MLB Player News

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen has been chosen as the leadoff hitter for the NL team in Tuesday's All-Star game.

The batting order following McCutchen will be Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton (DH), Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy and Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez.

Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright will be on the hill to start the game for the NL All-Stars.

Dodgers infielder Justin Turner began a minor-league rehab assignment Sunday with Class A Rancho Cucamonga. Turner served as a designated hitter and finished 1 for 2 with two walks in his first game action. Barring any setbacks, Turner could be back from the disabled list after three rehab games.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt was a late scratch from the lineup Sunday against the Diamondbacks due to back stiffness. Belt is batting .167 (5 for 30) with one home run and four RBI in nine games since returning from the disabled list July 4.

Dodgers infielder Justin Turner is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment Sunday with Class A Rancho Cucamonga, MLB.com reports.

He's expected to serve as a designated hitter in his first game action. Barring any setbacks, Turner could be back from the disabled list after three rehab games.

"I don't think it's a matter of [how many] games, it's just trying to get some at-bats," Turner said. "Everything feels good. I took a bunch of at-bats down there, live ABs vs. a couple of young guys down there. But it's a little bit different when you have a cage around you and taking actual ABs. So we'll see how that goes."

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen came up big at the plate with his ninth career multi-home run game Saturday night against the Reds in Cincinnati.

McCutchen launched a game-tying solo home run in the ninth inning and belted a go-ahead solo home run in the 11th inning, which proved to be the difference. He finished 3 for 5 with three runs scored and two RBI in a 6-5 victory. He owns a .325/.422/.573 with a 17 homers and 61 RBI in 351 at-bats this season.

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon went 5 for 5 with one double, one RBI and one stolen base in his team's 9-3 loss to the Twins Saturday.

Blackmon has managed to tally at least two hits in each of his last four games, and Saturday's five-hit effort was his best performance since going 6-for-6 with three doubles and a home run in a game during the first week of the season. He has hit .306/.352/.483 with 14 home runs, 51 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 346 at-bats.

Dodgers infielder Justin Turner (hamstring) took swings against live pitching at the team's spring training facility in Arizona, MLB.com reports. Manager Don Mattingly expects Turner to return from the 15-day disabled list shortly after the All-Star break.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen hit his 15th home run Friday against the Reds.

McCutchen struck in the third inning. He worked a three-pitch at-bat against Mat Latos, homering on a 91 mph cutter. McCutchen later doubled. He finished the game 2 for 3, with two runs scored and one RBI. 

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper only had one hit Friday, but made it count.

In the seventh inning, Harper stepped to the plate with no runners on. He clobbered a 90 mph sinker out to right field for the solo shot on the second pitch of the at-bat. Harper finished 1 for 4, with one run scored and one RBI. The big fly was his second home run of the season. 

If you own Charlie Blackmon in Fantasy Baseball, you've probably been disappointed with his performance since about mid-April. The regression was inevitable. He performed like the best player in baseball for the first six weeks and is clearly not the best player in baseball.

But he's also not as bad as he's shown the last eight weeks. Assuming he is -- and acting on that assumption -- would be even more short-sighted than whatever move you made to get him in the first place.

Blackmon has maintained a high contact rate throughout his struggles, striking out about once every six at-bats over his last 52 games, making his current .294 batting average pretty easy to buy. It was up in the .380 range before and, again, too good to be true, but now that it's regressed to this point, you could argue he's due for a resurgence of sorts. And what do you know? With his solo shot Wednesday, he's now homered in back-to-back games.

He also had this to offer after homering in Tuesday's game: "I just kind of felt like I got into maybe some bad habits. That kept me from being simple and direct to the ball. I've simplified things a little bit lately."

Individual statistics tend to normalize over the time. A player may not always take the most direct route to them, but in the end, they usually turn out like you'd expect them to. If we assume Blackmon is back to playing within himself, as both his recent comments and performance suggest, then we can hope for steadier production to close out the season rather than the extreme ups and downs of the first eight weeks.

Because combining the ups with the downs, he's still the ninth-best oufeidler in Head-to-Head points leagues. You'd give up the extreme highs of the first six weeks for that kind of production year-round.