Stars on the Shelf: TheFantasyFix.com’s Week 16 DL Report
Here is TheFantasyFix.com’s week sixteen 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 addition this week is Matt Kemp. No this isn’t a re-hashed old post, Kemp is back on the DL once again and this time it is for a sprained ankle. Although it should only be the minimum 15 days, this is really getting ridiculous. Let’s hope he recovers well and is back in action as soon as possible. It would probably be a good idea for him to buy and wear an Ankle Compression Sleeve Pair for Sports, as that should help to protect him from further ankle injuries. He can’t afford any more time on the DL.
NEW ON THE SHELF: Matt Kemp, Domonic Brown, Jason Grilli, Tim Hudson.
BACK IN ACTION: Derek Jeter, , Matt Holliday, Neil Walker, Paul Konerko, Michael Morse (weekend), Brandon Beachy (Monday)
KEEP AN EYE ON: Miguel Cabrera
| PLAYER | EXPECTED RETURN DATE | LATEST UPDATE |
|---|---|---|
| Rafael Betancourt | 7/30/2013 | Betancourt had to have an appedectomy and will be out the minimum 15 days. Rex Brothers takes the 9th for now, but Betancourt should be back on July 30th when first eligible. |
| Aramis Ramirez | 7/31/2013 | Ramirez has been taking batting practice and that’s about it. I expected him to be back by now but its taking longer than expected for him to get back to 100% after dealing with the knee injury. I am hitting the reset button and pushing it another week. Let’s see if he’s back by next week. |
| Domonic Brown | 8/2/2013 | Brown is on the mandatory 7-day concussion DL after experiencing symptoms after a diving catch attempt earlier in the week. Unless the symptoms persist, he should be back by Tuesday. |
| Curtis Granderson | 8/2/2013 | Granderson will play in his second rehab game tonight and is not far away from returning to the Yankees. It’s a matter of when he feels ready in terms of at-bats and when the Yanks want to bring him up. My guess is sooner than later, as the Yanks have been sliding down the AL East ladder. I think Granerson will be back by Friday the latest. |
| BJ Upton | 8/2/2013 | BJ Upton has started running and if he can run the bases this weekend can be cleared to start a rehab assignment next week which could set him up for a return in over a week, maybe Friday or Saturday. Even when healthy this year, aside from a brief stretch of offensive presence, he has been an utter disappointment. I always thought of BJ as quite overrated anyway and I stay away from him on draft day annually. |
| Matt Kemp | 8/7/2013 | Kemp is on the DL once again, this time its for a sprained ankle. For the guy who threw around the term “Beast Mode” he has been anything but. It should only be a 15 day situation, but Kemp is proving who he was the cover image of my first half of the season All-Bust Team. Next to Braun he is the worst fantasy pick this year in respect to where he was ranked, which was top 5. |
| Ryan Vogelsong | 8/9/2013 | Vogelsong will pitch in his first rehab game tonight, and you figure he will need at least 2 more starts to get up to a normal work-load. He could be back in two weeks. The Giants could use an effective Vogelsong, considering Lincecum got rocked after his no-no, and Cain has been an enigma as to why he’s been so bad. Dave Righetti must be on the hot seat considering these guys used to be the picture of pitching excellence, and are falling apart, Bumgarner the exception of course. |
| Colby Lewis | 8/9/2013 | Lewis is making his third rehab start, still with Double-A, on Sunday. In his last start he was hit for three runs in three innings. The Rangers obtaining Garza and having Ogando back doesn’t really put them in any serious need for Lewis right now, so its a wonder how he will fit into the discussion if and when they bring him back into the fold, perhaps taking over for Martin Perez if anything He aims to return at some point in the next couple of weeks, but he isn’t turning heads in his rehab starts. |
| Josh Willingham | 8/9/2013 | Wllingham is about 2-plus weeks away. He is about to start baseball activities and will likely need some rehab games to get his timing down and see how his knee reacts when swinging and playing the outfield. Any production owners get form him upon his return should be considered a bonus at this point. He has been a big disappointment this season, while sadly still being the Twins Home Run leader with 10. Brutal. |
| Jon Niese | 8/17/2013 | I was close on Niese, but his rehab assignment wont start until next weekend. I still believe he will need 3 starts to build his count and stamina up, which should put him at around the weekend of the 17th for a return to the Mets, who could always use the lefty back in their rotation. |
| Alex Cobb | 8/21/2013 | Cobb should throw a bullpen early next week. Tampa is rolling along without him so they wont rush him back. My guess is they want to see how he does in several games, and if they violent Hosmer come-backer has any mental affects, which in turn affect his pitching. After a series of rehab starts he should be back around the third week in August. |
| Johnny Cueto | 8/28/2013 | For the third week in a row, Johnny Cueto is “still a week away from throwing”. This is awful news for fantasy owners. Considering the full rehab required for him to come back, considering this is his third stint on the DL with the same injury this season, he wont be back until the end of August the earliest. Unless you are primed for the playoffs, you may have seen the last of Cueto affecting your team in 2013. He has given me no reason to think otherwise. Team-Bust indeed. |
| Clay Buchholz | 8/28/2013 | Buchholz, the guy who was pitching so well he was accused of doctoring the ball, the guy who I gave the First Half Cy Young award to, has turned back into classic Buchholz. This guy just can’t stay healthy for a full season. He has never thrown 200 innings. I think he just lacks the toughness that other pitchers possess. He feels like he wont be back until late August, so sit tight for at least another four weeks. Hopefully the return you get for your patience is the same domination we saw in the first half, because if that’s the case, he can help you in a playoff run. |
| Ryan Howard | 9/3/2013 | Howard has been with the team and is doing simple range of motion exercises. He will be re-evaluated soon to see if he can progress his work outs. As i said before though, 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. |
| Roy Halladay | 9/3/2013 | Halladay is back up on the mound, successfully throwing a bullpen session. Halladay’s on the 60-day DL, and will likely take the entire month of August to get through these bullpen sessions, then 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, but I am taking the bold step of setting a possible return date! Watch it come back to burn me. |
| Ben Revere | 9/6/2013 | Revere is recovering after surgery to repair his broken foot. He is still at least 6 weeks away from returning. Not to be harsh, but if you are relying on Revere to come back at that point in the season, it might be time to start researching your Fantasy Football drafts. |
| Angel Pagan | 9/17/2013 | I am still holding on to my belief we have seen the last of Pagan for 2013. All signs point to it in my opinion. First, a hamstring injury of his severity is very difficult to dictate a timeframe for return on, especially considering it required surgery in this instance. Secondly, the Giants (although they should never be counted out) are all but finished as they slip farther and farther down in the NL West. If he comes back I’ll be surprised. |
| Tim Hudson | OUT FOR SEASON | Tim Hudson, also one of the better guys in the game, suffered a very disturbing to look at unfortunate injury against the Mets. He went to cover first base on a grounder to the left side of Freeman and covered too much of the bag with his foot. Eric Young Jr., speeding down the baseline to beat it, stepped on Hudson’s ankle/foot and it clearly fractured. He will need surgery and is out for the season. Hopefully he fully recovers and we see the pitcher who has never had a losing record back on the hill next season. |
| Jason Grilli | UNKNOWN | Grilli was shining as an All-Star for the surging Pirates in his first chance at closer this season at the age of 36. He felt soreness in his arm and eventually had to give way to it and leave the game earlier this week. It was a forearm strain which is often connected to ulnar nerve damage (Tommy John), but signs right now say it isn’t that severe. He will be out a while though as far as I can tell, a return timetable is impossible to predict but my guess is late August at best. Melancon takes the ball in the 9th for the Pirates for now. Here’s to a speedy recovery to a good guy who paid his dues over the years, hopefully he bounces back. |
| 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. |
| Brandon Morrow | UNKNOWN-OUT INDEFINITELY | The famous (infamous?) Dr. James Andrews has diagnosed Morrow with an entrapped radial nerve in his pitching forearm. I have no idea what that means, except that he will either be out until the 2nd week of September or out for the season. The Blue Jays are falling like a stone so I don’t see why they’d risk further injury by bringing him back quickly. Morrow is likely toast for the season, and has chalked up another piece of evidence as to why I never draft this guy. |
| Chris Carpenter | UNKOWN-OUT INDEFINITELY | Carpenter got rocked in a rehab game, and felt re-newed numbness, but this time in his pitching hand. He must have a series of nerve issues at this point, and my guess is his unlikely miraculous comeback is exactly that, unlikely. His season, im my outlook, is probably toast. |
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