MLB Player News

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.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman told MLB.com on Friday that the discomfort in his right eye is gone.

Freeman had been dealing with dryness in his eyes since Saturday and the condition got worse on Monday when the team optometrist removed a broken piece of contact lens from his eye with a Q-Tip.

"When I woke up this morning, it didn't feel like there was a crumpled up piece of paper in my eye like it has been," Freeman said. "Everything feels good today."

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said Wednesday he has been dealing with some dryness in his eyes, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Freeman said he met Tuesday with the team optometrist, who said Freeman has some "abrasions in the whites of his eyes." They are treating the condition with drops and gel Freeman puts in his eyes before he goes to sleep.

Freeman was in the lineup Wednesday against the Marlins. The team has an off-day Thursday.

"Everything is all right -- nothing on the corneas," Freeman said. "I had some little abrasions on the whites of my eyes, and it was dry, so I had to clean my lids out and my tear ducts and get them going again. He said I should be fully healthy by Friday. I’ve got to deal with it a little bit (Wednesday), but I’ll be good."

Don't look now, but the Phillies' Ryan Howard may just be a Fantasy asset again.

Think back to the beginning of last year. He was finally recovered from the Achilles surgery that ruined his 2012 and was coming off a spring training in which he hit .322 with seven home runs in 87 at-bats. Expectations were rising. Believers were coming out of the woodwork. Most everybody, if only in the deepest recesses of their hearts, held out hope for a rebound.

It didn't happen, of course, which is how we wound up where we are now. But if you think back really hard, you might remember his 2013 actually lived up to the hype at first. He hit .282 with six home runs in his first 117 at-bats, putting him on pace for a 30-35 home runs over a full season.

His troubles began on May 19, when he sat for the first time with "chronic knee soreness." It persisted over the next couple months, causing his numbers to plummet. Only in July did the Phillies discover he had a torn meniscus, ending his season.

So now, here he is in full health for the first time since 2011, when he hit 33 home runs with 116 RBI, doing all the things we said he couldn't do anymore. I don't know about you, but when I review the history, I'm thinking we may have written him off too soon.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard went 2 for 5 with a home run and two RBI in his team's 7-0 win over the Dodgers Monday.

Howard has put together impressive performances in back-to-back games, combining to go 6 for 10 with one triple, two home runs and five RBI between his last two games. He has hit .271/.363/.543 with five home runs and 12 RBI in 70 at-bats.