MLB Player News

Harper will serve as the Phillies' designated hitter and will bat third in Tuesday's game against the Mets, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

With a career 1.017 OPS in 889 plate appearances in March or April, Harper has historically been at his best early in the season before injuries take their toll, but he's gotten off to a uncharacteristically slow start to 2022 despite being in optimal health. Through four games, Harper has generated one hit and two walks while striking out six times across 17 plate appearances. The strikeout rate is up, but in all likelihood, the hits will eventually start to fall in for Harper as the sample size increases. Fantasy managers should be heartened by the fact that he's still striking the ball with authority, as his Statcast-measured hard-hit rate and average exit velocity rank in the 97th and 93rd percentile in baseball, respectively.

Dickerson is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Nationals.

Washington is deploying a lefty starting pitcher (Patrick Corbin) for the second day in a row, so the lefty-hitting Dickerson will remain on the bench. Platoon mate Orlando Arcia gets another turn as Atlanta's designated hitter.

Vogelbach will remain on the bench Tuesday against the Cubs.

Vogelbach led off and served as the designated hitter against a pair of righties to open the season but has now sat against two straight southpaws, including Tuesday's starter Drew Smyly. He owns a career wRC+ of 46 against lefties compared to a 117 wRC+ against righties, so that usage pattern seems likely to continue. Michael Chavis will be the designated hitter this time around.

Belt went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Padres.

Belt and Brandon Crawford were the only Giants to record multiple hits in the contest. Through three games, Belt is 5-for-12 with a home run, a double, one RBI and two runs scored. He was hampered by knee inflammation in spring training, but it hasn't been much of an issue for the first baseman once the games started to count. He should continue to play regularly versus right-handed pitchers, though he may be on the bench occasionally versus southpaws.

Dickerson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Nationals.

The lefty-hitting Dickerson served as Atlanta's designated hitter for three of the team's first four games, going hitless with a walk across 10 plate appearances. He'll take a seat Monday with southpaw Josh Rogers on the mound for Washington, allowing the righty-hitting Orlando Arcia to pick up a start. Atlanta appears content to lean on a platoon of Dickerson and Arcia at the DH spot to begin the season, but once Ronald Acuna (knee) is back in action, both players will likely see their opportunities dwindle.

Soler went 3-for-4 with a walk in Sunday's loss to the Giants.

Don Mattingly made the seemingly odd choice to put Soler in the leadoff spot to begin the season despite his power profile and mediocre .316 OBP last season, but so far the Marlins manager is looking like a genius. Through his first three games with Miami, Soler has reached base six times in 14 plate appearances, although the 30-year-old is still looking for his first extra-base hit, run or RBI.

Canha went 3-for-4 with an RBI in Sunday's loss to the Nationals.

His second-inning single brought home Eduardo Escobar and gave the Mets a 2-1 lead, one the team held until a bullpen missing closer Edwin Diaz (personal) faltered late. Canha is off to a flying start to his New York tenure, going 7-for-10 with three walks, two runs and two RBI through his first three games for the Mets, although the veteran outfielder is still looking for his first extra-base hit of 2022.

Hummel went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in Sunday's 10-5 loss to the Padres.

Hummel walked in the third inning and made the final score more respectable with a 439-foot shot to center in the ninth. Manager Torey Lovullo appears to like the 27-year-old in the leadoff spot against southpaws, though he'll need to progress further than the weak side of a platoon to have consistent fantasy value. He also served as the catcher for the final inning, while starting catcher Carson Kelly pitched.

Beer is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against San Diego.

Beer appears to be in the strong side of a platoon at designated hitter, as he'll hit the bench for the second time this season against a left-handed pitcher in Blake Snell. Cooper Hummel will bat leadoff as the designated hitter Sunday.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Marlins, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Pederson went 1-for-5 with a walk through the first two games of the campaign and will take a seat Sunday with left-hander Trevor Rogers on the mound for Miami. Heliot Ramos, Mauricio Dubon and Austin Slater will start from left to right in the outfield in the series finale.