MLB Player News

Marte is hitting .381/.418/.555 with four home runs and seven stolen bases across 251 plate appearances at Triple-A Reno this season.

A .410 BABIP aided by the friendly hitting confines of the Pacific Coast League is surely propping up Marte's batting line, but even after accounting for the offensive environment, it's hard not to be impressed with the 23-year-old's numbers. Marte's speed and slap-hitting skills have always allowed him to maintain high batting averages in the minors, but he's also been able to tap into more power than ever this season. Twenty-seven of his 90 hits have gone for extra bases, and he's smacked home runs in three of his last five games, including one off rehabbing Mets starter Steven Matz (elbow). Marte is doing everything necessary to make his case for a promotion, but unfortunately, his services aren't needed with middle infielders Chris Owings, Brandon Drury and Nick Ahmed all performing well for the big club.

Albies was placed on the 7-day DL with Triple-A Gwinnett after fouling a ball off his left foot Monday, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The Braves' No. 3 prospect will be re-evaluated Tuesday, but at this point the injury isn't thought to be more than a contusion. Albies has had a hard time building any momentum at the plate this season, posting a .262/.311/.391 slash line through 54 games, but the 20-year-old is 15-for-16 on stolen base attempts.

Semien (wrist) is being brought along slowly in his rehab and may not return until July, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports Monday.

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, as Semien is on the 60-day disabled list and isn't eligible to return until mid-June anyway. Semien may not be able to count on a full-time job upon his return, as Chad Pinder has been raking at shortstop in his absence, posting a .904 OPS and seven home runs over 30 games.

Merrifield will start at second base and lead off Monday against the Astros, Julia Morales of Root Sports Southwest reports.

After extending his hitting streak to 19 games with a trio of singles Sunday against the Indians, Merrifield will be rewarded with a move up in the lineup. He'll jump from the sixth spot to the leadoff position, bumping Alcides Escobar down to the bottom third of the order.

Frazier produced his first two-hit game since May 24 on Sunday, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI against the Mets.

He was batting just .125 in his last 32 at-bats prior to Sunday. Since returning from a hamstring injury May 12, Frazier has hit leadoff exclusively. With a .380 on-base percentage, he should score plenty of runs atop Pittsburgh's lineup.

Merrifield went 3-for-4, raising his average to .307, in Sunday's 8-0 loss to the Indians.

Merrifield is riding a 19-game hitting streak, the longest in the majors this season. Since May 13, the second baseman is 27-for-66 (.409) with three home runs, nine RBI, 10 runs and four stolen bases. After not making the Opening Day roster, Merrifield is now making a case to represent the Royals on the AL All-Star team.

Espinosa is out of the lineup Sunday against the Twins, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

For the second straight game, Espinosa will cede a start at the keystone to Cliff Pennington, who lacks the pop of Espinosa, but offers a more contact-oriented approach at the plate. Espinosa's 34.9 percent strikeout rate has played a large part in his batting average sitting at just .154 on the season, and he's unlikely to curb the whiffs enough to notice much recovery in that category, even if his depressed .211 BABIP rebounds a bit.

Polanco is out of the lineup Sunday against the Angels, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

An 0-for-4 showing Saturday dropped Polanco's on-base percentage below .300 for the season, but thanks to his strong defense up the middle and skills as a contact hitter, the 23-year-old doesn't look to be in much danger of giving up his everyday role. Polanco will just get a day off to clear his mind, with the lightly-used Ehire Adrianza subbing in for him at shortstop.

Hernandez will start in right field and bat eighth Sunday against the Brewers, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

It's the fifth start in six games for Hernandez, whose versatility has afforded him turns at three different positions during that stretch. However, once Joc Pederson (concussion) and Justin Turner (hamstring) return from the disabled list, it's expected that Hernandez will see his at-bats fall by the wayside, especially with fellow utility man Chris Taylor outperforming him.

Arroyo was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Arroyo received consistent playing time at third base and shortstop following his promotion on April 24 but struggled to find his footing at the plate and was slashing just .192/.244/.304 over his first 135 plate appearances. With Hunter Pence (hamstring) being activated from the disabled list Sunday, Arroyo will return to Triple-A, where he'll receive consistent playing time with the hopes of correcting some of the issues with his swing. Despite his early big-league woes, the 22-year-old remains an attractive keeper league asset.