MLB Player News

Freeman has been dropped to sixth in the order for Monday's game against Boston.

Still mired in an early-season slump, Freeman enters play Monday night hitting .177/.311/.258 with a homer and five RBI through 17 games. With Freeman's drop in the order, the Braves are hitting Adonis Garcia third, while A.J. Pierzynski and Jeff Francoeur are hitting fourth and fifth.

Hoskins, 23, is batting .230/.304/.426 with three home runs and 10 RBI through 16 games for Double-A Reading.

Hoskins hit .319 across two levels last season, though it remains to be seen if he will be able to hit for average at the higher levels. He already has 18 strikeouts through 16 games, though he is not afraid to take a walk. Hoskins could be the eventual replacement for Ryan Howard, but that likely will not happen until 2017 at the earliest.

Freeman went 3-for-13 (.231) with a double and RBI over the weekend against the Mets.

The first baseman continued to express his frustration and even told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that he seems to only be able to hit lefties right now, but Freeman appears to be slowly turning things around at the plate. His average is still just .177 and he hasn't hit a home run since Opening Day, but Freeman has hit safely in seven of his last nine games.

Carter went 6-for-11 (.545) with a home run, four doubles and two RBI in the Brewers' three-game series with the Phillies over the weekend.

Carter entered Friday's game with an .897 OPS, but exited the weekend at 1.050 -- the sixth-best mark in the National League. He has hit in only the fourth and fifth spots in the order for the Brewers this year, and will no doubt continue to do so while he's hot.

Rizzo went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI against the Reds on Sunday.

That 3-for-38 slump seems to be over as, Rizzo feasted on the Reds over the weekend. In his last five games, he has five home runs and 10 RBI. For the year, he has eight home runs and 21 RBI, both second in the National League to Bryce Harper.

Goldschmidt went 2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBI, three runs scored and three walks in Sunday's loss to the Pirates.

It was a monster day at the plate for Goldscmhidt in a game that went four extra frames. He has seemingly hit his stride of late, as he is batting .389 with two homers, five RBI, four runs scored and seven walks over the last five games.

Flores will start at third base Sunday in Atlanta, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports.

With David Wright getting the day off, Flores will fill in at the hot corner, though his bat has left much to be desired this season. Across 17 at-bats, he's tallied just one single and one run scored, while managing three strikeouts versus a pair of walks.

Bell hit for the cycle Friday -- going 4-for-5 with five RBI -- giving him three home runs in his last seven games.

He hit a grand slam Friday and is now slashing .292/.414/.583 with an impressive 10:9 BB:K in 48 at-bats. The power appears to be coming for the hulking Bell, who is transitioning from the outfield to first base. John Jaso is playing better than expected for the Pirates, but Jaso's never played in more than 109 games in any of his seven seasons. Bell could make his debut in Pittsburgh sometime after the Super 2 arbitration date if he continues to play well and/or Jaso suffers an injury.

Freeman is working with Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer to make some minor adjustments to his swing, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

He is hitting just .163/.328/.245 with one homer, four RBI, seven runs and 16 strikeouts in 49 at-bats this season. The good news is Freeman is still finding his way on base, as he has walked 10 times, but overall this is a huge disappointment. Freeman didn't have a full offseason because he was healing from a wrist issue, but he hasn't been making any excuses. Fortunately, he's turned it around a little bit, going 6-for-24 (.250) over the last week. Maybe the minor adjustments will help him find his way.

Rizzo got a piece of the offensive party in Thursday's 16-0 rout of the Reds, going 1-for-6 with a three-run homer and two runs scored.

It's been a slow start to the year for the star first baseman, who's still under the Mendoza Line, but has homers in consecutive games and 16 RBI in as many contests. We'll take the bad with the good until he inevitably lifts the ol' average back to its normally solid level.