In The Field
OF Byron Buxton was placed on the 10-day IL on Friday and is going to be shut down for two weeks due to a right hamstring injury. Buxton has had issues with injuries this year which is not a surprise. He has also had trouble making contact (.207 AVG with 31% K). OF Matt Wallner is going to continue to be regular now that a spot has opened up. There was some concern that when 2B Jorge Polanco returned from the IL this week that Wallner would be sent down. OF Cedric Mullins (groin) has been cleared to begin a rehab assignment. He is scheduled to play rehab games Saturday and Sunday so he should be back early next week if everything checks out. SS Zach Neto was placed on the 10-day IL on Friday with lower-back discomfort. This has been an issue that he has been dealing with for weeks. This should allow 2B/SS Luis Rengifo to continue playing every day with the recent additions of OF Randal Grichuk and 1B C.J. Cron. 2B Brandon Drury has also returned and is playing second now with 1B/3B Mike Moustakas moving over to the hot corner to make room for Cron. OF Eloy Jimenez was out of the White Sox lineup on Friday due to a sore heel but was back in the lineup on Saturday. The Guardians received bad news on Friday when they found out that 1B Josh Naylor is going to be out for 3-6 weeks with a right oblique strain. After a slow start to the year, Naylor has been very good (.306 AVG with 15 HR, 41 R, 79 RBI, and 6 SB). SS Tyler Freeman was placed on the 10-day on Friday with right shoulder soreness. The Guardians have three players that have moved into more playing time OF Oscar Gonzalez, 1B David Fry, and SS Brayan Rocchio. OF Oscar Gonzalez hit .275 with 11 HR, 36 R, 58 RBI, and 2 SB in 65 GP with 22% K and 6% BB. Gonzalez doesn't have much upside but should play every day which has value in deeper mixed league formats. SS Brayan Rocchio has a little bit more fantasy appeal given his skillset. Rocchio hit .291 with 3 HR, 64 R, 52 RBI, and 19 SB in 89 Triple-A games. He has plus plate skills (12% K and 12% BB) and despite 3 HR, he has enough power to hit double-digits in the majors over a full season. He has the profile of a .270 AVG with 10 HR/20 SB which is mixed-league playable. OF Luke Raley was out of the Rays lineup on Friday due to fouling a ball off his knee on Thursday. He is considered day-to-day. 1B/2B/3B Justin Turner was out of the Red Sox lineup again on Friday due to a heel injury. He hasn't played since Monday. 2B Luis Urias was called up and made his Red Sox debut on Friday. He once had promise as a jack of all trades but has struggled the past year and a half. 2B Tony Kemp (rib contusion) is day-to-day for the Athletics. 1B Anthony Rizzo was placed on the 10-day IL on Thursday with post-concussion syndrome. He apparently suffered a concussion in late May during a collision with OF Fernando Tatis Jr. but was able to pass the concussion protocol. However, he has continued to have side effects since then which has affected his performance. He hit .304/.376/.505 with 11 HR prior to the concussion and .172/.271/.225 with 1 HR after. OF Esteury Ruiz (shoulder) has been playing in rehab games and was activated on Saturday. Ruiz is still second in the league in stolen bases (43) despite playing 22 fewer games than league leader OF Ronald Acuna Jr. (51). C Jonah Heim (wrist) is going to take dry swings next week. He is hopeful that he will either delay surgery until after the season or avoid it altogether. If everything continues to check out he could return before the end of August which would be good news for the Rangers and fantasy owners because he was having a breakout season (.280 AVG with 14 HR, 49 R, 70 RBI, and 2 SB). SS Trevor Story is expected to be activated early next week. SS Bo Bichette was placed on the 10-day IL with right patellar tendonitis. This injury is one that builds up over time which could be a reason why he has only 3 SB after 25 in 2021 and 13 last year. C Logan O'Hoppe is likely to start a rehab assignment next week. He has been out since April so he will likely need a lengthy rehab assignment to get acclimated to catching and hitting before being called up. The recent track record of hitters returning from labrum surgery has not been good so there is some concern about what to expect from him offensively when he does return. OF Joe Adell (oblique) was recently transferred to the 60-day IL on Tuesday which means he wouldn't be eligible to return until September 7 but by that point, there won't be any playing time available unless the Angels suffer multiple injuries in the outfield. The Guardians traded SP Aaron Civale for first-base prospect Kyle Manzardo. Manzardo isn't likely to be fantasy relevant this year but is a name to keep an eye on for 2024 because he should get a shot to win the first base job out of Spring Training and he has the ability to hit for both average and power. OF Jarred Kelenic (foot) is going to be out until September. OF Taylor Ward (face) was transferred to the 60-day IL after he was diagnosed with multiple facial fractures. OF Ramon Laureano was designated for assignment by the A's. He was hitting .213 with 6 HR, 24 R, 21 RBI, and 8 SB. Any team that picks him up will be hoping that a change of scenery will help him bounce back to being a productive player. C Danny Jansen was scratched from the Blue Jays lineup on Saturday with right wrist inflammation.
On The Mound
Spencer Turnbull (neck) moved his rehab assignment to Triple-A on Friday. Nathan Eovaldi (forearm) is going to be out for another 2-3 weeks according to manager Bruce Bochy. Jose Urquidy (shoulder) is going to start for the Astros against the Yankees. The corresponding move is that J.P. France is going to move to the bullpen and piggyback Urquidy in this first start. Tanner Houck (face) started a rehab assignment on Saturday with Triple-A Worcester. He is going to return as a starter. He struggled prior to the injury this year (5.05 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 14% K:BB). Garrett Whitlock (elbow) on the other hand is not going to return to the rotation and will be used as a reliever. The goal is for him to be a multi-inning reliever which is a role that he excelled in during the 2021 season. Chris Paddack (elbow) is getting ready to face live hitters. He is currently 14 months removed from his second Tommy John surgery. He won't have much fantasy value this year but hopefully, we get to see him on a major league mound to get some sense of what his value for 2024 is going to be. Shohei Ohtani left his most recent start after four innings due to hand cramps. After the game, he was unsure if he would make his next start. It isn't considered serious at this point but he has shown signs of fatigue in the second half. Shane McClanahan was placed on the 15-day IL on Thursday with left forearm tightness. He is going to get more testing done so we should know more in the coming days. McClanahan had been very good once again (3.29 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 17% K:BB). Joe Ryan was placed on the 15-day IL on Thursday with a left groin strain. He has struggled in the second half (8.53 ERA) which could be attributed to the injury. Nestor Cortes (shoulder) returned from the 60-day IL on Saturday to start against the Astros. He is going to be on a pitch limit his first couple of times through the rotation as he has been out since May. Domingo German was placed on the restricted list as he will get treatment for alcohol abuse. James Kaprielian had shoulder surgery on Wednesday to repair a labrum tear. Chris Sale (shoulder) is scheduled to make a rehab start on Sunday with Triple-A Worcester. He could be back by the end of next week. Griffin Canning was placed on the 15-day IL with right calf tightness on Tuesday. He expects to return when first eligible but calf injuries are notoriously tricky. Jack Flaherty looked good in his first start for the Orioles (6 IP, 1 ER, and 8 K). His offspeed pitches looked great and he touched 97 mph with his fastball. He needs to maintain the improved velocity to be the pitcher that we used to know. It will be worth watching Flaherty closely in his next start.
In The Bullpen
Trevor Richards (neck inflammation) was placed on the 15-day IL on Thursday. He had been excellent for the Blue Jays (2.98 ERA with 83 K's in 54.1 IP). Liam Hendricks had Tommy John surgery on Wednesday which puts him out for 2023 and most of 2024. Jordan Romano (back) has started throwing off flat ground and there is a chance that he could return when first eligible on August 13. In the meantime, Jordan Hicks will serve as the Jays closer. The Royals traded away closer Scott Barlow at the trade deadline. Carlos Hernandez was thought to be the front-runner to get the job and he picked up a win and save over the past seven days but the Royals also used Austin Cox and Dylan Coleman in save opportunities. Hernandez is the guy to own right now but keep an eye on the situation. Jhoan Duran had a massive week with three saves and is now up to 20 saves. Andres Munoz has settled in as the Mariners closer with two saves this week. Gregory Santos has moved into the closer's role with Liam Hendricks out, Reynaldo Lopez traded to LAA, and Kendall Graveman traded to HOU.
Players to add this week:
SS Brayan Rocchio(CLE)- Brayan Rocchio has a little bit more fantasy appeal given his skillset. Rocchio hit .291 with 3 HR, 64 R, 52 RBI, and 19 SB in 89 Triple-A games. He has plus plate skills (12% K and 12% BB) and despite 3 HR, he has enough power to hit double-digits in the majors over a full season. He has the profile of a .270 AVG with 10 HR/20 SB which is mixed-league playable.
OF Adam Duvall (BOS)- Adam Duvall is playing regularly and batting 5th for the Red Sox. On the year, he is hitting .242 with 9 HR, 26 R, 29 RBI, and 4 SB in 48 GP. He strikeouts out too much (30% K) which is going to lead to a lower batting average but he will hit for power. His quality of contact has been strong (12% Barrels and 38% Hardhit). Add in that he hits 55% FB and he should provide home runs for your fantasy team. This is a power-first profile so if you are trying to maintain a batting average I would look elsewhere.
OF Matt Wallner (MIN)- Matt Wallner isn't going to hit for a high average because of his strikeout rate (30% K) but he is going to get on base (10 % BB and .375 OBP) and hit for power (.288 ISO). His power profile is legit (17% Barrels, 49% Hardhit, 47% FB, and 113 mph maxEV). Wallner should get regular at-bats, especially against RHP while Byron Buxton is on the IL.
SS Luis Rengifo (LAA)- Luis Rengifo has been the Angels' leadoff hitter for the past two weeks. He is also going to keep playing regularly even with Brandon Drury back because SS Zach Neto went on the 10-day IL. Rengifo is hitting .230 with 11 HR, 42 R, 34 RBI, and 5 SB. His batting average is low for his plate skills (11% BB and 20% K) and quality of contact (7% Barrels and 36% Hardhit). The issue is that he is much better against left-handed pitching (.257 AVG/101 wRC+) compare to right-handed pitching (.225 AVG/78 wRC+). Batting leadoff and playing regularly is enough to pick up in the short term.
RP Carlos Hernandez (KCR)-The Royals dealt Scott Barlow at the deadline which opened up the closer's role for Hernandez. He has a 3.60 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 22% K:BB. Hernandez has the skills to be a closer and the opportunity is there. Unfortunately, there may not be many save chances though.
RP Gregory Santos (CWS)- The White Sox traded away their top two candidates to replace Liam Hendricks in Reynaldo Lopez and Kendall Graveman. That leaves an opportunity for Gregory Santos to take over as the closer. He has a 2.75 ERA and 1.28 WHIP with 18% K:BB. He has been good this year but doesn't have a traditional closer's profile (23% K, 5% BB, and 53% GB).
SP Kutter Crawford (BOS)- Kutter Crawford has a 3.62 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 19% K:BB through 82 IP. His recent transition to the rotation has gone well. He has a 3.68 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 18% K:BB since becoming a starter at the beginning of June. If Crawford is still available he needs to be picked up.
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