homer in as many games and fourth overall in June, matching his total in April and May combined. The 2010 NL MVP is having a down year by his standards as his slash line now sits at .261/.358/.418 in 261 at-bats.

Olson went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs in a 7-3 victory against the Cardinals on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old began the scoring with his solo shot in the second. That gives him six homers this month and 13 on the year. That's not a bad number considering Olson missed all of April. He is batting .244 with a .536 slugging percentage, 23 extra-base hits, 26 RBI and 25 runs in 168 at-bats this season.

Mountcastle will make his professional debut in the outfield Tuesday for Triple-A Norfolk, starting in left field and hitting cleanup.

It has been clear for a couple years now that Mountcastle doesn't profile anywhere on the left side of the infield, but he had been limited mostly to first base work this year, while getting practice reps in the outfield. Mountcastle may be the rare hitting prospect who breaks in as a designated hitter, but he could also retain eligibility at outfield or first base. He could make his big-league debut this summer.

Lowe is hitting .303 (10-for-33) with two home runs, eight RBI, 10 walks and five runs over his last 10 games with Triple-A Durham.

Lowe was most recently sent back down to the Bulls on June 2 after a one-day stint with the Rays. He spent nine games with the team earlier in the season and has slashed .263/.310/.316 over 42 plate appearances at the big-league level thus far in 2019. Ji-Man Choi and Avisail Garcia currently hold down first base and designated hitter duties, respectively, for the big club. That makes Durham, which affords Lowe consistent game reps, the most prudent destination for his development at the moment.

Guerrero went 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored and an RBI in Monday's loss to the Yankees.

The rookie is now hitting a solid .292 over his last 12 games, although he's not supplying the power that was expected of him (.375 SLG during that stretch). Guerrero's .255/.322/.420 so far in the majors is well below his minor-league performance, but things should click for him sooner or later.

Smith went 2-for-5 with a double, a solo home run and a second run scored in Monday's loss to the Phillies.

The homer was his fifth of the year and first since June 6, with Smith slashing a tepid .200/.314/.300 in 35 plate appearances between the long balls. Playing time remains inconsistent for the 24-year-old even with occasional starts in left field, a situation that isn't likely to change with Pete Alonso entrenched at first base.

Walker went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run, a pair of runs and a walk in the Diamondbacks' 8-5 win over the Dodgers on Monday.

Walker had cooled down after a torrid start to the season, but he's been heating back up lately, as he's now hit safely in nine straight, recording four multi-hit efforts over that span. He provided a big early blow in this contest, cranking a three-run first-inning long ball off Clayton Kershaw. The hot streak has boosted Walker's slash line up to .269/.342/.502 to go along with 14 homers and 34 RBI through 271 at-bats.