MLB Player News

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is off to a slow start. The 33-year-old veteran singled in the ninth inning for his only hit during Sunday's contest against the Royals.

Howard struck out three times in his first four at-bats and is batting just .167 (4 for 24) with three RBI and two walks. He has struck out eight times in his first six games.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel thinks Howard will start turning things around.

"I think a lot of guys come out sometimes, you play two or three games, and if you don't hit a home run or don't have too many hits, I think all of a sudden, you start trying too hard," Manuel told MLB.com. "I think he put together a good at-bat in the ninth inning. I think he'll be fine."

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt enjoyed another big performance at the plate during Sunday's series finale against the Brewers.

Goldschmidt singled in two runs in the third inning. He also added another single and a double as he finished 3 for 5 with a run scored and two RBI in an 8-6 victory in extra innings. He is hitting .370/.433/.704 with two home runs and seven RBI through his first six games. It was his second three-hit game of the season.

Let's hope Freddie Freeman's stay on the disabled list will be a short one because it won't be easy for Fantasy owners to replace his presence in the lineup. He's off to a great start this season for the Braves after a stellar spring, so his absence will be felt.

In the meantime, Fantasy owners should consider looking to these players as potential stopgap Fantasy options while Freeman is sidelined. They are Matt Carpenter (owned 78 percent of Fantasy leagues), Brandon Belt (73 percent), Lance Berkman (73 percent), Yonder Alonso (64 percent), Mark Reynolds (59 percent), Brandon Moss (38 percent), Justin Smoak (30 percent) and Chris Parmelee (16 percent).

The guys I would target on this list are Berkman, Alonso, Smoak and Parmelee. I would say Belt as well, but I imagine he's probably taken in most of the deep formats. If not, he's a viable option as well.

The Braves announced Sunday morning first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique. The Braves purchased the contract of Blake DeWitt to take Freeman's spot on the roster.

Freeman was upset Sunday when learning of the news, according to MLB.com. Freeman said he hurt his oblique during last Sunday's workout, but he has been playing through the injury and quite effectively. Freeman is batting .412 (7 for 17) with one double, one homer and seven RBI in five games.

Freeman said he believes he could play through the pain and he doesn't understand why the Braves placed him on the disabled list hours after being on deck for Justin Upton's game-winning home run Saturday. Chris Johnson started in Freeman's absence Sunday.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman continued his productive ways on Saturday night against the Cubs. He went 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored in a 6-5 win.

Freeman singled home Justin Upton in the eighth inning and came around to score later in the frame on a Ramiro Pena base hit.

The 23-year-old is batting .412 (7 for 17) through the first five games with one homer and seven RBI.

After starting the season going 1 for 6, Marlins second baseman Donovan Solano bounced back with his first multi-hit game of the season Thursday at Washington.

Solano reached on an infield single in the fourth inning and slapped another single in the sixth. He finished 2 for 3 with a walk in a 6-1 defeat. The 25-year-old is hitting .333 with a .455 on-base percentage this season.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit his first home run of the season Wednesday.

Goldschmidt went 3 for 8, with a homer and two singles in the start. He played all 16-innings of the game at first. Goldschmidt also scored one run and plated two RBI.

Goldschmidt is coming off a breakout 2012, in which he hit .286/.359/.490 over 514 at-bats.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto waited for an opportune time to record his first hit of the 2013 campaign Wednesday against the Angels. After going 0 for 1 with two walks in his three at-bats, he came up in the bottom of the ninth inning with one on, one out and the game tied 4-4.

Votto hit a hard grounder that deflected off the glove of first baseman Albert Pujols and drove in the game-winning run.

"It's important to get that first win and get the winning going," Votto said.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard was hitless for the second straight game Wednesday, going 0 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts against the Braves in a 9-2 loss.

Howard missed play last April while recovering from injury but started the 2010 season on fire, hitting .524/.522/.952 in his first five games. He'll look to get his season on track against Kris Medlen Thursday.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman capitalized on his excellent career numbers against starter Roy Halladay to finish Wednesday's 9-2 win with two hits, a walk, a run and three RBI. He's 5-for-7 with one home run and six RBI in the team's first two games.