MLB Player News

Votto went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's loss in Toronto.

Votto took the first pitch he saw from J.A. Happ over the center field fence, going back-to-back with teammate Zack Cozart. Votto has heated up in May, hitting .308 and posting an OPS of 1.016. His 13 long balls and 40 RBI rank seventh and sixth, respectively, in the National League. Look for him to continue to be one of the best first base options in baseball.

Votto has already popped out six times this season after averaging 4.6 infield flies per season over his career, MLB.com's Keegan Matheson reports.

In the past Votto has assiduously avoided pop-ups, as they are near-certain outs. Has he changed his approach to get more loft in his swing, or is this more of a statistical anomaly? The trend across baseball has been to encourage more of a loft among power hitters - the consequence of which usually is to add more power at the expense of batting average.

Carter is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Orioles, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

Carter has just six hits (albeit three home runs) over the past two weeks, so he'll head to the bench for a night off Tuesday. Rob Refsnyder will fill in at first base for the evening.

Flores went 3-for-4 with a run scored in Monday's 4-2 win over the Brewers.

Flores has done nothing but hit in part-time duty for the Mets in 2017. He's hitting .313 on the year in 100 plate appearances, a stat buoyed by his .393 average in May. The 25-year-old's lofty .333 BABIP screams regression, given his career .276 mark, but Flores can play all around the infield and should remain a nice utility player to own in deeper leagues.

Gurriel is out of the lineup Monday against the Twins.

Gurriel has started three in a row at first base and six of the last seven games overall, but will give way to Marwin Gonzalez for the afternoon showdown in Minnesota. Despite a bit of a May slump, Gurriel had a strong day at the plate Sunday, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Cabrera went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's win over the Pirates.

He's now gone 3-for-14 with two doubles since returning to the starting lineup. Cabrera's thumb seems fine, and fantasy GMs should feel safe plugging him back into their active rosters again.

Santana went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs during Sunday's win over Kansas City.

Things have been trending in the right direction for Santana over his past 20 games. He's posted a .267/.360/.507 slash line with three home runs, 13 RBI and 12 runs during that stretch, and now that he's hitting in the middle of the lineup, Santana stands to continue seeing plenty of RBI opportunities.

Gurriel went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI in Sunday's 8-4 win over the Orioles.

Gurriel has seen his average drop from .329 to .263 in the month of May, but the Cuban has shown flashes of intrigue with four home runs and 17 RBI in 170 plate appearances. He has room to grow with just a 2.4 percent walk rate, but the fact that he's striking out under 15 percent of the time is good news for the 32-year-old. Gurriel is more of a part-time player on a crowded Houston roster, so he's really only useful right now for bench depth in deeper formats.

Goldschmidt is not in the starting lineup Sunday against the Brewers.

Goldschmidt has started 50 of 51 possible games for the Diamondbacks this season, with his last day off coming all the way back on April 24. While he takes a seat for the series finale, David Peralta will bat third in the order, and Daniel Descalso will get the nod at first base.

Abreu had a hit in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader, going 2-for-8 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in a split with the Tigers.

Abreu has been on a tear during a nine-game hitting streak, having gone 18-for-41 (.439) with four doubles, three home runs, seven RBI and 10 runs scored. He's experienced a steady decline in power since his rookie 2014 season, but with 10 homers through 47 games, he's on pace for a third 30-homer season.