MLB Player News

Cruz, 19, was named the South Atlantic League Player of the Month for June.

After coming over from the Dodgers in a trade deadline deal last season, Cruz has emerged as a top prospect in the Pirates' system. He improved his contact rate significantly this year, as he's currently hitting the ball 14 percent more than last season with Low-A West Virginia. Interestingly, this increased contact rate hasn't sapped his power either, as he has 11 home runs and 17 doubles. This has helped him produce a .296/.355/.497 slash line through 81 games with the Power this season. Cruz's defense is still pretty rough however, as he tallied a whopping 27 errors at shortstop already. Given this, scouts tend to think he'll either end up at third base or a corner outfield spot. Either way, his bat will play at any of those positions, and his arm is strong enough to succeed around the diamond. It's tough to see him making a big leap in the organization this season, but if he can continue mashing at the plate, he could get up to Double-A or Triple-A by the end of the 2019 season.

Fletcher went 2-for-5 with a solo home run Thursday against the Mariners.

Fletcher took James Paxton's second pitch of the game deep for his first career home run. His playing time has been cut with the return of Shohei Ohtani, as he now only gets regular playing time on the short side of a platoon at third base. He has flashed limited power through 66 at-bats this season, and with his playing time now lagging, his fantasy value is limited to the deepest of leagues.

Story stayed hot Thursday against the Diamondbacks by going 1-for-3 with his 18th home run of the season.

Though Story's streak of multi-hit performances came to an end, he still didn't disappoint as he sent a Randall Delgado offering 407 feet to right field for another long ball. He and the Rockies will close out the first half with a home series against the Mariners that gets underway Friday.

Adrianza (hamstring) was activated from the 10-day DL on Thursday, Brandon Warne of Zone Coverage reports.

As expected, Adrianza will return to the fold prior to Thursday's series opener against the Rays after missing the minimum 10 days due to a left hamstring strain. Look for the 28-year-old to be utilized as a reserve infielder upon his return, now that Jorge Polanco is back in action. Across 64 games this year, Adrianza is hitting .261 with a .724 OPS.

Correa (back) will not return until after the All-Star break, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet reports.

As expected, manager A.J. Hinch ruled Correa out for the final weekend in the first half of the 2018 campaign, and added that the shortstop will require a rehabilitation assignment in the minor leagues prior to his return. In previous days, Correa has resumed throwing, fielded groundballs, and did some light hitting in the batting cage. If all goes well, he should be able to embark upon a minor-league assignment next week. Expect an update on his status later on this weekend as he continues to ramp up activities.

Story went 2-for-4 with a double, run and stolen base Wednesday in the Rockies' 19-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Story actually generated one of the more modest stat lines on a night the Rockies fell one run shy of matching a franchise-best total, but the shortstop has probably been the most consistently productive hitter in the lineup over the last few weeks. He turned in his sixth consecutive two-hit performance Wednesday and has recorded multiple hits in 10 of his last 13 starts. Dating back to the beginning of June, Story is slashing .357/.388/.615 with six home runs, four steals, 23 RBI and 19 runs in 35 games.

Correa (back) took ground balls for a second straight day Wednesday and incorporated some throwing during his pre-game work, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Correa did his most work Wednesday since hitting the disabled list June 26 and said he planned on hitting in a cage later in the day. There was no confirmation of him hitting, but the ramping up of baseball activities is a positive sign.

Bogaerts went 3-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Rangers.

The shortstop has banged out an extra-base hit in six of his last seven games, pushing Bogaerts' slash line on the season back up to .283/.355/.526. The 25-year-old remains on track for career highs in homers, RBI and OPS.

Baez went 1-for-6 with two strikeouts but also hit a solo home run in Wednesday's 13-inning loss to the Giants.

Baez generally struggled in this one, but his 18th home run of the season, which came off of San Francisco reliever Tony Watson in the seventh inning, tied the game at 4-4. Because of Baez's power and overall dynamic offensive profile, he's capable of impacting any game in just a single plate appearance like he did Wednesday.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-7 with a home run and a double in Wednesday's extra-innings win over the Cubs.

D'Arnaud led off the bottom of the first inning with his first home run of the season, then later provided his first double of the year. The 31-year-old hit leadoff in just his second start since joining the major-league club last week, and is 3-for-12 over that span.