Ryan Zimmerman (3B - WAS) - Zimmerman missed Sunday's game due to shoulder inflammation. An MRI revealed that there was no structural damage so this doesn't seem like a major issue yet. The Nationals have a day off on Monday and the third baseman will be re-evaluated before Tuesday's game, at which point a decision will be made regarding his availability. Zimmerman has been plagued with shoulder problems throughout most of his career, and underwent right shoulder surgery after the 2012 season to clear out scar tissue. This injury is a re-aggravation of the same surgically repaired area. On Sunday, Zimmerman told the Washington Post that "it was more sore yesterday than it usually is. The last however many years I've played when it felt good, I've played when it felt bad, and yesterday it felt worse than normal". The last two years, Zimmerman has increased his LD% and HR/FB ratio each year, both of which were very good in 2013 at 21% and 18%, respectively. When he's healthy, Zimmerman is a solid contributor in multiple categories, but he hasn't played more than 147 games in a season since 2009. Zimmerman owners need a contingency plan should he need to rest more than a few days.
Jose Veras (RP - CHC)- Jose Veras imploded again on Sunday, this time in a non-save situation. Pitching in the ninth with an 8-1 lead, Veras struck out the first batter he faced then proceeded to walk three straight hitters to load the bases for Jimmy Rollins. Rollins grounded into a fielder's choice, scoring a run. Veras walked Utley in the next at-bat before getting pulled in favor of Pedro Strop. Strop ended up throwing a wild pitch that charged another run to Veras before getting Ryan Howard to fly out to end the game. Remember, Strop was also called upon to close out a game earlier this week when Veras was unavailable. While no immediate plans have been announced regarding a swap in the ninth inning, Veras owners would be wise to go out and grab Strop, just in case. Strop is a heavy groundball pitcher with a mid-nineties fastball that tends to get hitters to chase the ball out of the zone. At this point, he has the best arm in the Cubs' bullpen.
Nathan Eovaldi (SP-MIA) - Take out a seventh inning 3-run homerun from Alexi Amarista and Eovaldi would have had another great start for the Marlins. Even with the homerun, Eovaldi tallied his second straight quality start on the year (7 IP, 3R, 6H, 8K, 0BB). If he had met the innings requirement, Eovaldi would have led the league with the highest average velocity on his fastball in 2013 (96.1 MPH). Despite the velocity, Eovaldi has failed to miss a lot of bats in his three-year major league career. Some believe that his reliance on his fastball (he throws it about 70% of the time) helps batters know what will be coming so they are less likely to be fooled. Eovaldi has shown improvements to his secondary pitches the last couple of years and 2014 might be the year we see him take a big step forward into widespread mixed league relevance.
Zack Greinke (SP - LAD) - Greinke cruised through five innings on Sunday before giving up two solo homeruns to Brandon Belt and Hunter Pence in the sixth. He finished the night with 6IP, 6H, 2ER, 0BB, 8K and looks fully recovered from the calf injury that limited him this spring. Greinke's strikeout rate has decreased the last couple of years, which has also coincided with two MPH drop in his velocity during the same timeframe. Greinke has still managed to be effective despite the loss to his velocity, but his 2.63 ERA in 2013 was probably a little fortunate considering his DIPS ranged from 3.23-3.87. He won't ever be the elite pitcher he was in 2009 (even though that magical year has helped inflate his ADP the last few years), but he is an excellent SP2 or SP3 for your fantasy team.
Mark Trumbo (OF - AZ) - It's safe to say Mark Trumbo is adjusting well to life in the NL. On Sunday he hit a homerun for the fourth consecutive day. He's now hitting .314/.368/.771 with 5 HRs and 13 RBIs after nine games. His HR/FB ratio of 50% and ISO of .406 will obviously come down with a larger sample size, but the quick start is still encouraging for fantasy owners who drafted him with the hope for big homerun totals while playing in the desert. Trumbo's weakest area of his game is pitch selection, highlighted by a poor 39% career chase rate and 6% walk rate. As long as he can continue to play passable defense, he should continue seeing plenty of ABs for Arizona.
Follow me on Twitter @MichaelWaldo to get player tidbits this season. I'll happily answer any keeper or trade questions for your team. You can follow Fantistics on Twitter @Fantistics.
This is just a small sample our our daily analysis, join our member area for more premium content: http://www.fantistics.com/join/join.php3
