MLB Player News

Escobar went 1-for-3 with a double and three RBI in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Phillies.

Escobar put Arizona up 3-0 with a sacrifice fly in the third inning before extending the lead to 6-0 with a two-run double in the seventh. The 29-year-old has been locked in since joining the Diamondbacks at the of July, going 13-for-39 with five doubles and seven RBI in 10 games.

Segura went 1-for-4 with a walk, two RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's loss to the Rangers.

It was Segura's second stolen base in the last three games and his 17th of the season. While the shortstop is hitting just .129/.156/.129 through seven games this month, he still owns a solid .305/.335/.427 slash line to go with eight homers, 53 RBI and 75 runs through 107 games this year.

Groshans is hitting .373/.437/.582 with four home runs in 29 games (126 plate appearances) in the Gulf Coast League.

Selected by the Blue Jays with the No. 12 overall pick in this year's draft, Groshans was seen as a prep third baseman with a lot of offensive upside, and so far it looks like the Jays nailed the pick. His batting average is obviously a bit inflated (.420 BABIP), but his 15.9 percent strikeout rate and 9.5 percent walk rate are excellent indicators. He missed a week at the beginning of August for an undisclosed reason, and is 0-for-6 in the two games since he returned to the lineup. Groshans could soon receive a promotion to a more advanced league, and should be viewed as one of the top fantasy prospects from this year's draft class.

Devers (hamstring) was activated from the 10-day disabled list and will bat eighth and play third base Wednesday against Toronto, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Devers ended up missing the minimum amount of time with a hamstring strain, as expected. Prior to the injury, Devers had gone 8-for-27 in seven games since the All-Star break. His return will bump Eduardo Nunez from third base, leaving him to fight for playing time with Brock Holt at second.

Duffy went 2-for-4 with a run in a win over the Orioles on Tuesday.

Duffy produced a pedestrian .250 average in July after an outstanding first three-plus months of the season, but he looks to be heating back up as August unfolds. Factoring in Tuesday's production, the 27-year-old has hit safely in five of the first six games of the month, and eight of his last nine overall. What's largely been missing this season has been power, as Duffy has only four home runs and hasn't gone deep since June 16.

Newman went 5-for-5 with a home run, triple, two doubles and three RBI for Triple-A Indianapolis in its 12-5 rout of Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.

Newman was one of two Indianapolis players to hit for the cycle Tuesday, as catcher Jacob Stallings also achieved the feat. Lauded primarily for his plus hit tool when he was selected out of Arizona in the first round of the 2015 first-year player draft, Newman has shown slightly more gap power in his fourth season in the professional ranks. He's up to 29 doubles on the campaign, good for second place in the International League.

Hayes went 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI for Double-A Altoona in its 5-1 win over Trenton on Tuesday.

Hayes opened his Double-A tenure with a 1-for-20 showing at the plate, but the third baseman has settled in nicely at Altoona ever since. In his subsequent 90 appearances for the affiliate, Hayes has slashed .302/.383/.482 with seven home runs and nine stolen bases, earning a spot in the All-Star Futures Game along the way. After the graduation to the big leagues (and trade) of Austin Meadows, Hayes now looks like the top hitting prospect in Pittsburgh's system.

Kieboom is hitting .263/.324/.378 with three home runs and one steal in 170 plate appearances with Double-A Harrisburg.

At 20 years old, he is the second-youngest hitter in the Eastern League (behind Bo Bichette), so he shouldn't be dinged for forcing a promotion from High-A and struggling (relative to his standards) over his first 39 games at Double-A. His approach has suffered after the promotion, with his walk rate dipping (from 12.6 percent to 7.6 percent), strikeout rate increasing (from 17.5 percent to 24.1 percent), and pull rate spiking (from 42.9 percent to 53.9 percent). His track record suggests he will make the necessary adjustments.

Riley is hitting .216 with zero home runs over his last 10 games for Triple-A Gwinnett.

Every hitter goes through slumps, and with Riley (21) being the youngest hitter in the International League, it's hardly cause for concern. That said, his inability to really get going at the dish probably eliminates any opportunity he had of forcing a late-season promotion to the majors. While Riley still profiles as the Braves' third baseman of the future, Johan Camargo has been worth almost two wins (1.8 fWAR) this season, so Riley will have to earn his chance in 2019.

Moncada went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-innings loss to the Yankees.

Moncada has whiffed 20 times in his last 32 at-bats, including seven times in his last nine. He leads all of baseball with 161 strikeouts and has a 34.5 strikeout percentage. "At some point you hit a point of frustration where you say, 'I have to start swinging at pitches,'' manager Rick Renteria told the Chicago Sun-Times' Daryl Van Schouwen. "I think he's finally reached that point.'' Moncada's average has dropped to .217.