Player Notes

Jack Hannahan grounded out as a pinch-hitter in Monday's victory against the Mets.
Advice: The Minnesota native is miscast as a pinch-hitter and is no threat to Todd Frazier's job, despite the latter's struggles. Hannahan is known for his glove, not his stick, but Cincinnati likely hoped for more than a .222/.317/.278 slash line when they inked him to a two-year, $4 million contract over the offseason.

Chris Denorfia went 3-for-4 with a steal and an RBI versus the Cardinals on Monday.
Advice: Certainly one of the game's most unheralded players, Denorfia keeps producing no matter which outfield position the Padres may ask him to play on a given night. The 32-year-old is batting .301/.352/.406 with five steals (and no pickoffs), two homers, 14 RBI and 19 runs and 133 at-bats. He's given NL-only owners everything they could have hoped for.

Ty Wigginton went 0-for-2 with a walk in Monday's loss to the Padres.
Advice: He was also caught stealing. Wigginton doesn't draw many starts, and he doesn't do much with them when he does, slashing .194/.286/.226 with no homers or steals and one RBI through 31 at-bats. St. Louis doesn't often make mistakes, but the two-year, $5 million deal they gifted Wigginton in mid-December certainly qualifies.

Andres Torres went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's win against Washington.
Advice: Prior to the evening, Torres hadn't collected a hit since May 8. The 35-year-old backup outfielder is batting just .247/.282/.346 over 81 at-bats this season.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer Friday against the White Sox.
Advice: Salty is batting .333 in 42 at-bats this month. The Red Sox are trying to limit the switch-hitter's at-bats against left-handers and it's working so far; he's hitting .302 with all five of his homers and 12 of his 13 RBI against righties.

George Kottaras has just two hits this season.
Advice: Kottaras has started only four games this season and hasn't registered a hit since April 28. He's batting .125/.364/.375 this season, somehow drawing six walks in 21 plate appearances despite his limp bat.

Reserve outfielder Logan Schafer has posted a .455 OPS for the Brewers this season.
Advice: Although Shafer at times looks like a high-schooler at the dish -- slashing .182/.250/.205 -- he's actually registered a positive WAR, due to the three runs he's estimated to have saved in the field, per Baseball Reference. That's good enough to keep a roster spot in the majors, of course, but glove-only subs will have to wait until fantasy baseball evolves to include advanced defensive metrics to have any value even in the deepest of leagues.

Rangers optioned C Robinson Chirinos to Triple-A Round Rock.
Advice: He's clearing the way for A.J. Pierzynski's return from the DL on Tuesday. Chirinos picked up three hits in 12 at-bats with the big club.

Seth Smith went 2-for-4 with a homer, two walks and three runs scored versus the Rangers on Monday.
Advice: The A's are hoping Smith's slump is over. His OPS dropped from 1.072 on April 23 to .933 on April 30 to .755 on May 17, but he's now gone 4-for-8 in his last two games. Of course, it was in late April and early May that the A's really needed him. Now that Yoenis Cespedes, Coco Crisp and Chris Young are healthy again, Smith isn't so important to the attack anymore.

Eric Hinske is batting .188 with a .548 OPS over 34 plate-appearances.
Advice: The Diamondbacks handed Hinske a one-year, $1.35 million contract in December after he batted just .197/.272/.311 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 91 games last season for the Braves. The former Rookie of the Year, now 35, is reaching the end of a respectable 12-year career.

Jonathan Herrera is batting .283/.327/.370 through 49 plate appearances.
Advice: If his slash numbers hold, Herrera will finish with the best offensive season of his career, topping the .694 OPS he mustered in 2010. Unfortunately, the utility infielder has scuffled in the field recently, recording three errors in his last 12 games.

A.J. Pollock broke out of a slump by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored Monday against the Rockies.
Advice: Pollock went 1-for-19 last week, and he was hitting just .204 in May. He's probably getting sent down later this month when Adam Eaton comes off the DL.

Hanley Ramirez (hamstring) has been taking ground balls and hitting recently.
Advice: He's yet to test out his hamstring by running, which is no surprise since he's barely over two weeks into his 4-6 week timetable. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly stressed that the club will make sure Hanley's hamstring is fully healed before bringing him back.
More: Dodgers.mlb.com

Brian Dozier went 0-for-4 as the Twins' leadoff man on Monday, dropping his average to .205.
Advice: Dozier started off well after replacing Aaron Hicks in the leadoff spot, but now he's hitting .154 with two walks in 52 at-bats this month. The Twins should consider sending him down, but none of their minor league options are better bets.

Shin-Soo Choo is in Monday's lineup against the Mets.
Advice: Choo wasn't in the original lineup, but that's only because Reds manager Dusty Baker thought that Jon Niese was pitching. However, he's back in there since Shaun Marcum is pitching for New York. Look for Choo to get the day off Tuesday.
More: Cincinnati Reds on Twitter

Chris Davis went 2-for-4 with a homer and a walk Monday against the Yankees.
Advice: Davis lost his share of the AL home run lead when Robinson Cano went deep in the first, only to move back into a tie by hitting his 13th homer an inning later. He has four homers in 10 games after slumping some in late April and early May.

Marlins purchased the contract of 1B/OF Jordan Brown from Triple-A New Orleans.
Advice: Brown was sporting a weak .261/.305/.336 batting line at the Triple-A level. He will not carry any fantasy value.