MLB Player News

Giants manager Bruce Bochy gave first baseman Brandon Belt a vote of confidence Saturday, telling the San Jose Mercury News that he is not in a platoon. But given Belt's history, it might be fair to ask if that is the best decision.

Despite being left handed, Belt has been consistently more productive against lefty pitching in his major-league career. Belt is batting .251 against righties and .274 against lefties in his career, and that split is .218 and .313 this season, respectively. We are dealing with small sample sizes and there are outliers on both ends for batting average on balls in play, but it has been an oddly consistent trend.

For most young left-handed hitters, holding your own against lefties is the toughest part of the transition to the majors. If Belt cannot figure out how to manage the larger part of the platoon split, it won't much matter whether his manager has confidence in him as an everyday player.

Belt is slowly turning things around, with six hits in his last four games, including his first home run, so we are not quite ready to give up on Belt. But he is not an everyday option in Fantasy, even if the Giants use him that way. 

Giants manager Bruce Bochy told the San Jose Mercury News Saturday that first baseman Brandon Belt is not in a platoon. Belt is hitting .278 in 60 plate appearances over his last 16 games played.

"He's our every-day first baseman and he's been swinging better," Bochy said. "He needs to start. We're not in a platoon here at first."

Belt is trying to turn things around after a slow start out the gate. He has recorded a hit in each of his last four games and is hitting .545 (6 for 11) with a home run and three RBI over that span.

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper went 2 for 3 with a two-run homer and scored twice during a 6-3 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday. He launched his team-leading ninth home run of the season off Reds reliever Alfredo Simon in the fourth inning for his third straight outing with an extra-base hit.

Harper, who marked the one-year anniversary of his big-league promotion Saturday, has driven in 18 runs during the opening month to set the franchise record for most RBI in April. In addition, his RBI total ranks sixth in the National League.

"And if you know him, he probably (thinks) he's having an off-year right now," manager Davey Johnson said of Harper. "He expects lot of himself and that's a good trait."

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter should take advantage of his platoon splits in Week 5 (April 29-May 5), as the team is set to take on five right-handed starting pitchers.

Carpenter has an .830 on-base plus slugging percentage in his career against righties, a trend that has so far held up this season. Carpenter's OPS is .350 points higher against right-handers this season, a feature that has piqued our Scott White's interest. White considers Carpenter to be worth starting in Fantasy Week 5 in his Hit Parade column, as they get set for series against the Reds and Brewers.  

Barring any setbacks, Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (hand), is expected to be activated off the 15-day disabled list Sunday, MLB.com reports Friday.

Cespedes, who is currently on a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento, is slated to play in the field Friday. If all goes well, he will serve as the designated hitter Saturday before rejoining the team for their series finale Sunday afternoon against the Orioles.

Cespedes is batting .250/.298/.450 with three home runs and seven RBI over his first 40 at-bats. 

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper will undoubtedly set many franchise records before he is done, and he notched one of his first Thursday against the Reds. Harper slugged his eighth home run of the season, giving him the franchise mark for longballs in April. He went 2 for 3 in the game with a walk, while driving in one and scoring once on his solo home run. The Nationals won the game, 8-1.

Harper is batting .364 with an 1.113 on-base plus slugging percentage, and he has driven in 16 home runs in 22 games.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera pushed his hitting streak to nine games Thursday against the Royals. Cabrera is batting .405 (15 for 37) with one home run, two doubles and nine RBI during the streak.

Athletics left fielder Yoenis Cespedes started his rehab assignment Thursday at Triple-A Sacramento as he works his way back from a hand injury. He is eligible to be activated from the disabled list Sunday, when it appears he will join the A's.

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen went hitless for the fourth time in the last six games on Wednesday night against the Phillies. He went 0 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout in a 5-3 win.

McCutchen has gone just 3 for 22 in his last six contests and has seen his average drop from .273 to .234 during that span.

Indians outfielder Michael Brantley picked up two base hits on Wednesday afternoon during a loss at Chicago. Leading off, Brantley scored once in the game. 

The speedster went 2 for 4 in the contest and is batting .265. He's recorded at least one hit in four straight games and is 6 for 18 (.333) over that stretch with three runs scored. Brantley has yet to steal a base this season.