In The Field
OF Akil Badoo left Friday's game with a quad injury. Badoo is hitting .231 with 3 HR, 17 R, 16 RBI, and 6 SB in 168 PA. 3B Gio Urshela was scratched from the Angels lineup on Friday with back tightness. He is day-to-day. OF Eloy Jimenez (calf) is going to be on the bench for the next 4-5 days in the hopes of avoiding the 10-day IL. 2B Jorge Polanco had an MRI done on his hamstring on Friday after injuring it on Thursday. He was placed on the 10-day IL. OF Joey Gallo (hamstring) started a rehab assignment on Friday. He is first eligible to return on Tuesday of next week which looks very likely. 1B Ryan Mountcastle was not in the Orioles lineup on Friday due to an illness. He is considered day-to-day. OF Harrison Bader (hamstring) was expected to start a rehab assignment next week but Yankees manager Aaron Boone was unsure on Friday if that was going to happen. OF Matt Vierling (back) started a rehab assignment on Friday. He should rejoin the Tigers early next week. Vierling will more than likely go back to being the Tigers everyday centerfielder which means the end of playing time for OF Jake Marisnick. OF Kerry Carpenter (shoulder) returned from the IL on Friday. He should be a strong side of the platoon bat for the Tigers who provides power (.246 ISO, 19% Barrels, and 47% Hardhit). OF Kevin Kiermaier was not in the Blue Jays lineup on Friday due to a wrist injury that he suffered on Thursday when he got hit by a pitch. OF Edward Olivares has been placed on the restricted list on Friday but returned on Saturday. OF Yordan Alvarez has been placed on the 10-day IL with an oblique injury. This is bad news as Alvarez had been excellent so far (.272 AVG with 17 HR, 41 R, 55 RBI, and 0 SB). The Astros are mixing and matching their lineup combinations this year but the hope is that OF Corey Julks gets a more consistent run. He is hitting .258 with 5 HR, 21 R, 22 RBI, and 8 SB in 169 PA. OF Aaron Judge (toe) is not wearing a walking boot and reported that his big toe is improving. Despite the encouraging news, there is still no timetable for his return. OF Hunter Renfroe (paternity) is expected back on Sunday. He has been exactly what the Angels thought when they brought him in (.252 AVG with 11 HR, 32 R, 30 RBI, and 0 SB). OF Michael Brantley (shoulder) was able to go through a baseball workout on Thursday that included hitting, running bases, and throwing. He is tracking toward a minor-league rehab assignment which would be a huge stepping stone. OF Adam Duvall was activated off the IL on Friday. He returned to play centerfield and hit fifth. It will be worth watching the Red Sox lineup over the next week because Duvall opened the year as the Red Sox's everyday CF but that job has belonged to OF Jarren Duran (.278 AVG with 3 HR/8 SB) recently. The Red Sox are going to play OF Alex Verdugo and OF Masataka Yoshida every day so that leaves only one spot up for grabs. They also don't have room at DH with Justin Turner primarily occupying that spot. 3B Yandy Diaz is dealing with a minor hip issue that forced him out of the lineup on Thursday but he did return on Friday. Diaz has had a strong start to the year (.316 AVG with 12 HR, 41 R, 34 RBI, and 0 SB). 2B Brandon Lowe has been shut down with a herniated disk in his back for two weeks. This is troublesome news because Lowe missed most of last season with back problems. This means that SS Taylor Walls is going to see regular playing time while Lowe is out. Walls has provided fantasy value in terms of power/speed (7 HR/15 SB) but has struggled to hit for average (.208 AVG). His struggles with hitting for average are somewhat of a mystery because he has average plate discipline skills across the board. He more than likely takes too many pitches (13% BB) and gets into too many pitchers counts as a result. Either way, Walls becomes a viable option in deeper mixed leagues with Lowe being out for an extended period of time. C Danny Jansen (groin) started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo this weekend. He will hopefully be back with the big league club next week. He will go back to sharing the catcher role with C Alejandro Kirk. Jansen had been performing much better in May prior to the injury (.231 AVG, 18% K, .215 ISO, and 44% Hardhit). SS Royce Lewis missed Tuesday's game after his baserunning mishap on Sunday but has been in the Twins lineup the rest of the week. OF Byron Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL on Tuesday with a left rib contusion. They also activated OF Trevor Larnach off the IL in a corresponding move. Larnach looks to be a strong side platoon bat that is likely squeezed off the roster when Buxton and Gallo are back and healthy. 2B Jose Altuve returned to the Astros lineup on Wednesday after missing four straight games with an oblique injury. He seems to have avoided a serious injury but this is still worth watching because it could easily flare back up again. 1B Vinnie Pasquantino left Friday's game early due to right shoulder discomfort. He is considered day-to-day until the Royals get testing done on his shoulder. OF Joe Adell was optioned back to Triple-A. 1B Brandon Belt left Saturday's game early with hamstring tightness.
On The Mound
Chris Sale (shoulder) has been moved to the 60-day IL due to a stress reaction in his left scapula. He is expected to be shut down from throwing for 3-4 weeks. He won't be eligible to return until August 2nd which makes him difficult to keep in leagues with limited roster spots. Matt Manning (foot) is expected to start his rehab assignment on Sunday. He is going to need multiple rehab starts before returning to the Tigers rotation. Spencer Turnbull (neck) was transferred to the 60-day IL on Friday and has not started throwing yet. Carlos Rodon (back/forearm) is going to throw two more bullpen sessions before moving to an extended rehab assignment. He reportedly sat 92-94 in his latest bullpen session. Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm) had an MRI on his pitching arm on Friday due to continued discomfort. He had a timetable of a mid-July return prior to this setback so there is a good chance that we don't see McCullers this year and if we do it will be in a limited capacity. Nestor Cortes (shoulder) was placed on the 15-day IL on Thursday retroactive to June 5. He is dealing with a left rotator cuff strain and is going to be shut down from throwing for two weeks. Cortes is looking at an All-Star break return date at this point. The hope is that he comes back healthy and looks more like the pitcher we have seen the past two years and not the one who has struggled this year (5.16 ERA and 1.30 WHIP). The Yankees could make a four-man rotation work through the month of June so they have not made a corresponding move in the rotation yet. Mason Miller (elbow) has started throwing. This puts him at least a month away from returning if everything goes well because he will need to build back his strength as well as pitch count before returning. Marco Gonzales has a flexor strain in his left forearm. He is going to be shut down from throwing for 7-10 days. The Mariners have called up Bryan Woo in a corresponding move. Woo struggled in his debut (2 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, and 4 K) but had been dominant at Double-A prior to the callup (2.05 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 27% K:BB). He is someone that is worth taking a chance on in the short term despite his first start. Jacob deGrom (elbow) is going to have a second Tommy John surgery which puts him out for all of this year and the majority of 2024. He can be safely dropped in redraft formats and in keeper/dynasty leagues owners will have to make the tough decision of whether it will be worth waiting until 2025 to see whether a then 36-year-old deGrom still is the best pitcher on the planet. Eduardo Rodgriguez (finger) was able to play catch on Tuesday. This is good news because the initial estimates were that he was going to be down for a long time. No timetable has been given by the team or Rodriguez. Tarik Skubal looked good again in his second rehab appearance (3 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, and 6 K). He will need at least one more if not two more starts before returning to the Tigers rotation. However, if he is available in any leagues now would be the time to make the move instead of waiting until he returns. He looked good last year (3.52 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 18% K:BB).
In The Bullpen
Caleb Thielbar was placed on the 15-day IL with a right oblique strain. Pete Fairbanks (hip) started a rehab assignment on Friday and should be back with the big league club on Monday when he is eligible to come off the IL. Fairbanks should enter back into the Rays closer situation which currently belongs to Jason Adam. Both players should be rostered. Ben Joyce (hand) will be placed on the IL after experiencing irritation and numbness in his right hand. Felix Bautista saved two games this week and has looked dominant (1.16 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 37% K:BB). The Yankees continue to mix and match at the back end. Clay Holmes picked up a save and a win this week with Wandy Peralta getting the other save. Liam Hendricks able to secure both a save and win this week while Kendall Graveman got a save as well. This will be a shared role until Hendricks proves that he is all the way back. Carlos Estevez's breakout fantasy season continues with three more saves. He is up to 17 saves with a 1.59 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. Trevor May picked up two saves this week but the skills are not encouraging (5.52 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 16% K, and 15% BB).
Players to add this week:
2B Taylor Walls (TBR)- Taylor Walls is going to see regular playing time while Brandon Lowe is out. Walls has provided fantasy value in terms of power/speed (7 HR/15 SB) but has struggled to hit for average (.208 AVG). His struggles with hitting for average are somewhat of a mystery because he has average plate discipline skills across the board. He more than likely takes too many pitches (13% BB) and gets into too many pitchers counts as a result. Either way, Walls becomes a viable option in deeper mixed leagues with Lowe being out for an extended period of time.
C Danny Jansen (TOR)- Danny Jansen (groin) started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo this weekend. He will hopefully be back with the big league club next week. He will go back to sharing the catcher role with C Alejandro Kirk. Jansen had been performing much better in May prior to the injury (.231 AVG, 18% K, .215 ISO, and 44% Hardhit).
SP Tarik Skubal (DET)- Tarik Skubal looked good again in his second rehab appearance (3 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, and 6 K). He will need at least one more if not two more starts before returning to the Tigers rotation. However, if he is available in any leagues now would be the time to make the move instead of waiting until he returns. He looked good last year (3.52 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 18% K:BB).
SP Reese Olson (DET)-Reese Olson has a 2.70 ERA and 0.70 WHIP through 10 IP. He has shown that he can miss bats (24%K and 12% SwStr). Olson has an average fastball and an elite slider by Stuff+ metrics which gives him a good base to work from. He did struggle at Triple-A (6.38 ERA and 1.75 WHIP) so it's not a perfect profile but it is one worth taking a chance on in deeper formats that the Tigers can get the most out of his stuff at the major league level.
SP Kutter Crawford (BOS)- Kutter Crawford has a spot in the Red Sox rotation with Corey Kluber being moved to the bullpen and Chris Sale being placed on the 60-day IL. Crawford has a 3.64 ERA and 1.01 WHIP through 4 GS and 16 GP. He has shown excellent control (4% BB) with just enough strikeouts (24% K) to be fantasy relevant. Crawford doesn't have elite upside but he can be a back-end option in mixed leagues.
SP Bryan Woo (SEA)- The Mariners have called up Bryan Woo in a corresponding move when Marco Gonzales hit the 15-day IL. Woo struggled in his debut (2 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, and 4 K) but had been dominant at Double-A prior to the callup (2.05 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 27% K:BB). He is someone that is worth taking a chance on in the short term despite his first start.
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