MLB Player News

Harper is starting in right field and hitting leadoff Thursday against the Nationals, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Harper has primarily hit second or third this season, but he'll get a turn atop the order as the slumping Jean Segura is dropped to fifth. In 29 career games as the leadoff hitter, Harper is slashing .273/.362/.573 with eight homers and 19 RBI in 128 plate appearances.

Vogelbach went 1-for-2 with a walk, a home run and two RBI in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Royals.

He launched a solo shot in the first inning, going back-to-back with Domingo Santana. Vogelbach continues to get on base at an impressive clip -- he's got an 18:15 BB:K through 18 games in June -- and on the year, the 26-year-old is slashing .256/.396/.543 with 18 homers and 42 RBI in 69 contests.

Reyes went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 8-7 win over the Brewers.

His seventh-inning shot off Jeremy Jeffress provided the winning runs on the afternoon. Reyes has now reached the 20-HR plateau for the first time in his career, and Wednesday's blast ended a 12-game power drought during which the 23-year-old had slashed .167/.278/.167. Reyes' homers have tended to come in bunches this season, so don't be surprised if he keeps slugging during this weekend's series in Pittsburgh.

Brantley went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 3-2 loss against the Reds on Wednesday.

It looked like Brantley's two-run blast was going to hold up, but the Reds came back in the bottom of the ninth to win. Still, owners have to be pleased with Brantley's series in Cincinnati, where he went 7-for-13 (.538) with three extra-base hits in three games. Overall, he is batting .321 with 11 home runs, 42 RBI, 36 runs and three steals in 277 at-bats this season.

Pederson is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Giants, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

As per usual, Pederson will retreat to the bench with a left-hander in Drew Pomeranz toeing the rubber for the Giants. In his place, Kyle Garlick is starting in left field and hitting eighth.

Blackmon went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored Tuesday in the Rockies' 8-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

After a huge homestand, Blackmon stayed hot for the first contest of the Rockies' nine-game road swing. Blackmon's seventh-inning single made him the first player in Rockies history to record five consecutive three-hit games. He'll be in the lineup again Wednesday and will look to extend his record.

Cabrera is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against Pittsburgh, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Lingering knee issues are expected to keep Cabrera limited almost exclusively to designated hitter duty for the rest of the season and likely the rest of his career, though he did play first base Tuesday due to the lack of a DH in the National League park. He's back on the bench Wednesday for the series finale but should reclaim his DH spot Friday in Cleveland.

Martinez went 0-for-8 with five strikeouts in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Twins in 17 innings.

The hitless performance resulted in a nine-point drop in Martinez's batting average, which now sits at .292 for the season. The Red Sox have yet to unveil their lineup for Wednesday's series finale, but it wouldn't be a surprise if Martinez received a day off after the poor showing in the marathon loss.

Winker will serve as the Reds' No. 2 hitter and will start in left field Wednesday against the Astros.

Winker will make his third start in a row in one of the top two spots in the order, with his prior two assignments coming as the leadoff man. It's unclear if manager David Bell plans on sticking with Winker in the top third of the lineup, however, as the Reds won't be playing with all their regulars Wednesday with usual No. 2 hitter Joey Votto gets a breather for the day game.

Stanton is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Rays, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Stanton will head to the bench for Wednesday's series finale as the Yankees look to ease him back into action following a lengthy stay on the injured list. Brett Gardner is starting in left field in place of Stanton, who went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts in his first game back Tuesday.