Stars on the Shelf: TheFantasyFix.com’s All Star Week DL Report
photo by: TheBigSpot
Here is TheFantasyFix.com’s All Star week update on all notable injured players, right here in one spot. Here you will find an update on a player’s progress as well as my spin on their expected return dates and fantasy impact upon return. The players are listed by expected return date. 
The big additions this week are Derek Jeter and BJ Upton. Jeter couldn’t stay on the field for 9 innings before he went down with a quad injury. He is expected to return when the 15 days expire on July 27th, but that remains to be seen. The same goes for Upton, who could return from a strained side around the same time if he sees improvement over the next week.
NEW ON THE SHELF: Derek Jeter, BJ Upton, Ben Revere
BACK IN ACTION: Brett Lawrie, Melky Cabrera, Jake Peavy, Jedd Gyorko, Matt Kemp (Sunday), Yu Darvish (Monday), Alex Rodriguez (Monday), Alexi Ogando (Tuesday)
| PLAYER | EXPECTED RETURN DATE | LATEST UPDATE |
|---|---|---|
| Aramis Ramirez | 7/22/2013 | Ramirez and Manager Ron Roenicke believe its possible he can be activated as early as Monday from the disabled list. The extra time during the All Star break evidently helped. I am not taking him off the list yet, but all signs point to him being back in a couple of days. |
| Neil Walker | 7/24/2013 | There are no new updates on Walker’s status, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing being that it was a mild strain that put him on the DL. Unless something pops up he should be back on the 24th when he is eligible to come off. |
| Brandon Beachy | 7/24/2013 | Beachy pitched well in his rehab start Sunday, going 4 innings with 4 Ks, giving up 1 earned run. His next rehab start is today (Friday) and if all goes well he could be activated or get one more start before rejoining the Braves rotation. He should be added in all formats. |
| Paul Konerko | 7/26/2013 | Konerko played in a rehab game, going 1 for 2 and drawing a walk. A week’s worth of games to see how he bounces back between them should suffice, so I think he’ll be back in a week. |
| Derek Jeter | 7/27/2013 | Jeter strained his quad running in his first game of the season. The Yanks were going to give him the break to see if he can avoid the DL but it didn’t work out. He can come off the DL on the 27th, and my guess is he will. |
| Ryan Vogelsong | 8/2/2013 | Vogelsong is back on the bump, regularly throwing off of the mound. He has swelling still in his hand that may take him into the offseason but apparently doesn’t hurt nor affect him. Regardless of being on the hill he has not been cleared to pitch a rehab game yet, so he is still at least 2 weeks away. He is worth a stash if your pitching is hurt and you have the DL spot open, because when he’s right he is a very effective pitcher. |
| Curtis Granderson | 8/2/2013 | Granderson is finally hitting again, but he is not close to rehab games. He hasn’t taken full BP yet. He believes he’ll be back in a week or so, whereas Brian Cashman feels its more like an early August timetable. Either way, Granderson should be back with the Yanks in about 2 weeks or so. |
| BJ Upton | 8/2/2013 | Upton is not bouncing back quickly from a right side muscle strain. His DL stink can be over as early as the 28th, but it sounds like it may take longer so I am thinking early August for the struggling Atlanta CF. |
| Johnny Cueto | 8/2/2013 | Finding an update on Cueto is nearly impossible, but based on the original timeframe he should be about ready to start throwing again. He will need to build himself up again and get out on a rehab assignment so he is still likely at the very least 2 weeks away. |
| Chris Carpenter | 8/2/2013 | Carpenter is going to make his second rehab start on Saturday, this time for Triple-A. He didn’t pitch well in his first start, but the Cardinals are more concerned with his health than initial results in minor league games. He would figure to need several starts to get his strength built up and polish his mechanics. He could be with the Cardinals by early August though, if all goes well. |
| Ryan Madson | 8/2/2013 | Madson is almost ready to finally go on a rehab assignment. His return appears to be getting closer, early August seems about right, however his fantasy value is quite limited now that Ernesto Frieri owns the closer role for the halos. |
| Alex Cobb | 8/7/2013 | Cobb will make his first rehab start on Tuesday the 23rd, he will likely need 2 more starts after that to build up his pitch count. I think he could be back with the Rays around August 7th or so after three rehab starts. He was having such a great year before he was hit, so assuming he can mentally get passed the awful incident, he should pick up where he left off. |
| Michael Morse | 8/9/2013 | Morse is still 2-3 weeks away from returning from the quad injury that has had him sidelined for over a month. He is worth a stash if you have the DL spot because when healthy, this dude can mash. I had no intention of rhyming there, it just kind of happened. |
| Colby Lewis | 8/9/2013 | Lewis was tagged pretty well in a rehab start, giving up 4 runs, including a 2-run jack in less than 3 innings. His mechanics are apparently far from polished so he needs some serious work before any dicussion of him coming back takes place. Plus if the Rangers wind up trading for Garza, there is much less of a need to get Lewis back faster than necessary. His fantasy value is fading into the distance folks. |
| Brandon Morrow | 8/9/2013 | There have been zero reports about Morrow progressing from that 25 pitch session over ten days ago. WIthout any mention of him starting what will certainly be a lengthy rehab assignment, owners shouldn’t expect to see Morrow back until after the first week of August. I keep hearing year after year about how talented this guy is but frankly, just don’t draft him for your team and you’ll save yourself a lot of anger. |
| Josh Willingham | 8/9/2013 | Wllingham is still about 3-plus weeks away from returning and that timetable will not change. Fantasy owners who are still hanging on here can hope the knee injury was what sapped his hitting production, and time will tell. For a guy capable of smacking thirty long ones, he has had a disappointing year to this point, injury aside. |
| Jon Niese | 8/10/2013 | Terry Collins believes he can have Niese back in early August but I don’t see that as possible. A date for his first rehab start still hasn’t been set, and he will need at least 3 rehab starts before rejoining the Mets, especially considering its a shoulder injury he’s coming back from. I have Niese at around August 10th at the earliest. |
| Ryan Howard | 9/3/2013 | Howard had surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus. His left knee is his power leg, his push off leg. This is not very good news. even if he does come back for your team for two or three weeks in the fantasy playoffs, I don’t think he’ll be much of a factor for you. Howard is becoming one of those one-dimensional bloated contract players as he enters his mid-thirties. |
| Ben Revere | 9/6/2013 | Revere is recovering from a broken right foot. He had surgery, and will be out until September at the earliest. The timetable says 6-8 weeks so I am taking the middle at 7 weeks, which would put him at around Friday the 6th. That’s pure speculation of course, its impossible to tell how long someone will be out with a broken foot, ankle, etc. Look at Derek Jeter. |
| Angel Pagan | 9/17/2013 | I think my thoughts may be ringing true about Pagan in that he may wind up being shut down for the year, assuming the Giants fall deeper in the hole in the NL West. He was already slated to be back by mid-September, so unless they are fighting for a pennant, I don’t see why they’d risk re-injury by putting him back out there for “meaningless” games, although I don’t consider any baseball games meaningless. |
| Clay Buchholz | UNKNOWN | Buchholz is being re-evaluated today after feeling discomfort in his shoulder after throwing Sunday. These recurring setbacks are not a good sign and there is no timetable for his return at this point. Some are saying early August, but until the discomfort goes away, setting a return date is pointless. |
| Cory Luebke | UNKNOWN – OUT INDEFINITELY | Luebke is convinced he will be able to pitch before the season is over, but there has been no progress nor proof to support that. I don’t see him having fantasy relevance for this season but if he gets everything together he’ll be a nice late round snag for 2014. |
| Roy Halladay | UNKNOWN – OUT INDEFINITELY | Halladay is long tossing at 90 feet, with 120 feet to soon follow. That is typically the last step before a pitcher gets back up on the mound. Halladay’s on the 60-day DL, and would likely take the entire month of August to get through his bullpen sessions, face live hitters, and then get through an extensive rehab assignment. if he comes back at 100%, he could be an asset to a fantasy owner if they are a playoff contender. Keep an eye out for the Doc and check in for progress reports here, the return status may change from “UNKNOWN” to an actual date soon. |
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