MLB Player News

Blackmon is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

With lefty Patrick Corbin taking the ball for Arizona, the Rockies will give Blackmon the day off after going 0-for-4 with a strikeout Tuesday. Brandon Barnes will take his spot in center field and bat eighth in the rubber match.

McCutchen went 3-for-5 with a double Tuesday against St. Louis.

He was thrown out at the plate on a curious call. McCutchen tried scoring from second base on a single to right field with no outs. The Pittsburgh coaching staff promised to be more aggressive following the loss of home run hitters Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker, but may have gone a little overboard sending Cutch. For his part, McCutchen is seeing the ball well and looking to carry over his strong spring into regular-season action.

Harper went 1-for-3 Monday with two walks and a solo home run, his first of the season.

He now has four career homers on Opening Days, which is remarkable considering he's only played in four of them. Harper's 2015 MVP campaign was extremely impressive, but he could put up even better numbers this season if players like Anthony Rendon can stay healthy and provide Harper with more RBI opportunities.

Pederson smacked a pair of doubles with an RBI an a run, but also struck out twice among his five at-bats in Monday's season-opening blowout of the Padres.

Pederson's whiffing problems were well documented last year, but doubles were not a big part of his repertoire -- he had seven more homers (26) than two-baggers (19). His combination of power, walks and strikeouts plays in formats that don't dock you for the strikeouts, especially because the nearly 24-year-old Pederson certainly has the legs to do a better job stealing bases than he did last year.

Turner rapped out two doubles and scored two runs in Monday's 15-0 thrashing of the Padres.

It seems clear by now that we can count on Turner to hit for average and score runs, but what's questionable is whether he can maintain last season's power surge -- if he'd had 600 at-bats, he had the on-pace numbers for 25 homers. Hitting out of the third spot in the order, as he did here in the opener, he'll at least be in the middle of whatever the Dodgers can do on offense -- which might be quite a lot.

Soler will DH and bat seventh against the Angels on Monday.

Despite Soler's strong throwing arm, it appears that Kyle Schwarber has proven to be the better overall fielder and earned the start in left field. It's likely that Soler and Schwarber operate in some type of left-field platoon throughout the course of the season.

Manager Pete Mackanin confirmed Friday that Ruf will open the year in a platoon with Ryan Howard at first base, Corey Seidman of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Ruf will start the second game of the season Wednesday against lefty Brandon Finnegan of the Reds. Ruf hit .371/.447/.660 with 12 extra-base hits in 114 plate appearances against lefties last season. He is a nice cost saving play in daily leagues when the Phillies are facing a lefty.

Pederson will get the day off Thursday but manager Dave Roberts announced that he'll be back in the lineup Friday and Saturday, Eric Stephen of SB Nation reports.

Pederson will get a rare chance to rest Thursday before the season officially kicks off Monday in San Diego. Enrique Hernandez will take Pederson's usual spot in center for Thursday's matchup with the Angels.

Soler went 2-for-4 with two RBI in a victory over Colorado on Wednesday.

Soler has struggled a bit this spring, slashing just .163/.226/.367, but he's driven in eight runs in 49 at-bats, so it hasn't been a complete negative. He should play a lot this season, but with the Cubs stacked in the outfield, getting 400 at-bats isn't a certainty.

Cespedes went 2-for-2 with a double in Wednesday's 12-1 loss to the Nationals.

Cespedes is batting .349 (15-for-43) with six RBI this spring. The 30-year-old outfielder is in line to play a central role in the Mets' attempt to make a World Series return. He's coming off his first 100-run, 100-RBI season and measures to be a must-start in all fantasy formats to start the 2016 season.