Fowler, who's slashing .146/.257/.285 over his first 152 plate appearances, is putting in extra time in the batting cage as part of his attempt to improve his production at the plate, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "I am not liking playing poorly," Fowler said. "At the end of the day you get in there and you need that - at-bats. You can fix stuff in the cage but need it in the game. Which is not going to happen overnight."

EDGE Analysis

All three components of the veteran's slash line are his worst since his initial 13-game big-league cup of coffee with the Rockies in 2008, and there's too much of a sample size at this point in the season to simply dismiss the struggles as an outlier. The switch-hitting Fowler has especially been inept against left-handed pitching, despite his career .291/.382/.430 versus that handedness. The veteran is just 1-for-30 with 13 strikeouts against southpaws, which has led to Harrison Bader seeing more playing time of late. Moreover, with Tyler O'Neill now slashing .333/.342/.752 with 13 home runs and 30 RBI at Triple-A Memphis, he also could see opportunities at Fowler's expense this summer, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.