MLB Player News

Crawford went 2-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Padres.

Crawford appears to be heating up again with his second homer over his last three games. He can be a very streaky hitter, but he is currently on pace to repeat his excellent 2016 power numbers. His .257/.325/.444 slash line is nearly identical to his 2015 results (.256/.321/.462) which had him finishing as a top-three shortstop. Unlike last year, he is only a fringe top-10 shortstop due to the emergence of new talent at the position (Trevor Story, Aledmys Diaz and Eugenio Suarez to name a few).

The Phillies promoted Crawford to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday.

Crawford will get his first taste of Triple-A action after posting a .265/.398/.390 slash line with three home runs, eight doubles, and 13 RBI over 36 games with Double-A Reading. While he did not hit for much power, he posted an impressive on-base percentage, and backed that up with a 30:21 K:BB ratio. Crawford is the Phillies' best prospect and could see action with the big club before this season comes to an end.

Story went 3-for-5 with a two-run double and a solo homer in Thursday's 13-7 loss to St. Louis.

Anyone waiting for Story's "inevitable" drop-off should take a hard look at his .287 average and all those counting stats, then maybe reevaluate that pessimistic point of view. He's actually slugged eight of his 12 homers away from Coors Field, and that's got to be a scary prospect for the rest of the National League. The combination of his sky-high strikeout rate (yes, he did rack up another whiff again Thursday, his 58th this season) and similarly sky-high BABIP (.368) certainly does seem to foreshadow a fall-off in batting average, but then again, Story was always a high-strikeout, high-BABIP guy in the minors too. Former starting shortstop Jose Reyes may be returning from his suspension in the next couple weeks, but there's no doubt that (barring injury, of course) Story has displaced him for good.

Tejada has a .160/.179/.240 line since returning from a quadricep injury that had him benched until April 19.

Tejada hasn't found much rhythm since returning from injury last month, nor has he had many opportunities to do so. His appearances have primarily been as a pinch hitter, rather than starting in the middle infield. With Aledmys Diaz having a strong rookie season, hitting .376 with 14 doubles and six home runs, it's unlikely that Tejada will seeing more of the field anytime soon.

Diaz is batting second in Thursday's lineup against the Rockies.

Diaz hasn't missed a beat since making his major league debut this season, holding a .376/.403/.648 slash line with six home runs and 20 RBI, and it seems the Cardinals decided to reward him with a move up in the batting order. The shortstop's already-high value is boosted by this move, as he'll now be in line for more run-scoring opportunities hitting in front of Matt Holliday and Stephen Piscotty.

Crawford went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and five RBI in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Padres.

Crawford provided all the Giants' offense, launching a three-run homer in the second off Padres starter Colin Rea before adding a sac fly in the sixth and an RBI double in the eighth. The National League's reigning Silver Slugger Award winner at shortstop has endured fluctuations in his performance so far. He entered Tuesday with a .192 batting average (5-for-26) and one RBI in his previous seven games. Yet following San Francisco's latest victory, Crawford now owns a .257 average, a point higher than his season-ending figure from 2015. He has five home runs and 21 RBI, putting him roughly on pace to match the 21-homer, 84-RBI output that helped him earn a six-year, $75 million contract extension during the offseason.

Owings is not in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Injuries to some of the Diamondbacks starters and Owings' versatility has allowed him to get regular playing time this season, and he's taken advantage of it, posting his best slash line since his first partial season in the majors. Despite this, manager Chip Hale decided to give the 24-year-old his first day off since May 4, giving Michael Bourn the start in center field for Monday's contest.

Seager went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

The youngster had six total bases in Saturday's game, and he kept it up in Sunday night prime time, providing the only offense the Dodgers could muster as a team. He is now batting a cool .440 with three home runs, six RBI and six runs scored over the last six games.

Ahmed is out of the lineup Sunday against the Giants.

Ahmed will be replaced at shortstop by regular center fielder Chris Owings, while manager Chip Hale gives Chris Herrmann the start in center. It's a bit of an unorthodox lineup shuffle, so look for Ahmed and his .175/.239/.278 slash line to be back in action for Monday's series opener against the Yankees. That being said, Ahmed could be in line for more regular days off in the near future, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. With Michael Bourn now on the active roster, Owings could be in line to see more starts at shortstop, with those starts likely coming at Ahmed's expense.

Crawford (neck) is back in the lineup Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

Crawford was held out of Saturday's lineup due to a stiff neck, but it appears a day off helped give the ailment time to subside, as he'll return to action Sunday afternoon. The 29-year-old shortstop is currently posting a .730 OPS through 37 games as he attempts to follow up a 2015 All-Star campaign.