MLB Player News

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson has been walking at a high rate to begin the year.

Donaldson has upped his walk rate from 6.5 percent in 11.5 percent this season. He's also been able to cut down on his strikeouts, from 19.7 percent to 11.5 percent. Donaldson's .346 BABIP suggests his average will fall, but he could still produce a decent average once that evens out.

Most of Donaldson's slugging percentage can be attributed to his doubles-power. Given that he plays in Oakland, it's tough to know whether he'll be able to turn those doubles into home runs this year.

A's third baseman Josh Donaldson entered Sunday's series finale against the Orioles with eight RBI in the previous eight contests. He added to that total by going 1 for 3 with two RBI and a pair of walks in the 9-8 win.

The 27-year-old doubled home two in the sixth inning.

Donaldson is batting .483 (14 for 29) in the last nine games.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado extended his hitting streak to seven games with a big performance on Sunday against the A's. He went 4 for 5 with two RBI and a run scored.

Machado singled twice before plating Nate McLouth with another base hit in the seventh inning. In the ninth, he doubled home another run.

The 20-year-old is batting .433 (13 for 30) during his streak with five RBI, five runs scored and two stolen bases.

Twins infielder Eduardo Escobar started a second straight game for the first time this season Sunday against the Rangers. Manager Ron Gardenhire wanted to find Escobar more playing time since he's batting .483 (14 for 29) through 14 games.

"He's doing great," Gardenhire said, per MLB.com. "That's why I ran him back out there again today to find another spot for him. He's swinging it really good. You never know how long you're going to stay on that surfboard before someone knocks you off. So you just ride it and go from there."

Gardenhire has been pleasantly surprised with Escobar's power. Escobar has a .690 slugging percentage.

"He's got some pop," Gardenhire said. "It's surprising. And he has a cannon for an arm. He's a nice player. There's a reason why we got him in that trade, and he's showing us why."

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria got his average back over the .300 mark for the first time since April 16 on Saturday night against the White Sox. He went 4 for 6 with an RBI and two runs scored in the 10-4 win.

The 27-year-old doubled in the third inning before collecting three singles, including one that drove in Matt Joyce in the ninth.

Longoria saw his average rise from .277 to .303 in the victory.

Athletics third basemen Josh Donaldson turned in another impressive hitting performance Saturday against the Orioles. Donaldson matched his career high with four hits, including two doubles, in the 7-3 loss.

He also drove in two of Oakland's three runs, doubling home Brandon Moss in the second inning before driving home Seth Smith on a single in the third.

Donaldson finished 4 for 4 and has hit safely in six of his last eight games (.500). He has also eight RBI over that span.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire used Eduardo Escobar at third base Saturday against the Rangers instead of Trevor Plouffe, despite left-handed Derek Holland starting for the Rangers, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Gardenhire said Plouffe "is not attacking enough right now."

"He's stepping back a lot," Gardenhire said. "I've talked to Scott [Ullger, who coaches the infielders] about that -- we've got to go back to our drills and get him attacking again. He's going back too much. I know it took a bad hop, but it was after the fact, after he wasn't aggressive on it. It kind of ate him up, and that shouldn't happen."

Plouffe has actually hit in the last three games but is 4 for 23 (.174) over his last six contests with five strikeouts.

Our Scott White is not pleased with the depth at the third base position this season, but he begrudgingly considers Manny Machado of the Orioles a worthy start in his Hit Parade column for Fantasy Week 5 (April 29-May 5).

Machado has been up and down in his second season, but is batting .327 over the last 13 games and has some decent matchups this week. The Orioles do not seem likely to face much in the way of high-end starting pitcher during matchups with the Angels and Mariners. Machado could remain hot and worth starting for the scoring period. 

The depth at the position should be improving in the next few weeks with a handful of high-end options set to return. Until that happens, Machado is a decent low-end Fantasy option.

At a position rife with underachievers like Will Middlebrooks, Pedro Alvarez, Mike Moustakas and Lonnie Chisenhall, Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson deserves to be owned in more than 48 percent of Fantasy leagues. His hot start may be an aberration.

Remember, after a lengthy stint at Triple-A Sacremento last year, he returned to hit .290 with eight home runs and an .844 OPS over the final six weeks. Combine those numbers with his numbers so far this year, and he's batting .293 with 10 home runs over his last 256 at-bats in the majors. That's not such a small sample.

I'm not saying he'll outperform Middlebrooks, Alvarez and Moustakas all year, but he won't finish so far behind them that you should ignore him while he's clearly the hot hand.

Twins infielder and utility player Eduardo Escobar does the little things, his manager Ron Gardenhire told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. 

The 24-year-old has been a pinch-runner and pinch-hitter. He's played shortstop and third base and has been an emergency outfielder as well. 

"He says he can pitch," teammate Wilkin Ramirez said. "He’s done it before."

Even more impressive, Escobar is hitting for the Twins. The smallest player on the roster racked up his second three-hit game Tuesday night and he added a walk. Only Joe Mauer has more three-hit games this year with three. 

"He’s a nice little player," Gardenhire said. "He’s been swinging great. A lot of fun to watch out there."

Escobar is batting .480 after 12 games and 25 at-bats with a double, triple, homer and five RBI.