IN THE LINEUP
Anthony Rendon is dealing with a strained triceps and returned to the lineup for the Angels on Saturday... Mitch Haniger dealt with a minor knee injury this week but has since returned to his normal spot in the lineup... Aldaberto Mondesi was activated from the IL on Tuesday but was not back in the lineup right away. He since has returned to the lineup and has hit two homers over the last few days... Wilson Ramos was designated for assignment by the Tigers Tuesday. Ramos was off to a strong start to the season but the Tigers have turned to a combo of Jake Rogers and Eric Haase behind the plate... Danny Jansen is close to returning from the IL and has been taking batting practice lately. He should take over the catching role for the Jays once he's able to get back with the team.. Jeimer Candelario was reinstated off of the COVID-19 list on Tuesday. Candelario wasn't out with COVID, but had to deal with a personal matter that required him to clear the protocol system... Yoan Moncada dealt with a sinus infection this week but was able to get back into the lineup on Thursday. He did say that he's still not feeling 100% so there's a chance we see a lack of production here in the next few days... Byron Buxton was activated off the IL Saturday and hit second in his return to the lineup. Buxton beat out an infield single with a 31 ft/s sprint speed. Willians Austudillo was sent to AAA as the corresponding move... Kyle Tucker missed a bit of time with an illness this week but is working out at the stadium before the game. Dusty Baker said Saturday that he expects him to return to the lineup early next week against Baltimore... Nick Madrigal underwent season-ending surgery on his torn hamstring. He should be a full go to start 2022... Luke Voit's rehab assignment has been moved from AAA to AA. The hope for Voit is that he can play a few nine-inning games before come off of the IL next week. He homered Saturday to lead off the game in his rehab stint... Grayson Greiner was activated off the IR and optioned to AAA-Toledo. The combination of Rogers and Haase behind the plate forced Greiner back into the minors... George Springer is going to continue his rehab through the weekend and there's a chance he'll be back with the team Tuesday in Miami. There was a chance he was going to be activated this weekend, so Tuesday seems like a solid bet for him to return... Gleyber Torres left Thursday's game with some back tightness but returned to the lineup on Friday... Evan White was removed from his rehab assignment as he's dealing with a hip injury. He's expected to miss about 5-6 days before he starts back up in-game action... Teoscar Hernandez has been placed on the paternity list and will be out for up to three days... Jonathan Davis has also been on the paternity list but has been moved to the restricted list so he can spend a few more days with his family... David Dahl has been taking batting practice and is close to heading out on a rehab assignment. Since Khris Davis was released by the team Dahl has less competition for at-bats... Kyle Lewis was transferred to the 60-day IL. Just a procedural move here as he's expected to be out into the late summer... Max Kepler was activated off the IL Friday and started in right field. He hit fifth for the Twins and should be in the lineup every day.... Billy Hamilton is taking some step backs in his rehab after feeling a pinch in his oblique. He's currently on the IL with an oblique strain and had just started to begin swinging again... Alex Bregman is expected to miss a chunk of time while being out with his quad injury. They didn't give him any sort of timeline on getting activated, but it sounds like it'll be well beyond the minimum 10 days... Andrew Vaughn was hit in the face while running the bases Friday but was back in the lineup Saturday, and hit his sixth homer of the season... Josh Donaldson is dealing with a minor calf injury that's keeping him out of the lineup. It doesn't sound like it's anything too serious at this point... Jose Ramirez was hit by a pitch on Friday and was held out of the lineup on Saturday. It doesn't sound like he's going to miss a significant amount of time, but it's something to watch Sunday on his availability... Lourdes Gurriel left Friday's game with a hurt back while running the bases and was held out of the lineup on Saturday as a result... Nico Goodrum is dealing with a sprained finger that he suffered on Friday. There are not notes yet as to how much time he might miss.
IN THE ROTATION
Tanner Houck is going to throw a two-inning outing in AAA on Thursday. This marks the first time he's thrown in a game since suffering a flexor injury in his right arm... Lance McCullers returned from the IL to start Tuesday and allowed one earned run over 4.1 innings. The game was designed to be a piggyback start with Jake Odorizzi, so don't put too much thought into his shorter outing or Odorizzi being in the bullpen. Both are going to be a part of the rotation going forward... Matthew Boyd was placed on the IL with left arm discomfort on Tuesday. After further testing, the team determined that there is no structural damage, but they are going to keep him out until after the all-star break to make sure he can fully recover... Luis Severino's timetable for return is pushed back a month after suffering a groin strain in a rehab outing. The Yankees were hoping to get Severino back into the mix at the end of the month, and now that will extend at least into July. He played catch on Saturday before the Yankees' game with the A's... Matt Manning started for the Tigers on Thursday and threw five innings against the Angels with two earned runs allowed. He's going to stick in the rotation going forward and will make another start against the Cardinals next week... Tyler Glasnow suffered a partially torn UCL and is going to attempt to rehab the injury and return as opposed to undergoing Tommy John surgery. Glasnow attributes a portion of the injury to the crackdown on stick stuff and he said that he uses a combination of sunscreen/rosin to help with grip. The first timeline given to him by a team is that resting for four weeks and revaluating from there... Kenta Maeda tossed four innings in his return to the Twins on Tuesday. Maeda allowed one run on three hits with seven strikeouts. He was on a pitch count in the game, and should get pushed a little further in his next start against the Rangers... Kyle Zimmer is starting for the Royals Friday against Boston instead of Jackson Kowar. It's unsure of what the role for Kowar is going to look like going forward assuming he isn't sent down... Bruce Zimmerman has been placed on the IL with biceps tendonitis. He was scheduled to start for the Orioles on Friday but was instead placed on the IL. Tom Eshelman was called up from AAA to take his place in the rotation. Zimmerman's stint can be backdated to June 15th, so there's a chance he doesn't miss more than the one start depending on how long he's going to be out... With Shane Bieber going on the IL, the Indians are stretched thin in the rotation and Cal Quantrill is going to start on short rest for the Indians on Saturday against the Pirates. Quantrill pitched well against the Orioles on Tuesday allowing one run over four innings... Justin Dunn left Thursday's start with shoulder discomfort. He has missed time earlier this season with shoulder inflammation so there's a chance this is connected to that. He was placed on the IL Friday and was diagnosed with a shoulder strain on Sunday... Michael Wacha is going to slot in the rotation for Glasnow, but he's not fully stretched out at this point and he's not going to work super deep into games to start... Danny Duffy could return to the Royals on the next road trip. He's going to throw a session on Friday that could be the last tune-up he needs to return. Duffey has been outstanding this season and would be a big boost back into the Royals rotation... Chris Sale threw a 40 pitch bullpen session on Friday. Alex Cora said after the session that he could progress to facing live hitters in the near future... John Means has yet to resume mound work as he deals with his shoulder issue. He's expected to remain out until around the all-star break... Randy Dobnak started for Michael Pineda on Saturday. Pineda left his last start with forearm tightness and the team is hoping that he'll be able to make his next turn in the rotation.
IN THE BULLPEN
Michael Kopech threw off a mound Tuesday to test his hamstring strain. He's closing in on being out for a month with the strain and they are working to determine whether he'll need a rehab assignment or if he can get up to full steam off bullpen sessions... Julian Merryweather is expected to be out until at least late June with his oblique strain. He's eligible to come off the IL this week but isn't close at this point... Vinny Nittoli was called up to the majors and will work in the bullpen for Seattle. He struck out 26 batters in 18 innings and this will be his first taste of the big leagues... Collin McHugh tossed three scoreless innings in his return from the COVID-IL.
PLAYERS TO ADD
Bobby Bradley, Cleveland Indians - Bradley has been off to a great start for the Indians since being turned to as the everyday first baseman as he's posting a 1.014 OPS across 44 plate appearances. He's hit four homers since making his 2021 debut on June 5th and has 11 RBI. He's already barreled six balls in 26 batted balls after barreling just two balls in 25 swings during his ML debut in 2019. He's hitting the ball in the air significantly more than he did in 2019, and with his raw power that's going to lead to a lot of production.
Patrick Sandoval, Los Angeles Angels - Sandoval has been outstanding as of late, mostly starting in the month of June where he recorded over 30 whiffs against the Mariners. He tossed two straight quality starts entering Saturday night, and he hasn't given up more than two runs in a single outing since May 12th. Now a lot of it is fueled by that start against Seattle, but Sandoval is generating whiffs at an elite level and he's showcasing an outstanding changeup that he pairs with his fastball extremely well.
JP Crawford, Seattle Mariners - Crawford has had a ridiculous month of June where he's slashing .386/.438/.629 over 80 plate appearances with three homers including a grand slam on Saturday night. He's been hitting atop of a Mariners lineup that is actually pretty strong on the top end and if can continue this production at any sort of consistent rate he's going to provide a lot of value for fantasy rosters.
