Milwaukee Brewers infield prospect Ernesto Martinez Jr. is riding a five-game hitting streak at Triple-A. During this stretch, Martinez tallied at least two hits in all but one game and held a .529/.619/.882 slash line. He went deep twice and held a 4:3 BB:K. This impressive stretch earned him International League Hitter of the Week honors. Through 12 total games this season, Martinez has performed well with Triple-A Nashville, holding a .317/.429/.512 slash line with two home runs and an 8:8 BB:K. Last summer, Martinez spent his entire season with Double-A Biloxi and posted a strong .284/.365/.466 line. It appears the 25-year-old is carrying this success into his first taste of Triple-A. If he continues to perform well, Martinez could be in the mix for a second-half MLB debut.

Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning of Monday night's 8-3 loss to the Cardinals. He finished the night 1-for-4 with the blast that came off relief pitcher Roddery Munoz, giving him three long balls on the season. Pena is hitting just .207 through 16 games but has increased his ISO with four of his 12 hits going for extra bases. His hard-hit rate and barrel rate are actually up this season as well, but his .200 BABIP has held back his overall production. His xwOBA of .371 stands in stark contrast to his .291 wOBA, so his metrics show he has actually been hitting the ball much better than his batting average reflects. Pena and his fantasy managers will hope that Monday's home run can jumpstart a turnaround in his average as the Astros continue their three-game set in St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan went a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI in the Cardinals' 8-3 win on Monday night at Busch Stadium. Donovan has moved all over the field this season and started Monday at shortstop before moving to second base later in the game. Wherever he has played defensively, the 28-year-old has brought good offensive production this season, hitting .391 over his first 16 games of the year with five doubles, two home runs, four walks, a stolen base, and a .427 wOBA. His increased production is backed up by a 50.9% hard-hit rate, according to Statcast. The versatile utilityman should continue to get plenty of work for the Cardinals and is a good fantasy option in all formats while he's so locked in at the plate.

Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run off Dylan Cease on Monday night, but his Cubs lost 10-4 to the Padres. Busch's home run continues a strong start to the season for the 27-year-old lefty, who is now up to a .310 batting average and .436 wOBA through his first 18 games with four homers, 12 runs scored, and 12 RBI. Busch's strong start and spot in the heart of the Cubs' productive batting order make him a solid option from the waiver wire in mixed leagues if available. He is still platooning a little bit and sitting against lefties, but when he is in the lineup, he has proven he can produce good run production numbers

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer (thumb) is still feeling soreness in his right thumb after throwing recently, according to manager John Schneider. Scherzer will visit with a doctor again in the coming days, at which point we should have word on how much more time the three-time Cy Young winner will have to miss. The 40-year-old made just one start for Toronto before injuring his thumb and being placed on the injured list. He received a couple of cortisone injections in his thumb in early April that at first appeared to help, but now Scherzer is back in the same situation with more soreness. Fantasy managers that took Scherzer as a value pick in drafts this spring need to stay patient, but it's looking more and more like he could be in for a lengthy absence.