In the Field
OF Justin Upton was hit on the wrist with a pitch on Thursday and did not play Friday night but was in the lineup Saturday night. OF Boog Powell (knee) started his rehab assignment on Wednesday. The Athletics don't really have a spot for him anyway with Khris Davis, Dustin Fowler, Mark Canha, and Matt Joyce patrolling the outfield. SS Aledmys Diaz has begun running and taking live BP. He will be reassessed at the end of the next prior to starting a rehab assignment. OF Randal Grichuk (knee) will begin a rehab assignment this week and could be activated by the end of the week. The Blue Jays will have to figure out playing time with a crowded outfield of Kevin Pillar, Teoscar Hernandez, Curtis Granderson, and injured Steve Pearce. The most likely scenario is that Grichuk platoons with Curtis Granderson hurting his overall fantasy value as both Pillar and Hernandez are playing well at the moment. OF Teoscar Hernandez missed two games this past week with back soreness but was in the lineup Saturday. OF Steve Pearce (oblique) has not resumed baseball activities making his return before the end of May unlikely. SS Troy Tulowitzki is going to be examined by the surgeon that performed his foot surgeries next week and we should have a clearer timetable to when he will return after that. OF Melky Cabrera is continuing to get at-bats in the minors trying to get back into game shape and performing well enough to get called up by the big league club. OF Lonnie Chisenhall has started running and could go out on a rehab assignment next week if everything continues to progress. 1B Edwin Encarnacion missed two games this week with back spasms but was in the lineup Friday and Saturday. OF Bradley Zimmer was placed on the 10-day DL with a rib contusion and the earliest he can come back is May 22nd if everything is healed. 2B Robinson Cano was suspended 80 games for a positive PED test. This means that OF Dee Gordon will play second base in his absence with increased playing time for OF Ben Gamel and OF Guillermo Heredia. Neither are particularly exciting for fantasy purposes outside of AL-only Leagues. OF Nelson Cruz was out of the lineup Wednesday and Thursday after suffering a right foot contusion but was in the lineup Friday night. OF Colby Rasmus is close to a rehab assignment in his return from a left hip injury. SS Elvis Andrus has resumed baseball activities and is expected back by the middle of June. 3B Adrian Beltre was placed on the 10-day DL retroactive to May 14th with a left hamstring strain. OF Carlos Gomez was placed on the 10-day DL with a right groin strain on May 16th. SS Adeiny Hechavarria left game early on Thursday and was placed on the 10-day DL on Saturday. OF Kevin Kiermaier had his cast removed as he recovers from thumb surgery and is still looking at a mid-July return. 2B Dustin Pedroia is playing in rehab games and could return by the end of May. 1B Lucas Duda was placed on the 10-day DL with right foot plantar fasciitis. This is an injury that takes time to heal and can have lingering effects. The most recent example is Albert Pujols. 1B Miguel Cabrera continues to be sidelined with a hamstring issue and has said that he is not coming back until he feels completely healthy. 3B Jeimer Candelario has started taking ground balls but his return from wrist tendonitis is still unsure. OF Leonys Martin came off of the DL on Friday and was in the lineup Saturday. C Jason Castro will miss the rest of the 2018 season after undergoing meniscus surgery on his right knee. This opens up full time playing time for Mitch Garver who should be owned in two catcher leagues and deep mixed due to his power potential. 3B Miguel Sano (hamstring) is slated to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A and could be back late next week. OF Avisail Garcia (hamstring) ramping up his activity but there is still no concrete return date. 1B Greg Bird has been playing in rehab games and should be back soon. OF Jacoby Ellsbury has a back issue and has not resumed baseball activities. This is his fourth injury since being place on the DL. 1B Joe Mauer was placed on the disabled list with a neck strain and concussion-like symptoms. The Twins plan on playing matchups at first until he returns. OF Nick Delmonico was placed on the 10-day DL and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a fractured hand. Daniel Palka and Leury Garcia will fill in but neither are great options for fantasy.
On The Mound
Andrew Triggs left his start early on Thursday with right forearm nerve discomfort and was placed on the 10-day DL. He will go for further testing and the team is unsure how long he will be out. He has yet to top 65 IP at the major league level. Marcus Stroman has not started throwing and is still trying to make sure that his shoulder is completely healthy before throwing. Danny Salazar is still not healthy and the Indians President Chris Antonetti said he is unsure of his role when he does make it back. Erasmo Ramirez (shoulder) as of May 10th had not started throwing. Chris Tillman (back) was placed on the 10-day DL and is currently in extended Spring Training doing his rehab. Cole Hamels missed his start earlier in the week with neck stiffness and was scratched once again on Saturday. The Rangers hope he can go sometime in their upcoming series with the Yankees. Martin Perez is throwing but his return is still unsure and it could be until after the All-Star break that we see the left-hander. Yonny Chirinos is expected to throw live BP on Monday. He is expected back from his right forearm strain sometime in early June if everything continues on schedule. Nathan Eovaldi went 3 IP and touched 99 mph in his most recent rehab start. There is not timetable for his return and his role upon returning is up in the air as well. Ervin Santana (finger) is going to start a rehab assignment and could be back in early June with a mid June return on the safe side. Miguel Gonzalez (shoulder) has been shut down from throwing. Carlos Rodon made his first rehab start on Saturday (shoulder) and could be back in June. Matt Moore was placed on the 10-day DL with right knee soreness.
In The Bullpen
Kenyan Middleton had Tommy John Surgery and will the rest of 2018. This leaves a very interesting situation to follow in the Angels bullpen. Justin Anderson, Cam Bedrosian, and Blake Parker could all see saves chances. Justin Anderson got the last save chance but Blake Parker has been pitching the best with Cam Bedrosian getting lit up in middle relief on Friday night. Zach Britton will throw a simulated game on Tuesday and is recovering well from Achilles surgery. He is progressing towards a return in June and Brad Brach is getting the saves chances in Baltimore in the meantime as he has converted 6 of 7. Darren O'Day is close to returning from a hyperextended right elbow. Tim Lincecum continues to work his way back to a major league mound. His most recent rehab appearance was 2 IP and he has accomplish a back-to-back before being considered for a call-up to the big league team. Carson Smith hurt his throwing shoulder throwing his glove in the dugout and placed on the 10-day DL. Tommy Kahnle has progressed well in his rehab and could join the Yankees next week. Bruce Rondon and Nate Jones have become the closer committee in Chicago with Joakim Soria no longer holding fantasy value for the White Sox. Tyler Clippard came on for the save on Wednesday and then blew a save on Saturday. He seems to be first in line for saves while Roberto Osuna is out but Ryan Tepera and Seung Hwan Oh could also see chances.
Registered members can click on the following link to see the complete AL report: http://www.fantistics.com/baseball00/M-Strategyplus.htm
Click here for details: https://www.insiderbaseball.com/baseballsample.htm
