MLB Player News

Rodgers went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a double for Double-A Hartford in its 6-1 win over Altoona on Sunday.

The 21-year-old has homered in back-to-back contests and has gone deep 13 times through 59 games. Rodgers was solid enough in his first taste of the Eastern League in the second half of last season, but he has emerged as one of the standout performers on the circuit in 2018, with his .287/.339/.538 line translating to a 140 wRC+. The shortstop certainly looks like he could be major-league ready, but the Rockies may not entertain a promotion until 2019 so long as everyday middle infielders DJ LeMahieu and Trevor Story are healthy and performing effectively.

Hernandez started in center field and went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Sunday's victory over the Braves.

Hernandez started his third game over the Dodgers' last four contests after being used off the bench in the previous four. The 26-year-old has been used primarily as a weak-side platoon player this year (21 of 33 starts against southpaws), despite sporting fairly even splits against righties (.214 with four homers) and lefties (.203 with four homers). Hernandez's improved splits could lead to a regular role should another spot in the lineup open up due to injury or lack of production, but his inconsistent playing time limits his fantasy value to very deep or NL-only formats.

Forsythe went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and a pair of RBI in Sunday's 7-2 win over the Braves.

The long ball was Forsythe's first since April 2, and only his second in 123 plate appearances this season. The veteran has been able to maintain a fairly regular role at the keystone despite carrying an atrocious .212/.268/.327 slash line, due in large part to a couple of injuries to key members of the Dodgers' infield this year. There is a risk that his playing time could dwindle once Justin Turner (wrist) is able to fully recover from his injury, given the emergence of Max Muncy (who played 21 games at second base in 2016) and the presence of super-utility man Enrique Hernandez.

Albies went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in the Braves' 7-2 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday.

After a red-hot start to the season, Albies' average had dipped all the way down to .253 coming into this contest, but he got his first long ball since May 22 with this fourth-inning solo blast off Ross Stripling. He's now at 15 homers on the season, and he showed earlier this year that he can hit them in bunches, so hopefully this is a sign Albies is gearing up to go on another hot streak.

Marte went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, three RBI and two runs scored Sunday against the Rockies.

After heading to the bench Saturday while tending to a minor shoulder injury, Marte rejoined the lineup for the series finale and fell a triple short of the cycle in this impressive performance. The three-hit showing was highlighted by his fourth home run of the season, with three of the long balls now coming in a nine-game span. While he has been disappointing through 223 at-bats this season and has just one stolen base, Marte is 11-for-33 across his last 10 games, with all but one of those hits going for extra bases.

Altuve went 2-for-4 with an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base Sunday against the Rangers.

Altuve extended his hitting streak to eight games, with Sunday marking his fourth multi-hit game in that span. He also attempted two stolen bases and reached second base safely on one occasion to record his 10th stolen base of the season. After getting off to a sluggish start on the basepaths, he now has four stolen bases in his past eight games.

Kemp will start in left field and bat ninth Sunday against the Rangers.

Kemp seemed likely to shift to a reserve role following Josh Reddick's (lower leg) reinstatement from the disabled list Wednesday, but the side injury to shortstop Carlos Correa has unexpectedly allowed Kemp to stick in the lineup for the fifth consecutive game. It still appears Kemp's days as an everyday player may be numbered, though. According to Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle, manager A.J. Hinch said Correa is expected to play Tuesday in Oakland, which will presumably result in Marwin Gonzalez shifting back to left field and bumping Kemp to the bench.

Frazier was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday.

Frazier has appeared in 56 of the Pirates' 64 contests this season but holds an uninspiring .237/.318/.356 slash line over 152 plate appearances. He'll be sent to the minors to allow the Pirates to bring up some catching reinforcement in the form of Jacob Stallings, who will provide backstop depth following Francisco Cervelli's removal from Saturday's contest with a jaw injury. It wouldn't be surprising to see Frazier back in the majors in the not-too-distant future.

Arroyo will start at second base and bat sixth Sunday against the Mariners.

Arroyo has been included in the lineup three times in the four-game series, but it shouldn't be taken as an indication that he has captured a full-time role. Two of the starting assignments have come with lefties on the hill for the Mariners, while the other start came Saturday when C.J. Cron was receiving a routine rest day. At this point, Arroyo looks to be little more than a short-side platoon mate with Joey Wendle at the keystone.

Marte was held out of the Diamondbacks lineup during Saturday's 12-7 win over the Rockies due in part to a tender right shoulder, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports. "Maybe created some tenderness in his right shoulder," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said of Marte, who initially got banged up after sliding awkwardly into third base June 3 against the Marlins. "He could play. He's available off the bench. I just want to get him ahead of it instead of playing even. We're trying to nurse him through this situation right now."

As Lovullo suggested, Marte was available off the bench and ended up entering the contest as a pinch hitter, going 0-for-2 on the evening. Marte's exit from the lineup opened up a spot in the middle infield for the struggling Nick Ahmed, who came through with one of his best games of the season (3-for-5, one home run, two doubles, three RBI). Ahmed's performance Saturday as well as the recent hot hitting of Daniel Descalso could result in the Diamondbacks deploying a rotation in the middle infield, though Marte should see plenty of playing time thanks to his own strong form at the dish of late. Each of Marte's last nine hits have gone for extra bases, with the 24-year-old submitting a 1.226 OPS in his last 10 games heading into Saturday.