Austin Hedges, regarded as one of the top catching prospects in baseball, joined the Padres on Monday as they were preparing to open a series at AT&T Park against the Giants.

D-backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has been named the National League Player of the Week for the first time in his career.

Did the Brewers’ decision to dismiss manager Ron Roenicke and replace him with Craig Counsell on a three-year contract signal the start of a long-term rebuilding project? Not so fast, said club officials, who plan to give Counsell a window of opportunity to win before the organization considers a sell-off.

A fleet-footed infielder and a power-hitting outfielder have tied for the American League’s top weekly distinction. Houston second baseman Jose Altuve and Oakland right fielder Josh Reddick were named the AL’s co-Players of the Week on Monday in recognition of their sterling play.

The Astros have the chance to keep their 10-game streak going this week with a favorable schedule that has them matched up against the Rangers (home series) and Angels (road), two teams that are off to sluggish starts in 2015.

The Brewers moved Craig Counsell from the front office to the dugout on Monday, as the team formally announced a new manager in the wake of Ron Roenicke’s dismissal.

Thirty winners were announced on Monday by Major League Baseball in the 2015 Honorary Bat Girl contest.

The Royals truly believe they are never out of a game. That can explain why Kansas City leads the Major Leagues in two-out hits with 90 and are tied for first with two-out RBIs with Boston with 55.

Noah Syndergaard threw a seven-inning shutout in the first game of a doubleheader on Monday, then came back five days later with seven more scoreless innings. His performance was the most impressive among prospects for the week of April 27-May 3.

Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores has seven errors through 21 games, tied for third most in the Majors and already three more than he committed in 51 games at shortstop last season. Limited range and hurried throws have overshadowd a tied-for-team-best three home runs.

Tyler Flowers has found filling A.J. Pierzynski’s shoes behind the plate for the White Sox a difficult task, but he remains confident in his skillset, despite some fans’ objections.

Stay safe this summer. Major League Baseball began its Play Sun Smart initiative on Sunday, which seeks to raise awareness of skin cancer and to offer prevention tips to the baseball community.

Dee Gordon and Howie Kendrick are highly productive players at second base, and both of them are making a smooth transition to a new team. But that’s where the similarities end. They get their job done at a high level in entirely different styles.

The latest “Best of Statcast” brings us three plays — one on defense — that illustrate how the new technology we’ve been enjoying this year in Major League Baseball can be broken down and analyzed to explain the great feats on the field that take place every day of the 162-game slate.

April was a weird month. Some teams expected to do great things fell flat. Others with low expectations soared. There was a lot of “Surely, they’re not this good” and “No way are they this bad” talk. The season is a month old, and an examination of at least half the teams, and maybe more, leaves us still not exactly sure which direction they’re headed.

Designated hitter Evan Gattis clobbered two home runs Sunday afternoon, including a tiebreaking shot into the Crawford Boxes in the eighth inning, to send the Astros to their 10th consecutive win, 7-6, and complete a four-game sweep of the Mariners at Minute Maid Park.

DraftKings participants may be wise to employ hitting stacks on Monday, as several subpar hurlers are slated to start at hitter-friendly venues. On the flip side, a few cost-effective arms are set to toss at pitcher-friendly parks. After considering all of the options, we are confident to recommend the following names.