MLB Player News
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Christian Yelich LF | MIL
Brewers' Christian Yelich: Lifts 20th homer in win
Yelich went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored in Monday's 8-4 win over the Cubs.
It was the 20th homer of the season for Yelich, who tallied his most RBI since his eight-RBI eruption during the June 20 win in Minnesota. The star left fielder has performed pretty close to a five-category fantasy producer since the start of June, having slashed .291/.357/.479 with eight big flies, 30 RBI, 22 runs scored and five stolen bases over his last 182 plate appearances (44 games).
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Ivan Herrera C | STL
Cardinals' Ivan Herrera: Making first start in outfield
Herrera will start in left field and bat second in Monday's game against the Marlins.
Herrera has been taking pregame outfield reps in recent weeks, but he'll be making his first-ever professional start in the outfield Monday. All 11 of his previous starts this month since he returned from a hamstring injury had come at designated hitter.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Next mound start set for Wednesday
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Ohtani will make his next start as a pitcher Wednesday against the Reds in Cincinnati, Ken Powtak of the Associated Press reports. "Shohei is going to go on Wednesday and then he'll probably pitch the following Wednesday, so that probably lends itself to the six-man," Roberts said, in reference to his plan to expand the Los Angeles rotation from five starters.
The two-way phenom has made six starts since getting cleared for his Dodgers debut as a pitcher on June 16. After first completing two one-inning starts, Ohtani followed with a pair of two-inning starts, then worked three innings apiece in his last two outings. Assuming Ohtani's usage pattern holds, he'll likely be in line to cover four innings Wednesday, though Roberts indicated that the Dodgers won't have a designated pitcher to piggyback the right-hander like they had in each of his previous six outings. That said, with Blake Snell (shoulder) potentially in line to return from the 60-day injured list later in the week to give the Dodgers seven starting pitchers, Emmet Sheehan could be moved to the bullpen and may be tasked with covering multiple innings behind Ohtani on Wednesday.
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Josh Bell DH | MIN
Nationals' Josh Bell: Three hits against Twins
Bell went 3-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI in Sunday's win over Minnesota.
The veteran first baseman might be on the trade block, and if so, Bell's doing his best to increase his value to a contender. Over 19 games in July, he's slashing .348/.434/.515 with five doubles, two homers, eight runs and nine RBI.
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Adrian Del Castillo C | ARI
Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Maintains presence against RHP
Del Castillo started at designated hitter and went 1-for-4 in Sunday's 6-0 loss to the Pirates.
Del Castillo continued to be a lineup regular at DH against right-handed starters (Paul Skenes on Sunday). He doesn't have one plate appearance against a southpaw. His playing time could take a hit when Pavin Smith (oblique) returns, but a healthy Smith might be needed to handle first base. Additionally, the Diamondbacks are clearly sellers heading into the trade deadline, which suggests the organization may give developmental plate appearances to prospects like Del Castillo over the final two months.
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Wilmer Flores 1B | SF
Giants' Wilmer Flores: Getting night off
Flores is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Flores had been included in the starting nine in both of the first two games of the series against his former team, but he'll be riding the pine for the series finale while another ex-Met (Dominic Smith) replaces him at first base. Rafael Devers is eventually expected to handle first base on a full-time basis, but Flores should stick in the lineup over Smith more often than not as the Giants' designated hitter.
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Andrew McCutchen DH | PIT
Pirates' Andrew McCutchen: Not in Sunday's lineup
McCutchen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
McCutchen will head to the bench after going 1-for-13 with a solo homer while starting the previous three games. Bryan Reynolds will receive a turn at designated hitter as Jack Suwinski picks up a start in right field.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Launches homer No. 38
Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Red Sox on Saturday.
Ohtani began the game with a bang, smoking a 414-foot homer off star hurler Garrett Crochet in the first inning. That was the only time the two-way star managed to put the ball in play, however, as he struck out in his remaining three at-bats. Ohtani has been boom-or-bust of late -- he's homered six times over his past seven games but has also struck out 14 times during that stretch. That's been a season-long trend for the slugger -- he ranks second in MLB with 38 long balls but is also tied for sixth with 124 punchouts.
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Marcell Ozuna DH | PIT
Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Getting rare start Saturday
Ozuna is starting at DH and batting seventh Saturday against the Rangers.
This will be just the second start of the second half for Ozuna, and his first since Sunday. The veteran slugger is having a down year with a .751 OPS through 94 contests, and he's consequently lost his everyday role. Atlanta has been keeping the bats of backstops Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy in the lineup together by using one at DH in most games.
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Kyle Schwarber LF | PHI
Phillies' Kyle Schwarber: Two-homer day includes 1,000th hit
Schwarber went 3-for-5 with a walk, two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI in Friday's 12-5 win over the Yankees.
The veteran slugger recorded his 1,000th career hit in the fifth inning when he took Will Warren deep for a two-run shot, and Schwarber kept piling on by launching another two-run homer off Ian Hamilton in the eighth. Schwarber is having a monster July, slashing .274/.361/.781 over 18 games with 11 home runs and 25 RBI, and he sits four long balls shy of his third career 40-HR campaign.