MLB Player News

Seager is starting at shortstop and hitting sixth against the Nationals on Thursday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Seager hasn't hit as low as sixth since his rookie season of 2016, per Plunkett, but he'll drop in the order against left-hander Patrick Corbin in this contest. The shortstop hasn't gotten going at the dish so far in 2019, as he's slashing .235/.329/.356 through 132 at-bats, so manager Dave Roberts could continue to deploy him lower than usual until he shows signs of a breakout.

Gordon, who went 2-for-5 with an RBI single and a run in a win over the Yankees on Wednesday, is 7-for-14 with a home run, two RBI and two runs overall in the last three games.

The veteran infielder has three straight multi-hit efforts, and four overall in the first seven games of May. Gordon's season average currently sits at an impressive .304 and has seen a net gain of 21 points since April 25. What's more, through 149 plate appearances, all three components of Gordon's .304/.327/.406 slash line currently enjoy at least a 36-point improvement over that of his first Mariners campaign in 2018.

Rojas will start at shortstop and lead off Thursday against the Cubs, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Rojas usually bats in the bottom half of the order versus right-handed pitching, but he'll draw a plum assignment against Yu Darvish with normal leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson resting in the day game after a night game. No matter where in the lineup he's slotted in this season, Rojas has made little fantasy impact with a .259 average, zero home runs and one stolen base across 126 plate appearances.

Fletcher will start in left field and man the leadoff spot Thursday against the Tigers.

Fletcher will bat leadoff for the fifth consecutive game, with four of those starts coming against left-handed pitchers. It's worth noting that Fletcher's lone table-setting assignment versus a righty during that span came when Tommy La Stella was unavailable due to a back injury. Now healthy, La Stella will return from a four-game absence to serve as No. 9 hitter versus southpaw Ryan Carpenter, but it's unclear if La Stella will reclaim the leadoff gig the next time the Angels face a right-hander. With three straight two-hit performances, Fletcher may have given manager Brad Ausmus reason to commit to him on a full-time basis atop the lineup.

Correa went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 9-0 win over Kansas City.

One day after his 16-game hit streak was snapped. Correa began a new one with his ninth homer of the season. He's homered in three of the previous four games. The shortstop, who was saddled with a back injury in 2018, is healthy again and barreling balls at 13.5 percent, which is leading to a career-best hard-hit rate of 47.6 percent, per Statcast.

Crawford went 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and a pair of runs scored in Tuesday's 14-4 win over Colorado.

The Giants' current road trip to Cincinnati and now Colorado has been a blessing for Crawford, who is currently batting .389 (7-for-18) with a homer, five RBI and five runs through the first five games of this seven-game road set. The shortstop's overall numbers remain poor (.221/.296/.270), but we have seen him go on extended hot streaks (i.e. the first half last season).

Adames went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run in a win over the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

Adames' numbers are back to trending in the right direction after a brief late-April slide. The young shortstop is 7-for-17 with a double, two RBI, two walks and four runs over the first five games he's suited up for in May, raising his average 34 points to .234 in the process. However, the 23-year-old's .299 on-base percentage still has plenty of room for improvement, with the current 49-point disparity between that number and last year's .348 figure at least partly tied to Adames' reduced patience at the dish.

Bogaerts went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 8-5 win over the Orioles.

Bogaerts, whose last three three hits have left the park, has seven homers and leads the Red Sox with 16 extra-base hits in 2019.

Anderson went 0-for-3 with a walk in Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Indians.

Anderson's explosive April has given way to a cooling-off period to start May. The shortstop is batting .179 (5-for-28) since the calendar flipped. His 138 wRC+ is a good place to be in early May while his 5.1 barrel percentage and 87.8 mph average exit velocity are up compared to last season. However, an unsustainable .380 BABIP suggests further cooling for Anderson, who has shown some maturation but still has improvements to make in terms of plate discipline.

Gordon went 2-for-5 with a stolen base in a 5-4 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old went deep Monday night against the Yankees, but Tuesday, he was back to his usual self, swiping bases instead of launching bombs. Gordon is 10-for-11 in stolen-base attempts this year. He's also batting .301 with three home runs, 18 RBI and 13 runs. Those power numbers don't sound like much, but Gordon has never hit more than four homers in any year, and the 18 RBI already have him halfway to his total in the category (36) from last season.