MLB Player News

Rodriguez, 21, is batting .243/.323/.504 with eight home runs and 22 RBI through 29 games for Double-A Akron.

Rodriguez is second in the Eastern League in home runs, but first in strikeouts. He fanned 150 times in 133 games in 2015. He's got some pop, but it remains to be seen how much of a hindrance his lack of plate discipline will be at the higher levels.

Freeman is 6-for-18 (.333) with three extra-base hits, including a home run over his last 10 games.

He went 0-for-4 Sunday, but before that, he registered a hit in 17 of the prior 20 games. During that time, his average rose from .080 to .275. Going into Tuesday's game, Freeman is slashing .264/.376/.434 with four homers, eight RBI and 11 runs in 106 at-bats.

Bell, 23, is hitting .290/.385/.450 with three home runs and 17 RBI through 26 games for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Bell has not homered over his last 10 games, though he continues to hit for average. In fact, he has not batted under .274 at any level since entering the minors. Still, his upside as a first baseman, or a corner outfielder for that matter, is limited by his inability to hit the ball out of the ballpark.

Bour drove in a pair of runs while going 1-for-3 in Sunday's loss to the Phillies.

Bour made a weekend return to the lineup after missing a couple of games with a dislocated finger and continued his warming trend. He's batting .421/.478/.947 over his past seven games with three home runs and eight RBI.

Rizzo went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Saturday's 8-5 victory over the Nationals.

The fifth-year pro has exploded in May, after entering the month with a paltry .218 average. He's slashing .407/.515/.852 over his first 27 at-bats of the month, with six doubles, two homers, four RBI and four walks. Saturday's effort marked the fourth multi-hit effort in the last six for Rizzo, who's seen his season line climb to .267/.417/.648, and whose 10 homers and 28 RBI lead the Cubs.

Howard is out of the lineup Sunday against the Marlins, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

It has became the norm for Howard to sit against left-handed pitching, and Sunday afternoon will be no different with southpaw Justin Nicolino on the hill for the opposing Marlins. This will be the fifth straight game Howard has sat against a lefty, with Darin Ruf taking over at first base on each of those occasions.

Bour went 1-for-2 with a solo homer and a walk Saturday against the Phillies.

Bour broke a 1-1 tie with his fourth homer in the fourth inning of a game the Marlins would go on to lose. He's now collected seven hits in his last 16 at-bats, and his slash line is at .278/.348/.494.

Freeman went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk Saturday against the Diamondbacks.

Freeman's fourth homer of the season came in the first inning to give the Braves a lead in a game they'd go on to lose. He's now hit safely in five straight games while collecting four extra-base hits during that span to move his slash line to .275/.378/.451.

Bour (finger) is back in the lineup Saturday, hitting fifth against the Phillies.

He made a pinch-hit appearance Friday after missing two games and is now back to regular duty at first base. Bour has been a little streaky so far this season, but the overall production has been there, and he should continue to hit directly behind Giancarlo Stanton for the Marlins.

Abreu sent 1-for-4 with a solo homer in a 10-4 victory over the Twins on Friday.

The slugging first baseman went deep for the second time in the last three games and now has seven RBI in 19 at-bats in May. Abreu also has a double and triple to his credit during the month, giving him five extra-base bits over five games. He's showing definitive signs of breaking out of his early-season struggles.