MLB Player News

Bell went 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored and three RBI in Wednesday's 10-2 win over the Rockies.

The young switch hitter continues to produce from the heart of the Pirates' order despite not yet finding his power stroke, and Bell now sports a .278/.338/.389 slash line with only one homer but 11 runs and 13 RBI in 18 games. Expect him to start putting more balls over the fence as the weather warms up.

Santana is out of the lineup for the first time Wednesday against the Braves.

Santana was the last remaining Phillie to have started every game. His batting line through 73 plate appearances has been objectively terrible, as he's hit .136/.260/.288. He's been hitting the ball hard, though, but the ball is going directly to fielders, as evidenced by his .125 BABIP. If he keeps performing the same way, his numbers are bound to improve. Rhys Hoskins will receive a rare start in his natural position of first base in Santana's absence.

Hoskins has the lowest groundball rate among qualified hitters, The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

Hoskins' 20.0 percent groundball rate is the lowest in baseball. Avoiding grounders is generally a good thing, though an extreme approach could cause some issues. A flyball-heavy approach can cause a low BABIP, as it's harder for a flyball to find a hole than it is for a grounder. That certainly hasn't happened for Hoskins so far this year, as he's ridden a .424 BABIP to a .327/.485/.592 line through his first 66 plate appearances. Expect that line to fall as more of his flyballs find outfielders' gloves, but as long as he's walking nearly as much as he's striking out (14:15 BB:K so far this year) and as long as enough of those flies are hit hard enough to leave the park, he should continue being a very productive hitter.

Rizzo (back) was activated from the 10-day disabled list Tuesday, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

As expected, Rizzo will return to the lineup Tuesday, taking his normal spot at first base and in the three hole of the batting order. To make room for him on the active roster, Efren Navarro was sent to Triple-A.

Blandino is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Brewers, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports.

Blandino started all four games in the weekend series with St. Louis, though he could only muster one hit in that span. This marks the second consecutive game in which he won't start, allowing Cliff Pennington to log another start at the hot corner.

Cabrera went 4-for-5 with a two-run home run, a double and two runs in the Mets' 8-6 loss to the Nationals on Monday.

Cabrera kept his torrid start right on rolling with another explosive effort, with this one bringing his slash line for the season to a ridiculous .356/.397/.644 over 59 at-bats. Cabrera's career-high OPS before this season was his .810 mark he set in 2016, so don't bank on him maintaining his current mark of 1.041 over the course of the entire season. That said, he's one of the hottest hitters in baseball at the moment, so roll him out there confidently until he shows signs of cooling down.

Rizzo (back) is set to return from the disabled list Tuesday against the Cardinals, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

Rizzo was expected to be activated before the Cubs' game Monday, but that game was postponed due to inclement weather. He'll now have one extra day to rest his sore back before returning to the field Tuesday.

Flores went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Brewers.

His walkoff shot in the bottom of the ninth inning off Matt Albers was Flores' second homer of the season. The 26-year-old has had a slow start to the season, going 5-for-25 (.200), but both his home runs have come in his last three starts, and with Adrian Gonzalez not doing much better at the plate, Flores could work his way into more playing time if he heats up.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in the Diamondbacks' 7-2 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday.

The Dodgers had the game well in hand when Goldschmidt took Clayton Kershaw deep in the top of the seventh inning, but the long ball -- the first baseman's fourth in five games -- was another encouraging sight for fantasy owners following Goldschmidt's poor first week of the season. In addition to tapping into more power of late, Goldschmidt's strikeout rate has also started to stabilize, offering hope that he'll be able to raise his .241 average closer to his .298 career mark in the weeks to come. One lingering area of concern for Goldschmidt, however, is his lack of involvement on the basepaths to date. He hasn't attempted a steal through the Diamondbacks' first 15 games, a surprising development after he recorded no fewer than 18 stolen bases in any of the past three seasons.

Bour went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in Sunday's loss to the Pirates.

Although Bour was withheld from the lineup Sunday, he entered the game in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter. He promptly displayed his power and delivered a home run, his fourth over the last five games. Bour is in line to regularly serve as the Marlins' first baseman and should have plenty of opportunities to elevate his subpar .226 batting average going forward.