MLB Player News

Harper will serve as the Phillies' designated hitter and will bat third in Tuesday's game against the Mets, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

With a career 1.017 OPS in 889 plate appearances in March or April, Harper has historically been at his best early in the season before injuries take their toll, but he's gotten off to a uncharacteristically slow start to 2022 despite being in optimal health. Through four games, Harper has generated one hit and two walks while striking out six times across 17 plate appearances. The strikeout rate is up, but in all likelihood, the hits will eventually start to fall in for Harper as the sample size increases. Fantasy managers should be heartened by the fact that he's still striking the ball with authority, as his Statcast-measured hard-hit rate and average exit velocity rank in the 97th and 93rd percentile in baseball, respectively.

Dickerson is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Nationals.

Washington is deploying a lefty starting pitcher (Patrick Corbin) for the second day in a row, so the lefty-hitting Dickerson will remain on the bench. Platoon mate Orlando Arcia gets another turn as Atlanta's designated hitter.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a run and a stolen base in Monday's 6-2 victory versus Miami.

Ohtani led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, then stole second base and came around to score on a Brandon Marsh homer. The slugger hasn't been able to get going with the bat yet, hitting .143 (3-for-21) through four games. However, he offers a tantalizing combination of power and speed as a hitter, as evidenced by his 46-homer, 26-steal campaign last season.

Vogelbach will remain on the bench Tuesday against the Cubs.

Vogelbach led off and served as the designated hitter against a pair of righties to open the season but has now sat against two straight southpaws, including Tuesday's starter Drew Smyly. He owns a career wRC+ of 46 against lefties compared to a 117 wRC+ against righties, so that usage pattern seems likely to continue. Michael Chavis will be the designated hitter this time around.

Cabrera went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Monday's win over the Red Sox.

Cabrera keeps inching closer to reaching the 3,000-hit threshold thanks to his first multi-hit game of the campaign. As if that was not enough, he also plated the team's first run in this game with a sac fly that scored Austin Meadows in the bottom of the first. Cabrera is now just nine hits short of reaching that aforementioned plateau.

Martinez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 3-1 loss to the Tigers.

Martinez's leadoff blast in the top of the fifth inning broke up Matt Manning's perfect game and proved to be the only offense the Red Sox could muster on the night. The long ball was Martinez's first of the season and his third extra-base hit of the campaign. He'll remain in the lineup Tuesday for the second game of the series, serving as Boston's designated hitter while batting out of the cleanup spot.

Choi went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a strikeout in Monday's loss to the Athletics.

Choi was one of the few bright spots in a blowout loss, as he delivered an RBI single in the eighth inning. He's occupied the strong side of a platoon at first base and started three of Tampa Bay's first four games this season. Choi has also hit either third or fourth in the order in each of his starts, which has helped him collect two RBI early on in the campaign.

Belt went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Padres.

Belt and Brandon Crawford were the only Giants to record multiple hits in the contest. Through three games, Belt is 5-for-12 with a home run, a double, one RBI and two runs scored. He was hampered by knee inflammation in spring training, but it hasn't been much of an issue for the first baseman once the games started to count. He should continue to play regularly versus right-handed pitchers, though he may be on the bench occasionally versus southpaws.

Buxton went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs, a walk and a stolen base in Monday's win over Seattle.

Buxton once again worked as a catalyst atop Minnesota's lineup, scoring the team's first two runs and knocking his first two doubles of the campaign. The talented outfielder also swiped his first base of the season and worked his first walk. Buxton now has five hits on the campaign, each of which has gone for extra bases (three homers, two doubles). His 1.067 slugging percentage ranks second in the majors in the early going.

Torrens started at catcher in a loss to the Twins on Sunday, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Cal Raleigh and Tom Murphy took their turns behind the dish Friday and Saturday, respectively, and Torrens completed the three-man rotation with a start in Sunday's loss. The 25-year-old figures to also see his fair share of time at designated hitter over the course of the season, and his ability to reach safely twice in his first game represented a carryover of a hot Cactus League that saw Torrens hit .406 with two doubles, a home run and six RBI across 13 games.