MLB Player News

Astros outfielder J.D. Martinez is headed back to Houston.

Martinez was slated to start Monday's Double-A game in Corpus Christi, but was scratched about 30 minutes prior to the game. In 45 at-bats this season, Martinez is hitting .244/.271/.444.

Phillies outfielder Darin Ruf is starting to find his hitting stroke at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. After belting one home run in his first 20 games, Ruf has gone deep three times in his last seven games.

Ruf is also batting .355 (11 for 31) in his last seven games as well, raising his season average to .250. His hot streak began with a two-homer outing April 28. Ruf has nine doubles, 14 runs and 15 RBI in 27 games.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera has been ridiculously productive with runners in scoring position in 2013. In 25 games where Cabrera has batted with runners in scoring position, he's batting .535 (23 for 43) with one double, four home runs and 32 RBI in those situations.

Cabrera's career slash line with RISP is .335/.428/.553/.981. He hit .356 with a .580 slugging percentage with runners in scoring position last season.

Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna continues to make a solid impression as he recorded a career-high four hits and reached base five times during Sunday's series finale against the Phillies.

Ozuna doubled in two runs in the first, reached on an infield single in the fourth, singled in another run in the sixth and doubled in the eighth. He also drew a walk and finished 4 for 5 with three runs scored and three RBI in a 14-2 victory.

Ozuna has hit safely in his first six games in the majors -- the second-longest streak to begin a career with the Marlins. He has gone 10 for 23 with a home run and four RBI. His 10 hits over through six games are the most ever by a rookie in franchise history.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was ejected from Sunday's game at Pittsburgh after arguing a called third strike on a check swing to end the top of the first inning. Believing the pitch was a ball, Harper gestured toward third-base umpire John Hirschbeck, who delivered the 20-year-old's second career ejection.

Harper finished the series just 2 for 10 with a strikeout in all three games as his batting average dipped to .312. He has gone eight games without a multi-hit performance -- his longest stretch of the young season.

The Marlins' youth movement appears to have found another solid player, as outfielder Marcell Ozuna has proved himself ready for the majors in his first five games. The 22-year-old has a .389 batting average with at least a hit in each game. Let's take a look at his resume to see if the Marlins have a star in the making.

Ozuna's biggest strength as a prospect has been his power, as he had at least 20 home runs in each of his last three seasons. He is impressing with his plate discipline in his early major-league action, which is the first place where the eyebrows go up. After striking out in at least 21.5 percent of his at plate appearances in his previous four minor-league seasons, Ozuna has struck out in 10.5 percent of his at-bats in the big leagues.

Ozuna is a solid young talent who entered the season as Baseball America's No. 75 prospect, but he is also probably being rushed at the major-league level. He projects as a big-time power hitter down the road, but Ozuna could get exposed after this nice early start.

I would not run out to grab him just yet in yearly Fantasy formats. The Marlins will probably ride him even when he begins to take his lumps because that is what they do. But he remains more of a keeper/dynasty option until we get a bigger sample size. 

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera notched his third four-hit performance of the year on Saturday night against the Astros. He went 4 for 4 with two home runs and six RBI. The 30-year-old also walked once and scored three times in the 17-2 win.

Cabrera drove in a run with a single in his first at-bat before hitting a two-run homer off starter Lucas Harrell in the second inning. His walk in the fourth forced in another run, then he led off the sixth with a solo homer.

He capped off his evening with an RBI single in the seventh

Cabrera is batting .390 through 29 games with six home runs and 36 RBI.

Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna uncorked his first major-league home run during Saturday's contest against the Phillies.

Ozuna took starter Cole Hamels deep for a solo home run in the second inning. He finished 1 for 3 with a run scored and an RBI in a 2-0 victory.

Ozuna has recorded a hit in each of his first five games since his promotion from Double-A Jacksonville. He is hitting .389 (7 for 18) over that span.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen turned in another solid night at the plate Friday against the Nationals. McCutchen collected three hits 3-1 win, including blasting his fourth home run of the year.

He ripped the solo shot off starter Ross Detwiler in the first inning and singled in each of his next two at-bats before grounding out in the seventh.

McCutchen finished 3 for 4 with a run scored and RBI. He has driven in five runs over his last five games.

With a single up the middle in the third inning of Thursday's game against the Astros, Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera collected his 1,000th hit in a Tigers uniform.

He added one more hit in the game, finishing 2 for 5 in a 7-3 win. He walked twice and drove in a run as well. Cabrera is batting .373 with four home runs and 30 RBI. 

Cabrera is at 1,841 hits for his career, giving him a good chance to reach 2,000 by the end of the season.