MLB Player News

Beer isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Astros.

Beer has started in three of the first five games of the regular season, and he's gone 3-for-12 with a home run, three RBI and a walk. However, Cooper Hummel will serve as the designated hitter and lead off with left-hander Framber Valdez on the mound Wednesday.

Turner went 1-for-4 with a walk, a run and an RBI in Tuesday's 7-2 win over the Twins.

The RBI was the first of the season for Turner, who has hit fourth or fifth in each of the Dodgers' four games to date. With two of the three stars ahead of him in the order -- Mookie Betts and Trea Turner -- all sitting on on-base averages under .250, Turner hasn't had many run-producing opportunities, but the Dodgers offense is too talented to stay down for long. The seven runs Tuesday were the team's most of the season, after Los Angeles produced a combined 11 runs over its three-game series in Colorado last weekend.

McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI in Tuesday's 5-4 victory over the Orioles.

It took McCutchen five games to knock in his first runs with the Brewers, but the trio of them he picked up Tuesday were key to his team's victory. McCutchen is being put in position to help fantasy players, as he has hit cleanup in the three games in which a right-hander has started for the opponent and leadoff in the two games in which the Brewers have taken on a southpaw.

Ozuna went 3-for-6 with a double, two solo home runs and a third run scored in Tuesday's 16-4 win over the Nationals.

The veteran slugger led an Atlanta attack that piled up 19 hits and eight extra-base hits on the night. Ozuna is red hot to begin the season, and while Tuesday's blasts were his first two homers of 2022, he's slashing .375/.385/.750 through six games with five RBI.

Pederson went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in a 13-2 triumph against the Padres on Tuesday.

Pederson singled in the second and tacked on a solo home run in the eighth off San Diego outfielder Wil Myers. The long ball was the 29-year-old's first as a Giant and he should see regular playing time against right-handed pitchers as he's started all four games against them thus far.

Belt went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, an additional run and a walk in a 13-2 win over San Diego on Tuesday.

Belt kicked off the scoring with a two-run shot off opposing starter Yu Darvish in the first inning, added a single and run in the second and walked in the fifth. The veteran first baseman has been locked in early and is now slashing .438/.526/.875 with two home runs and three multi-hit games through four games on the young season.

Harper will serve as the Phillies' designated hitter and will bat third in Tuesday's game against the Mets, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

With a career 1.017 OPS in 889 plate appearances in March or April, Harper has historically been at his best early in the season before injuries take their toll, but he's gotten off to a uncharacteristically slow start to 2022 despite being in optimal health. Through four games, Harper has generated one hit and two walks while striking out six times across 17 plate appearances. The strikeout rate is up, but in all likelihood, the hits will eventually start to fall in for Harper as the sample size increases. Fantasy managers should be heartened by the fact that he's still striking the ball with authority, as his Statcast-measured hard-hit rate and average exit velocity rank in the 97th and 93rd percentile in baseball, respectively.

Dickerson is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Nationals.

Washington is deploying a lefty starting pitcher (Patrick Corbin) for the second day in a row, so the lefty-hitting Dickerson will remain on the bench. Platoon mate Orlando Arcia gets another turn as Atlanta's designated hitter.

Vogelbach will remain on the bench Tuesday against the Cubs.

Vogelbach led off and served as the designated hitter against a pair of righties to open the season but has now sat against two straight southpaws, including Tuesday's starter Drew Smyly. He owns a career wRC+ of 46 against lefties compared to a 117 wRC+ against righties, so that usage pattern seems likely to continue. Michael Chavis will be the designated hitter this time around.

Belt went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Padres.

Belt and Brandon Crawford were the only Giants to record multiple hits in the contest. Through three games, Belt is 5-for-12 with a home run, a double, one RBI and two runs scored. He was hampered by knee inflammation in spring training, but it hasn't been much of an issue for the first baseman once the games started to count. He should continue to play regularly versus right-handed pitchers, though he may be on the bench occasionally versus southpaws.