MLB Player News

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera will start hitting again Wednesday. Cabrera has been held out of action with a back injury, but appears to be improving. Provided he does not suffer a set-back, he should be ready for the start of the regular season.

With all the mid-to-late-round talent/sleepers at first base, I've been letting other Fantasy owners clamor over Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo. I have no doubt Rizzo's left-handed bat will play big at Wrigley Field one day. I just don't feel he's going to provide Fantasy owners with the rewards they seek in 2013. I've been more than happy to pass on Rizzo and later target players like Ryan Howard, Justin Morneau, Ike Davis, Eric Hosmer, Yonder Alonso, Brandon Belt and my new favorite sleeper -- Kendrys Morales.

First baseman/outfielder Chris Carter is on the Astros' opening day roster.

The 26-year-old was acquired from the Athletics during the offseason. 

Last season, he hit .239/.350/.514 in 260 plate appearances. Carter is expected to play left field for the club this season. 

Joey Terdoslavich has been assigned to the Braves’ minor-league camp. He will likely begin the season at Triple-A.

Terdoslavich made a push to make the opening day roster, hitting .395. Terdoslavich made the transition to corner outfield this spring, after he struggled defensively at third last season. 

Marlins second baseman Donovan Solano was able to take batting practice Monday.

Solano has been sidelined with a sore back, which has caused him to miss about a week of action. If healthy, Solano is expected to open the season as the team’s starter at second.

Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun made a pinch-hit appearance Sunday against the Giants. He went 0 for 1 with a strikeout in the ninth inning. Calhoun, who returned from a back injury on Saturday, has gone 1 for 4 in the last two Cactus League games. 

Reds first baseman Joey Votto has had a productive spring so far as he is hitting .359 with three homers and 10 RBI in 39 at-bats. He also is slugging .641 with a solid 1.109 OPS.

Despite his stellar numbers, Votto told the Cincinnati Enquirer that he does not concentrate on Cactus League stats much.

"I’ve hit some balls hard in parts of the park where I’ve had some good results," Votto said Sunday. "Unless I can continue to move toward the type of hitter I prefer to be, I’m not going to have the same results as last year or previous years, and I am moving toward that, which is a good thing. As far as my numbers, I put nothing into it. Frankly, they’re very deceiving."

One storyline I'm eager to watch this season is if Indians catcher Carlos Santana is ready for a breakout season. 

Santana's has had some good power numbers in the past, but he's yet to match the production he had in the minors. In case you are unfamiliar, Santana hit .290 with a .401 on-base percentage, .500 slugging percentage and .900 OPS in 527 minor-league games. If he posts those kind of numbers in the majors, then he would challenge Buster Posey as the top Fantasy catcher. 

I'm thinking with all the lineup upgrades Cleveland made this offseason that Santana might finally have the lineup protection he needs to get closer to what he did in the minors.

Clearly, I'm not the person who is buying into this theory as Santana is the second-highest drafted catcher in Head-to-Head formats and third-highest in Rotisserie leagues.

With it looking more and more likely Chris Carter is going to end up as the Astros' starting left fielder, it's time to start assessing his Fantasy value and whether or not a change of scenery is going to make a major difference. 

Looking at Carter's spring numbers, I don't think he's changed much from the hitter he was with the A's. He still has great power (slugging .554 in 21 spring games), but he continues to hit for a so-so average (.268) and is striking out a lot (20 Ks). He slugged .514 in 67 games for Oakland last season, but he also struck out 83 times.

It's going to be a plus for Carter that he will play regularly with the Astros. He's also expected to hit in the heart of their lineup and the short porch in left field at Minute Maid Park should definitely play big for the right-handed slugger. 

But I'm not sure all the positives are ready to wipe out all the negatives for Carter. Looking at his minor-league stat line (.283/.378/.535/.913), you can see the kind of potential Carter brings to the table. But the Astros aren't expected to contend this season, so Carter's RBI potential could also be limited. I still view him as nothing more than a late-round flier in deeper Fantasy formats. 

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was scratched from the lineup for Sunday's Cactus League game and is also expected to sit Monday after tweaking his back while hitting in the batting cages, The Plain Dealer reports. Manager Terry Francona was not concerned with Cabrera's status for the start of the season. "It seemed like a silly time of the year to have Asdrubal play through an something like that," Francona said.