18 Mitch Moreland, 1B

Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland received just his third day off and first break since April 19 Wednesday against the Athletics. Manager Ron Washington commented Moreland appeared to be "a little fatigued" and could use a day off.

Coupled with Thursday's day off, it will give Moreland two days of rest. Washington said Moreland will be back in the lineup Friday against the Mariners.

Moreland has been one of the majors' hottest hitters since late May. He's batting .352 with a .694 slugging percentage, 1.088 OPS, eight home runs, 11 doubles and 20 RBI in his last 29 games.

Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland had multiple RBI for the fourth time in 11 games Sunday against the Tigers. Moreland is batting .328 (22 for 67) with a triple, four doubles, seven home runs, 13 runs and 14 RBI in 18 May games.

Moreland has been on a roll since late April. He's batting .363 with a .405 on-base percentage, .716 slugging percentage and 1.121 OPS in his last 27 games. He also has a triple, eight home runs, 10 doubles and 20 RBI in that span.

Echoing Scott White's take from earlier Wednesday, Nando Di Fino threw his support behind Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland in his Waiver Wire column.

Moreland has secured an everyday spot and has Nando eyeing a 25-homer season, with nine already on the board. Nando also sets an over/under on Moreland's ownership at 87 percent by the end of the month, after he jumped up from 33 to 57 percent just over the last week.

If you are looking for an upgrade at first base, you can definitely do worse than a 27-year-old with growing power who doesn't strike out much and has improved his batting average at least 21 points in each of the last two seasons. That he plays in a solid lineup in a hitter's park is all the more reason to run out and grab Moreland.

Over his first couple of years in big leagues, Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland was an afterthought in Fantasy as a platoon player at the game's deepest position. But this year, he's getting a chance to play every day and making the most of it. With two more home runs Tuesday, he now has nine on the season, putting him on a 36-homer pace.

While that exact number is probably far-fetched -- projecting a player's rest-of-season numbers at a time when he's unsustainably hot is inherently misleading -- a more reasonable increase in home runs is not. Moreland hit 15 in only 327 at-bats last year, so he's a good bet for 20-plus simply by playing more. Plus, he's 27 this year. While I don't think that age is any more magical than 26 or 28, it's true that most players see an increase in power in their mid-to-late 20s.

Though I'd like Moreland more if he had better plate discipline, the bottom line is his surprising production to date might not be so surprising after all. You should at least value him on the level of a Justin Morneau or Brandon Belt at first base.

Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland homered twice on Tuesday night during a game at Oakland.

Moreland, who hit his second home run and his ninth of the season in the top of the 10th inning, added a two-run shot in the top of the fourth. He drove in three runs overall.

Moreland went 2 for 5 and is batting .296. He's about as hot as it gets at the moment. Moreland has homered three times in two games with six over his last nine contests.