IN THE FIELD
Ryan Jeffers is going to get an extended run behind the plate after Mitch Garver underwent groin surgery this week. On Wednesday Jeffers went 2-4 with a home run and two RBI. He's worth a look in AL leagues but I'm holding off in mixed leagues for now as he hasn't replicated what he did in 2020 so far in 2021... Evan White is still a few weeks from returning to the Mariners. The hope right now is that White will be able to start a rehab assignment towards the middle of the month... Dylan Moore is closing in on a rehab assignment for his strained calf he injured in mid-May... Trevor Larnach missed some time mid-week but returned to the lineup on Thursday. He was held out of the starting lineup on Tuesday but still entered mid-game and went 1-2 with a double... Josh Jung is getting close to returning to the Rangers AAA affiliate after suffering a stress fracture in his foot in March. Jung could be a player to debut in the second half of the season, though the missed time due to injury could delay that timetable... Kyle Lewis was placed on the IL with a meniscus tear and is seeking a second opinion on the injury. There's no real debating that the meniscus is torn, but there's a chance his timetable could change if this doctor sees something different... Gilberto Celestino was called up from AAA after Rob Refsnyder was placed on the IL with a concussion. Celestino started in centerfield and hit ninth on Wednesday... Rougned Odor has been getting extended playing time at second base with Luke Voit back on the IL, and DJ Lemahieu sliding over to first base. Odor has pop and is in a stadium that can cater to that well, but I'm not rushing to get him at the moment... Austin Hayes has resumed running as he rehabs his injured hamstring. The hope is that he'll be able to start his rehab assignment next week and then possibly return to the Orioles later in the week... Max Stassi returned to the Angels after his concussion issues and he should be the primary catcher for the team going forward. He doubled in his return to the lineup Wednesday... Bradley Zimmer is getting an extended look in centerfield with all the injuries to the Indians outfield. Zimmer was once a top prospect with the team but injuries and lack of performance have held him back. The one thing Zimmer has always done in the majors is swipe bases, and he has two in his brief time in the majors this year... Bobby Witt Jr has been on a tear at AA after a slow start to the season. With how the COVID-19 protocol testings work, the easiest route to the majors without additional screening would be to go from AAA to the Majors, but Witt still has a chance to force the Royals hand over the rest of the season... Michael Brantley has been out of the lineup with a hamstring strain but has continued to hit while on the IL and could return early in the Astros' road trip. Based on him continuing baseball activities the entire time he's been out, it looks like the only hurdle he needs to clear is running and could avoid a rehab assignment if so... Yordan Alvarez missed five games with a sore wrist but was back in the lineup Wednesday and went 2-4 with a double... Yuli Gurriel missed three games with inflammation in his finger but returned to the lineup on Wednesday... Mike Ford was optioned to AAA on Tuesday. Ford has been awful for the Yankees this year with a .133 average, and now LeMahieu and Miguel Andujar will get reps at first base while Voit is out... Justin Upton was removed from Tuesday's game after colliding with Keon Wong on a popup... Miguel Cabrera is dealing with a tight groin and was removed from Tuesday's game... Jose Ramirez left Tuesday's game early but it was only due to being dehydrated... Mike Trout has shed his walking boot and that's considered the first major step in his rehab process. We're about a third of the way through the initial 6-8 week timetable that he was given when he strained his calf. Joe Maddon said that he's still most likely out through the All-Star Break... Ramon Laureano was placed on the IL with a strained hip. Laureano said that he was originally dealing with a groin issue but was placed on the IL with the hip. This could be something that was lingering and could have impacted his stolen base efforts over the last few weeks. Sky Bolt was called up to the majors to take his spot on the roster... Cavan Biggio is still on the IL but is being considered day-to-day at this point. He's been on the IL with a ligament sprain in his neck. With him being considered day-to-day it doesn't sound like he'll need much of a rehab assignment, if one at all... George Springer ran the bases on Tuesday and has been doing work in the outfield. The Jays are going to continue to slow roll him after he returned earlier for just a few days and then was forced to return to the IL after he reinjured his quad. The team is encouraged in his progress and Charlie Montoyo called Saturday his best day yet... Byron Buxton has been sprinting lately, which is great news after the last update said he was having trouble with accelerating and decelerating. This is the last hurdle that Buxton needs before being sent out his rehab assignment... Luke Voit is doing some baseball activities as he enters the very early stages of his oblique rehab. This included some fielding drills and swinging the bat, no hitting, but it's the start of what most likely will be a lengthy process... Jose Iglesias was activated from the IL Saturday and inserted back into his normal shortstop spot for the team... Billy Hamilton may be sidelined through the weekend as he deals with a minor oblique injury. Hamilton has been surprisingly good this season, so for the first time in years he can actually be on fantasy radars... Aledmys Diaz was diagnosed with a contusion on his hand after being hit by a pitch Saturday. Diaz had been getting regular playing time lately, and performing well, so this is something to watch heading forward... JD Martinez is dealing with a wrist injury and is day-to-day for now. Hunter Renfroe was added to the lineup to fill his spot... Aldaberto Mondesi's hamstring is going to keep him out at least through Sunday. It sounds like the Royals expect him to get back in the lineup somewhat soon based on them keeping him off of the IL... Jake Bauers was DFA'd on Sunday and Yu Chang should be the primary second baseman for the team going forward. Bobby Bradley was called up from AAA to full Bauers' spot on the team... Andrew Vaughn was placed on the COVID-19 IL Thursday but was activated back on Saturday... Chris Gittens was called up to the majors by the Yankees and will likely fill a depth role for the team. Gittens has immense power and would be someone to watch if he were to find his way to regular at-bats... Max Kepler is on track to return to the Twins next week. He's been out since May 30th with a hamstring strain... Stephen Piscotty is managing a minor ankle injury... Ji Man Choi was placed on the IL with a left groin strain. Yandy Diaz is going to take over the third base spot for the Rays while Choi is on the shelf.
IN THE ROTATION
Matt Harvey threw on short rest Wednesday, leading him to only throw three innings... Justin Dunn was placed on the IL with shoulder inflammation. Dunn has taken some big strides this year with a 3.18 ERA and a 24% strikeout rate. Robert Duggar was recalled from AAA to fill Dunn's roster spot. The good news though is that the team is expecting him to rejoin the rotation next week... Kolby Allard is joining the Rangers' rotation on Saturday and Hyeon-jong Yang is being moved to the bullpen. Allard has shown more flashes with Texas than he did in Atlanta, but I'm still on a wait-and-see with him... Chris Sale threw a 20 pitch bullpen session on Wednesday, mixing in fastballs, changeups, and just a few sliders. He's still on pace to hopefully return to the team at some point over the summer... Triston McKenzie was recalled from AAA for a start, and then sent back down to AAA immediately afterward. This start was a mixed bag for the right as he struck out 10 batters over 5.1 innings, but also still allowed five runs... Lance McCullers threw a side session on Wednesday and reportedly felt great. The team is hoping that he can rejoin the team in the middle of June and his next step is throwing a simulated game while the team is on their road trip... Kenta Maeda has started long tossing for the Twins and could throw a bullpen session for them this weekend. Maeda went on the IL with a groin strain but now is dealing with a sore arm to go along with that... Michael Pineda had some arm discomfort in his start on Tuesday and is going to miss his start on Sunday. He hasn't been placed on the IL though so it seems that the team believes he can be ready for the next turn through though... Jean-Carlos Mejia will start Friday's game after Wednesday's game was postponed due to weather. He tossed three shutout innings and struck out two batters... Yusei Kikuchi was hit by a comebacker on Saturday and forced to leave his start. He was hit on the leg and the initial injury isn't yet to be known, but most likely is a bruise of some sort... Patrick Sandoval is going to start for the Angels on Sunday, filling the rotation spot of Jose Quintana. He has a 3.80 ERA over 21.1 innings this year, but I'm in wait-and-see mode on him before thinking about rostering him... John Means left Saturday's start due to shoulder fatigue and is going to undergo an MRI on Sunday. This is obviously sad news as Means was enjoying a breakout season, but Means has said it's an issue he's dealt with before and he isn't concerned about it as of now... Michael Wacha is going to make a spot start Sunday. He's been working out of the bullpen for a month but will enter the rotation for at least one turn through... Bailey Ober is making a spot start for the Twins on Sunday. His first start of the year came in mid-May and he allowed four runs in four innings... Luis Severino's rehab assignment officially starts on Sunday in Low-A. The plan is still for him to join the rotation so there's going to be multiple rehab starts ahead of him... Tyler Glasnow's start on Sunday has been bumped back to Tuesday just as a way to limit his workload for the season... Corey Kluber was transferred to the 60-day IL. There's no change in his potential return date, but this helps clear the way for Chris Gittens to be added to the roster... Carlos Rodon's start has been shifted from Sunday to Tuesday... Spencer Turnbull was placed on the IL with a forearm strain that he suffered on Friday. Bryan Garcia was called up to the majors to take his spot on the roster, but the team hasn't said who will take him spot on in the rotation... Jose Quintana has started throwing from 90 feet as a part of his rehab assignment... Kyle Gibson was activated Friday ahead of his scheduled start.
IN THE BULLPEN
Caleb Thielbar left Wednesday's outing with a groin strain. He was placed on the IL and will now miss a chunk of time. He wasn't in the saves mix for the Twins, but he provided a nice strikeout rate for deeper leagues... Darren O'Day is throwing from 90ft but hasn't moved to throw off a mound yet. He's working his way back to action from a shoulder strain towards the end of April, but we won't get a good guess at a return date until we see him on a mound... AJ Cole was placed on the IL with neck soreness.. Chaz Roe has started his rehab assignment with AAA Durham... Hunter Harvey is expected to be activated off the IL this weekend. Harvey gives Baltimore another righty reliever that they could desperately use, and could even get into the mix for save chances depending on how the team chooses that they want to use Cesar Valdez... Chris Rodriguez could return to the Angels this weekend... Julian Merryweather isn't close to returning according to Charlie Montoyo. He's been playing catch since the middle of May but the team is very obviously going to take it slow with him getting back in the mix... Michael Kopech is dealing with a left hamstring strain and has been placed on the IL. The team doesn't believe that it's something that with affects him long-term but also aren't certain he'll be back after the minimum stay either... Zack Britton could return to the Yankees next week on their upcoming road-trip.
PLAYERS TO ADD
Luis Garcia, Houston Astros - Garcia has turned into a force in the Astros rotation with two straight quality starts and he hasn't allowed more than two runs in a single outing since May 10th. He's struck out 60 batters over 53 innings, including at least six in each of his last three outings and his WHIP sits at 1.02 for the year. He's going to remain in the Astros rotation and needs to be rostered at this point while he's on this outstanding stretch run that he's on.
Jonathan Schoop, Detroit Tigers - Schoop's June has started about as great as you can with a .438/.500/1.313 triple slashing line and he has four homers across four games, all coming in a pair of two-homer games. Schoop's batted ball data looks similar to what he does most seasons, but he's spiked a 40% barrel rate in June and is going to continue to get consistent playing time for the Tigers.
Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers - Skubal saw a pitch mix change in May, moving to a changeup over his splitter, and he posted a 3.33 ERA with 39 strikeouts over 27 innings. He continued his strong work in June with 11 strikeouts on Saturday over just five innings, and he now has at least eight punchouts in all of his last four starts. He's still ridiculously under-rostered at this point considering we see a clear shift in pitch mix right before he's started striking everyone out. I'm on board to Skubal train.
