MLB Player News

Cespedes went 2-for-6 with a home run in Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

The native of Cuba is slashing .291/.371/.636 with five homers and 13 RBI through his first 55 at-bats. Cespedes does have 20 strikeouts, but a high number of K's is par for the course throughout his career. He appears well on his way to another campaign of 25-plus homers and 100-plus RBI.

Stanton is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Stanton has yet to really get anything going with the bat, so manager Don Mattingly decided to give him his first day off of the season Thursday in hopes of providing a spark. Ichiro Suzuki will get the start in right field Thursday in Stanton's place.

Pederson will hit cleanup in Thursday's game against the Braves, Andy McCullough of the LA Times reports.

Pederson has not hit higher than sixth in any other game this season, but he will move up to the fourth spot Thursday with regular cleanup hitter Adrian Gonzalez being bumped up to third for a day. Pederson has a hit in three straight games and owns an .883 OPS against right-handers on the season. He will face a righty Thursday with Matt Wisler on the mound for the Braves.

Turner is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Braves, according to Andy McCullough of the LA Times.

Turner tallied two hits in Wednesday's game but just three hits in the previous seven games, so manager Dave Roberts decided to give him the day off Thursday. Charlie Culbertson will fill in at third base in Turner's place.

Belt is back in the lineup Wednesday, batting cleanup and playing first base against the Diamondbacks.

After getting the night off Tuesday against southpaw Robbie Ray, Belt will get back to his usual spot in the order for Wednesday's matchup. Belt will be facing a familiar foe Wednesday with Zack Greinke on the hill for the Diamondbacks. In 17 career at-bats against the Arizona ace, Belt has collected five hits, including one home run, while striking out six times.

Ozuna is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Nationals, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports.

It's been a rough start to the year for Ozuna, who is hitting .200 with a 14:1 K:BB in 51 plate appearances. Ichiro Suzuki will get the start in center field and hit second Wednesday.

Soler is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Cardinals.

He has been the Cubs' primary left fielder of late, but Soler is failing to make a big impact with his bat, going hitless with four strikeouts in his last three games. Kris Bryant will get the start in left field and hit fifth Wednesday.

McCutchen went 1-for-4 with a walk, while also scoring twice and stealing his first base of the season Tuesday in San Diego.

Those who drafted McCutchen for his combination of power and speed were surely starting to get a little antsy, but he has quelled any fears with a pair of homers and a steal in the last three games. The 2013 NL MVP swiped just 11 bags in 2015 after getting at least 18 in each of his six previous seasons, but it'd be shocking if he didn't end up breaking double digits once again at age 29.

Harper hit a grand slam, his seventh home run, in Tuesday's win against the Marlins.

The grand slam was his only hit in four at-bats, which lowered his average to .333. More importantly, Harper's power continues to be absolutely ridiculous, as his slugging percentage is up to .867. With seven home runs in 13 games, Harper is on pace for 87 on the year. Take "on pace" numbers with a grain of salt as always, but Harper is as good a bet to challenge records as anybody in baseball these days.

Belt is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

He will head to the bench for the first time this season with lefty Robbie Ray due up for Arizona. Buster Posey is set to start at first base in Belt's absence, his first start at first this year, as Trevor Brown takes over behind the plate. Belt has hit safely in seven of his last eight games with three home runs over that span, including one against a left-handed pitcher.