In The Field
OF George Springer was activated from the DL on Friday. OF Mike Trout was not activated on Friday but he was away from the team due to the death of his brother-in-law. 2B Jose Altuve is getting closer to a return. He was able to hit, run, and field this week. He will begin a rehab assignment with the Triple-A club on Sunday and could be back early next week. C Brian McCann was sent on a rehab assignment at Triple-A on August 16 and could be back with the big league club shortly. This is going to cut into the playing time of C Max Stassi. 3B Josh Donaldson continues to rehab and even posted a video of himself running the bases with the caption "getting closer". At this point in his rehab its hard to believe anything until we see him on the field and in a uniform. We have been holding out hope of a big second half from Donaldson like last year but he is quickly running out of time to make a sizable difference. The last report on Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was that he was hoping to start running the bases this past week. He is going to need to progress to baseball activities before going on a rehab stint so a return before September would be a positive but not likely unless he really ramps it up in the next week. C Danny Jansen was called up by the Blue Jays and will get the majority of the starts behind the plate with C Russell Martin moving around the diamond at different positions. Jansen is worth an add in two catcher leagues because he has a solid approach at the plate with good contact and has even showed increased power this year. Russell Martin's only real value is in OBP leagues (.349 OBP) with two catchers. OF Lonnie Chisenhall has been doing light baseball activities as he recovers from a calf injury. 1B Edwin Encarnacion is expected back next week when first eligible to come off the DL. 3B Adrian Beltre has not been in the lineup August 14-17 due to a left hamstring injury. He has been hitting and running on an elliptical. Lower body injuries have become commonplace for the 39-year-old. OF Delino DeShields has been placed on the 10-day DL with a fractured tip of his right finger. The Rangers will go with an outfield of Shin-Soo Choo, Joey Gallo, and a combination of Drew Robinson and Carlos Tocci since they sent Willie Calhoun back to Triple-A. 3B Rafael Devers was placed on the 10-day DL on August 17. Devers has struggled this year both in the field and at the plate (.242/.298/.422). 3B Eduardo Nunez will slide over to third with 2B Ian Kinsler being activated from the DL. OF Brian Goodwin started a rehab assignment on August 16 at Triple-A and should be activated sometime next week. It will be interesting to see if he gets full time at-bats and if he does he is an intriguing power/speed player for fantasy. OF Jacoby Jones was placed on the DL on August 13 and is only expected to miss the minimum. Jones is hitting .204 but he does have 8 HR and 9 SB. OF Aaron Judge (wrist) still has not been able to swing a bat. He experienced soreness in his wrist after playing catch which put a hold on the dry swings. The Yankees can afford to be cautious with their right-fielder but fantasy owners are not so lucky. Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, and Brett Gardner will continue to patrol the Yankees outfield. C Gary Sanchez is expected to start a rehab assignment on Monday and could be back by the weekend.
On The Mound
Tyler Skaggs (abductor strain) was placed back on the 10-day DL again. The Angels are not in contention so they can afford to play it safe with Skaggs who hasn't thrown more than 100 IP at the major league level since 2014. Nick Tropeano (shoulder inflammation) did not get activated on Friday and does not have a timetable for his return. Lance McCullers Jr. was able to start throwing but isn't expected back until September at the earliest. Astros manager A.J. Hinch said he will make a decision Monday night on who will take McCullers spot in the rotation. He could go with a bullpen game with starters turned relievers Colin McHugh and Brad Peacock or turn to someone in the minors like Josh James. Aaron Sanchez (finger) was able to throw 75 pitches in his rehab start on Wednesday. He was not crisp with his control (4 BB in 3.2 IP) so the Jays could opt to give him one more rehab start but he is close to a return. Trevor Bauer was placed on the 10-day DL with a fractured right tibia and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. This is tough news for the Indians and fantasy owners because Bauer is/was in contention for the AL Cy Young Award. James Paxton (forearm) is feeling better after taking a comebacker to the forearm and could be back as soon as he is eligible. Felix Hernandez is expected to fill in for Paxton but is no longer fantasy relevant at this point in his career. Doug Fister (knee) is unlikely to pitch again this year if anyone held on to him. Mike Minor (back stiffness) was scratched from his August 17 start and Drew Hutchison will take his place. Hutchison has a 5.71 ERA (5.22 SIERA) in 34.2 IP. Eduardo Rodriguez (ankle) is slated to begin a minor league rehab stint on August 20. The Red Sox plan to make a decision on Rodriguez after his rehab start. He could be activated but they also made it clear that he will return as a starter and not a reliever. Chris Sale was placed on the 10-day DL with "mild" left shoulder inflammation. It's chance for the Red Sox to get him healthy for the playoffs but it comes at a bad time for fantasy owners. Danny Duffy was placed on the 10-day DL on August 13 and is expected back at the end of August. Michael Fulmer threw well in his first rehab start which is a positive but the Tigers have no reason to rush the young right-hander back into action. Fulmer has struggled this year when on the mound (4.50 ERA) but has the skills to pitch better than that. Daniel Norris (groin surgery) is making rehab starts but is not expected to make it back to the big league club this year. Michael Pineda (TJS) is expected to make three rehab starts at Triple-A and then will be called-up to the major league team. He has no fantasy value this season but it is good to see him log some major league innings before returning to the hill full force in 2019. C.C. Sabathia was placed on the 10-day DL on August 13 after he had to have fluid drained from his knee. He could return in late August if everything continues to progress. Adam Plutko was recalled to replace Trevor Bauer in the Indians rotation. Plutko has struggled this year (4.75 ERA) but with the pitching landscape the way it is he could be useful down the stretch. The Indians have plenty of division games over the next month and a half which means a lot of weak offenses to face for the Indians pitchers. Marcus Stroman was placed on the 10-day DL with a blister. He has been a major disappointment this year with a 5.27 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over 100.2 IP.
In The Bullpen
Chris Devenski (hamstring) was sent on a rehab assignment at Triple-A and should be back next week sometime. The Indians continue to rotate save chances between Brad Hand and Cody Allen. Both were able to pickup saves this week. Trevor Hildenberger has converted three of the four save chances since Fernando Rodney was traded but his skills (4.58 ERA, 22% K, and 36% Hard contact) are not great and manager Paul Molitor did not commit to him being the primary closer when asked. Hector Rondon is on the hot seat in Houston after blowing back to back saves. Roberto Osuna would be the logical choice as the next guy up but the Astros have shown throughout the past year and a half that they will ride the hot hand at the end of games. Jose Leclerc now has four saves and is in the middle of nine scoreless innings. On the year he has a 1.97 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over 45.2 IP.
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