MLB Player News

Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez continued his recent power surge on Monday night against the Phillies. He went 2 for 4 with a home run in a 3-2 loss.

The 26-year-old took starter Jonathan Pettibone deep for a solo shot in his first at-bat before reaching on an infield single in the seventh inning.

Alvarez has gone 5 for 15 (.333) in his last five games with three homers and four RBI.

After the Nationals promoted top prospect Anthony Rendon to take the place of injured third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on Sunday, the only uncertainty surrounding him is his playing time once the All-Star slugger returns. Manager Davey Johnson emphatically offered his point of view on the matter prior to Monday's series opener against St. Louis.

"I don't care if he hits .900, there's no way (he's) beating out Ryan Zimmerman," Johnson told The Washington Post about Rendon, who was slotted sixth in the batting order for the second straight game.

There's little question Anthony Rendon can slide right into the Nationals lineup and be a competent -- if not great -- major league player. He may not offer a lot of home runs or steals, but he has solid plate discipline and could produce a high OPS. 

Rendon has one major problem, however: a playing time crunch. Once Ryan Zimmerman returns from his DL stint, there's little the Nats can do to keep Rendon in the lineup. It's the same quagmire faced by Evan Gattis owners, but with a less optimistic outlook -- Gattis will at least play from time to time at catcher (while possibly rotating in at first base and outfield). With a stacked Washington infield, Rendon, like fellow time-crunched teammate Tyler Moore, would be lucky to get five at-bats a week.

Still, without getting too glib -- these things tend to work themselves out. Zimmerman's injury may be re-aggravated in his rehab. Adam LaRoche or Danny Espinosa may get hurt. Zimmerman owners and those Fantasy players looking to solidify their corner infield spot for the next two weeks (Pedro Alvarez owners, perhaps?) may want to look into Rendon as a short-term alternative. While he may not last deep into May, he should be a decent option until then. 

Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts and committed an error during his major-league debut in Washington's 2-0 loss to the Mets on Sunday. Selected sixth overall in the 2011 draft out of Rice, Rendon was called up from Double-A Harrisburg to fill in for injured third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.

It's very interesting to see that as good as Brewers shortstop Jean Segura has been to begin the season, he's still only the 12th-highest Fantasy scoring shortstop in standard Head-to-Head leagues. A lack of home runs and RBI are certainly holding Segura back and probably will all season.

Though, Segura is still worth holding onto in Fantasy because he's a good enough contact hitter that he could use his speed to leg out extra-base hits. Let's not forget his most valuable contribution this season could end up being his stolen-base total. It's just that Segura probably won't break into the upper echelon of Fantasy shortstops because of his lack of home run power and RBI production.

Shortly after promoting him from Double-A Harrisburg, Nationals top prospect Anthony Rendon was inserted into the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Mets. Rendon, who filled the roster hole created by Ryan Zimmerman's move to the disabled list, hit sixth in the batting order while patrolling third base.

The Nationals expect Zimmerman to spend the minimum amount of time on the DL and appear committed to providing Rendon -- the sixth overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft -- everyday playing time in his absence. At Harrisburg, the 22-year-old was hitting .292 with a robust .462 on-base percentage after averaging a walk per game.

"I don't like to bring a youngster up and have him sit," manager Davey Johnson told The Washington Post on Saturday. "He's been swinging the bat pretty good down there. It's no slight against some guys I got here."

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura stayed hot with a double, single and stolen base against the Cubs Saturday, his second-straight game with two hits and a steal. He boosted his line to .386/.417/.526 and has three steals this year.

Nationals prospect Anthony Rendon is expected to be in the starting lineup Sunday against the Mets. The 22-year-old will likely be hitting sixth, according to the Washington Post.

General manager Mike Rizzo expects Rendon to return to the minors once Zimmerman comes off the disabled list. Zimmerman is expected to miss the minimum 15 days with a hamstring injury.

"I would think that when Zim comes back, we'll probably send [Rendon] down for more seasoning," Rizzo said. "But we'll take that as it comes. We see him as a long-term component of the team."

Just this week, I looked in on Nationals prospect Anthony Rendon's progress in the minors. I noted that although his bat was looking major-league ready, the team had no place for him to play in Washington. That changed Saturday when Rendon got the call from Double-A Harrisburg after third baseman Ryan Zimmerman injured his hamstring and is headed to the disabled list. What does this callup mean for Fantasy owners?

For one thing, it means Baseball America's No. 30 prospect is set to make his major-league debut after just 225 plate appearances in the minors. Rendon has looked advanced for Double-A in his brief chances this season, after struggling in a late call-up a year ago. Through 14 games, Rendon was batting .292, with six extra-base hits in 48 at-bats. Most impressively was the former No. 6 overall pick's advance command of the strike zone. He had 14 walks against nine strikeouts.

Rendon is going to be challenged much more by big-league pitchers who have nothing to fear from a 23-year-old, no matter how highly touted. It would be foolish to expect him to control the zone with such authority against the Clayton Kershaws and Adam Wainwrights of the National League. Still, plate discipline is a skill that can translate right away, while a young player is still developing the rest of his game.

Rendon is going to get plenty of chances to start over the span of at least a few weeks with Zimmerman out, and it will be interesting to see what he is capable of against top-flight competition.  At the very least, he is worth a speculative add off the waiver wires, with the caveat that his stay in the majors is unlikely to be permanent once Zimmerman recovers from his injury.

The Nationals have recalled prospect Anthony Rendon from Double-A Harrisburg Saturday, the Washington Times reports. The 22-year-old, who was the team's top pick in the 2011 draft, is expected to take Ryan Zimmerman's place in the starting lineup.

Rendon is hitting .292 with a .962 OPS. He also has two homers in 14 games at Double-A Harrisburg.