MLB Player News

Goldschmidt went 3-for-6 with his 20th homer, 20th steal, two RBI and three runs in Wednesday's 11-inning victory over the Braves.

Goldy's power production has fallen off a bit this year -- surprising in a season that's seen power hitting explode across the league -- but he's now gone 20-20 in consecutive seasons, and there aren't many players who can do that while also being assets in batting average. Indeed, the star first baseman is on pace to hit over .300 for the fourth straight season. There's nothing not to love about the package he offers for fantasy owners.

Joseph went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two runs against the White Sox on Wednesday.

He also struck out twice, giving him six in 14 at-bats over the last four games, but Phillies fans and fantasy owners aren't going to complain, considering Joseph's socked 17 homers in 75 games -- that's a full-season pace for 36 long balls. It'd be nice to see him take a few more walks, but Joseph's .260 BABIP offers the promise of a better batting average when his fortune's more favorable in the future. He may never be elite in that category, but the power should carry him a long way anyhow. That said, in the longer term, he'll have to fight off up-and-coming first-base prospect Rhys Hoskins, who has hit 35 homers in Double-A this year.

Flores is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Cardinals.

James Loney will start at first base as Flores heads to the bench Wednesday evening. Flores had a great game Tuesday, going 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI, but still owns a less than stellar batting average (.259) and on-base percentage (.315) for the season.

Howard is in the lineup for Wednesday's matchup against the White Sox.

The Phillies are playing in Chicago's American League ballpark, so Howard will be Philadelphia's DH and hit cleanup Wednesday evening. Howard has continued to perform well during his resurgent second half to the season and is hitting .300/.364/.633 with three home runs and 11 RBI over the last 14 days.

Rizzo is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Padres.

He has started every game since July 30, but the Cubs will take advantage of their unmatched depth and huge lead in the standings to give him a day off while still deploying a pretty intimidating lineup Wednesday. Kris Bryant will man first base and hit second while Ben Zobrist steps into Rizzo's typical spot in the three hole.

Cabrera went 3-for-5 with a run scored and driven in along with a stolen base in the Mets' 7-4 win over the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Cabrera also made two spectacular plays in the field to rob St. Louis of hits and runs scored. Maybe it was the golden locks he now has, but whatever the reason, Cabrera was locked in at the plate and in the field Tuesday. He and Jose Reyes combined to go 6-for-9 with four runs scored, two runs driven in and a pair of stolen bases.

Votto went 2-for-3 with two RBI in Tuesday's win over the Rangers.

The veteran slugger has picked his game up over the past week, going 9-for-15 (.600) with multi-hit games in each of his last four starts. Votto had just 22 RBI for all of June and July combined, before busting out for 22 so far in August alone. He's got himself back on pace to challenge the 100 RBI mark, a feat Votto hasn't accomplished since 2011.

Howard is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the White Sox.

Despite the fact that the Phillies are playing in an American League park this week, Howard will still take a seat Tuesday with Philadelphia facing southpaw Carlos Rodon. Carlos Ruiz will serve as the DH instead of Howard, but Howard could draw in Wednesday against James Shields.

Bour (ankle) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list Tuesday.

The move to place Bour on the 60-day DL opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for Oswaldo Arcia, who was claimed off waivers by the Marlins on Tuesday. Bour's recovery from a badly sprained ankle has been a tricky one with plenty of stops and starts along the way, including several expected return dates that had to be pushed back. He has been sidelined since early July, so Bour could still return in September if his ankle cooperates.

Rizzo went 4-for-5 and scored a run in Monday's win over the Padres.

Rizzo has just one home run in 20 games in August, but he has been making opposing pitchers pay in other ways. He owns a solid 9:10 BB:K and mashed his eighth double of the month in Monday's win. His batting line for August sits at a cool .383/.451/.568, proving he can be plenty productive even when he isn't depositing the ball into the bleachers.