Howie Kendrick: Kendrick left the game on Wednesday night with a strained hamstring, the same hamstring that forced him to miss 42 games earlier in the season. He says the injury is not as bad as the first one, but figure he will miss at least a couple of games. In addition, it should hamper his running game, 11 steals in 15 tries, although he hadn’t been running much lately, 1 steal attempt in his last 15 games.
Ryan Sweeney: Sweeney began a minor league rehab assignment on Wednesday and should be back with the A’s when the rosters expand. The 23-year-old is having a decent season, 4/37/.287 with 8 steals in 289 AB. At 6’4, 215 lbs, one would expect more power, but that could still come as his body matures.
Victor Martinez: Martinez, who has been out since June with an elbow injury, could be back with the Indians as early as this weekend. With Kelly Shoppach swinging a hot bat, Martinez will not return as the full-time catcher, but with his versatility, he can play first and DH, he should see regular playing time. If fully healthy, expect Martinez’s power to be more in line with last year’s numbers, 25 home runs and 40 doubles in 562 AB, than his power performance earlier this year, 0 home runs and 11 doubles in 198 AB.
Ryan Garko: With Victor Martinez coming back and Kelly Shoppach swinging a hot bat, Garko could lose playing time. This has been a disappointing season for the 27-year-old Garko, 10/70/.256 in 484 AB, as he failed to improve on the power that he displayed last year, 21 home runs in 484 AB, at an age where he should be showing growth. Since his skills are relatively unchanged; 2007/2008 BB%’s of 7%/8%, Ct%’s of 81%/82%, and FB%’s of 42%/43%, either last year’s power was a fluke, he is nursing a hidden injury, or he is just not getting good wood on the ball.
Josh Barfield: Barfield has recovered from the surgery on his finger and should be with the Indians when the rosters expand. After an impressive rookie campaign in 2006, 13/58/.280 with 21 steals, Barfield took a big step back in 2007, 3/50/.243 with 14 steals, and landed in the minors this year, where he was not exactly setting Triple-A on fire, 5/22/.253 in 273 AB. Besides the disappearance of power, the regression from his rookie to sophomore season can be traced to his already low plate patience going to outright hacker levels, 2006/2007 BB%’s of 5%/3%, and his contact skills dropping with his power, 2006/2007 Ct%’s of 85%/79%. It looks like pitchers found holes in his swing and really exploited them. Don’t expect him to be any help fantasy wise if he sees playing time with the Indians.
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