MLB Player News

Nationals slugger Bryce Harper was scheduled to visit a hand specialist Saturday morning to have his jammed thumb checked, per the Washington Post. But he is available off the bench for the game against San Diego and Matt Williams does not anticipate him missing more than a game or two.

"The early tests, anyway, are pretty good," Williams said. "X-rays are negative. There's some swelling there. We just want to make sure we knock it out."

Harper sustained the injury sliding into third base on a triple Friday night.

A thumb injury sustained Friday night has Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper out of the Saturday lineup against the Padres. His thumb is swollen, but Matt Williams said he will be available off the bench.

Harper jammed the thumb, but x-rays came back negative and he can be considered day-to-day.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper jammed his left thumb Friday night against the Padres. He underwent an X-ray after leaving the game, which came back negative.

Harper's thumb is swollen and it appears as if he'll avoid a stint on the disabled list. He is expected to re-evaluated again on Saturday, according to Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was locked in at the plate, but had his night cut short due to an apparent wrist injury, the Washington Post reports.

Harper lined a bases-clearing triple in the third inning, but injured his wrist diving headfirst into third base. Before leaving the game after four innings, Harper was 2 for 2 with a triple and four RBI. He is hitting .289 with one home run and nine RBI in 83 at-bats.

His status remains up in the air for Saturday's game against San Diego.

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter was almost constantly on base Wednesday, in a 3-2 loss to the Mets. Carpenter reached four times, with three singles and a walk to his credit, though he scored just once while going 4 for 5.

 A recent three-game hitting streak has raised Carpenter's average to .296, and he carries a .392 on-base percentage and .346 slugging percentage as well through 22 games. 

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen has caught fire, homering for the third straight game Wednesday against the Reds.

McCutchen put together his third multi-hit game in a row to go along with the homer, a solo shot in the third inning of a 5-2 loss. He finished the game 2 for 4 with one RBI, one run scored and one walk.

As recently as Sunday, McCutchen was hitting just .243 with only one home run. He now has four homers on the season, and is hitting .298/.423/.536 in 84 at-bats.  

One day after getting a game off to rest against a tough lefty, Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon was back at the top of the lineup Wednesday against the Giants.

Blackmon extended his hitting streak to five games, while reaching base multiple times for the fourth time in that streak. He scored four times while going 2 for 5 with a walk, and he added his fourth home run in three games, while driving in three in the 12-10 loss.

Blackmon has been one of the best hitters in the league through the season's first few weeks, and is now hitting .410/.453/.692 through 22 games. He has five home runs, 16 RBI and 19 runs scored in 78 at-bats. 

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt capped off a solid series in Colorado with his seventh home run of the season Wednesday, in a 12-10 win over the Rockies.

Belt had just one hit in the game, a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give his team a lead. He added one walk later in the game and was able to score, finishing the game 1 for 5 with two runs and two strikeouts.

Belt has slowed down a bit from a hot early start, but is still on pace for solid season. He is hitting .299/.337/.563 through 21 games, with seven home runs, 13 RBI and 14 runs scored. 

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen homered for the second straight game during a 4-1 loss Tuesday against the Reds. After not homering in his first 15 games, McCutchen has connected for three home runs in his last six games.

McCutchen has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games. He is batting .364 (16 for 44) in that stretch, raising his season average from .194 to .288.

McCutchen also has a .442 on-base percentage, .682 slugging percentage, 1.124 OPS, five doubles, nine RBI, seven runs, seven walks and one stolen base in his last 11 games.

When Marcell Ozuna hit .331 over his first 36 games as a major-leaguer last year, I said it couldn't last, suggesting his poor plate discipline would catch up to him in time, especially given his lack of experience. And seeing as he finished the year batting .265, that proved to be the case.

But to be fair, he never got a chance to recover from his first ever slump, tearing a ligament in his thumb and having season-ending surgery in late July. By beginning this season like he has, he's done his best to relieve concerns that he simply caught the league by surprise last year.

Particularly batting in front of a rejuvenated Giancarlo Stanton, Ozuna should see plenty of pitches to hit, making the poor plate discipline less of a concern. He'll need to take a step forward power-wise to make an impact in standard mixed leagues, but considering he had back-to-back-to-back 20-homer seasons in the minors, he didn't even show the best he has to offer in that department last year.

With all he has to prove still, I'm unwilling to rank Ozuna much higher than 70th among outfielders, but if you're in a position to sell out for upside, he certainly offers that. If you liked Avisail Garcia as a sleeper, you should like Ozuna as well.