In The Field
SS Andrelton Simmons suffered a setback as he tried to make his way back from a Grade 3 ankle sprain. He is going to be reevaluated next week which means the Angels will continue with a combination of SS David Fletcher and 2B Luis Rengifo at shortstop. C Kevin Smith was placed on the 10-day IL with a left-hand sprain. The Angels called up C Dustin Garneau to be C Jonathan Lucroy's backup. SS Carlos Correa has not started baseball activities and is not expected back before the All-Star break. SS/3B Alex Bregman will continue to play SS which will give him SS eligibility in most leagues again in 2020. SS Aledmys Diaz is also not expected back before the All-Star break as he recovers from a hamstring strain. OF George Springer has started a rehab assignment and should be activated on Tuesday. The Astros are going experience a roster crunch once Correa comes back because that will shift 3B Yuli Gurriel back to 1B or a utility role. It also means that 1B Tyler White could be shifted to the bench with 1B/OF Yordan Alvarez getting regular at-bats as the DH. This also makes it very hard to get someone like OF Kyle Tucker into the lineup at the major league level despite tearing up Triple-A pitching. The Astros would have to have an injury or trade an OF for Tucker to get regular playing time which is not what those who have been stashing him all year want to hear. 1B Justin Smoak was placed on the 10-day IL with a quad strain which is a tough injury for hitters. 1B Rowdy Tellez and 3B Eric Sogard are the two biggest winners with Smoak going to the IL because they will be playing every day. OF Mitch Haniger has started light activities in the weight room but has not been cleared for baseball activities. He is not expected back until after the All-Star break. OF Trey Mancini is considered day-to-day with a left elbow contusion after getting hit by a pitch. OF Joey Gallo started a rehab assignment on June 19 and is expected back next week. He is going to play LF with OF Delino DeShields Jr. manning CF. This is bad news for OF Willie Calhoun as he will be left without a position. OF Hunter Pence (groin) is expected back when first eligible on June 27th. 3B Yandy Diaz has been placed on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring injury. 3B Joey Wendle will fill in for Diaz while he is out. 3B Rafeal Devers left the game early on June 19 with a hamstring injury and is considered day-today. He is in the middle of a true breakout season (.307 AVG with 12 HR, 54 R, 47 RBI, and 8 SB). 1B Steve Pearce should return to the Red Sox this week and be in line to get the majority of the at-bats at first base while 1B Mitch Moreland is on the IL. SS Adalberto Mondesi was placed on the 10-day IL with groin tightness which is not a good sign for someone who relies so heavily on his speed. Mondesi is in the middle of a huge season (.267 AVG, 6 HR, 40 R, 44 RBI, and 27 SB). OF Byron Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL with a right wrist contusion. Buxton has bounced back nicely from a disastrous 2018 season by hitting .266 with 9 HR, 40 R, 38 RBI, and 10 SB. C Mitch Garver is considered day-to-day after leaving Thursday's game with heel soreness. UTIL Marwin Gonzalez was placed on the 10-day IL which opens up playing time for C/INF Willians Astudillo to get semi-regular playing time around the diamond. C Welington Castillo was placed on the 10-day IL and the White Sox decided to call up catching prospect Zack Collins. He was hitting .250 with 9 HR at Triple-A. The power is real but he has significant contact issues and isn't expected to play every day with C James McCann performing well (.330/.385/.525). OF Giancarlo Stanton and OF Aaron Judge were activated off the IL making the Yankees lineup whole again and very scary for opposing pitchers, especially with the addition of 1B Edwin Encarnacion. The losers here are OF Clint Frazier who was demoted to Triple-A, 3B Gio Urshela, and OF Brett Gardner. Urshela and Gardner will be pushed to bench roles. OF Aaron Hicks received a cortisone shot in his right shoulder and is considered day-to-day. 3B Hunter Dozier was activated off the IL on Friday.
On The Mound
Trevor Cahill (elbow) was expected to start a rehab assignment on Saturday. The Angels rotation currently does not have any openings and Cahill (7.18 ERA and 1.40 WHIP) has been dreadful this year. Sean Manaea has been throwing simulated games as he recovers from shoulder surgery. There is a chance that he gets back this year after being expected to miss all of 2019. Despite this, he is not all that interesting for fantasy because he will likely be on an innings/pitch limit and shoulder injuries are a real unknown for pitchers so we will have no idea how his stuff will look. The Indians starting rotation continues to be injury plagued with Mike Clevinger going back on the 10-day IL after making just one start because he sprained his ankle. The options to fill in for Clevinger are not fantasy relevant and the hope is that Clevinger will need just the minimum stay. Corey Kluber (fractured arm) has been cleared to resume throwing which is a positive. He is still months away from returning. Felix Hernandez (shoulder) is still experiencing discomfort in his shoulder. John Means (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day IL. He had been pitching extremely well for the Orioles (2.67 ERA and 1.15 WHIP). Andrew Cashner (blister) has not been placed on the IL but has not been scheduled to pitch as he deals with a blister injury. Tyler Glasnow (forearm strain) is throwing without any setbacks currently which means that he could return by the middle of July if everything stays the same. Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) is expected to throw off a mound as his next step in his recovery. He is still weeks away from returning the Red Sox. Jordan Montgomery had a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. The good news is that it is not related to his elbow but the bad news is that it is a shoulder injury. Luis Severino (shoulder) is progressing in his throwing program and could return after the All-Star break closer to August. Frankie Montas was suspended 80 games for PED's. This will essentially put an end to his breakout 2019 season. Domingo German (shoulder) was able to throw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Friday which means that he is getting closer to a rehab assignment. Jose Berrios left Saturday's game with a blister. There is no indication at this point how serious it is.
In The Bullpen
Colin McHugh (elbow) is expected to make another rehab appearance before joining the major league club. He is still being viewed as a multi-inning reliever and not a starter which means he has no real value in mixed leagues. Ken Giles (elbow) was activated on Thursday. Joe Biagini needs to be on people's radar because there is a good chance that Giles gets moved near the deadline which would leave the closer's role for Biagini who has pitched well this year (3.41 ERA and 1.11 WHIP). Hunter Strickland (lat strain) is expected to resume throwing this weekend. He has already had a setback so the Mariners are going to be cautious about bringing him back despite the urge to get him on the mound so he can be another trade chip for GM Jerry Dipoto. Roenis Elias has the strongest hold on the Mariners saves but Anthony Bass could enter into the equation as well.
Players to add this week:
SP Jesus Luzardo (OAK)- The Athletics are in need of another starter with RHP Frankie Montas being suspended for 80 games. Jesus Luzardo is currently on a rehab assignment as he recovers from shoulder surgery. In his latest outing he went 4 IP, 1 ER, and 9 K. He is not close to a major league call up but he is the Athletics most talented starting pitcher and you will need to stash him now.
RP Roenis Elias (SEA)- Roenis Elias has taken over as the Mariners closer while Hunter Strickland is rehabbing. Elias has a 3.60 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 24% K, and 10% BB. The numbers aren't elite and aren't conducive to long term success as a closer but anyone getting saves is valuable in today's game.
RP Emilio Pagan (TBR)- Jose Alvarado remains away from the team and Diego Castillo is in the middle of a rough stretch making Emilio Pagan as the favorite for saves in the Rays bullpen. He has been very good this year with a 1.23 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 32% K and 7% BB.
1B Tyler White (HOU)- Tyler White has risen from the dead just in time to not get DFA'd. He has a .277 AVG with a .904 OPS in June. The skills have taken a step forward as well with fewer strikeouts and more walks. His upside is limited given his skill set but he is serviceable as a CI in mixed leagues and it doesn't hurt that the Astros lineup is loaded from top to bottom with talent.
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