MLB Player News

Abreu will begin the season with Double-A Harrisburg.

He's got solid plate discipline and has shown a little speed during his minor-league career, swiping 30 bases in 123 games for Low-A Hagerstown in 2015, but Abreu's defensive profile and somewhat suspect hit tool mark him as a future utility player in the majors, at best. A solid performance at Double-A this year could have the 22-year-old climbing the Nats' prospect rankings, however.

Baez is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Cardinals.

Ben Zobrist will return to second base Wednesday, pushing Baez to the bench. The 24-year-old Baez has gone 1-for-7 with an RBI and two strikeouts through two games. He figures to continue in only a semi-regular role, at least for the time being, sitting two or three times per week.

Lindor went 0-for-3 with a walk and struck out once while stranding four baserunners in Tuesday's matchup against the Rangers.

It was another day of missed opportunities for Lindor. He's now left nine runners on base in just six at-bats while going hitless through the first two games. The youngster hit second in the order for 87 percent of his at-bats in 2015 (his rookie season), but slotted in the two-hole for only one game last year. It's too early to assume Lindor will need an adjustment period to handle his new spot in the order, but if things don't improve, it's certainly possible that manager Terry Francona will shuffle the lineup to help his shortstop get rolling.

Crawford went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs scored in Tuesday's 8-4 win over Arizona.

He could have had a much bigger day, as Crawford was credited with six stranded baserunners. Still, he's opened the season by going 4-for-10 with three extra-base hits, and fantasy owners aren't about to look that gift horse in its mouth. Crawford's been improving steadily, and he's already proven to be a quality source of RBI. The question now for fantasy owners is whether he can continue last year's uptick in batting average and/or regain the power stroke he showed two seasons ago.

Owings will start at shortstop and bat seventh against the Giants on Tuesday.

With right-hander Johnny Cueto taking the mound Tuesday, Torey Lovullo will shy away from his Opening Day lineup that stacked right-handed bats in the top three spots. Instead, Owings will slide down to seventh in the order while left-handed swinging David Peralta will jump up to the two spot. It seems this might be common against right-handed starters, but only time will tell.

Arcia went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in the Brewers' season-opening loss to the Rockies.

Arcia hit eighth in the Brewers' Opening Day batting order and figures to slot in there often at the beginning of the regular season, but he is one of the Brewers' most promising youngsters, and figures to play nearly every day at shortstop.

Lindor went 0-for-3 and left five runners on base, but he did manage to draw a walk and notch an RBI in Monday's Opening Day win over the Rangers.

Only two MLB players left more runners stranded than Lindor did on Opening Day. Most disappointing about the situation is that four of the five he left on base were in scoring position. The shortstop could have had a huge day, but Lindor hit into two double plays, including one in the fifth inning with the bases loaded. Although the opener didn't treat him well, the 23-year-old will surely bounce back as he's one of the greatest offensive threats in the game at his position.

Correa went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and two RBI in Monday's 3-0 Opening Day win over the Mariners.

Correa has provided decent speed and power from the shortstop position in his first two seasons, but at age 22, fantasy owners are expecting much more. He's right there with Corey Seager of the Dodgers in terms of most exciting and talented young shortstops in the game.

Seager finished 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in Monday's 14-3 win over the Padres.

Seager was a spectator as his team built a big early lead, but he joined the party with a three-run dinger to left center in the fifth inning. He emerged as one of the best young hitters in the game last season and should have big things in store in his second full campaign as a Dodger.

Bogaerts went 2-for-4 and stole two bases in Monday's 5-3 win over Pittsburgh on Opening Day.

Manager John Farrell likes to avoid an extended run of same-sided hitters, so he moved Bogaerts down to sixth after spending 155 games in 2016 as the second- or third-spot hitter. Hitting lower in the order could result in the shortstop being freer to attempt stolen bases; he said back in February that he wanted to do that more of in 2017.