Fan News

The baseball gods aren't wasting any time at testing the Cincinnati Reds' 2013 season.

With Ryan Ludwick’s injured shoulder after three innings on Opening Day, the Reds have to adjust.

Major League Baseball has somewhat transitioned into a pitcher's league—as we've seen an increase in perfect games and no-hitters the past few seasons—but the league still has its share of feared hitters that no pitcher wants to see in the batter's box.

From on-base percentages to threats to go deep, each hitter brings an arsenal to the plate that has proven to overpower pitchers in the past.

So who made the cut for the 15 most dangerous hitters in baseball today?

Let's find out.

It's pretty clear that the Chicago Cubs have bullpen issues. For the third-straight outing, closer Carlos Marmol struggled in relief and the Cubbies lost a heartbreaker, 6-5, to the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

Despite leading 5-1 heading into the last two innings, the Cubs bullpen imploded to give this one away. The collapse culminated in home runs off the bats of B.J. and Justin Upton in the bottom of the ninth.

Josh Hamilton’s wife Katie had some problems at the Rangers game on Friday.

According to Scott Miller of CBSSports.com, Katie had to call for security at the Ballpark in Arlington as Hamilton's new team, the Los Angeles Angels, took on his old one, the Texas Rangers. It continues:

John Lackey was taken out of the game in his first start of the season for the Boston Red Sox after an apparent arm injury. 

UPDATE: Saturday, April 6, 3:35 p.m. ET by Sam Westmoreland

According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, Lackey is only suffering from a simple bicep strain, rather than the more serious injury many had feared:

Barry Zito seems to have discovered a dominance over the St. Louis Cardinals recently.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have started 2013 in a very similar manner to 2012, struggling to get anything going at the plate. Despite four solid pitching performances in a row, the Bucs are 1-3 heading into Saturday night's tilt with Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers.

The Chicago White Sox are used to some chilly nights in early April as they get the season started. Friday night, in their series opener with the Seattle Mariners, two hurlers who made their marks a season ago saw their fortunes turn, at least for one frigid evening.

Usually there isn’t much hype for the Boston Red Sox’s first game against the Toronto Blue Jays, but with John Farrell making his first appearance in Toronto since he left the Canadian organization, there were plenty of storylines.

The Boston Red Sox have started their 2013 season off in an impressive fashion, taking three out of four games on the road against the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. They will soon get even stronger, as the impending returns of injured players Stephen Drew and David Ortiz will shake up the roster.