MLB Player News

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt went 2 for 5 with his 14th home run in his team's 6-5 loss to the Nationals Wednesday.

Belt extended his hitting streak to nine games while raising his line to .273/.351/.471 in 359 at-bats. All three slash statistics are season highs for the 25-year-old.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is back in the team's starting lineup Wednesday against the Giants. 

Harper was not in Tuesday's starting lineup because he had the flu. He was able to pinch hit during the game. Harper is hitting .262/.361/.507 at-bats. 

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton called his struggles "mind-blowing," according to the Miami Herald. 

Stanton is missing his second game on the team's road trip. He expressed his frustration with all his numbers. "There's no one thing. (It's) everything, even defense. It's just one of those mind-blowing things," Stanton said. 

In 278 at-bats, Stanton is hitting .237/.351/.439. 

Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is not in the club's starting lineup Wednesday against the Royals. 

Stanton will be replaced in right by Justin Ruggiano. In 278 at-bats, Stanton is hitting .237/.351/.439.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen had another strong performance Tuesday, in a 4-3 loss to the Cardinals in 14 innings.

McCutchen went 2 for 5  with a home run, his 17th of the season. He drove in two runs and scored one, while walking once and striking out twice. He has seven multi-hit games in the month of August, and is batting .471 with two home runs and nine RBI in 11 games. 

Cubs general manager Theo Epstein told the Chicago Sun-Times Tuesday that outfield prospect Jorge Soler is still healing from a stress fracture/tibia, but will not be able to return to Class A Daytona in time. Soler still has a chance to appear in the Arizona Fall League before the season is over.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is out Tuesday because he's dealing with the flu.

Harper will be replaced by Scott Hairston in left. There was some speculation Harper was out due to his struggles against lefties this year, but that's not the case. He would be in the lineup if he was not sick.

Harper is hitting .262/.359/.507 in 282 at-bats. 

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is not in the team's starting lineup Tuesday against the Giants. 

Harper will be replaced in left by Scott Hairston. Harper is hitting .262/.359/.507 in 282 at-bats. 

Giants first baseman Brandon Belt received some swing advice from Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

The club had attempted to alter Belt's swing, but he was hesitant to make changes. He changed his mind after talking to Brown. "Domonic said it only took him a couple of days to change his grip. I thought, if it only took him a couple of days, maybe I can do it in a couple of days, too." Belt also moved back in the batting box, in order to see pitches a little longer. 

Belt is hitting .271/.349/.466 in 350 at-bats.

Phillies outfielder Darin Ruf has once again looked good in a small sample of games, and is seeing regular playing time, but is a sell high in Fantasy leagues.

Ruf has only notched 42 games over his career, and he's put up some pretty unsustainable rates. Ruf's average has been propped up by a ridiculous .370 career BABIP. Considering his career strikeout rate is over 30 percent, there's no way he'll continue to hit for a high average. On top of that, there's also reason to believe his power will taper off. Ruf has his a home run on nearly a quarter of his fly balls. 

It's been a fantastic start to his major league career, but the overall performance has been fluky. Sell while you can.