MLB Player News

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has been on a tear.

The 23-year-old is hitting .403 since April 20, with three home runs and 10 doubles. Strikeouts were a problem for Rizzo early in the year, but he's gone seven straight games without one. Rizzo reportedly made some minor tweaks to his swing at the end of April, which is partially responsible for his recent surge. He's hitting .277/.349/.523 in 155 at-bats.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman drove in all three of Atlanta's runs in a 5-3 loss to the Diamondbacks Wednesday, thanks to two doubles, one single and one walk in five plate appearances. Freeman's two doubles were the Braves' only extra-base hits of the game.

Freeman upped his season line to .295/.362/.419 with two homers and 22 RBI in 116 plate appearances.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt had another productive day at the plate in Wednesday's series finale against the Braves. He went 3 for 4 with a run scored in a 5-3 win. All three of his hits went for doubles.

Goldschmidt is batting .400 (18 for 45) in May with five homers and 13 RBI. His average has risen from .287 at the beginning of the month to its current mark of .322.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto continued to send his batting average higher Tuesday at Miami with a three-hit performance. Votto has managed six multi-hit games in May.

Votto is batting .383 (23 for 60) in his last 15 games, sending his batting average from .279 to .322. He has seven doubles, seven RBI, seven walks and 12 runs in that span. Unfortunately, Votto's home run drought extended to 16 games Tuesday.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto had another terrific performance Tuesday against the Marlins, but it was indicative of the somewhat frustrating beginning to his season.

Votto went 3 for 4 in the game to raise his batting average, however he had just one RBI in the Reds' baffling lineup construction. Votto is hitting .322 with a .927 on-base plus slugging percentage, but has just 16 RBI because the Reds have been unable to get on base directly ahead of him. The Reds' No. 2 hitters currently have a .269 on-base percentage.

Votto is hitting .333 with runners in scoring position, but has just 11 RBI in 33 at bats. While leadoff man Chin-Soo Choo is one of the league's better on-base threats, the inability of the No. 2 hitters to do anything often leaves Votto moving Choo into scoring position as the third hitter, rather than driving him. Votto also has yet to hit a home run with a runner in scoring position, a trend that should reverse itself before long, given his history.

Fantasy owners obviously want more production from one of the league's premiere hitters, and they can expect him to improve his power potential moving forward, for certain. Whether he ends up getting more opportunities to succeed with runners in scoring position will depend on the Reds realizing that they aren't putting him or their offense in the best position to succeed right now. 

Marlins second baseman Donovan Solano, on the 15-day disabled list with an intercostal strain, told the Sun Sentinel Tuesday that his injury is improving but he is not ready to start swinging a bat.

Solano has been sidelined since May 7. He had a .278/.333/.324 slash line with one home run and five RBI in 108 at-bats before landing on the DL.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, who entered play Monday mired in a 4-for-23 slump, belted out two hits, including his fifth double, and scored twice in a 10-1 win against the Diamondbacks. Freeman is batting .260 (13 for 50) with one home run, three doubles and seven RBI in 12 May games.

However, Freeman has managed two home runs and a .402 slugging percentage in 25 games after hitting seven home runs and slugging .658 in 76 at-bats during spring training.

Entering Monday against the Braves, Diamondbacks' cleanup hitters combined to hit .214 and post a .307 slugging percentage through 38 games. With No. 3 hitter Paul Goldschmidt putting up impressive numbers, it could lead more teams to pitch around the young slugger.

However, manager Kirk Gibson cautions opposing teams from doing that because Goldschmidt can not only get it done at the plate, but he has deceptive speed on the base paths.

"If they’re going to pitch around him, then one good thing about having Goldy up -- his running game’s pretty good, too," Gibson said, per The Arizona Republic. "So if they’re going to do that, then they might have to deal with him in a different regard."

Goldschmidt, who finally got his first day off Sunday, slugged his 10th home run Monday and is batting .378 (14 for 37) with five home runs and 13 RBI in 12 May games.

"Obviously, he’s a great player and a really tough out," outfielder Cody Ross said. "A lot of times, pitchers are going to pitch around him, so there definitely needs to be some protection coming out of the fourth hole."

The Cubs have reached an agreement with first basemen Anthony Rizzo on a seven-year deal worth $41 million, FOX Sports reports citing major-league sources. According to the report, the deal includes two club options and escalators that could extend the deal through 2021, while increasing the total value to $73 million.

Rizzo is batting .280/.352/.538 with nine home runs and 28 RBI over 143 at-bats.

Phillies first basemen Ryan Howard picked a perfect time to snap out of his recent funk at the plate. Howard, who had been hitless in his previous 18 at-bats, looped a two-run single into right field off reliever Matt Reynolds in the 10th inning of a 4-2 win. He finished 1 for 5.

"When he's going bad, he looks bad, but he can take one swing and get the game over," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said.

Even with his go-ahead single Sunday, Howard has struggled in May with seven hits over his last 41 at-bats (.171) and has struck out 19 times.