If you read only one thing…

Welcome to the Fantasy Baseball Nightly recap. Throughout Sunday afternoon, we had a trio of aces making their second starts of the season. Max Scherzer and Zach Greinke pitched well and recorded quality starts but it was Felix Hernandez who sounded fantasy baseball alarms. After laboring through five difficult innings with only one strikeout against the Athletics, Hernandez left the game early because of a tight quadriceps muscle. While the Mariners are saying that Hernandez was lifted from the game as a precaution, it is well worth monitoring any time a starting pitcher of Hernandez’s quality leaves early. The Mariners will need a healthy top of the rotation, including Hisashi Iwakuma and James Paxton, to contend in what is seemingly a wide open American League West.

Bryce Harper hit his second home run of the season against the Phillies today. Coming off a 2014 campaign cut short by injury where Harper only hit 13 home runs, fantasy owners were banking on a revival season for Harper and based on the first week of the season, he is trending upwards and could be a big bounce back candidate.

Just As We Expected…

After missing his first turn in the rotation and most of spring training due to a broken foot, Sale returned to the rotation and showed owners that he will continue to be an elite fantasy baseball starter. Sale struck out eight and walked only one over six strong innings as the White Sox beat the Twins 6-2. Throughout the outing, Sale’s velocity was strong, topping out at 98 MPH.

Miguel Cabrera continued his hot start for the scorching Detroit Tigers (6-0) going 4-4 with two home runs and four RBIs. While many questioned Cabrera’s high draft position because of his health coming into the year, he has proved many of the doubters wrong in the first week of the season hitting at a .429/.500/.476 clip. The Tigers offense is currently clicking on all cylinders and should continue to provide Cabrera with ample RBI opportunities out of the 3-hole.

Outfielders Jose Bautista and Andrew McCutchen, the latter of whom sat out Saturday night with a knee injury, both hit home runs Sunday.

But We Didn’t See This Coming…

While many may have expected the Royals to carry the momentum of their improbable playoff run to early season success, it’s the way that they are winning that is catching a lot of people’s eyes. The Royals have score more than six runs in four of their first six games and are currently second in Major League Baseball in team batting average. The Royals, after sweeping, the Angels this weekend are now 6-0 and in a tie atop the American League Central with the Detroit Tigers.

Wil Nieves took SF Giants starter Jake Peavy deep for a grand slam in the fourth inning in route to a 6-4 victory for the Padres. The home run was only the 9th of Nieves’ 11 year career. The Padres took 3 out of 4 from the Giants this weekend after dropping Thursday’s home opener at Petco Park.

I’d be re-missed to not mention that Bartolo Colon recorded his first RBI since 2005. Albeit not fantasy relevant, any time a 265 lbs. starting pitcher records an RBI, it deserves mention.

THE REST OF THE DETAILS

SAVE CHANCES

–Craig Kimbrel, SD (1 of 1)

–Joakim Soria, DET (1 of 1)

–Ernesto Frieri, TB (1 of 1)

–Miguel Castro, TOR (2 of 2)

–Drew Storen, WSH (2 of 2)

–Jeurys Familia, NYM (1 of 1)

–Samuel Deduno, HOU (1 of 1)

–Yoervis Medina, SEA (1 of 1)

–Hector Rondon, CHC (1 of 1)

–Joel Peralta, LAD (2 of 2)

LINEUP MOVES

None.

INJURIES

–Felix Hernandez was removed from today’s start after the 5th inning for precautionary reasons due to a tight quadriceps.

–Yan Gomes will be out 6-8 weeks after an MRI of the knee revealed significant damage.

–Ian Kennedy will be placed on the 15-day disabled list after leaving last Thursday’s game with a left hamstring injury.

–Mike Minor was reported to having left shoulder discomfort again and it is uncertain whether surgery will be required.

–Jayson Werth is expected back Monday after missing the first week of the season and all of spring training with a shoulder injury.

–John Axford was placed on the family medical emergency list to tend to his two-year old son.

RUMORS & TRANSACTIONS

-Indians released right-hander Charles Brewer and purchased the contract of Shaun Marcum.

-Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopolous noted today that the team is open to trading catcher Dioner Navarro if a team has a starting spot for him.

-Yankees announced today that they signed pitcher Kyle Davies to a major league contract after previously signing him to a minor league contract in February.