In the Field
OF Michael Harris Jr. left Wednesday's game early due to lower back tightness. He was placed on the 10-day IL on Friday but is expected back when first eligible. 1B/2B Miguel Vargas is dealing with soreness in his thumb. He missed Wednesday and Thursday but was back in the starting lineup on Friday. Vargas is off to a hot start (.374 AVG and .722 OBP). SS Miguel Rojas (groin) returned to the Dodgers lineup on Friday. SS/OF Chris Taylor has been starting at SS while Rojas has been out but should shift back into a utility role. He didn't play in the Dodgers first two games when everyone was healthy so it will be worth watching the Dodgers lineups because he is unplayable if he isn't going to get regular run. OF Corey Dickerson (calf) was placed on the 10-day IL last Saturday. He is not expected to return when first eligible as he has not been cleared to start running. Calf injuries are notoriously difficult to predict in terms of a recovery timeline. The Nationals have been starting OF Alex Call in his place. Call hit .280 with 11 HR and 6 SB in 71 GP in Triple-A a year ago. The concern is that the Nationals have faced a lot of left-handed starters recently (5 of 7 games) and that they intend to platoon Call which would mean that he is on the short side. OF Mitch Haniger (oblique) is not expected back until next weekend at the earliest but that is all dependent on how his oblique responds to swinging. Mitch Haniger has been suffering from back tightness while rehabbing his oblique injury. Manager Gabe Kaper was still optimistic and mentioned a return during their April 14-19 road trip. OF Blake Sabol is likely going to be the biggest loser when Haniger returns. Sabol will still occasionally play catcher but is unlikely to play every day like he is currently doing between catching and the outfield. SS Brandon Crawford (forearm tightness) was not in the Giants lineup on Thursday but he did return on Friday. C Omar Narvaez was placed on the 10-day IL on Friday with a medium-to-high-grade calf strain. The Mets called up C Francisco Alvarez to share the catching duties with C Tomas Nido. Alvarez has a real upside at the catcher position for fantasy so if he gets the majority of the starts at C or DH then he needs to be rostered across the board. OF Fernando Tatis Jr. is playing in Triple-A games as he awaits the end of his suspension. He has already homered and stolen a base which signals that he will be a full go when he is eligible to return on April 20. OF Jazz Chisholm left Wednesday's game early with a shoulder stinger after a collision sliding into second base on a steal attempt. He was back in the lineup on Friday. 1B Darick Hall (thumb) was placed on the 10-day IL on Friday and is expected to have surgery. The Phillies will go with a combination of Kody Clemens, Josh Harrison, and Edmund Sosa. None are fantasy relevant and the fact that they mix and match between 3B and 1B is going to lower their value anyway because full-time at-bats are not going to be there. OF Lars Nootbar (thumb) is expected back on April 10 when first eligible to return from the IL. OF Bryce Harper has been able to take BP on the field and has not been placed on the 60-day IL. There is a chance he returns before the end of May which was best case scenario coming into the year. OF Seiya Suzuki was able to participate in an intrasquad game in Mesa, Arizona on Wednesday. It was reported that he feels healthy and could start a rehab assignment soon and be back with the Cubs shortly. This means that OF Miles Mastrobuoni is going to lose playing time. The Cubs will roll out an outfield of Ian Happ, Cody Bellinger, and Seiya Suzuki on a regular basis. 3B Joey Wendle was placed on the 10-day IL on Tuesday with an intercostal strain. SS Jon Berti has been regularly while he has been out. Berti offers stolen base potential and should be started as long as he is playing every day. 2B Luis Garcia is day-to-day with a hamstring injury. He has had a rough start to the year as well (.208 AVG with 0 HR and 0 SB). OF Tyrone Taylor (elbow) has been shut down after suffering a small setback in his throwing elbow. C Joey Bart (back) started a rehab assignment on Saturday and is expected back next week. 1B C.J. Cron was scratched from the Rockies lineup on Saturday with flu-like symptoms. He is considered day-to-day.
On The Mound
Tony Gonsolin (ankle) was able to throw live batting practice on Wednesday. He is scheduled to throw another bullpen and live session before starting a rehab assignment. This puts him at least two weeks away from returning. He will take Michael Grove's spot in the rotation when he returns. Max Fried (hamstring) has been able to throw but can't run. He was placed on the 15-day IL so he still has over a week left before he is eligible to return. He is expected back when first eligible right now, but that still depends on how his hamstring responds to running and pitching. Bryce Elder and Dylan Dodd will continue to see starts while Fried is out. The final spot will come down to who is pitching the best when Fried returns but neither has a lot of fantasy value due to their struggles in missing bats. Andrew Painter (elbow) is supposed to start throwing next week. The Phillies are going to be extremely careful with their youngster. The Phillies have struggled to start the year so there is no rush to get him back and/or start his major league clock so it still remains unlikely that Painter makes a meaningful impact at the major league level this year. Kyle Wright (shoulder) made a rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday. He gave up 5 ER on 7 H, 1 BB, and 6 K in 6 P (84 pitches). The fact that he got to 84 pitches makes it likely that he returns when eligible from the IL. This lines him up to make his 2023 debut next week for the Braves. Aaron Ashby (shoulder) is now scheduled to have surgery on his injured shoulder which is likely going to put his season in jeopardy. Justin Verlander's (shoulder) most recent MRI revealed reduced inflammation. He has been able to continue throwing but will need a period of time to ramp it back up again to get into game shape. A late April return would be the best-case scenario but the Mets have not given a timeline. Ian Anderson has a sore elbow and has been placed on the minor league 7-day IL. The chances of him starting another game for the Braves gets slimmer by the day. Adam Wainwright (groin) was able to complete a bullpen session on Thursday without any problems. His next step is likely a short rehab assignment. His velocity has been down and isn't expected to return given his age (41 years old) which makes him extremely volatile. Mike Soroka (hamstring) gave up 1 ER over 3.2 IP with 4 K in his latest rehab started for Triple-A Gwinnett. He is getting closer to his return to the majors after not pitching in his major league game since the beginning of the 2020 season. Joe Musgrove gave up 3 ER over 4.1 IP with 1 BB and 6 K for Triple-A El Paso on Thursday. The Padres haven't officially said yet but he is expected to make one more rehab start rather than return on April 11 like originally thought. Johnny Cueto (biceps) was placed on the 15-day IL on Tuesday.
In The Bullpen
Brusdar Graterol was unavailable on Thursday due to back tightness. Evan Phillips was able to close out their 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks. Phillips was the closer to start the year and he is first in line to start the year. Daniel Hudson (knee) is frustrated with his recovery from knee surgery. Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) has not been able to start throwing which is not a good sign. At this point, he will most likely miss all of April which was not the expectation when he first went on the IL. A.J. Minter has served as the closer in the meantime. Jesse Chavez picked up a save on Wednesday but Minter was unavailable after pitching in back-to-back games. The name to keep an eye on in the Braves bullpen is Nick Anderson. He has closing experience and has looked good on the mound this year (2.45 ERA, 0.27 WHIP, 50% K, and 22% SwStr). Pierce Johnson has emerged as the Rockies closer while Daniel Bard is out. Michael Fulmer picked up steam as the Cubs closer late in the draft season and picked up the Cubs first save opportunity on Friday night.
Players to add this week:
3B/OF Brian Anderson (MIL)- Brian Anderson has started off the year red-hot for the Brewers. He is hitting .500 with 3 HR, 8 R, 10 RBI, and 0 SB. Anderson is showing the ability to make contact (22% K) while hitting the ball extremely hard (40% Barrels and 53% Hardhit). It is a hot streak but he has moved from one of the most pitcher-friendly parks (Miami) to a hitter-friendly park in Milwaukee. The Brewers are also going to play Anderson every day with the injuries they have had in the outfield and third base.
C Francisco Alvarez (NYM)- Francisco Alvarez is going to see playing time with Omar Narvaez hitting the IL for an extended period of time. It remains to be seen if he will become the regular catcher with Tomas Nido remaining as the backup. Alvarez has a higher ceiling and needs to be rostered in deeper two-catcher leagues. He isn't going to help in the batting average category but he will provide power which is not easy to come by at the catcher position.
SP Tylor Megill (NYM)-The Mets have had a rash of injuries to their rotation already. They came into the season with both Tylor Megill and David Peterson on the outside looking in for the rotation. Due to injuries to Justin Verlander and Jose Quintana, both Megill and Peterson are in the rotation. Megill looked very good in his limited sample last year prior to getting injured (3.45 SIERA, 26% K, and 7% BB). He has the skills to succeed and the Mets are going to put him in a position to get wins so Megill is a must-add in the short term while Verlander is out.
RP Pierce Johnson (COL)- Pierce Johnson has picked up both the Rockies saves this year while Daniel Bard is away from the team. Johnson has shown the ability to miss bats with 30%+ strikeouts in each of the past three seasons but he has also struggled with control (11%+ BB). This is a volatile profile especially now that he pitches in Colorado. Saves are extremely valuable so he needs to be rostered across the board but be ready to move on quickly when things go south.
RP A.J. Puk (MIA)-A.J. Puk has picked up a save for the Marlins this year. The situation is still unknown as to whether it is a committee but Puk at a bare minimum is going to be part of that committee and could have the role to himself. This makes him worth an add in most formats.
2B/OF Ji Hwan Bae (PIT)-Ji Hwan Bae has started six of the Pirates seven games to start the year. He is splitting time between 2B and CF. Bae's fantasy profile is a decent average (.260-.270) with very little power (5-10 HR) but has stolen base potential (30+). So far this year, he is hitting .304 with 1 HR, 5 R, 3 RBI, and 2 SB. In deeper mixed leagues he could be a solid option as an MI or 5th OF.
OF Garrett Mitchell (MIL)-Garrett Mitchell has been in a platoon to start the year. The good news is that he is on the strong side versus right-handed pitching. The other good news is that he has started out red hot (.333 AVG, 3 HR, 6 R, 6 RBI, and 0 SB) which is going to buy him a longer leash and could get him regular playing time. Mitchell at this point is a speed-only play because he had 8 HR in 2021 and 7 HR in 2022 across all levels. His 112.3 mph maxEV is a great sign that the power is there. He just needs to make a small change to his launch angle to hit more flyballs which he has in the early going (41% FB). It will be important to keep an eye on his flyball rate for the next month because he could be a breakout candidate if his power is legit now.
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