2013 Fantasy Baseball Daily News and Notes: July 11th 2013
July 11th 2013
Today we are very proud to bring you the debut of our column “Daily News and Notes”. Let’s get started.
Sections: Injuries News and Notes, Three Down, Three Up, Stream-Em/Leave-Em
Pitching Injuries News and Notes:
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish is headed to the 15-day disabled list due to fatigue of his trapezius muscle, this according to the Dallas Morning News. Darvish has allowed four walks in each of his past two starts and only one quality start in his last four games. This is a huge blow to fantasy owners. Yu’s 157 strikeouts in just 119.1 innings (an absurd total) likely has led his owners to a huge lead in strikeouts already, so hopefully it’s not too much of a loss.
New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey (finger) will pitch in the All-Star Game on Tuesday according to SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt. In order to do it, he will skip Saturday’s start. This is extremely concerning for his fantasy owners as rarely is it a good thing for a pitcher to pitch in the All-Star Game while nursing an injury.
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Clay Buchholz (neck) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session off a mound Wednesday, according to the Boston Herald. His next bullpen is scheduled for Friday with the possibility he heads out on a rehab assignment Sunday.
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jake Peavy (ribs) said Wednesday he will make his first rehab start on Sunday for Double-A Birmingham, according to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin.
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Brandon Morrow threw a 25-pitch bullpen session at the Blue Jays minor league complex on Tuesday. Fantasy owners that picked Morrow thinking he could finally deliver on his ace potential have been sorely disappointed this season. He is unlikely to return before August.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta Braves righty Brandon Beachy (elbow) pitched three innings for Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday on his first rehab start since suffering a setback in mid-June. The 26-year-old Beachy gave up three hits, one walk and two runs while striking out one. Beachy said quote “I’m pretty happy. I’m feeling good and healthy.” All this is well and good, as Beachy has tremendous talent. The problem remains to be the fact that there is no room for Beachy right now in the rotation. The two most likely candidates to be removed in favor of the righty were Tim Hudson, Julio Teheran and Paul Maholm. However, Hudson has turned things around with a 3.00 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in the last 30-days (33.0 innings). This is despite a 23:11 strikeout to walk ratio. Teheran has been excellent as well, recording a 2.70 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 36:6 strikeout to walk ratio in his last 36.2 innings pitched. The only problem source has been Maholm. He remains the most likely pitcher Beachy replaces, especially considering the Braves best lefties, Eric O’Flaherty and Jonny Venters are out for the season due to undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Los Angeles Angels lefty Jason Vargas is expected to return by the end of July according to the Los Angeles Times. He has a 3.65 ERA so far this season and a 1.36 WHIP which is slightly concerning; it is being caused by a career high 7.7 percent walk rate. While 7.7 percent seems fairly low (still under 3.0 walks per nine innings), it’s a problem for Vargas because his strikeout rate is identical to last year (15.9 percent) while the aforementioned walk rate has climbed 1.5 percentage points. His .294 batting average on balls in play allowed is also the highest since his rookie season in 2005 with the Marlins (.295). He is however coming off one of his best starts, going seven innings and allowing just four hits and two earned runs. He struck out nine and walked just one in a 11-3 victory over the Mariners on June 17th. In other Angels news, pitcher Tommy Hanson (forearm) threw a 35-pitch bullpen session and reported no issues afterward, according to the Los Angeles Times. Hanson is expected to re-join the staff on July 23rd. The Angels are operating a four-man rotation at the moment so in late July when both Vargas and Hanson return, Jerome Williams is likely leaving the rotation and going back into a long relief role. Williams started out strong when he joined the rotation, recording six quality starts in his first seven. His average GameScore over those first seven starts was 48.7, in his last four starts he has averaged a GameScore of just 35.5. He has allowed 5+ runs in three of those four starts.
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Zach McAllister is expected to make his rehab appearance at Double-A Akron on Saturday, this according to the Akron Beacon Journal. He’s expected to make two rehab starts in total. According to manager Terry Francona, McAllister will pitch up to four innings with Akron on Saturday but won’t be allowed to throw curveballs until the second start. He’s expected to return shortly after the All-Star break. McAllister’s return spells the end of Trevor Bauer until another injury occurs, thanks to Corey Kluber’s impressive numbers so far. Bauer looked to be in line for some more starts thanks to the end of the Carlos Carrasco experience (9.10 ERA in 28.2 innings this year), but Bauer has been equally as bad (5.82 ERA, 1.82 WHIP in 17.0 innings), which is amazingly, four starts!
For those of you in holds leagues, San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Santiago Casilla is expected to be activated today according to the San Jose Mercury News’ Alex Pavlovic.
Hitting Injury News and Notes
Colorado Rockies superstar shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (ribs) is expected to come off the disabled list today according to the Denver Post. Owners in leagues with daily moves need to get him in their lineups ASAP.
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp underwent an MRI on Tuesday which confirmed the original diagnosis of irritation in his AC joint according to the Los Angeles Times. Kemp received the ol’ platelet-rich plasma treatment to speed up his recovery. Hopefully whatever magic this treatment seems to have will affect the “superstar?” outfielder in a positive way.
New York Yankee outfielder Brett Gardner left Wednesday’s game with a right leg contusion according to the New York Daily News. Gardner walked twice, scored two runs, and stole a base in the game. The steal was just number 12 on the season for the 29-year-old who has supplied more power (seven home runs) than expected but significantly less stolen bases. The way Gardner has been hitting recently though, (1-21 in his last five games) this may be worse news for the Yankees than Gardner’s fantasy owners. In his stead, Ichiro will slide into center field and the hapless Vernon Wells will now receive more at-bats.
Colorado Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler (hand) is expected to come off the disabled list today according to the Denver Post. He will replace the slumping Tyler Colvin who has five hits in his last 52 at-bats. Fowler is hitting .291 this season thanks to a decreased strikeout rate (down three percentage points from last year). Fowler’s batting average on balls in play has not fueled this either, as his .353 mark is exactly in line with his career mark of, you guessed it, .353. Fowler has 10 home runs and 12 stolen bases this season in just 304 plate appearances after recording 13 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 530 plate appearances in 2012 and five home runs and 12 stolen bases in 563 plate appearances in 2011.
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard underwent successful surgery on his left knee and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Seattle Mariners second baseman Nick Franklin left Wednesday’s game in the seventh inning due to knee soreness according to MLB.com’s Greg Johns. If you read our Daily Fix for Sunday you are now aware that Franklin has been battling this sore knee for a few days now. This likely seems like a defensive replacement issue though, as Franklin hasn’t been sitting that much despite the ailment. However, he could be in line for more time on the bench in the coming days if the Mariners want to give him some extra rest before the All-Star break so they can have their 22-year-old rookie ready for the second half.
Atlanta Braves backup catcher and occasional designated hitter Evan Gattis (oblique) successfully took batting practice on Wednesday according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Three-Down
Hunter Pence | SF Giants | OF: Pence is 3-26 in the last seven days but really it has been much worse for Pence since the end of May. From April 23rd to the end of May, Pence hit .395 and slugged .674 against the fastball in 43 at-bats. Since June 1st, also in 43 at-bats, Pence is hitting .140 and slugging .186. Pence should be benched in all formats until he gets back on top of the fastball.
Mark Reynolds | Cleveland Indians | 3B: Reynolds has been absolutely atrocious since the end of his April hot streak. Reynolds really was benefitting from getting hanging breaking pitches, and just seeing the ball well in general. In April, Mark had four of his eight home runs on breaking and off-speed pitches. He hit two off the slider, one off the curveball and one off the changeup. He hit went 3-8 against the changeup (.375), went 6-17 (.353) against the slider, and 2-6 against the curveball (.333). He was smashing two-seam fastballs (5-10) with a slugging percentage of 1.200, but off against four-seam fastballs (7-31) for a .226 batting average. Since then, Reynolds has been even worse against the four-seamer (.162) but has four home runs. He’s hitting .217, .170, and .125 against the changeup, slider, and curveball respectively, with just one extra base hit off those pitches. He’s only remained good against the two-seam fastball (.310) with two home runs. He’s a must drop in all mixed league formats unless you have room for him on your bench.
Gerardo Parra | Arizona Diamondbacks | OF: Parra sports just a .175 OBP in his last 56 at-bats. (9-56, one walk, no homers, no steals). If Parra doesn’t pick it up again, he’s going to have trouble finding playing time once Adam Eaton returns. Overall, Parra is still hitting .288, so this could just be a bump in the road.
Three-Up
Hanley Ramirez | Los Angeles Dodgers | SS/3B: Ramirez went 3-6 last night with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI. He’s been on absolute fire as he sports a .471 OBP (12-30 with three walks) in the last seven days. Things are even better in his last fifteen days (.517 OBP), three home runs and three steals.
Robinson Cano | New York Yankees | 2B: Cano is now hitting .508 in his last fifteen days and hit another home run, his fifth in that span, last night. Overall, he went 3-4 adding a stolen base as well to his home run and three RBI. The Yankees won 8-1 over the hapless Royals.
Brett Wallace | Houston Astros | 1B: Wallace is really only a deep league play or a daily fantasy play, but he went 4-5 last night in a 5-4 loss to the Cardinals. He has three multi-hit games in his last seven.
Stream-Em/Leave-Em
Stream-Em:
Boston Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster facing the Seattle Mariners: Dempster sports a 3.16 ERA over his last 31.3 innings. This is the last time to stream Dempster for a bit though, because there are warning flags abound. During that time, he has a 1.50 WHIP and an atrocious 17:14 K:BB ratio. He is owned in just 50 percent of ESPN.com standard leagues.
Arizona Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley facing the Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers are extremely banged up and Miley has allowed just two runs or fewer in four of his past five starts. His last time out he spun a gem against the Rockies, going eight innings while yielding just five hits and one earned run. He struck out five and walked just one.
Los Angeles Dodgers starter Chris Capuano facing the Colorado Rockies: Capuano was moved to the bullpen, but the injury to Stephen Fife opened up the door for him again. Capuano has given up five runs in each of his past two starts, but that’s good news technically. So far this season, Capuano has been very consistent with a pattern of two straight clunkers followed by two straight gems. If the pattern holds, this one should be a gem.
Leave-Em:
Toronto Blue Jays starter R.A. Dickey was awful last time out against a hapless Twins team. He just cannot be trusted against a lineup as good as the Indians.
New York Yankees starter Andy Pettitte facing the Kansas City Royals: The Royals have been hapless against right-handers this year (27th in the league in wRC+) but have held their own against lefties, ranking 18th in the league in wRC+. Speaking of hapless, Pettitte has a 5.46 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP in his last 31.1 innings. This even despite a 22:8 K:BB ratio. He’s simply too hittable at this point in his long career.
Chicago Cubs starter Edwin Jackson facing the Cardinals: Jackson has been a huge disappointment this season. Primed for what seemed like the best season of his career, Jackson has flopped completely. With an ERA of 5.50 and a WHIP of 1.50+, he hasn’t done enough since his two great starts in early June against the Mets and Pirates to warrant running him out there against one of the best offenses in baseball. Jackson has a 4.88 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP in his last 27.2 innings (five starts).
If You Like to Gamble:
St. Louis Cardinals right hander Jake Westbrook facing the Cubs. Westbrook’s 2.78 ERA and 1.35 WHIP this season might be the most fluky in baseball. With a bowling ball sinker as his best pitch, Westbrook seems to come and go as the sinker does. Westbrook gave up just one earned and three hits to the Marlins last time out in seven innings. He recorded zero strikeouts though. Westbrook has a seven inning two-hit shutout on his resume against these same Cubs this season (on June 19th). Go for it if you like, but have the whiskey on hand.
The Author
