MLB Player News

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games after going 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 6-4 win over the Rockies. Brantley upped his average to .307/.370/.505 with 40 RBI in 212 at-bats.

The Phillies have optioned outfielder Darin Ruf to Triple-A Sunday.

Ruf received just 10 at-bats in the majors, hitting .100. There was some talk about him potentially working his way into a platoon role, but the team had other plans. 

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera clubbed his 10th home run Saturday against the Mariners.

Cabrera stepped to the plate with the bases empty in the fourth inning. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Cabrera belted an 89 mph fastball out to left for the solo shot. He also singled later in the contest. Cabrera finished 2 for 4, with one run and one RBI.

Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes got all of the tough parts out of the way, and ended up just a single short of the cycle in an 11-3 win over the Angels Saturday.

Cespedes accounted for much of the A's offensive output, as he drove in five of the team's 11 runs. He brought in two on a seventh-inning triple, followed by a three-run home run in the eighth inning. He had a double earlier in the game, finishing 3 for 5 with two runs and five RBI.

Cespedes has been a bit cold to open the season, hitting just .245 through 52 games. He finished the month of May with a .234 average. He still has 10 home runs and 37 RBI in 200 at-bats. 

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon went 2 for 4 with a home run, four RBI and a steal in his team's 7-6 loss to the Indians Saturday.

Blackmon tallied his first RBI on a third-inning single then delivered a three-run homer in the seventh inning to tie the game. Blackmon has set career highs across the board with 10 home runs, 37 RBI and 10 stolen bases to go with a .317/.355/.523 line in 199 at-bats.

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera continued to hit like Miguel Cabrera on Friday night. He extended his hitting streak to six with a single and two-run homer in the third inning. He sweetened his stat line to ..328/.374/.556 in the process.

Cabrera has slugged two homers in the last four games.

Some hitters to sit in Fantasy Week 10 (June 2-8) include A.J. Pierzynski, Adam Dunn, Yangervis Solarte, Andrelton Simmons, Marcell Ozuna and, yes, even Dee Gordon (at least at second base in certain formats).

Find out why in my latest Start and Sit Hitters column.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was able to play catch Friday, according to The Washington Post.

Harper is attempting to come back from thumb surgery, and has been able to make progress in recent weeks. It's unclear how quickly he'll be able to ramp up his workload. Harper hit .289 in 83 at-bats prior to the injury.

Last season, Matt Carpenter hit .318 with an MLB-leading 55 doubles. He's on pace for significantly less than that this season.

But a 10-game hitting streak in which he's batting .356 (16 for 45) with five doubles -- or almost half his season total -- is a definite step in the right direction.

His four walks during that stretch may be as well. Yeah, he was walking at a higher rate earlier this season, which is typically a good thing, but clearly, it had an adverse effect on his numbers. He was overly selective, taking a higher percentage of pitches than any player in the majors, and the strikeouts began to pile up as a result. During this 10-game streak, he has just seven strikeouts, which is much closer to the rate he had last season.

Really, it's been going on all of May. The hitting streak simply brought it into focus. Carpenter is back in his comfort zone as far as selectivity goes, and the doubles are coming as a result. Now would not be the time to sell him short.

I've been getting a lot of questions lately asking if it's time to drop Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon, who is mired in a 10-for-50 slump in his last 15 games. While I did drop Blackmon in the outfielder rankings, I'm not ready to throw in the towel.

You had to expect a market correction was coming because Blackmon was hitting .355 with a .603 slugging percentage as of May 10. His numbers weren't going to stay that high all season, so we shouldn't hit the panic button at the first sign of adversity. 

Blackmon was pretty good down the stretch in 2013. He hit .316 with a .500 slugging percentage and .850 OPS in August and a .343 average, .500 slugging percentage and .866 OPS in September/October. I envision Blackmon being good enough to produce his August slash line from last season, which is right where his numbers are this season (.314/.513/.867) after his recent slide.

I know Blackmon has found himself on the bench recently when a left-handed starter is on the hill, which doesn't help his overall Fantasy value. But I'm willing to give him a few more weeks to turn it around before many any drastic roster decisions.