MLB Player News

Astros first baseman/outfielder Chris Carter has struggled during the first week of the season.

Carter was touted as a sleeper due to his prestigious power potential. Playing in Houston, where the left-field fence is short, was supposed to help him in that area. Carter clubbed 16 home runs in just 260 plate appearances in Oakland last season. 

Not surprisingly, strikeouts have been an issue. Carter owns a career 33.3 percent strikeout rate in the majors, and has 13 strikeouts in 27 plate appearances already this season. 

Almost like clockwork, Reds first baseman Joey Votto is among the National League leaders in on-base percentage and has fashioned a clip of at least .400 since the second game of the season. Votto finished 1 for 4 and collected two walks for the fourth time this season during Cincinnati's 13-4 rout at St. Louis Monday.

He is still hitting just .240 after seven games with just one extra-base hit -- a rare triple -- but has produced a stellar .472 OBP that is fueled by his NL-leading 10 walks. Votto has now reached base safely in 17 of his 36 plate appearances this season.

Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt had a sacrifice fly Monday against the Pirates, giving him an RBI in five straight games. It ties a career-best streak he set last September.

Goldschmidt is batting .417 (10 for 24) with two homers, four doubles, seven runs and eight RBI during a five-game hitting streak. He has three multi-hit games in that span.

Indians catcher Carlos Santana, who suffered a bruised left thumb during Monday's game against the Yankees and had to be taken for X-rays, was rewarded with positive news, reports MLB.com. Santana did not break the thumb. 

The X-rays came back negative and Santana is considered day-to-day. 

Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera had a base hit Monday in the home opener for Cleveland against the Yankees. He scored a run in the 11-6 loss. 

Cabrera's had a nightmarish start to the season, hitting .083 over his first six full games before Monday. After going 1 for 3 against N.Y., he's hitting a robust .111. 

Cabrera, who also had an error Monday, is 3 for 27 with a home run, two RBI and seven strikeouts.

Indians catcher Carlos Santana suffered a scary injury Monday in the home-opening loss to the Yankees. Santana was crossed up on a Chris Perez fastball and took it flush off the wrist of his glove hand. 

He went down in pain as Vernon Wells took third base on the passed ball. Santana was diagnosed with a left thumb contusion but needs X-rays to determine the severity, according to MLB.com. He was replaced by Lou Marson. 

Santana was 1 for 2 with two walks before leaving and is batting .500 with a hit in six of his seven games, including two homers and five RBI. 

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is still looking for his first extra-base hit of the season.

The 33-year-old came into the season with more questions than usual. Howard struggled after returning from injury last season, hitting just. 219/.295/.423 in 292 plate appearances. He did, however, manage to hit 14 home runs.

Howard has gotten off to a poor start, but there's no reason to think he'll suddenly stop hitting for power. His age and drop-off from last season are legitimate concerns, though.

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.