Stars on the Shelf: TheFantasyFix.com’s Week 9 DL Report
Here is TheFantasyFix.com’s week nine update on all notable injured players. 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 of course Matt Kemp who went down with a hamstring injury. No doubt there are frustrated Kemp owners from his performance alone this season, and this injury certainly doesn’t help anything.
NEW ON THE SHELF: Matt Kemp, Curtis Granderson, Shane Victorino, Chris Perez, Brett Lawrie, Jim Henderson
BACK IN ACTION: Mark Teixeira, Jered Weaver, Kevin Youkilis, Josh Reddick, Andy Pettitte
OUT FOR SEASON: Jaime Garcia
| PLAYER | EXPECTED RETURN DATE | LATEST UPDATE |
|---|---|---|
| Cameron Maybin | 6/3/2013 | Maybin homered in his most recent rehab game. He can be activated any day now. |
| Hanley Ramirez | 6/3/2013 | Hanley will begin a rehab assignment today (Friday) and should be activated on Monday, unless of course he pulls a Hanley (pun intended). Fantasy owners are well aware they can count the amount of games he has played this year with their fingers, so other than an MVP-esque second half, Hanley was an absolute bust draft pick considering how high he is ranked each year. |
| Shane Victorino | 6/5/2013 | The flying Hawaiin has had a rough year so far in 2013. he is scheduled to start a rehab assignment and if all goes well, can return mid-next week from his hamstring injury. |
| Josh Johnson | 6/5/2013 | Johnson got rocked in a AAA rehab start in Buffalo but the most important thing is he got through it with no issues. I don’t take any stock in “results” of rehab starts from a statistical perspective. They aren’t there to impress, just to show they are healthy again. he should be back some time next week. |
| Alexi Ogando | 6/7/2013 | Ogando made serious strides in his rehab from a biceps injury and is making a rehab start today (Friday). He could be back in 1 week. |
| Austin Jackson | 6/10/2013 | AJax’s return is taking longer than anticipated. However, he has finally started running and doing some cage hitting. If he starts a rehab assignment Monday, i could probably return a week after that if there is no more soreness, nor setbacks. Jackson should be back to touching home plate on a regular basis in about 10 days. |
| Brett Lawrie | 6/15/2013 | Lawrie is on the 15-Day DL with a sprained ankle. He could be activated when he is eligible as long as he feels no pain. I don’t see a rehab assignment as necessary for this but they Jays may elect to do so for the sole purpose of him getting his swing right. He has been simply awful this year so far. |
| Chris Perez | 6/17/2013 | Perez can resume throwing in a about five days if his arm feels good. From there it will probably take a week to get back up on a mound at full strength, then perhaps a short rehab assignment. This is best case scenario of course, but he could be back in 2-3 weeks. But keep an eye out on this, shoudler injuries are no joke with pitchers. Pestano is closing for now for the Tribe, we’ll see how long that lasts. |
| Jim Henderson | 6/17/2013 | Henderson is out with a strained hamstring. I have found no news about him resuming throwing or returning so this return date of mid-June is completely speculative. They wont rush him back considering they are in last place and it looks like single season saves record holder K-Rod may hold it down until he is back. Henderson has been a fantastic surprise closer for the Brew Crew this year so he will without a doubt get his job back upon his return. |
| Josh Beckett | 6/17/2013 | Beckett hit a wall with his comeback and has to see a specialist to address numbness he is feeling in his fingers. There is no way to gauge his return now because they don’t know what is causing the problem. So at the very least after addressing the problem, then starting from square one in terms of throwing again, building up to a mound and a rehab start, mid-June is the best case scenario. But this is a blind guess because the Dodgers wont even know what’s wrong with him until Monday’s evaluation. |
| Ian Kinsler | 6/17/2013 | Kinsler was eligible to come off of the DL Sunday but is now dealing with a “stress reaction” in his side. He could be out anywhere from two more weeks to a month. He is currently shut down and participating in zero baseball related activities. Kinsler owners obviously will hate this news, whereas Profar owners (hopefully still the Kisnler owners) know he isn’t being sent down any time soon. |
| David Price | 6/17/2013 | Price is now throwing on an every other day program to see how his arm responds on off days. He has tweeted that he feels great, and seems optimistic, but these triceps things are usually a month no matter how optimistic you are, at least that has been the pattern this year with pitchers that had the same injury. I think we will see the reigning AL Cy Young winner back in a little less than 3 weeks, and there’s no doubt fantasy owners hope he pitches like the reigning winner upon return. |
| Brandon Beachy | 6/18/2013 | Beachy’s recent rehab start was very uplifting for the Braves and fantasy stashers alike. He went 5 innings giving up no runs, with 3 strikeouts, good command of the strikezone, and his fastball averaging 92 mph. After a few more starts (building innings/pitch count), he is slated to return against the Mets on the 18th. Some say keep him stashed until after his first start, but if you have someone on your roster you could do without by the 18th, put him in. This dude can be ace quality if he returns to pre-injury form. |
| Matt Kemp | 6/21/2013 | Kemp suffered what was called a “mildly” strained hamstring running for a ball in the outfield and was placed on the 15-Day DL. Mattingly thinks Kemp shut it down before he could worsen the injury so its possible he wont be out as long as Stanton has. If all goes well I think he could be back by the third week in June. |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 6/21/2013 | Stanton has had another setback as he tries to return to the barren Marlins lineup. This time its his knees, which he has had problems with in the past. I have pushed his return back a week towards the end of June, but that’s being optimistic. Stanton is slowly becoming one of the biggest busts for 2013, especially for being a first round ranked pick. As a baseball fan I hope this guy doesn’t become one of those players that lives on the DL, because watching him murder baseballs is pretty awesome. |
| Adam Eaton | 6/21/2013 | An MRI on Eaton’s elbow showed no damage, so it sounds like its just returned soreness. He is in shutdown mode though for possibly two weeks before resuming rehab play. So I am sticking with my timeframe from last week, the Dbacks will hopefully see their young outfielder back in 3 weeks. |
| Jose Reyes | 6/21/2013 | Reyes has been cleared to begin a rehab assignment in a week. he could be back in 2-3 weeks but he is always a mis-step away from landing right back on the DL. I hope not for fantasy owners’ sakes. |
| Corey Hart | 6/30/2013 | The slow recovery of Hart is sounding more and more like it is within his own head. There are no reports of problems with the knees, but moreso with his hesitation to run and bring himself up to full game speed. He can start a rehab assignment next week, but that doesn’t really say anything about a return. The whole thing sounds odd to me, so I am still saying he is a month away. There is no rush as the Brewers are sitting comfortably in the basement and don’t look primed to make any kind of run this year. |
| Aaron Hill | 6/30/2013 | Hill is going to start the slow process of hitting rehab, from soft toss swinging, to extended spring training at bats (which are simulated scenarios), to eventually a rehab assignment. He is still weeks away from returning as long as there is no setback with that healing hand. I think Hill was overrated coming in to the season, but there’s no doubt owners want him back as soon as possible. |
| Daniel Hudson | 7/1/2013 | Hudson tweeted “Seriously though the arm felt great today! #KeepPushing” two days ago, this was after an extended spring training appearance where he popped the mitt at 95 mph. His arm strength is definitely back. The Dbacks rotation is jammed up right now, so they will ease him back. he will hit the rehab trail on Tuesday, and I suspect 3-4 starts to build up his count and innings limit. I am sticking with July but I wouldn’t be shocked if he came back sooner. |
| Michael Pineda | 7/1/2013 | Pineda was given the okay to get up to 70 pitches in extended spring training but he apparently cracked a fingernail (shake my head), so that is put on hold. I can’t imagine a fingernail will prolong his return. I still think he will be with the Yankees before July 4th, at this point I expect him to be inserted right into the rotation. |
| Chase Utley | 7/1/2013 | Utley is taking grounders just to do some baseball related activity. The Phillies GM believes “mid-June” is possible for his return and I say no way. His oblique injury is very tricky to rehab at times, and until he does any kind of swing or rotation, its extremely presumtuous to say when he’ll be back. Based on his age and his injury history, I still say we are a month away from Utley rejoining the Phillies. He is easily one of the most frustrating players to own in fantasy baseball, top second baseman with power, but a major injury risk annually. He hasn’t played more than 115 games since 2009. |
| Curtis Granderson | 7/5/2013 | Granderson was back from a broken forearm no more than a week before he was drilled again and broke his hand. This is no doubt frustrating for all Granderson owners, and they just have to hope when he is back in early July he starts mashing them over the short porch in Yankee Stadium early and often. |
| Ryan Vogelsong | 7/5/2013 | Janie McCauley of the AP out of San Fran quoted Vogelsong as saying with the cast off and now has a “more comfortable splint & I started working out again”. His replacement Michael Kickham got tagged in his debut, and based on their rotation struggles this year, he will get his spot back upon his return, which should be before the All Star Break. |
| Colby Lewis | 7/17/2013 | Lewis was shut down once again when he felt soreness in his triceps. This could be triggered by a chain reaction off of the stress on his surgically repaired elbow but I am no doctor. Either way he wont pick up a baseball until mid-June, so at this point I don’t see him returning until the All Star Break, and that’s if there are no more setbacks. |
| Brett Anderson | 7/17/2013 | So that discomfort in Anderson’s ankle was validated when it was discovered he had a fracture. He is now shut down for another few weeks, then he has to build up his arm again and rehab, etc. I don’t think we’ll see him back until most of the Tommy John guys come back after the All-Star break. This guy just can’t stay healthy. |
| Alex Rodriguez | 7/17/2013 | ARod is taking grounders and swings in the batting cages. There will be no change in his return as is still slated to return after the All Star break. |
| Derek Jeter | 8/1/2013 | Jeter has been throwing with the team before games and may be cleared to field grounders and hit by next week. His timetable still says post-All Star Game, but I am sticking with August 1 based on his age and the Yankees conservative nature of rehabbing players. |
| Ryan Ludwick | 8/15/2013 | Ludwick, in a refreshing candid statement said that any story or rumor if him returning in July is a “lie” and that he wont even be able to do anything baseball related until early-mid July. He personally doesn’t think he’ll be back until mid-August. For fantasy purposes, he is droppable in most if not all formats aside from 16+ team leagues with available DL slots, and even then I dont know. I appreciate his honesty, most players play those things close to the vest. |
| Jayson Werth | 6/10/2013 | Werth is easing his way back in rehab games, inning by inning each time out. He wont be activated until he is at 100%, so based on the ease of this rehab schedule I am saying he will be back in ten days, but it could certainly be sooner. |
| JJ Putz | 6/17/2013 | Putz has begun throwing and could even get on a mound by Monday. This threw me for a loop. If he is able to do that, he could be back as early as 2 weeks. His injury is pretty serious though, so even if he does return he could definitely re-injure his elbow once he ramps up for game speed action. So if and when he does come back, Heath Bell owners should stand pat. |
| Jaime Garcia | OUT FOR SEASON | Garcia had season ending surgery and is out for the rest of the season. |
| Cory Luebke | UNKNOWN | Luebke had another setback (second this month) and had his throwing program shut down. The All Star Break timetable is now very unlikely. Stashing him at this point seems pointless for this season in a re-draft league. There is really no way to tell when he will be back, if at all. |
| Chris Carpenter | UNKNOWN | Carpenter had a successful 25 pitch bullpen session, and the 38 year old still hopes to return to the Cardinals this season. it is unclear if and when that will be, as he has not been cleared to face hitters yet so he is still a ways off. If he does come back his role is uncertain. If rookie Michael Wacha continues to pitch well, Carpenter could find himself in the bullpen. Either way, this is miraculous considering there were rumors he contemplated retirement if his season was over. |
| Ryan Madson | UNKNOWN – OUT INDEFINITELY | Madson had yet another setback, feeling soreness once again in his surgically repaired elbow. He is offically completely shut down. Ernesto Frieri owners are happy, as his job security just got that much better. I think Madson’s season could be a lost cause at this point. This is his third setback with pain in that elbow. I wish him all the best in a comeback. |
| Matt Harrison | UNKNOWN – OUT INDEFINITELY | Harrison was just moved to the shelf’s shelf, the 60-Day DL, to help the Rangers with roster move flexibility. He is still out for at least 2 more months. He could be back in August, but its extremely hard to estimate. He has little fantasy value for the remainder of 2013 in my opinion. |
| Roy Halladay | UNKNOWN – OUT INDEFINITELY | Halladay’s was transferred to the 60-Day DL to give the Phillies roster flexibility. He could be back for the last month of the season, but thats impossible to determine until he starts some form of throwing after he rehabs post-surgery. Based on how he has pitched this year, his age, and the surgery, his fantasy value for this season is very low. |
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