MLB Player News

Carpenter went 2-for-2 with two walks and a run in a loss to the Reds on Friday.

Considering the 12-1 final score in favor of Cincinnati, Carpenter was essentially the only bright spot offensively for the Cardinals on the night. The veteran infielder has struggled to hit for average thus far, but he's traditionally been a slow starter. Additionally, it's worth noting Carpenter's on-base percentage, currently at .342, has been on an upward trend during the latter half of April. Moreover, he continues to square up on the ball consistently, as he's generated an impressive 29.4 percent line-drive rate and 40.0 percent hard-contact rate over 111 plate appearances thus far this season.

Harper went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and walk in a 4-0 victory against the Marlins on Friday.

The 26-year-old hasn't struck out in seven straight plate appearances, which is a big deal because he's struck out in more than 29 percent of his plate appearances. While Harper leads baseball with 20 walks, he also has a league-high 34 strikeouts. Harper's on-base (.397) and slugging percentages (.521) are where they should be, but because of all the strikeouts, he is batting just .255. He also has six homers, 17 RBI and 16 runs with a stolen base in 94 at-bats.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The Cubs have deployed three left-handed starting pitchers in the series, resulting in the lefty-hitting Pederson moving to the bench for all three contests. Alex Verdugo will get the nod in left field in Pederson's stead.

Ozuna went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Wednesday's 5-2 win over Milwaukee.

Ozuna was 2-for-16 over his last five games -- though he did walk six times in that stretch -- but busted out in a big way Wednesday with the three-run homer. The 28-year-old is slashing .272/.366/.654 with nine home runs and 21 RBI through 81 at-bats.

Blackmon went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs in Colorado's 9-5 victory over the Nationals on Wednesday.

Blackmon blasted his third long ball of the season with this fourth-inning solo shot off Anibal Sanchez. The 32-year-old got off to a slow start at the dish, but he's looking more like his old self lately, as he's now slashing .279/.333/.471 with three homers, five doubles and three triples through 104 at-bats.

Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Cubs.

Pederson will remain on the bench for a second straight game with another left-hander in Cole Hamels toeing the rubber for the Cubs. In his place, Chris Taylor will start in left field and hit seventh.

Turner went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Cubs.

Turner was one of the few Los Angeles hitters able to muster any offense against Jose Quintana, as his third-inning two-bagger was one of the just two extra-base hits on the night for the Dodgers. Tuesday's performance aside, Turner's power has been conspicuously absent through the Dodgers' first 25 games, as he has zero homers and only three doubles to his name. Turner is at least sporting a strong batting average and on-base percentage, and a career-best 50.8 percent hard-hit rate offers hope that his slugging percentage could soon be on the upswing, too.

Belt went 1-for-4 with his fifth home run of the season in Tuesday's 7-6 win over Toronto.

Belt had fallen into a miniature slump following his previous homer April 16 (2-for-16 with six strikeouts), so Tuesday's long ball was a welcomed sight for fantasy owners. The 31-year-old has settled in as the Giants' cleanup hitter (13 of 24 games batting fourth), but only has 10 RBI so far due in large part to San Francisco's league-worst .270 team on-base percentage. Still, Belt's power potential keeps him relevant in most fantasy formats even with his current .215 batting average and suppressed counting stats.

Reyes went 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBI in the Padres' 6-3 win over the Mariners on Tuesday.

Reyes cranked his fifth and sixth long balls of the season, touching up Erik Swanson for a two-run shot in the second inning before getting to him again with a solo shot in the sixth. He's hitting just .219 with an unimpressive .288 on-base percentage, but the six homers over 64 at-bats leave the 23-year-old with a robust .531 slugging percentage.

Pederson will sit Tuesday against the Cubs, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Pederson went 4-for-5 with two homers in his last start, but he'll take a seat with the Dodgers facing left-hander Jose Quintana. The 27-year-old only has 10 at-bats against southpaws this year, so this type of rotation should be expected to continue despite his blistering numbers against right-handers.