MLB Player News

Crawford went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Saturday's 9-4 win over the Rays.

While Crawford only has six hits in 36 at-bats on the season, four of them have now gone for extra bases (two doubles, two homers) and five of them have come in the last four games. The 23-year-old's glove is still ahead of his bat, but he at least appears to be shaking off his early-season slump.

Swanson went 3-for-6 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI in Saturday's 14-10 loss to the Cubs.

While Ozzie Albies is generating headlines with his incredible power display to begin the season, his double-play partner has been just as impressive in his own way. Swanson's put together a .357/.390/.571 slash line through 13 games with a homer, a steal, seven runs and 10 RBI, and he already has seven multihit games on the year -- a mark he didn't reach until June 9 last year.

Arcia is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets.

Arcia is off to a slow start with the bat this season, hitting .159/.213/.182 through his first 13 games. Some of his struggles are BABIP-related, as his BABIP is just .200. He's also seen a spike in soft contact, though, up to 34.3 percent after posting a 22.9 percent rate last year. It's still a small sample, however, so expect him to have plenty of time to turn things around before his job is under any real threat. Eric Sogard will start at shortstop in his place Saturday.

Camargo (oblique) went 1-for-4 with a solo home run for Triple-A Gwinnett in Friday's extra-inning loss to Rochester.

He's now homered in three straight games while on his rehab assignment, but the blasts have been Camargo's only hits in 16 at-bats for Gwinnett. The Braves are taking their time in activating him from the disabled list, in part because of Ryan Flaherty's performance at third base in his place, but Camargo's power surge may be enough to convince the front office he's just about ready.

Ahmed went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in the Diamondbacks' 8-7 win over the Dodgers on Friday.

Ahmed had been in the midst of an 0-for-13 slump before leaving the yard in the top of the eighth inning, giving the Diamondbacks a vital insurance run. Even with the brief drought at the plate, Ahmed has still been one of the Diamondbacks' most productive regulars this season, supplying a .286/.375/.543 line across 40 plate appearances. Since the on-base and slugging percentages are well above Ahmed's career marks, regression is almost certainly coming, but there's reason to be optimistic about some level of sustainability. As Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic noted earlier this season, Ahmed made a concerted effort this spring to change his swing path and plate approach, which is already paying dividends in elevating the shortstop's fly-ball and line-drive rates.

Camargo (oblique) is back to full health and could return to Atlanta by the end of this weekend, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

As has been the case for the past week, Camargo's health isn't the main concern at this point. Instead, the Braves want to give him more time to shake off any rust since the Triple-A season started a full week after the big leagues. Camargo has appeared in five games in the minors thus far -- including three with Gwinnett -- going 3-for-20 with two home runs and two RBI while playing the field in those contests. Expect to see him return to the fold and regain his status as the primary third baseman soon, though he may be eased back into the lineup for the onset of his campaign.

Downs tallied a career-high four hits, including a home run Thursday for Low-A Dayton.

He now boasts an impressive .314/.368/.457 slash line with one home run and three steals (on three attempts) through 38 plate appearances at Low-A. His 23.7 percent strikeout rate is manageable, particularly for a 19-year-old making his full-season debut, but his .400 BABIP is propping up his batting average a bit.

DeJong went 1-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI Thursday against the Reds.

DeJong's 40 percent hard contact rate and 44 percent flyball rate to begin the season highlight his power upside. Despite those numbers, his home run tonight was just his fifth extra-base hit of the season and his first home run since April 2. His production will likely continue to come sporadically throughout the season thanks to a strikeout rate that is also clearing 40 percent in the early going.

Turner is leading off Thursday's contest against the Rockies.

With Adam Eaton (ankle) sidelined, Turner will take a turn hitting atop the order. He and Brian Goodwin seem like the logical leadoff candidates while Eaton is out, which could give them greater run-scoring opportunities while hitting ahead of Anthony Rendon and Bryce Harper.

Pennington is not in the lineup Thursday against the Cardinals.

There were some thoughts that Pennington could take over the vacant third base job while Eugenio Suarez (thumb) is out, but it seems like the Reds want to test out their younger options first. Alex Blandino will start Thursday and could continue to see a good amount of time at the hot corner along with Phil Gosselin. Nick Senzel is also looming in the minors and could fill the void in the coming weeks.