MLB Player News

Pederson went 3-for-4 with a walk Wednesday, as the Dodgers beat the Phillies 7-2.

Pederson continued a recent trend of getting on base at a tremendous clip, with a .440 OBP in his last 15 games prior to Wednesday. After hitting just .210 last season with 170 strikeouts, fantasy owners should be quite happy with Pederson's improving plate discipline. Pederson is still hitting for power too, his 42 extra-base hits nearly matching his total from last year already.

McCutchen went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run as part of a six-run sixth inning that helped the Pirates to a 6-5 win over the Giants.

McCutchen is still hitting just .248 on the year, and is on pace for his worst statistical season since 2011, but has shown signs of life of late, hitting .346/.469/.654 in his last seven games. One potential reason why: despite his 17 home runs putting him roughly on pace for his average over the past five years, he's putting the ball on the ground more often, his 0.76 groundout to flyout ratio being the most extreme of his career.

Haper went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a pair of runs scored as the Nationals fell to the Rockies 12-10.

The homer was Harper's first since July 20th, a stretch of time over which he has been mired in a miserable slump. He's hit just .190/.326/.352 over his last 30 games, but may be snapping out of it, hitting .333/.433/.625 over his last seven. The home run was Harper's 21st of the year, nine of which he hit in April. It's easy to forget that Harper is still just 23 years old, having had such high peaks in his career, winning an MVP award in 2015. Fantasy owners should stay hopeful with someone as talented as Harper, who has shown the ability to put up big flurries of offensive output in short stretches of time.

Jimenez's amazing offensive season has continued into the second half, as he is slashing .327/.375/.524 with four home runs and 25 strikeouts in 147 at-bats since the All-Star break.

He had a monster first half, partially propelled by a BABIP over .400, and his BABIP still sits at a lofty .401, and that needs to be noted when evaluating his season. Jimenez excels at making hard contact, and his ability to take the ball the other way has actually led to major reverse splits this year. He has a 1.006 OPS against righties and a .661 OPS against lefties, although he has logged just 115 at-bats against southpaws, so the sample size isn't large enough to make any sweeping conclusions. Jimenez is also still just 19 years old, and given his offensive prowess, he will have plenty of time to make adjustments as he moves up the ladder. The main takeaway here is that the Cubs have another special young hitter on their hands.

Turner (hand) is in the lineup Tuesday against the Philadelphia.

Turner has missed two games with a jammed thumb, but he'll be back in action Tuesday. The Dodgers' power-hitting third baseman will be hitting third when the club faces Vince Velasquez and the Phillies.

Harper went 3-for-3 with two walks, two doubles and an RBI in Monday's win over the Rockies.

He's returned to the lineup from his neck issue with a vengeance, going 4-for-6 with three doubles and three walks over the last two games. If Harper is truly 100 percent again, don't be surprised if he goes on a tear over the final weeks of the season.

Ozuna went 1-for-5 with a solo homer in Monday's 6-3 win over the Reds.

Ozuna reached the 20-homer milestone with his sixth-inning blast. The Marlins will be searching for alternative sources of offense with slugger Giancarlo Stanton (groin) out for the season, and the 25-year-old outfielder is a good candidate to provide some judging by a solid .281/.338/.488 line that represents career-bests across the board.

Cespedes (quadriceps), who is slated to be activated Friday, went 0-for-3 with a run batted in while serving as the designated hitter during his first rehab game Monday, ESPN's Adam Rubin reports.

Cespedes will play left field Tuesday and then join the Mets in San Francisco during their series Friday. Originally, the plan was for Cespedes to join the team Thursday but it looks like that his return will be pushed back a day.

Dickerson is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.

Dickerson went just 4-for-20 (.200) over his last five games, so manager Andy Green decided it was time to hold him out of the starting lineup for the first time since Aug. 1. Christian Bethancourt will get the start in left field in Dickerson's place.

Harper (neck) went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, two runs scored and an RBI in Sunday's win over the Braves.

In his first game action since Aug. 6, Harper was able to hit the ball with some authority and he appears to be over the neck stiffness that was keeping him sidelined. The right fielder has been alternating big months with terrible ones this season, so coming off a .176/.303/.319 July, he seems due to go on a tear. With the Nationals starting a series in Coors Field on Monday, Harper couldn't have picked a better time to return.