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Jorge Mateo SS | TB
Orioles' Jorge Mateo: Smacks third homer
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.
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J.P. Crawford SS | SEA
Mariners' J.P. Crawford: On base four times in win
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.
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Wander Franco SS | TB
Rays' Wander Franco: Moved to DH with shoulder issue
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.
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Zachary Neto SS | LAA
Angels' Zach Neto: Hitting leadoff against Red Sox
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.
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Josh H. Smith LF | TOR
Rangers' Josh Smith: Makes costly error
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.
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Anthony Volpe SS | NYY
Yankees' Anthony Volpe: Runs wild in Saturday's win
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.
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Yu Chang SS | TB
Red Sox's Yu Chang: Knocks in four
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.
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Xander Bogaerts SS | SD
Padres' Xander Bogaerts: Three hits in win
Bogaerts went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Brewers.
Bogaerts continues to impress in his first season with the Padres, and he's now picked up at least one hit in all but one of his 16 games played. The shortstop has never been a major threat to steal bases, but his ability to hit for average has been on display throughout the season with a .361 mark and four home runs through 61 at-bats. Few hitters have been as good as Bogaerts has to start the 2023 campaign.