MLB Player News

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt only received one plate appearance Monday, but made it count. 

Belt hit a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth inning. Belt took a Tony Sipp slider to center field, scoring Andres Torres for the game-winning run. Belt has seen his playing time cut recently due to an early season slump. Belt is hitting .197/.239/.246.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes participated in batting practice Monday for the first time since going on the shelf, MLB.com reports. His injured left hand appeared to be a non-issue. 

Cespedes is expected to continue taking swings in Boston before he begins a two-day rehab stint with Triple-A Sacramento Friday. That should put him on track to return to the A's Sunday, when he's eligible to come off the disabled list. 

"If things go well here," manager Bob Melvin said, "we'll get him a couple of games Friday and Saturday. I'm probably getting ahead of myself, but to be here taking batting practice certainly is a step in the right direction."

Dodgers outfield prospect Joc Pederson was named Southern League player of the week Monday. Pederson hit .407 (11 for 27) with two doubles, two home runs, five RBI, seven runs, four walks and three stolen bases in seven games from April 15-21.

After opening the season hitless in the first two games (0 for 7), Pederson has hit safely in his last 15 games. He's batting .318 with a .370 on-base percentage, .682 slugging percentage and 1.052 OPS through 17 games. He also has two triples, five doubles, five home runs, 12 RBI and six stolen bases.

Pederson is considered a top 5 prospect in the Dodgers' system by MLB.com (No. 3) and Baseball America (No. 4).

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes will take a few swings during batting practice Monday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Cespedes is hoping to go on a rehab assignment this weekend. He's eligible to be activated from the disabled list Sunday. Cespedes has been sidelined with a hand injury.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is on track to begin a rehab assignment this weekend, according to MLB.com.

Cespedes has been dealing with a hand injury, which has kept him out of the team's lineup. Manager Bob Melvin expects Cespedes to need a few at-bats before he's ready to play in the majors again, so he'll likely play in the minors Friday and Saturday. Cespedes is on pace to be activated Sunday, when he's eligible to come off the disabled list. 

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter went deep for his second home run of the season during Sunday's series finale against the Phillies.

Carpenter's solo homer came off starter Kyle Kendrick with one out in the opening frame. He finished 1 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI in a 7-3 victory.

Carpenter is hitting .266/.338/.453 with two home runs and seven RBI in 64 at-bats.

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton went 2 for 5 with a pair of singles during a 10-6 loss at Cincinnati on Sunday. Stanton also delivered his first RBI of the season with his run-scoring base hit in the ninth inning.

However, he matched a season high with three strikeouts and has now whiffed at least once in each of the past five games (nine total). Stanton has walked just once in that span and is hitting just .188 on the season.

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt was held out of the lineup for Sunday's series finale against San Diego and could miss additional playing time as the team looks to shake him from his early slump. Belt has recorded just two hits in his last 13 at-bats to drop his batting average to .183; he has yet to reach the Mendoza Line this year.

"This isn't a case where he's getting benched," manager Bruce Bochy told the San Jose Mercury News on Sunday. "But we need to get (Joaquin) Arias out there, so (Belt) is going to miss a couple of games. He's been through this as much as anybody. The frustration can maybe cause you to change a few things and maybe add tension. When you have tension in your swing, that doesn't work."

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes did not hit off a tee Sunday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Cespedes will likely complete that assignment Monday and will take batting practice in Boston. 

There is talk Cespedes could play in a rehab game or two by the end of the week. Cespedes took two-handed swings Saturday and declared himself ready for games. 

No big secret here, but this Bryce Harper kid's pretty good. After slugging two home runs Saturday against the Mets, Harper has seven in the team's first 17 games, putting him on pace for 65-plus. It's probably fair to say Harper will not reach that total, but it just goes to show how little time it has taken for him to cement himself as a high-end Fantasy contributor.

After an up-and-down rookie season in which he needed 40 games to hit his seventh home run, Harper has been a model of consistency this season. After Saturday's game, Harper has at least 24.5 Fantasy points in each of the first three weeks of the season. It's nice to be able to pencil in that kind of production every week, especially coming from the No. 9 outfielder drafted on average.

You don't need a weekly notification telling you to keep Harper in the starting lineup, but it is nice to be reminded that you drafted a stud. As Scott White notes in his Hit Parade column, starting Harper is a no-brainer.