MLB Player News

Although he's hitting just .247 through 21 games, Goldschmidt has a .935 OPS with five home runs and 15 RBI.

The 15 RBI are tied for the team lead, while the five home runs are good for second. Goldschmidt also has an impressive 22:20 BB:K rate. Goldy is a career .298 hitter, so his average will likely climb, which will only boost his counting stats further. Simply put, it looks like another monster season for the 28-year-old if he stays healthy.

Bour is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Dodgers.

Don Mattingly is looking to get as many right-handed bats into the lineup Tuesday to gain a platoon advantage against the dominant southpaw, Clayton Kershaw. As such, Chris Johnson will take Bour's spot at first base Tuesday but Bour will be available off the bench and figures to rejoin the lineup before the end of the series. That said, the Dodgers will start lefty Scott Kazmir on Wednesday, so Bour could be out of the lineup the next two nights.

Walker has played exclusively in left field at Triple-A Norfolk so far this season, which could help his chances of contributing in the majors in 2016.

He is slashing .296/.342/.549 with four home runs in 76 plate appearances, and his .254 ISO represents a career best in the minors. The odds are certainly better that he unseats Joey Rickard in left field than Chris Davis at first base, so this boosts the probability of him being useful in fantasy leagues this season. He could also see time at DH if he was recalled, and at 25 years old, Walker has very little left to prove in the minors.

Cron is not in the starting lineup Monday against the Royals, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

He'll take a seat with the Angels facing right-hander Ian Kennedy. Albert Pujols is playing first base while Mike Trout gets a night off from defensive responsibilities as the team's DH.

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.

Padlo, 19, is batting .130/.279/.222 to go with one homer and two steals over 69 plate appearances with Low-A Bowling Green this season.

Padlo, who was acquired from the Rockies in January as part of the Corey Dickerson-Jake McGee deal, is off to a rough start with his new organization, mirroring the struggles he experienced at Low-A Asheville in the second half of last season. While he's been able to draw 10 walks already, Padlo still has too much swing-and-miss in his game, a quality that could prove even more disastrous as he rises to higher levels in the minors.

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.