MLB Player News

Pederson went 2-for-4 with two home runs, his seventh and eighth of the season, and three RBI in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Angels.

Pederson's weak .250 average is fairly compensated by his great .368 OBP and .548 slugging percentage. His plate discipline is also above average as he's walking 15.2 percent of the time and holds a nice 0.49 BB/K. The young outfielder has plenty of areas that he can improve in (like his terrible 63 percent contact rate and 31.2 percent strikeout rate), but there is no reason to believe that Pederson won't get better as he is still adjusting to major league pitching.

Soler is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game with the Brewers.

This marks the second consecutive game that Soler has not started, and the fourth game since May 9. It seems that the 24-year-old is losing some playing time in the Cubs outfield while his batting average dips further, as it now sits well below the Mendoza Line at .174. It's unclear if this will become a trend or if it's just a short-term thing, but for Tuesday's matchup, he'll cede the start in left field to Kris Bryant while Javier Baez takes over at the hot corner.

Ozuna mashed a solo home run to extend his hit streak to 16 games during Monday's win over the Phillies.

There are not many hotter hitters at the moment as Ozuna continues his assault on National League pitching. For the year, Ozuna is slashing .308/.353/.524 with seven home runs and 20 RBI. His peripheral numbers (23.5 K% and 6.5 BB%) are largely in line with his miserable 2015 season while he's nearly doubled his ISO from .124 in 2015 to .217 this year. While a high BABIP (.370) and 17.5-percent HR/FB point to some current luck and future regression, Ozuna has shown this type of power in the past and will remain a strong run producer batting behind Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton.

Turner is not in the lineup for Monday's series opener against the Angels.

This seems like a typical day off for Turner, although he is scuffling to the tune of a .182 batting average over his past seven games. Howie Kendrick will slide over to third base while Carl Crawford enters the lineup in left field.

Ozuna scored twice and drove home a pair of runs while going 3-for-5 with a triple in Saturday night's win over the Nationals.

Ozuna also clubbed a pair of hits in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader as he continues to pick up his season. He's now hit safely in 14 straight games while racking up nine multi-hit efforts over that span. His season line has ridden to a strong .313/.361/.552 through 35 games to go along with 21 runs scored, six home runs and 19 RBI.

Soler is out of the lineup Sunday against the Pirates.

Soler has started six of the last seven games for the Cubs, but has collected just three base knocks over that span. The 24-year-old has plenty of potential, but he'll soon need to start showing some results if he plans on staying a regular in manager Joe Maddon's lineup. Kris Bryant will take his place in left field Sunday, while Javier Baez takes over at the hot corner.

McCutchen extended his batting streak to eight games Saturday, going 1-for-4 with a double against the Cubs.

He's hitting .382 in 34 at-bats over his hot streak, which includes four doubles and two dingers. McCutchen might struggle a little bit Sunday. He has just two singles in 16 career at-bats against starter Jon Lester.

Harper has dropped his appeal and will serve his one-game suspension in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Marlins, the Washington Post's Chelsea Janes reports.

This is as good a time as any for Harper to serve the suspension, as it will spare him from playing 18 innings Saturday. Chris Heisey will get the start in right field and hit seventh in his place. Make sure Harper is not in any daily lineups Saturday evening, but he should be safe to deploy Sunday.

Dickerson was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Saturday.

The Padres recalled Leonel Campos from El Paso to take Dickerson's place. Dickerson mainly served a pinch-hitting role for the Padres and only started one game. He went 2-for-10 with one home run and four RBI before he was sent down.

Harper was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, and a two-run home run in the Nationals' win over Miami on Friday night.

Harper is hitting just .278, albeit with 11 home runs and 29 RBI on the season, but he sports a ridiculous .456 OBP as teams routinely pitch around him - he has walked 37 times in just 35 games. It's pretty easy to understand why, as his seventh-inning home run in this one broke a 2-2 tie and propelled the Nationals to a win.