Pete Kozma is back in the Cardinals' lineup Sunday. The slumping Kozma had been benched for three straight games as he worked on his swing. He remains the team's starting shortstop but probably doesn't have much leash with Daniel Descalso playing well at the big league level and Ryan Jackson doing well at Triple-A.

Pete Kozma is not in the Cardinals' lineup Thursday and is expected to sit out Friday's game, as well. Kozma is in the midst of a 0-for-17 slump at the plate that has dropped his yearly line to an ugly .236/.281/.299. The Cards are hoping a couple days off to clear his head will help, but that's probably wishful thinking. Daniel Descalso will handle shortstop Thursday and Friday.

Pete Kozma went hitless in a fourth straight start on Tuesday against the Angels. Kozma had three homers this spring and went deep again in the second game of the regular season, but he's without a homer in 260 at-bats since. He's also doing a poor job of getting on base with his .241 average and 18 walks. The Cardinals seem better off when they have Daniel Descalso playing short.

Pete Kozma went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored Friday against the Reds. A rare big night at the plate for Kozma, who entered Friday's game with three hits over his last 10 games combined. The 25-year-old is only hitting .250 through 59 games and doesn't provide much in the way of pop or speed, so he holds very little fantasy appeal.

Pete Kozma went 4-for-4 with three doubles Sunday against the Dodgers. Kozma drove in three of the Cardinals' five runs, with two of his doubles coming off Clayton Kershaw. It was a much needed breakout, as Kozma is batting just .222 (4-for-18) in his last seven games.

Pete Kozma has a hit in 10 of his last 11 games. Kozma has just one two-hit game over that stretch, and all 11 of his hits have been singles. Still, he's also walked five times and sports a .306 average and .390 OBP over the 11 contests. The owner of a .261/.316/.341 batting line with one homer and one steal, Kozma doesn't offer much for fantasy owners.

Pete Kozma went 2-for-4 and homered off Arizona's Heath Bell on Tuesday. Even after his stunning emergence at the end of 2012, it seems like the Cardinals expected little from Kozma this year; the Ronny Cedeno signing seemed likely to push him back to Triple-A had Rafael Furcal stayed healthy. As is, Furcal is done and Cedeno is gone, leaving Kozma as the everyday shortstop, and the Cardinals aren't feeling too bad about it after he hit .359 with three homers and five doubles this spring. Tonight's homer, launched to center at Chase Field, ended up conking some poor girl in the head.

Pete Kozma hit a grand slam off Mets prospect Randy Fontanez in Tuesday's game. Fontanez was only in the game because Jeremy Hefner left with an injury. Still, a grand slam is a grand slam. Kozma is showing nice pop, suppplying three homers and five doubles in 59 at-bats this spring.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny confirmed Monday that Pete Kozma will start at shortstop to open the season. Rafael Furcal needs Tommy John surgery and will not play in 2013. Kozma is a former first-round draft pick with a .303/.373/.506 career batting line in the major leagues, but that profile doesn't exactly paint an accurate picture. The 24-year-old hit .232/.292/.355 last summer at Triple-A Memphis and is not fantasy-relevant.

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman says the Cardinals are "planning for" Pete Kozma to be their starting shortstop. Rafael Furcal needs Tommy John surgery and has already been ruled out for the season, and Ronny Cedeno hasn't played well enough to leapfrog Kozma. The Cardinals' shortstop situation can be ignored for fantasy purposes.