MLB Player News

Harper clubbed two homers in a 3-for-5 showing Thursday against the Brewers.

The superstar was lifted after six innings of utter dominance by the Nationals, but Harper managed to leave his mark with a two-run home run in the first inning and a solo shot in the third. He also added an RBI double, helping him drive in four runs total. Harper now has a .338 batting average, 27 homers, 79 RBI and 86 runs scored on the season, keeping him in the upper echelon of hitters in the league.

Miller is not in the lineup Thursday against the Yankees, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Miller will head to the bench for a night off in order to avoid the lefty-on-lefty matchup with New York starter CC Sabathia. Trevor Plouffe will act as the designated hitter for the evening.

Pederson went 1-for-3 with his 11th home run of the season in Wednesday's win over the Twins.

The 25-year-old slugger has been on a power binge since returning from the disabled list June 13, slashing .282/.393/.631 with nine homers over the 36-game span. Pederson's slow and injury-plagued start to the season is in the rear-view mirror, and he is now performing like the power threat many envisioned when he was drafted at the beginning of the year. Don't let his pedestrian .240/.351/.471 triple slash fool you -- he has been valuable enough over the last month-plus to be startable in almost any fantasy format.

Buxton (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester this weekend, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Buxton was set to return from the DL on Tuesday, but then was sidelined with migraine headaches. The Twins feel he needs a few at-bats with the layoff, so he'll play at Triple-A. He'll likely be activated after Monday's off day for the Twins.

Carpenter went 2-for-5 with a walk, a double, a run scored and two RBI in Wednesday's 10-5 win over the Rockies.

The All-Star break seems to have done wonders for the 31-year-old, as Carpenter is slashing .333/.388/.444 in his last 12 games. His homerless streak now stands at 26 games, but if he continues his recent surge it's only a matter of time until he puts another ball over the fence.

Stanton went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, two RBI and three runs scored during Wednesday's win over the Rangers.

Stanton is in the midst of a power binge with 12 long balls, 20 RBI and 20 runs through his past 17 games. As a result, the slugger has grabbed the league lead in homers and is well on his way to a career-best showing across the board.

Ozuna went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, five RBI and four runs during Wednesday's win over Texas.

The huge showing has Ozuna up to a .315/.371/.557 slash line with 23 home runs, 77 RBI and 58 runs. He's locked into the heart of a capable lineup and in the midst of a career-best showing. It would be surprising to see a significant downturn in production going forward.

Martinez went 2-for-4 with a pair of homers, a walk and four RBI against the Braves on Wednesday.

Thanks to the quirky way the schedule has coincided with his trade out of Detroit, Martinez has faced the Braves in six of his last eight games -- and he's hit five homers off their pitching. Now that he's over the hand/wrist ailment that derailed his arrival in the desert, expect him to crush plenty more home runs in his new digs.

Buxton (head) has yet to be activated due to a migraine issue, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports Wednesday.

Buxton has been on the 10-day disabled list with a groin issue, but that's not what has been bothering the young outfielder for the past few days. Until the headaches clear up, expect Buxton to remain on the disabled list. The Twins have an off-day Thursday, so chances are he will only miss one or two more games at most.

Cespedes (leg) is in the lineup for Wednesday's matchup with the Padres, batting third and playing left field.

The slugging outfielder was removed from Tuesday's contest prematurely due to leg fatigue, but it appears that a night of sleep was enough to get him back and ready for game action. He'll resume his normal spot in the lineup, pushing Curtis Granderson back to the bench.