Robinson Cano and Ian Kinsler have disappointed at the top, but second base has been full of solid performances. Below I’ve taken a stab at the top 15 for rest-of-season value. For the record, Joe Panik (148 wRC+) and Logan Forsythe (136 wRC+) were the toughest omissions. Statistics through June 10.
Agenda
Episode 50 -Despite What People Said
The latest episode of “Field of Streams” is live!
In this episode, Dylan Higgins and Matthew Dewoskin discuss Matt finding air conditioner service, reaching the milestone of 50 episodes, Matt refusing to be interested in Kurt Suzuki, finding a Phillies hitter worth attention in DFS, wanting more from Brett Lawrie, remembering the useful Tommy Milone, enjoying Bartolo Colon’s at-bats, trying to assess Felix Hernandez’s potential in his start against the Astros, taking the weekend off, and trying to guess Matt’s Field of Streams picks.
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The showdown between the No. 2 ranked USWNT and the No. 5 ranked Swedish side takes place tonight at 8 pm eastern. I’m hopeful to see another US victory, but the Swedish attack looked very strong in their opening match and the US defense was shaky at times.
On today’s agenda:
1. Adam Lind is still hitting, still available
2. Eugenio Suarez gets the call
3. Mat Latos returns tomorrow
4. Streaming Pitching Options
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The latest out of the Bronx on Andrew Miller indicates that the southpaw could miss up to a month on the disabled list while recovering from a forearm strain. Miller will be shut down for about two weeks before starting a throwing program with the hopes of returning in about four weeks. Like we discussed yesterday, Dellin Betances jumps into ninth-inning action for the Yankees and we can probably have a fair discussion that he also jumps into the top spot in our reliever rankings until Miller returns from the shelf.
Episode 240
The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live!
In this episode, Paul Sporer and Eno Sarris start off with injury news about Andrew Miller, Ryan Zimmerman, Miguel Gonzalez, and Zack Cozart. For player performances, they talk about some deeper league guys in Kyle Gibson, Chris Coghlan, Stephen Drew, and Chris Heston before finishing up with some call-ups: Mason Williams, Jorge Polanco, Kyle Kubitza, and Taylor Jungmann.
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• Andrew Miller is on the DL with an elbow strain.
“He told us after the game [Tuesday] night. I guess he’s been experiencing it for a little bit and he told us last night, so we had an MRI this morning, we got the results later today,” Gir-ardi said. “He won’t throw the ball for 10 days to two weeks, and then you go from there.”
Girardi emphasized that the ligament itself is healthy, which he and Miller both found en-couraging. It’s the muscle that has a small strain in it.
Sounds like no Tommy John surgery, but I expect him to be out at least a month as he rests and then gets back into shape.
• Matt Holliday is headed to the DL with a quad strain.
“We got the MRI results, and it looks like it’s a Grade 2 strain,” manager Mike Matheny said before the second game of the three-game set with the Rockies. “We’ll take those 15 days and reevaluate.”
….“With Matt Adams, his was higher up the leg and you’ll also recall that it was torn completely,” said General Manager John Mozeliak, overseeing the Draft in St. Louis. “[Holliday’s] is not a complete tear at all. It’s much milder than that. It’s really something that can heal [without surgery].”
Sounds like 15 days rest and then the team will look to see how he has progressed. Finally he will begin rehab. I think his owners should expect him to miss at least a month.
Continuing with my line of Sam Hill pieces, Garrett Richards has frustrated owners who waited out his early season recovery from knee surgery. After posting a dazzling 2.61 ERA (2.60 FIP), 1.04 WHIP, and 24.2% strikeout rate over 168.2 innings in 2014, he’s been on again, off again and one absolute drubbing in 2015. Right now, his line of 4.14 ERA (4.06 FIP), 1.31 WHIP, and 19% strikeout rate isn’t terrible, but he’s pretty much standing at the cliff in terms of trade value. One more ugly start and his name recognition will be overshadowed by miserable counting stats. So the question is, should you hold or target him?
We’re nearing mid-June and you’re languishing in eighth place. Your sleepers have not panned out as a group and you were dealt some tough injuries in April. What? Now Andrew Miller is headed to the DL, too? That’s OK, he was your backup plan to Dellin Betances in the first place so you still have an elite closer in Betances since you drafted both guys. But that offense… whattya gonna do about that offense?
Sitting near the bottom of the standings around this time of the year can feel hopeless. I mean, being 38 points out of first place feels insurmountable. After all, we’re definitely no longer at the “start” of the season and we are no longer seeing 20-point shifts by teams in the standings on a daily basis. And yet there is still a ton of time left in the season. Even enough to overcome a 38-point deficit. Of course, if you find yourself behind this 8-ball (or 38-ball, amirite?), standing pat probably isn’t the move.
Because fantasy owners are always chasing the save, I’ve identified a few situations where a setup man is pitching better than the closer. These setup men can be added both as a prospective source of saves and as a minor boost in the ratio categories and strikeouts. If you have a rotating spot at the bottom of your roster, these guys are candidates to fill it. Read the rest of this entry »