MLB Player News

Grandal went 2-for-4 in Sunday's 3-1 victory over the Padres, bringing his series average to .666 over the three games he played in.

The Dodgers backstop will miss Padres pitching, after raising his average 29 points over the three games he played in the series. Grandal's explosion began with a jaw-dropping 5-for-5, three-homer, six-RBI night on Friday, and he tallied three more hits-- all singles-- over seven additional at-bats in the two weekend tilts. The offensive breakout is a great sign heading into the All-Star break for the 27-year-old, who was under the Mendoza Line from May 21 until his aforementioned historic performance three games ago.

Hedges finished off an amazing first half with Triple-A El Paso, going 3-5 with a double, two home runs and 8 RBI.

Hedges continues to tear up Triple-A, still awaiting a call back up to San Diego. With Derek Norris a potential option to be traded as the deadline nears, that time could come very soon. Even if Norris isn't traded, Hedges has shown that he has nothing left to prove at Triple-A. He ends the first half with 16 home runs and 53 RBI in only 141 at-bats.

Realmuto went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored three times in Saturday's victory over the Reds.

The young catcher continues to play the part of leadoff man, batting .319/.350/.430 over 279 at-bats this season. He's scored 33 runs, smacked five home runs and driven home 25 RBI on the year while also chipping in seven steals.

Rupp is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rockies, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Since stringing together a 10-game hitting streak, which boosted his average to .289, Rupp is 0-for-10. He will turn catching duties over to Carlos Ruiz on Saturday, but Rupp has carved out a large share of the workload with his performance in the first half. In fact, he's been a top-15 catcher so far for fantasy purposes.

Grandal went 5-for-5 with three home runs and Six RBI in Friday's win over the Padres.

Grandal went deep in the first and third innings, accounting for five of his RBI, and he capped off the scoring with a 430-foot bomb to center in the seventh. Grandal had shockingly only delivered one multi-hit game since late April, but Friday's game raised his disappointing average 21 points to .204. His power has picked up as well, as six of his last nine hits have left the yard.

Contreras will start in left field and bat cleanup Friday against the Pirates.

Friday's start in the No. 4 spot will be the ninth for Contreras, and it will be his ninth start in left field as well. The 24-year-old is now batting a ridiculous .319/.397/.623 through 78 plate appearances, doing similar damage against both handedness of pitcher. It seems he's firmly locked into the heart of the Cubs' order.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup Friday against the Nationals.

Rene Rivera will catch for starer Noah Syndergaard as d'Arnaud sits for the second time in three games. D'Arnaud hit his first two home runs of the season this week, giving him 14 hits in 44 at-bats since his return from the DL (.318 average). He remains the primary backstop in New York but he's among the biggest injury risks in baseball.

d'Arnaud went 1-for-5 with a solo homer Thursday against the Nationals.

d'Arnaud's second homer of the year came in the fourth inning to pull the Mets within two runs in a game they'd eventually win. He's now blasted homers in two of his last three games, and he's slashing .256/.309/.356 in 92 at-bats on the season.

Rupp is starting behind the dish and batting fifth against Colorado on Thursday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Rupp sat Wednesday's contest with Carlos Ruiz getting the start behind the plate but is back in the lineup against Jeremy Hellickson and the Rockies on Thursday. Rupp has collected hits in 10 of his last 11 games, slashing .349/.404/.721 during that time.

Stephenson (wrist) has begun a rehab assignment in the Arizona Rookie League, RedsMinorLeagues.com reports.

Stephenson's development time has stalled because of the wrist injury, but the good news is that they expected him to take awhile, given that he was drafted from high school. The bad news for him is that the Reds drafted another catcher early this year in Chris Okey, who was taken in the second round, and Okey has already been promoted to Low-A Dayton, where Stephenson was playing prior to the injury.