MLB Player News

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado pushed his hitting streak to nine games Tuesday with two doubles against the Mariners. Machado is batting .410 (16 for 39) with one triple, five RBI, six doubles and six runs during the streak.

After batting .241 through his first 14 games, Machado hit .368 (21 for 57) in his final 13 April games, raising his batting average to .304.

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. 

Rangers prospect Mike Olt is currently having vision issues, Fox Sports Southwest reports Tuesday. Olt will see a specialist. 

The vision issues may explain why he's started the season at Triple-A Round Rock batting .139 over his first 72 at-bats with 32 strikeouts and only nine walks. He's gone 0 for 6 his last two games with three Ks. 

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.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado joined Brooks Robinson as the only two players 20 years old or younger in Baltimore club history to record four hits in a game when he did it Sunday in a loss to Oakland, MASNSports.com reports. 

Machado went 4 for 5 and Robinson went 4 for 4 on Sept. 25, 1957. 

The 20-year-old is batting .433 (13 for 30) during a seven-game hit streak with five RBI, five runs scored and two stolen bases. He's batting .302 with two homers and 16 RBI over 25 games. 

Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson was named American League Player of the Week for the first time in his career Monday, MLB.com reports. 

The 27-year-old went 12 for 22 (.545) last week with seven doubles, 10 RBI, seven walks and four runs scored. He led all AL hitters in doubles and on-base percentage (.633). 

Donaldson's week raised his batting average 73 points from .246 to .319 entering Monday. He also more than doubled his RBI total. 

For the year, Donaldson is batting .319 with two homers, 10 doubles and 18 RBI. 

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.

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."