MLB Player News

Escobar has not played the last three games as Jorge Polanco has started at shortstop.

With Trevor Plouffe back from the DL, it looks like the Twins will keep Polanco at shortstop to evaluate him for 2017. Escobar will move to a utility role again as a result.

Segura went 2-for-4 with a double, his 11th homer, two RBI and two runs against the Padres on Thursday.

That's four straight games with a double for Segura, just the latest surge in what can truly be described as a season-long hot streak. The middle-infield spark plug hasn't seen his average dip under .300 since a brief cold spell in the first half of June, and he's now coming up on new career marks in homers (just one shy) and RBI (three short of last year's 50) to go along with his .315/.362/.473 slash line (career highs across the board).

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with two RBI on Thursday in a win over the White Sox.

Ramirez has been red hot at the plate, as he just saw his 18-game hitting streak snapped a few games ago. The 23-year-old is hitting over .400 in August with three home runs and 11 driven in. He's on track to set career highs in batting average, home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Machado went 2-for-5 with three RBI during Thursday's victory over the Astros.

Machado hit his 27th home run of the year and is on pace to match the 35 dingers he hit a season ago. After a tough July in which he batted .204, the MVP-candidate bounced back nicely in August and is hitting .304 with five home runs.

Bregman went 1-for-4 with a solo shot on Thursday against Baltimore.

This was Bregman's second home run in his last three games after failing to hit one out in his first 19 contests. The 22-year-old started his major league career at a turtle's pace, but he was known for his power in the minors, so don't be surprised if the home runs keep coming.

Plouffe went 3-for-5 with a walk, three RBI and scored a run in Wednesday's win over the Braves.

Since returning from the DL with a rib injury, Plouffe is 8-for-25 (.320) with a pair of extra-base hits and five RBI over seven games. Overall on the year, Plouffe's batting average of .259 is up from his career mark of .246, but his power numbers are down a tick. He'll need to hit with more pop to become relevant in standard leagues, but until then, he makes for a decent option in deep mixers and AL-only formats.

Donaldson, who left Wednesday's game early with a jammed thumb, had precautionary X-rays taken after the game that came back negative, Sportsnet reports.

Donaldson said the damage this time isn't as severe as it was in early June in Boston, when he missed on game with the same injury. The news is about as positive as it could be for his fantasy owners, as it sounds like Donaldson has a chance to play in the team's next game Friday in Cleveland.

Newman, 23, is hitting .307/.373/.391 with one home run and five steals in 179 at-bats with Double-A Altoona.

Newman is a tough player to value from a fantasy perspective, as everyone agrees he has one of the better pure hit tools in the minor leagues, but everyone also seems to agree he offers very little power potential. Additionally, Newman may be best served moving from shortstop to second base, and he doesn't offer more than 10-to-15 steal upside annually. However, he has a 33:36 K:BB in 343 at-bats this year in the minors, and profiles perfectly as a leadoff hitter at the highest level. All told, Newman could hit .300 while scoring 100-plus runs and chipping in double-digit steals while qualifying at second base. That's not the sexiest package in the world, but it would make him a borderline top-10 fantasy option at the position. Look for Newman to make his MLB debut next summer.

Donaldson left Wednesday's game with a jammed thumb, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports.

Michael Saunders was put in the game to fill Donaldson's DH spot. The club has Thursday off, so Donaldson should be considered day-to-day heading into Friday's contest against the Indians. Before getting hurt, Donaldson had gone 0-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts.

Valencia went 2-for-5 with a walk and two RBI in Tuesday's game against the Rangers.

Tuesday marked Valencia's third straight two-hit effort, and pushed the third baseman's average up to a team-high .296. After a big first half, Valencia's performance has dipped a bit since the All-Star break. Through the season's first three months, the 31-year-old batted a combined .324. However, he's just 30-for-123 (.244) since July 1, and his .370 slugging percentage since the break is significantly lower than the .498 mark Valencia posted before the Midsummer Classic. Maybe his recent string of games is an indication that he's getting back on track as we head toward the home stretch of the fantasy season.