MLB Player News

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter flashed his extra-base power for the second game in a row to open the season Tuesday against the Diamondbacks.

Carpenter slugged a pair of doubles in the game to give him three through the season's first two games. He finished the game 2 for 5 with one run scored, in a 6-1 victory. 

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt missed Tuesday's game against the Dodgers due to an illness, reports the San Jose Mercury News. Belt is day to day. 

The slugger, who went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts Monday against the Dodgers in the opener, received IV fluids before the game and played through the illness but took Tuesday off. 

San Francisco expects Belt to return Wednesday against Josh Beckett. 

The Cubs announced Tuesday outfield prospect Jorge Soler will begin the 2013 season at Class A Daytona, according to MLB.com. 

Soler, who is considered the team's third-best prospect by Baseball America and MLB.com, hit .222 with one homer, one triple, one double and three RBI in 17 spring games. Soler has a minor-league slash line of .299/.369/.463/.832 in 34 games. He also has five homers, seven doubles and 25 RBI.

Matt Carpenter received the start at third base for the Cardinals on opening day Monday night against the Diamondbacks. He went 1 for 4 with a run scored in the 6-2 loss.

The 27-year-old doubled off starter Ian Kennedy in his first at-bat and came around to score on Matt Holliday's double.

Carpenter, who batted .304 during spring training, is playing the hot corner with David Freese (back) injured.

After being considered questionable for the start of the season as late as last Wednesday, Mets second baseman Justin Turner was available off the bench during the team's season opener against San Diego on Monday. Turner dealt with a calf injury at the end of spring training, but was able to avoid the disabled list and open the season on New York's bench.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper slugged two solo home runs in his first two at-bats during Washington's 2-0 season-opening win over Miami on Monday. Harper, who served as the No. 3 hitter in the lineup for his first career opening day, finished 2 for 4 to finish as the lone player in the game to finish with multiple hits.

According to ESPN, he also became just the third player since 1920 with two homers on opening day when his team scored only two runs; the other two occasions came in losses.

Bryce Harper has gotten his sophomore season with the Nationals off to a dramatic start, homering in his first two at-bats against the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco. I projected Harper for a total of 26 home runs this year, expecting that he may not be able to exceed the 13 percent home run-to-flyball (HR/FB) ratio that he put up as a rookie.

Then again, Harper hasn't been much of a flyball hitter throughout his brief professional career, and last year, his flyball rate was just 33 percent. Even if he can't raise an already impressive HR/FB ratio, Harper can exceed 30 homers just by hitting the ball in the air more frequently. There is certainly room for him to exceed what could have been a conservative estimate.

After bashing a staggering two home runs last season with Philadelphia -- the same total as three pitchers in the National League -- it seems the most logical place in the lineup for revered slugger Placido Polanco is the cleanup spot. Or so his new team believes.

The Marlins announced Sunday they will start the season with Polanco in the noted run-producing spot while Giancarlo Stanton, who matched Polanco's homer total in two separate games last year, takes the No. 3 position. Perhaps the Marlins are playing it strictly by the numbers -- Polanco does have 103 career homers compared to Stanton's mere 93. There's only one key difference: Stanton has accomplished his total in 1,436 fewer regular-season games than Polanco.

Ultimately, Stanton's spot in the lineup won't matter as he's actually gone deep more from the three-hole (14) than the cleanup spot (12) in his brief career despite receiving fewer at-bats as the third hitter. When Albert Pujols led the NL with 42 homers during the 2010 season, all of them came from the No. 3 spot.

Throughout all the sarcasm, one thing remains clear: Stanton will continue to rake as he is easily the leading candidate to pace the league in home runs this season for the first time in his blooming career.

Continuing the renewed optimism surrounding their previously injured players, Mets manager Terry Collins said Sunday that second baseman Justin Turner could be available for the season opener, ESPN.com reports. Turner suffered a strained left calf last Wednesday and did not appear in another game the rest of the exhibition season.

Starting infielders David Wright and Daniel Murphy, both of whom dealt with an intercostal injury this spring, are expected to play Monday against San Diego.

The Mets will decide Sunday whether second baseman Justin Turner will begin the season on the 25-man roster or the disabled list. He's recovering from a strained left calf.

Turner's status will dictate whether infielder Zach Lutz will open the season with the Mets or in the minors.