MLB Player News

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez hit his fifth home run in the last 13 games on Wednesday afternoon against the Brewers. He took starter Hiram Burgos deep for a solo shot in the second inning and also drove in a run with a single to finish 2 for 4 with two RBI in the 6-4 win.

Alvarez is batting .292 (14 for 48) in the previous 13 contests with 11 RBI and eight runs scored.

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez homered as part of a 2 for 4 day in Wednesday's win over Milwaukee.

Alvarez scord a run and hit in two runs on the day. He's starting to rebound from a dreadful start; his .610 OPS is still ugly but it's a far sight better than his .247 mark from two weeks ago.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado is one of the most-added players in CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues, with his ownership at 62 percent with his call-up to the majors. Arenado is one of the game's top prospects, but can he live up to the hype?

Arenado had a steady climb through the minors, spending a full season at each level before the organization determined he was ready for the majors after a hot start in Triple-A. Arenado was batting .364 before his call-up, and he has a mature approach at the plate that should lead to solid batting averages. In 1,675 at bats in the minors, Arenado struck out 190 times, with 126 walks. He was able to bat .298 and .285 over his final two full seasons in the minors, despite having batting averages on balls in play below .300 each season.

Arenado is a solid power hitter, but his minor-league career high in home runs was 20, with a two 12-home run seasons sandwiching that one. He should be fine in Coors field, and his gap power should play especially well, but don't expect huge power numbers out of the gate. The Rockies do not have many appetizing options at third base given the struggles of their other players, so Arenado should have a long leash.

Arenado hit a home run and went 3 for 6 in his second game, but he might struggle to get up to speed right away. Arenado's upside makes him more than worth owning, but exercise patience, as with all unproven commodities. 

If you ran out and picked up Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez after his six-game run last week, in which he hit .368 with four home runs -- well, the joke's on you. Alvarez is one of the more unpredictable players in MLB, and picking him up after he does something like this is just going to cause headaches. 

Alvarez hit 30 home runs last year, with eight of those coming in multi-homer games (two of those games coming on back-to-back days), two homers coming in a doubleheader, and four homers coming in a one-week span in July. Alvarez doesn't hit homers in streaks -- he hits them in bunches. By the time you notice he's hit three or four and pick him up, he puts that big bat down and gets back to unspooling all the good Fantasy karma he just accrued. 

Alvarez is a decent option for Roto leagues -- over the course of a year he will get the home runs. But trying to work him into a lineup in weekly Head-to-Head formats is maddening, and should be avoided at all costs. If you're starting him, and your team is, say, 3-1, consider yourself a very lucky man. 

In just his second MLB game, Rockies rookie third baseman Nolan Arenado made a big impact in a 12-2 rout of the Dodgers Monday. Arenado, who was 0 for 3 in his debut Sunday, finished 3 for 6 with one home run, two RBI and three runs.

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura homered as part of a 3-for-5 game Monday against Pittsburgh.

Segura scored a run and knocked in two. He finished a double shy of the cycle and is now hitting a tremendous .364/.398/.534 in 88 at-bats. He's been the beneficiary of a load of infield hits this year, but his power showed up in Monday's game, and that's been the biggest difference between Segura in 2013 and Segura in 2012. He slugged just .325 without a home run in 151 at-bats last season.

During his college days at Rice, patience was one of Anthony Rendon's greatest attributes as he once drew 80 walks in a season. But the anxiousness the Nationals third baseman displayed in the first four games of his major-league career last week resulted in the rookie chasing bad pitches and failing to draw a walk in his first 15 plate appearances.

Manager Davey Johnson then provided Rendon a two-game break to help recapture his approach at the plate before inserting him back into the lineup Saturday. Since then, the results have been encouraging for Rendon as he's walked three times over his past two games, including twice Sunday.

"You're just staying more relaxed," he told The Washington Post about his quick turnaround. "You're around your element a little bit more. You're used to your surroundings. That's the way baseball is. You just got to get used to everything."

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez has heated up the past couple of days, but that's to be expected given his approach.

Alvarez still has a decent walk rate and an astronomical strikeout rate. His 32.2 percent strikeout rate ranks as the seventh highest in the league. While his average has been limited by a .245 BABIP, he's not a candidate to hit over .245 due to the abundance of strikeouts. His approach makes him a candidate to go on runs like this, but he's not a candidate to improve on last season's performance. 

After scrambling to reach Phoenix following his promotion early Sunday morning, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado made his long-awaited MLB debut later that day against the Diamondbacks. Arenado, who was on the road with Triple-A Colorado Springs in nearby Tucson prior to the call-up, started at third base and went 0 for 3 with a walk while serving as the No. 7 hitter.

"I was nervous," Arenado told The Denver Post. "It was a dream come true. It was a lot of fun to be out there with the guys. I just wish we had won."

The Rockies had pondered recalling Arenado, considered the team's best position prospect since Troy Tulowitzki, over the past week as regular third baseman Chris Nelson floundered. The early promotion means the 22-year-old will reach arbitration sooner, but Colorado management insisted it is not concerned with that future scenario.

"It came to the point where we are trying to put our best club on the field," assistant general manager Bill Geivett said. "You see a player mature on and off the field. And (part of it is) how he responded to not making the club. He went down and showed he was ready. Every decision we make is to try and win games."

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura, who missed Saturday's game with a split nail on the index finger on his right hand, returned to the starting lineup Sunday afternoon against the Dodgers.

Segura slapped a single in the opening frame for his only hit of the day. He finished 1 for 4 in a 2-0 defeat.

Segura has gone 11 for 34 (.324) with five runs scored, six stolen bases and three RBI in his last nine games. He is hitting .349 with one homer and six RBI in 83 at-bats.