MLB Player News

After extending his hitting streak to five games by going 1 for 4 with a walk against the White Sox on Monday, Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is hitting .386 in 17 home games.

He's 6 for 15 with six RBIs and six runs scored in the hitting streak.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has gotten off to a promising start in 2014 after batting .233 with a .419 slugging percentage in 2013. The Cubs feel Rizzo's turnaround is part of the maturation process for a young player.

"He’s maturing," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said, per CSN Chicago. "He’s gaining more and more confidence. He’s hitting the ball to all fields now. He obviously has the strength that if he gets a pitch to handle, he can drive it out of the ballpark."

Rizzo has really stepped up his performance against left-handed pitchers. He is batting .394 with a .697 slugging percentage against lefties, which is well above his career average of .212 and .380 slugging percentage.

"He’s just basically not panicking in those situations anymore," Renteria said. "He’s just growing up. He worked very hard over the winter, worked very hard in the spring. I think he’s making a tremendous mental adjustment as to how he wants to approach pitchers. He kind of knows what they’re trying to do with him. All those things that come with maturation and growing and learning."

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard entered Sunday's game against the Nationals on pace to produce 34 home runs and 98 RBI. He hasn't approached those numbers since 2011.

Despite the promising start from the veteran first baseman, Howard feels he still has room to improve.

"It's still a work in progress," he said, per MLB.com. "I'm trying to progress every day and just try to get a little more comfortable."

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was just 1 for 4 Saturday, but he delivered a three-run home run in the first inning of his team's 7-2 win over the Nationals.

Howard gave the team all the offense it would need in the eventual win before coming up empty in his next three at-bats, which included two strikeouts. He has hit .255/.328/.481 with six home runs and 17 RBI in 106 at-bats.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is on a power surge. He hit his third home run in three games Saturday against St. Louis. The difference this time around is that it came against a left-hander.

Rizzo turned on an inside fastball against Cardinals reliever Randy Choate and lined it over the right field wall. He has six runs and six RBI in his last three games combined and has elevated his average from .275 to .296 following a mini-slump at the end of April.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto failed to draw a walk Wednesday against the Cubs, which was the first time in eight games he didn't get a walk. In fact, it was just the second time in 19 games Votto failed to draw a walk.

Votto hit .294 with a .473 on-base percentage, .515 slugging percentage and .987 OPS in his last 20 games. He has three doubles, four home runs, nine RBI, 13 runs and 20 walks in that span.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo had a remarkable game Wednesday against the Reds, as he reached base five times in a 9-4 win.

Rizzo opened the game with a two-run home run in the first inning, but didn't really need his bat for the rest of the game. He finished the game with walks in four straight plate appearances, ultimately scoring three runs.

After his four-walk performance, Rizzo now has as many walks (18) as strikeouts on the season. He is hitting .283/.407/.457 with four home runs and 12 RBI in 26 games. 

The Mets are not optimistic about infielder Wilmer Flores' chances of becoming an everyday shortstop at the major-league level, a source told the New York Post. 

Mets Triple-A infielder Wilmer Flores is day-to-day due to a finger injury, ESPNNewYork.com reports.

Flores was able to avoid a fracture after leaving Sunday's game with Las Vegas due to a jammed finger. He has hit .250/.319/.333 with one home run and 11 RBI in 84 at-bats.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is obviously seeing the ball well since having a broken piece of contact lens removed from his eye in recent days.

Following a 3-or-4 performance to end a three-game hitless skid Friday, Freeman once again made an impact Saturday against the Reds. He hit a first-inning two-run home run, before ultimately finishing the game 1 for 4 in a 4-1 win.

Freeman is hitting .352/.431/.636 with six home runs and 16 RBI in 23 games this season.