MLB Player News

Ruf will start taking fly balls in left field Saturday, Matt Gelb of The Philly Inquirer reports.

With the Phillies struggling to score runs, the decision has been made to have Ruf start practicing in left field. Current starter Cedric Hunter is just 1-for-8 to start the season, and the Philles need a spark after starting the year 0-4. This move could lead to more at-bats for the 29-year-old and potentially eligibility in the outfield.

Blackmon is back in the lineup for Friday's game against the Padres. He will play center field and bat leadoff against Colin Rea.

After getting the day off Wednesday in Arizona, Blackmon will draw back into the order Friday for the Rockies' home opener. Blackmon will look to shake off his slow start (1-for-9) against right-hander Rea. Last season, Blackmon hit 31 points points higher (.295) against right-handers than he did against lefties.

Brantley (shoulder) still has no timetable on when he'll head out on a rehab assignment and may not be back with the Indians until the end of April, MLB.com reports.

Brantley's headed to Triple-A Columbus this weekend to workout but will not get into any games. Brantley didn't suffer any setbacks this spring but did have some lingering soreness once he tried to ramp things up for the start of the regular season so expect the Indians to tread with some caution here as he works his way back from offseason surgery.

Harper went 1-for-3 with two walks and scored twice in Thursday's loss to the Marlins. His only hit was a solo shot in the seventh, the 99th homer of his career, MLB.com reports.

The 2015 MVP is off to a quick start through the first three games of 2016, hitting .300 (3-for-10) with two walks, two RBI, three runs, two home runs and a stolen base -- especially useful numbers for those in 5x5 formats. Harper's speed has declined since entering the league, but his power numbers have exploded, hitting career-high levels in 2015 when the 23-year-old smashed 42 home runs with a .649 slugging percentage. Owners can expect to see more of the same this season, as Harper aims to amass 100 RBI for the first time in his young career.

Pederson went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs scored against the Giants on Thursday.

Four games into the season, we've seen a pretty familiar version of Pederson -- one who's off to a strong start and is showing his power bat, but has also struck out seven times in 16 at-bats. The enticing potential for a power-speed combo will keep him in fantasy lineups, but he's going to struggle with batting average again if he can't start making more contact.

Winker went 2-for-4 for Triple-A Louisville in his season premiere Thursday.

Winker slashed .282/.390/.433 with 13 home runs, 55 RBI and eight steals in 123 games at Double-A last season. Winker possesses an advanced approach at the dish, though he does not project to be a huge producer of either home runs or steals.

Turner is out of Thursday's lineup against the Giants.

This is just a standard day off for Turner, who has four hits in his first three games, including two doubles. Enrique Hernandez will get the start at third base and hit seventh against righty Jake Peavy.

Buxton went 2-for-4 with two doubles in Wednesday's loss at Baltimore.

Buxton was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in his first game, which is a worry since he struggled to make contact last season (just 66 percent contact rate and a 44:6 K:BB ratio in 129 at-bats). Buxton is hitting ninth in the order and could move to leadoff if he shows more command of the strike zone.

Canha went 1-for-4 with a solo homer and two strikeouts in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the White Sox.

After coming more or less out of nowhere to produce 16 homers and 70 RBI in 124 games as a rookie last season, Canha should again see a decent share of duty at first base and the corner-outfield spots this season. The homer came off southpaw starter Carlos Rodon, which is promising for the right-handed Canha after he rather unusually hit righties much better (.821 OPS) than lefties (.575) last season and struck out twice against left-handed pitching in the season opener.

Brantley (shoulder) will head to Triple-A Columbus to continue his rehab Friday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

It's unclear when Brantley might see some action in a minor league game but for now he'll shift his rehab to Columbus instead of travelling with the Indians as the head to Chicago for a weekend series.