MLB Player News

Alonso went 1-for-5 with a three-run homer in Monday's 7-3 win over Miami.

Alonso's home run, the first of his career, gave the Mets a four-run cushion after entering the ninth inning all tied up at 3-3. The highly-touted prospect is 7-for-17 with four extra-base hits to start his MLB career. He's absolutely worth a roster spot in all fantasy leagues right now.

Smith will draw the start at first base Tuesday against the Marlins, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Smith is 1-for-3 with two RBI, a walk and a run scored through the first three games of the season, and manager Mickey Callaway will elect to insert Smith's left-handed bat into the starting lineup with Jose Urena (knee) slated to toe the rubber for the opposition. Pete Alonso will likely take a seat as a result.

Manager Don Mattingly said Cooper underwent an MRI that revealed a mild left calf strain, Andre Fernandez of The Athletic reports.

Cooper suffered the injury over the weekend and was sent to the IL as a result. The 28-year-old said he isn't expected to resume baseball activities for a few weeks, suggesting his stay on the shelf could last more than a month. Peter O'Brien, who has started in right field each of the past two games, looks poised to fill in for Cooper for the time being.

Guerrera (oblique) has been taking at-bats in extended spring training games and looks good, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Guerrero is working his way back from an oblique strain, but it doesn't appear as though he'll miss much time. He's expected to spend a couple weeks in the minors as the Blue Jays wait to promote him until they secure an extra year of team control.

Arias will begin the 2019 season at High-A Lake Elsinore, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Arias will advance another rung on the minor-league ladder after playing exclusively at Low-A Fort Wayne in 2018. While Arias' .654 OPS and 29.6 percent strikeout rate over 504 plate appearances wasn't anything to write home about, his numbers were far more impressive after considering that he was the youngest full-time player in the Midwest League.

Moutncastle, who is opening at Triple-A Norfolk, will see significant time at first base this season, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

He hit .297/.341/.464 with 13 home runs and a 121 wRC+ in 102 games at Double-A last year, so the assignment to Triple-A makes sense. Mountcastle's defense (particularly his below-average throwing arm) has always been his biggest weakness, so the transition to first base also makes sense. He could reach the majors this summer.

Kirilloff (wrist) will open the year on the injured list at Double-A Pensacola, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.

He sustained the injury late in spring training, but is expected to return to the field sometime in April. Kirilloff is expected to start seeing time at first base this year -- a sensible solution to a perceived logjam on the organizational outfield depth chart.

Tellez accounted for all the Blue Jays' offense in Sunday's extra-innings loss to the Tigers, hitting a pinch hit three-run home run in the eighth inning.

His first blast of the year, a 395-foot shot to right-center, came off perennial Tigers closer-of-the-future Joe Jimenez. Tellez doesn't have an everyday role right now as the Jays use their DH spot to keep other players fresh, and he could lose his roster spot entirely when Vlad Guerrero Jr. gets his inevitable promotion, but if he keeps flashing his power he'll make it tough for manager Charlie Montoyo to take him out of the lineup.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Brewers on Sunday.

Goldschmidt extended the Cardinals' lead to 4-1 with a monster 445-foot shot to center in the fifth inning. The 31-year-old has hit safely in three straight games, with the highlight of that early season streak his three-homer barrage last Friday. With seven RBI in the season-opening series, Goldschmidt unsurprisingly already looks like one of the most pivotal components of the Cardinals lineup just four games into his tenure.

Alonso went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double and an RBI in Sunday's loss to the Nationals.

The rookie hasn't yet connected on his first big-league homer, but he's done just about everything else, going 6-for-12 with three doubles and three RBI in his first three games with the Mets. Alonso's spot in the two hole gives him tremendous fantasy upside even in re-draft formats, so while there will probably be growing pains ahead, he should be a lineup fixture until big-league pitchers start to figure him out.