MLB Player News

Harper went 1-for-4 with a solo home run during Thursday's win over the Mets.

Harper now sports an eight-game hitting streak, but he has just a single multi-hit game during the stretch. Still, the star is up to a .314/.422/.614 slash line with 17 homers, 50 RBI and 53 runs. He's a set-and-forget fantasy option, and after a disappointing 2016 campaign, it's encouraging to see Harper back among the league's elite contributors.

Manager Terry Collins said Cespedes will sit out Sunday before he starts getting deployed regularly, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

The Mets have been cautious with the star slugger since he returned from the disabled list, but that will hopefully change after Sunday. The Mets plan to play Cespedes in three straight games starting Thursday (marking the first time he'll do so since returning from the DL), and if he responds well, he'll get the day off Sunday before being sent out without any restrictions.

Carpenter went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a walk in Wednesday's 7-6 loss to the Brewers.

The veteran infielder has his OPS up to .944 in June following Wednesday's production, as he now has four multi-hit outings over his last seven games, as well as an eight-game hitting streak during which he's compiled nine RBI. The impressive start to the month has brought his season average up 18 points to .239 and he's now leading the team in home runs (12), RBI (36) and OBP (.360).

Ozuna went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's win over Oakland.

Ozuna hit a 411-foot shot to center off rookie starter Daniel Gossett in the second inning to get the Marlins on the board. He added an RBI groundout in the third and RBI double in the sixth to finish off an excellent day at the plate. His 17 long balls are good enough for ninth in the majors, while his .983 OPS ranks 10th. He's having a breakout season.

Cespedes is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Cubs.

Although the stud outfielder was removed from Tuesday's game early, he doesn't appear to be nursing an injury anymore. Wednesday's absence appears to just be an effort to ease him back into action, allowing Curtis Granderson to pick up a start in left field to replace him.

McCutchen went 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBI against Colorado on Tuesday.

Since moving to the sixth slot in the lineup May 26, McCutchen is batting .397/.480/.730 with five homers and 15 RBI in 75 plate appearances. Historically, the outfielder has put up some of his best monthly numbers in June (.313/.386/.516), though he hit just .202 last June. He's in a good spot right now and gives fantasy owners the option to either ride out his streak or perhaps sell high on his value.

Stanton went 1-for-4 with a walk, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Tuesday's 8-1 win over the A's.

It's safe to say Stanton's wrist is no longer bothering him. The 27-year-old now has 17 homers and 44 RBI on the year, putting him on pace to set new career highs in both categories if he can avoid his usual lengthy DL stint.

Ozuna went 3-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and a second run scored in Tuesday's 8-1 win over the A's.

He's now produced multi-hit efforts in 11 of his last 17 games, giving Ozuna a stellar .408/.432/.676 slash line over that stretch with five homers, 11 RBI and 14 runs. The 26-year-old now sports a career-best .971 OPS on the season, nearly 200 points better than his previous high.

Carpenter went a combined 4-for-8 with a double, a homer, a walk, three RBI and three runs in Tuesday's doubleheader against Milwaukee.

He's still hitting only .233, but Carpenter managed to extend his hitting streak from five to seven games in one day -- a stretch in which he's gone 11-for-28 (.393) with three homers and eight RBI. Before this run, he was lingering at a .209 batting average, so even this modest improvement is quite welcome. Carpenter's seemingly made a conscious decision to sacrifice contact for power over the past couple seasons, and this year hasn't been any different, except that the results have been worse. Much of that is attributable to a career-low .253 BABIP, though; his career mark is .324, which implies a lot of room for improvement in his batting average.

Cespedes (heel) went 2-for-2 with an RBI double in Tuesday's 14-3 loss to the Cubs.

With this game's outcome not in question after the early innings, the Mets wisely pulled Cespedes after five innings for extra rest, but he avoided aggravating the heel injury that got him removed from Monday's game. When he's been in the lineup, Cespedes has been a wrecking ball this year, piling up 12 extra-base hits in just 74 at-bats.