Not a lot of injury news over the last few days. A couple of pitchers return from the DL and couple of hitters fighting through injuries.
• Jered Weaver had seven strikeouts and no walks against the Dodgers last night in his return. His velocity was up, but not to 2011 or early 2012 levels.
Today, I will look at quite a few pitchers coming back from the DL, a couple pitchers missing starts and some hitters trying to play through injuries.
• John Danks made his first start since early 2012 on Friday. His velocity is low, but not to some pre-surgery levels
Lots of pitcher news today. Five pitchers coming back from the DL and a few others dealing with injuries.
• Johnny Cueto returned from the DL and had a bit of an issue finding the strike zone. I covered him in detail earlier in the week for the main site. His velocity seems fine for now and it will be interesting to see if he eventually fixes the twist in his pitching motion.
Batters always seem to heat once summer rolls around. While some players may like to play in the summer versus the cooler months, the warmer weather also increases hitter production. Over the the rest of the year, our authors will be giving our readers a heads up for any possible games which may be hitter or pitcher friendly.
Weather has a significant effect on the distance a ball travels. In his book, the Physics of Baseball, Robert K. Adair noted a 10 degree temperature increase leads to an extra four feet on a 400-foot fly ball and each one mile per hour following wind speed means an extra three feet. For example, a fly ball hit at Wrigley field will travel 38 feet further on a day with the wing blowing out five mph and at 80 degrees versus an early spring day when the wind is blowing in five mph and the temperature is 60 degrees. This information shouldn’t be used to start Wade Davis over King Felix, but if an owner is deciding between a couple of similar players, it could be used as a tie-breaker.
Just one pitcher coming back from the DL to check velocity on, so I dug a little deeper into a few other players.
• One of favorite setup men, Vinnie Pestano, returned from the disabled list. His fastball velocity is off a couple mph from appearances earlier in the season.
A little light on the injury news front. I will look at one pitcher coming back from the DL and the Zone% values for DL pitchers.
• Zack Greinke returned from his post fight DL trip. He struck out four batters, walked none in just over five innings of work. A couple of signs point to him not being 100% though. First, the 29-year-old’s average fastball is down 1.5 mph from last season.
Another few days, a few more injuries. I have three pitchers coming off the DL to examine. Also, I am going to look at a few players dealing with injuries.
• Francisco Liriano’s first start was outstanding with a 9 Ks in 5.1 innings. His velocity was consistent with previous seasons.
This week I will examine three pitchers coming off the DL and the 10 starting pitchers with the lowest 2013 Zone% values.
• Chris Capuano (calf) is back from the DL and his first start was far from stellar, 4 IP, 2K, 2BB, 2HR, 6 runs. His velocity seemed fine.
This week I will examine a few items, a couple pitchers making rehab starts, a couple pitchers returning from the disabled list, a couple pitchers with large velocity drops and a few hitters dealing with recent back injuries.
• Francisco Liriano and John Danks are making rehab starts. John Danks is throwing his fastball at 87 to 90 mph. These values are at or below his 2012 average value of 90.1 mph.
This week I will examine one pitcher returning from the D.L., four hitters struggling through injuries, two pitcher requests and a pitcher injury I was too late in covering.
• Joel Hanrahan’s post-DL velocity seems fine after two appearances.