Injuries are piling up around the league and changing the complexion of a lot of rotations and lineups in both the American League and National League.
For that and more news around the league, here is a rundown of the latest notes and tidbits surrounding each of the 30 teams:
Arizona Diamondbacks - David Peralta was swinging one of the hottest bats in all the majors during the final 10 days of April, but a battle with the flu has held him out of the Diamondbacks' lineup through the first four days of May. When healthy, Peralta has been one of the game's best 2-hitters this season, batting .370 (27-for-73) with 3 home runs, 6 doubles, 1 triple and 3 steals. He should be back in the lineup soon after missing the past four days.
Atlanta Braves - The season is young, and the sample size small, but the early returns are positive regarding the way Atlanta's best hitter -- Freddie Freeman -- hits at the team's new ballpark. The first baseman is batting .438 (14-for-32) with four home runs and four doubles in his first 10 games at SunTrust Park. For what it's worth, Freeman batted .281 with an .866 OPS in 299 at-bats at Turner Field last season.
Baltimore Orioles - Between racist chants to Adam Jones and the questionable ejection of Wednesday's starting pitcher, Kevin Gausman, it's safe to say that the Orioles are ready to get out of Boston. But returning to Baltimore isn't necessarily a quick fix for the offense, which has yet to get fully on track this season. In 11 home games, the Orioles are batting just .225 with a .662 OPS, which rank 27th and 26th, respectively.
Boston Red Sox - Jackie Bradley Jr.'s defense and strong throwing arm are enough to counter some troubles at the plate, but right now, the speedy outfielder is in the midst of a very difficult stretch offensively. Bradley has only five hits in his last 10 games and is 9-for-49 on the season with only one steal and two extra-base hits. He's spent the majority of his plate appearances hitting seventh, but if he doesn't snap out of it soon, it wouldn't be surprising to see him drop to eighth or ninth.
Chicago Cubs - Ben Zobrist is a streaky hitter, and Cubs fans should know that by now if they didn't realize it last season in his first year with the team. The good news is right now he's enjoying a hot streak, batting .304 with a .960 OPS in his last six games. As well as Zobrist is hitting, though, the trio of Addison Russell, Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber are batting a combined .134 (9-for-67) over the past week.
Chicago White Sox - The White Sox will be without their top setup man for the next few weeks, as Nate Jones hit the 10-day disabled list on Thursday with elbow neuritis. "He's got what we think is a relatively minor nerve irritation in his forearm," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn told the Chicago Sun Times. "But he was feeling it down his forearm into his hand, which led to an MRI that diagnosed the issue. He's going to progress according to his symptoms. But at this time, based on his diagnosis, we are optimistic he could be back pitching in games within the next two weeks. Initially, it appears that he could well be back in the next couple of weeks."
Cincinnati Reds - Oft-injured starter Homer Bailey is nearing a return but still is likely 2-3 weeks away barring setbacks. According to Reds manager Bryan Price, the 31-year-old threw 23 fastballs off the bullpen mound for the first time as he works his way back from February surgery to remove bone spurs in his right elbow. "He felt very good through the process," Price said. "We have a calendar for him. Right now, he'll throw a bullpen every third day and build him up. He'll throw some live batting practice and at least one simulated game before we send him for some rehab starts. He's been long tossing, so we don't anticipate any pain. We expect him to have some throwing soreness."
Cleveland Indians - Jason Kipnis is back from the shoulder injury that cost him the early part of the season, but his offense is missing in action right now and one has to wonder if the shoulder could still be bothering him. The 30-year-old has just five hits -- all singles -- and two walks in his first 41 plate appearances of the season. Yes, it's only 11 games. And yes, this is a potent offense. But it's a game of wait and see with Kipnis right now.
Colorado Rockies - Get used to hearing more about Colorado's rookie right-hander Antonio Senzatela. He moved to 4-1 with a 2.84 ERA after Wednesday's win over San Diego, becoming only the second Rockies starter ever to win four of his first five starts, and he has limited opponents to a .221 batting average. Senzatela won National League Rookie of the Month honors for April and also earned the nickname "Little Prince" from his teammates after his latest start.
Detroit Tigers - Ian Kinsler left Wednesday's game early due to left hamstring tightness and wouldn't have played in Thursday's game even if he wasn't rained out, but manager Brad Ausmus said on Detroit radio that the team "expects it to be short term."
Houston Astros - Not only do the Astros have the best record in baseball, they also have one of the more talented teams in the league and one of the best utility players. Marwin Gonzalez homered for the fourth time in the last three games on Wednesday, giving him eight on the season. Not bad for someone who has played first base, third base, second base and left field.
Kansas City Royals - The injury bug bit Ian Kennedy on Thursday, as the veteran right-hander left the game against Oakland in the fifth inning. He was diagnosed with a right medial hamstring strain and could be headed to the DL, which is a shame, considering how well the Royals' starters have pitched and that, prior to Thursday, Kennedy had allowed two runs or fewer in four of five starts.
Los Angeles Angels - Mike Trout extended his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games on Wednesday, doing so by connecting on a two-run homer off of a pitcher who'd previously owned him (Seattle's Hisashi Iwakuma). Trout started that game 9-for-50 in his career against the Japanese right-hander, which is pretty much the polar opposite of his career against long-time Mariners ace Felix Hernandez. Trout is a career .367 hitter (29-for-79) against Hernandez and has taken King Felix deep seven times while adding four doubles and two triples.
Los Angeles Dodgers - Logan Forsythe (toe, hamstring) left Wednesday's Single-A rehab game early due to a tight hamstring, and he won't come off the DL, according to manager Dave Roberts. While Forsythe is over the fractured toe injury, hamstrings are tricky, and there's no telling how much longer he will remain on the DL before being activated.
Miami Marlins - Here's an interesting thing to throw at you. In 27 plate appearances against lefties this season, the left-handed hitting Christian Yelich has yet to draw a walk. This appears to be a trend, when you consider that the promising outfielder took only nine walks in 161 plate appearances versus southpaws last season.
Milwaukee Brewers - Ryan Braun's tight right trapezius muscle kept him out of the lineup again on Thursday and has limited him to one plate appearance in May thus far. While Braun is out, Hernan Perez fills in for him in left field, showing the versatility that has enabled him to play at third base, shortstop, center field and right field this season.
Minnesota Twins - Center fielder Byron Buxton was removed from Thursday's game against Oakland after crashing into the outfield wall, but he passed the initial concussion protocol. He is set to be reevaluated on Friday, and if he's able to avoid the disabled list it will be a big deal. Why? Because Buxton was just starting to show something at the plate, with hits in five of his last six games to raise his average above .150 after it had dropped below .100 at one point.
New York Mets - There's something about Michael Conforto playing left field that does wonders for his offense. In 44 at-bats as a left fielder this season, the second-year man out of Washington is batting .432 with 5 home runs, 2 doubles and a whopping 1.298 OPS. Combine that with the terrific showing Jay Bruce is having so far against right-handers (.347, 8 HRs, 5 2Bs), and the Mets corner outfielders are one of the few things they don't have to worry about right now.
New York Yankees - Aaron Judge set a major league record for the most home runs through the first 25 games of his rookie season on Wednesday, when he belted his 13th long ball of the season, sending a Marcus Stroman offering over the center field wall. As impressive as that is, what also stands out is his discipline at the plate so far this season; judge has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 27-to-15 and entered Thursday with a .433 OBP.
Oakland Athletics - Sean Doolittle went back on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday due to a strained left shoulder, a recurring injury that has prevented him from staying on the field in recent years. Most alarming in all this is that A's skipper Bob Melvin indicated that he doesn't anticipate a quick return for the 2014 All-Star. The 30-year-old missed 180 games the past two seasons due to injury, and this is his fifth trip to the DL in four seasons.
Philadelphia Phillies - Cesar Hernandez entered Thursday slashing .321/.368/.594 with four home runs to go with five doubles and two triples. The Phillies' switch-hitting leadoff man does a lot right at the plate, and one of those things is his ability to hit both lefties and righties. So far this season, he is batting .313 with a .927 OPS vs. LHPs and .325 with an .862 OPS vs. RHP. That's how switch-hitters are supposed to work.
Pittsburgh Pirates - The Pirates may not be having the type of season they'd hoped for, but they may not be too far away from getting an upgrade at second base. Kevin Kramer of Double-A Altoona was named by Baseball America as the top second base prospect in the minors during the month of April. The second-round pick out of UCLA in 2015 is batting .367 with 3 home runs, 7 doubles and 1 triple through the first 21 games of the season, and as a college player, he is on the fast track to the bigs.
St. Louis Cardinals - This is something that goes largely overlooked outside of St. Louis, but Jedd Gyorko is tearing up right-handed hitting in 2017. The former Padres infielder has 5 home runs, 5 doubles and 1 triple and is batting .364 with a 1.199 OPS in 62 plate appearances against righties this season. Gyorko hit 23 of his 30 home runs against righties last season but managed to bat only .241 in the process.
San Diego Padres - Hunter Renfroe isn't the only Padres hitter struggling at the plate right now; the same could be said for Austin Hedges and Manuel Margot. Still, Renfroe's 1-for-19 showing at the plate over the last week has dropped his season numbers to a rough place -- .213 batting average, .227 on-base percentage. One of the most glaring issues with the 25-year-old outfielder is his lack of plate discipline. In 146 career plate appearances spanning back to his MLB debut last season, he has drawn only three walks.
San Francisco Giants - There were plenty of groans in the Bay Area over the weekend when Mark Melancon blew his second save of the season, leading to a 5-2 loss to the Padres. However, the long-time Pittsburgh Pirates reliever is far from struggling. He has 10 strikeouts and only one walk in 11 appearances as the Giants' new closer and is showing the same filthy stuff he did with the Pirates. His ERA and WHIP stand at 2.53 and 1.31, respectively.
Seattle Mariners - Any progress Mike Zunino made at the plate last season in terms of pitch selection and patience at the plate already appears to be a thing of the past. The former first-round pick is batting .174 with 28 strikeouts in 76 plate appearances this season and his future with the Mariners is probably in doubt unless he starts to turn things around in a major way. Zunino also is in the middle of the longest homerless streak of his career; he has yet to go yard in 2017.
Tampa Bay Rays - Colby Rasmus walked in his only plate appearance on Tuesday, his first game with the Rays after starting the season on the disabled list while recovering from offseason surgery. Rays manager Kevin Cash said earlier this week that the plan is for Rasmus to play against all right-handed starters and serve as the primary left fielder while also getting some time as a designated hitter.
Texas Rangers - Cole Hamels will miss eight weeks due to a strained right oblique, leaving the Rangers without one of their top starters. A.J. Griffin replaces him in the rotation that also includes Yu Darvish, Martin Perez, Andrew Cashner and Nick Martinez. Rangers GM Jon Daniels refused to buy into the notion that the team is snake bitten. "No, that's a loser's mentality," Daniels told MLB.com. "This is baseball. These things happen. You prepare for them by building depth. Obviously, you don't snap your fingers and replace Cole Hamels. But we've got quality people who can step in and do the job. Adversity is part of it. We'll continue to push forward. Looking at it any other way is setting up for failure."
Toronto Blue Jays - The team has been oddly quiet regarding injury updates to J.A. Happ (elbow), and that isn't a good sign. At this point, it's hard to say when he'll be able to rejoin the Blue Jays' rotation but he isn't close enough to being available when Toronto needs a fifth starter on May 11.
Washington Nationals - Ryan Zimmerman is only one of several Nationals to make waves with his powerful hitting this season, and right now he's the hottest hitter on the team. He is batting .571 (12-for-21) with 3 homers and 3 doubles in his last 5 games. He joins fellow starters Matt Wieters, Michael Taylor, Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy as players on the team who are hitting better than .340 over the last week.
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