MLB Player News

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter should take advantage of his platoon splits in Week 5 (April 29-May 5), as the team is set to take on five right-handed starting pitchers.

Carpenter has an .830 on-base plus slugging percentage in his career against righties, a trend that has so far held up this season. Carpenter's OPS is .350 points higher against right-handers this season, a feature that has piqued our Scott White's interest. White considers Carpenter to be worth starting in Fantasy Week 5 in his Hit Parade column, as they get set for series against the Reds and Brewers.  

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper will undoubtedly set many franchise records before he is done, and he notched one of his first Thursday against the Reds. Harper slugged his eighth home run of the season, giving him the franchise mark for longballs in April. He went 2 for 3 in the game with a walk, while driving in one and scoring once on his solo home run. The Nationals won the game, 8-1.

Harper is batting .364 with an 1.113 on-base plus slugging percentage, and he has driven in 16 home runs in 22 games.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen went hitless for the fourth time in the last six games on Wednesday night against the Phillies. He went 0 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout in a 5-3 win.

McCutchen has gone just 3 for 22 in his last six contests and has seen his average drop from .273 to .234 during that span.

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter went 3 for 4 with two runs atop the lineup in Tuesday's win over Washington.

With Jon Jay out, Carpenter was given leadoff duties and performed admirably. He doubled twice to go with a single to push his line to .276/.345/.461.

Even though we are nearing the end of the first month of the season, players have accumulated a small enough number of at-bats that a few hits could still make a huge difference to their stat line. Brandon Belt provides a classic example of this phenomenon.

Returning from a three-day absence from the Giants' starting lineup on Wednesday, Belt is primed to improve upon his modest start to the season. He is currently batting just .222, even though he has been smacking line drives at a high rate. Of the 16 liners he has smashed, only nine have become base hits. That number of line drives typically produces two or three additional hits, and if you add three hits (some of which could be for extra bases) to Belt's stat line, his average stands at .270 instead.

If you're thinking about dropping Belt, give him another chance. Not only did he deal with an illness early in the season, but he appears to have suffered from some bad luck at the plate as well.

After going 3 for 3 in a pair of appearances off the bench the last two days, Giants first baseman Brandon Belt is back in the lineup Wednesday against Arizona, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Belt hit a walk-off RBI single Monday night and a game-tying two-run home run in the ninth inning Tuesday night. He's still hitting just .222/.261/.317, but the three hits rose his OPS a whopping 117 points from where it was April 19, his last start (.461 to .578).

Joaquin Arias moves back to the bench as a result.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt provided heroics off the bench once again Tuesday against Arizona, as he went 2 for 2 and hit a game-tying two-run home run in the ninth inning. 

Belt was hitting just .183/.227/.233 after April 20, his last start, but his three hits in three at-bats off the bench since (he also hit the game-winning single as a pinch hitter Monday) have elevated his line to .222/.261/.317. It still isn't impressive, but it shows just how much a tiny hot streak can impact rate stats at this point of the season.

After going 0 for 3 earlier in the day, Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton bounced back with a solid performance in the nightcap of a doubleheader against the Twins at Target Field.

Stanton drove in a run on a fielder's choice in the second and singled in one more in the eighth. He also added a double and finished 2 for 4 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBI in an 8-5 victory.

Stanton has gone 4 for 12 with three runs scored and three RBI in his last three games. He is hitting .200/.333/.255 and has yet to hit one out of the park through his first 55 at-bats.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt only received one plate appearance Monday, but made it count. 

Belt hit a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth inning. Belt took a Tony Sipp slider to center field, scoring Andres Torres for the game-winning run. Belt has seen his playing time cut recently due to an early season slump. Belt is hitting .197/.239/.246.

Dodgers outfield prospect Joc Pederson was named Southern League player of the week Monday. Pederson hit .407 (11 for 27) with two doubles, two home runs, five RBI, seven runs, four walks and three stolen bases in seven games from April 15-21.

After opening the season hitless in the first two games (0 for 7), Pederson has hit safely in his last 15 games. He's batting .318 with a .370 on-base percentage, .682 slugging percentage and 1.052 OPS through 17 games. He also has two triples, five doubles, five home runs, 12 RBI and six stolen bases.

Pederson is considered a top 5 prospect in the Dodgers' system by MLB.com (No. 3) and Baseball America (No. 4).