MLB Player News

Smith is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.

The 25-year-old started the past three games at shortstop in the absence of Corey Seager (hamstring), but he'll take a seat Sunday after he went 1-for-10 with five strikeouts during that stretch. Ezequiel Duran will take over at shortstop with lefty Framber Valdez pitching for Houston.

Witt went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored in Saturday's 9-3 loss to Atlanta.

Witt went from cold to hot in a hurry. He's gone 12-for-22 (.545) during his active five-game hitting streak, and he's added four stolen bases in that span. The shortstop's surge has him up to .298/.344/.474 with two home runs, five steals, six RBI and eight runs scored in 15 contests. The Royals' offense hasn't been very good behind him, which is hurting his counting stats, but there's still plenty to like from the talented 22-year-old when he's hitting like this.

Mateo went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Saturday's 7-6 extra-inning loss to the White Sox.

Mateo opened the scoring with a solo shot in the third inning and tacked on a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth. The only mishap for the shortstop came when he was caught stealing for the first time this season. He's provided a nice combination of power and speed with three homers, seven steals, 11 RBI, 12 runs scored and a .350/.413/.625 slash line through 13 contests. Mateo is unlikely to sustain those ratios, but it's encouraging to see him elevate his walk rate (9.1 percent) while cutting down strikeouts (18.8 percent) early on.

Crawford went 2-for-2 with an RBI single, two walks and a run in a win over the Rockies on Saturday.

The veteran shortstop was a thorn in the side of the Rockies throughout the afternoon and contributed to the Mariners' nine-run outburst with a timely single in the fourth inning that plated Cal Raleigh and snapped a 1-1 tie. Crawford is riding a tidy four-game hitting streak in which he's gone 5-for-11 with two doubles, Saturday's RBI, five walks and six runs.

Franco has been moved from shortstop to designated hitter Sunday against the Blue Jays after telling the Tampa Bay staff he slept on the shoulder wrong, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With Franco remaining in the starting lineup, it appears this is more precautionary than a significant injury at this stage. The Tampa Bay lineup remains the same in order but with Taylor Walls now playing shortstop, Harold Ramirez lined up in left, Vidal Brujan taking over at third and Luke Raley now in right field.

Neto is leading off and playing shortstop against the Red Sox on Sunday.

Neto will hit at the top of the lineup in just his second career MLB game after being called up by the Angels on Saturday. The 22-year-old went hitless in his debut, but the 2022 first-round pick tore up Double-A pitching and has a skill set that suggests the potential for immediate fantasy contributions even if there are ups and downs in the early part of his career.

Smith went 1-for-3 and was hit by a pitch in Saturday's 8-2 loss to the Astros.

Smith, who made a third consecutive start at shortstop in place of the injured Corey Seager (hamstring), made a costly error in the seventh inning on a potential double-play grounder. The miscue allowed two runs to score and extended the inning for Houston to tack on another two runs. The lefty-batting Smith may give way to Ezequiel Duran in Sunday's series finale when the Astros are scheduled to start southpaw Framber Valdez.

Volpe went 1-for-2 with two walks, a run scored and three stolen bases in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Twins.

The rookie was Christian Vazquez's worst nightmare, stealing second base in the fifth inning and then second and third in the eighth without being caught once. Volpe is a perfect 6-for-6 on pilfers through his first 15 MLB games. The rest of his offense is beginning to come around as well, as he's hit safely in four straight games, reaching base seven times in 15 plate appearances during that stretch.

Chang went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a two-run single in Saturday's 9-7 victory over the Angels.

Chang hit a go-ahead, two-run blast in the fourth inning to give Boston a 5-4 advantage. After the bullpen faltered, Chang responded with another go-ahead knock in the eighth -- a two-run single that gave the Red Sox a 8-7 lead. The two clutch hits were Chang's first knocks of the season, and he's starting to get more consistent playing time after operating exclusively as a reserve to start the season. Saturday was his fourth straight game in the lineup (thrice at shortstop, once at second base), though it's important to note the Red Sox have faced three straight southpaw starters.

Franco went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Saturday's loss to the Blue Jays.

Franco just missed a fourth hit as he squared up a baseball that hit Jordan Romano directly in the ribs in the ninth inning, but Romano was able to make the play. That double is already the eighth of the season for the 22-year-old sensation, and it's the third time in 2023 that the shortstop has had a three-hit effort. It's hard not to be impressed with what Franco has done on the baseball diamond to begin the year.