MLB Player News

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve went 0 for 4 with a walk while batting cleanup in his team's 1-0, extra-innings loss to the Rangers Friday.

Altuve has appeared in the third and fourth spots of the order primarly while also batting second one, and he had performed well before Friday's hitless game. He owns a .268/.348/.366 line with five RBI and three stolen bases in 41 at-bats.

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham was not in the lineup again for the Birmingham Barons on Thursday due to pain in his strained left oblique. However, he could be back in action for the Double-A affiliate in the next few days, MLB.com reports.

"There's a chance he returns in the next few days," said general manager Rick Hahn said. "He was re-evaluated by our doctor in Birmingham.

There's no denying Yankees rookie infielder Yangervis Solarte is locked in at the plate. Solarte is batting .429 (12 for 28) with seven RBI through eight games and also leads the league in doubles (six).

"He's hitting everything," Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long told NJ.com. "Right now, when you find a guy who's in this kind of zone, you're not going to find many holes. He's hitting everything. Fastballs up. Fastballs down. Fastballs away.

"He's doing damage. He's recognizing pitches. There just seems to be no deficiencies right- or left-handed."

Long added he's been particularly impressed with Solarte's patience at the plate and his ability to mostly swing at strikes.

"This has been going on since Feb. 23," Long said. "This has been a long period of time that he's swung the bat well. Just now it's the consistency that he brings day in and day out."

The loss of second baseman Omar Infante to a sprained jaw has prompted the Royals to promote Johnny Giavotella from Triple-A Omaha. Giovatella is set to start at second base Wednesday against Tampa Bay.

White Sox infielder Marcus Semien went 4 for 5 with a double, a walk, two runs, two RBI and a stolen base in his team's 15-3 win over the Rockies Tuesday.

Semien has been struggling at the plate and needs to put some quality performances on tape to keep a regular starting job once the infield gets healthy. Tuesday's performance helped, though he may not get full credit on a Colorado night in which nearly all the White Sox hitters were raking. Semien has hit .243/.300/.378 with one home run in 37 at-bats.

It's been a fun ride for Yangervis Solarte. Nobody had even heard of him prior to last week, when he scored 21.5 Fantasy points, good for fifth among third basemen. And the four ahead of him? Try Casey McGehee, Trevor Plouffe, Evan Longoria and Todd Frazier.

I say that not to hype any of those four but to emphasize how little we can gather from one week of data. Of those four, only Longoria is projected to be a significant Fantasy contributor. We know exactly who McGehee and Plouffe are, and though their potential for 15-plus homers with regular playing time gives them some NL- and AL-only appeal, it won't keep them from tumbling down the rankings in the weeks ahead.

In terms of ability, Solarte is much closer to them than someone like Longoria or even Frazier. It's why no one had heard of him prior to last week and why he's just now sniffing the majors at age 26. He showed modest pop in the minors, enough that he could maybe hit 15 homers over a full season, but unlike McGehee and Plouffe, his playing time hinges on other players' health. Right now, he's filling in for Mark Teixeira.

It's another Zoilo Almonte situation. Like Solarte, he got off to an impossibly good start before eventually regressing to his pedigree and becoming an afterthought in Fantasy. But he arrived midseason. This time of year, with so many breakout possibilities still on waivers, you can't afford to waste roster space on Solarte, at least not in standard mixed leagues.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus came up big on Sunday, launching a go-ahead home run -- his first of the season -- in a 3-0 win over the Rays.

Andrus took Joel Peralta deep in the eighth inning for a two-run shot. He finished 1 for 4 with a run scored and two RBI. He has a hit in each of his six games, slashing .333/.333/.500 with one homer and three RBI in 24 at-bats.

The White Sox continue to take a cautious approach with second baseman Gordon Beckham, who has sat out the last few games on his rehab assignment due to pain in his strained left oblique when he swings a bat.

"I would characterize it as he feels a stabbing pain at times or a tenderness and stiffness when he swings, and we are just not going to push through it," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said, per MLB.com. "Again, we've talked about from Day 1 on obliques, we are always hesitant to put a time frame on injury recovery because things happen, but obliques are even more tricky in that regard.

"You never know until you are back playing every day without restriction on a consistent basis, you can never really say it's behind you. Right now, we are going to err on the side of caution and hopefully get him back out there in the coming days."

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham, on a rehab assignment, was not in the lineup again for the Birmingham Barons because of oblique stiffness, WSCR-AM 670 (The Score) reports.

Beckham was placed on the disabled list backdated to March 21, but remains without a timetable. He has been out of the lineup the last two days because of the setback, and it remains to be seen when he'll return to action for the Double-A affiliate.

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham experienced a slight setback Friday in his recovery from an oblique injury that prevented him from playing for Double-A Birmingham. But he is expected to return to action Saturday.