• Jurickson Profar will miss 10 to 12 weeks with a shoulder tear with some baseball activities beginning in four to six weeks. The Rangers middle infield situation is a mess with Elvis Andrus (sore forearm) also hurt. The Rangers should be making some announcements today as they figure out how they will fill the 2B gap for at least half the season.
• Manny Machado will start the season on the DL and will be ready “… sometime in April” according to Buck Showalter.
Preseason injuries have hit the Texas Rangers pretty hard, and Jurickson Profar is the latest member of the team to suffer one.
Jurickson Profar will miss 10 to 12 weeks with a torn muscle in his shoulder. #Rangers
— Jeff Wilson (@JeffWilson_FWST) March 23, 2014
First things first. If you’ve already drafted, it will be time to hit the waiver wire once the season starts and Profar is eligible to be moved to your DL slot. If Profar was filling your second base slot, here is a list of names from which you should look to replace him in order of my preference (I realize some of these guys will not be available depending on the depth of your league): Anthony Rendon, Kelly Johnson, Marco Scutaro, Marcus Semien. And if you had Profar in your middle infield slot, here is a list of potential replacements that includes shortstops: Brad Miller, Rendon, Alcides Escobar, Johnson, Scutaro, Zack Cozart, Erick Aybar, Semien. The list of candidates to replace Profar in Texas is fairly long and uninspiring at this point, but in the event that they go with prospect Rougned Odor (unlikely), those of you in keeper leagues might consider a stash.
It’s no surprise that the list of acceptable replacements is thin, but this is also a good time to talk about the state of second base as we head into the last week of fantasy drafts. It would seem that there are four clear tiers of second basemen. Below is a chart showing the four tiers along with each player’s ADP on ESPN.com. Read the rest of this entry »
A few years ago I broke down the disabled list (DL) chances for starting pitchers (39%). I have finally gotten around to making an initial stab at relief pitcher DL values.
The initial problem I have with relief pitchers is defining them. I didn’t want to be looking at pitchers who split their time between a relief and starting role. I decided the pitchers needed to have at least 95% of their appearances as a reliever. Also, I didn’t know what to set the minimum innings limit to. Here is a chart of the DL% depending on the number of innings pitched the previous season. Matched season data from 2002-2003 to 2012-2013 was used.
Read the rest of this entry »
• A cascade of pitcher injuries has happened the past few days. Here are a couple of links looking what can be done to help prevent injuries.
While these injuries seemed to happen all at once, the pitchers did have a chance to end up injured.
Name: DL%, extra injury indicator
Patrick Corbin: 30%
Parker: 30%, low Zone%
Medlen: 40%
Beachy: Never re-established himself after TJS. About 30% pitchers never do.
If it feels like you have spent every moment of Spring Training 2014 hoping that the next article you read is not about a pitcher you own (or one who plays for your favorite MLB team), you are not alone. The Braves have been hard hit, but they are not the only ones, and the latest pitcher to go down hit close to home for me.
Patrick Corbin has been a personal favorite for about a year now. It was just over two months ago that I implored you all to buy on Corbin and since I only give advice that I intend to take myself, the Diamondback hurler has found his way onto the majority of my teams. This seemed like a great thing until the last 24 hours or so, and suddenly I am left trying to figure out what to do with him.
• Kris Medlen looks to be out at least a couple of months for a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
Medlen underwent an MRI exam on Monday that showed damage around the ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow. A stress X-ray conducted on Tuesday provided a stronger indication that the ligament damage will need to be surgically repaired.
A definitive decision will likely be made within the next two days. The process has been slowed due to the fact that Dr. James Andrews, who performed Medlen’s Tommy John surgery in 2010, is among the contingent of orthopedic surgeons currently attending a conference in New Orleans.
“That stress X-ray is not definitive, but it did probably confirm what he was fearing — that there is a high likelihood he will have to have another Tommy John,” Braves general manager Frank Wren said.
More information will be available today (maybe even before this article runs).
• Kris Medlen experienced a right forearm strain during his last outing. He was not yet to the 400-600 IP point where Tommy John pitchers begin having a second round of injuries (2013 The Hardball Times Annual). More information on the injuries extent will be available later today.
• Cole Hamels looks to miss even more time with “fatigue”.
Cole Hamels suffers setback. Said he is fatigued. No pain in shoulder. But obviously not good news. Wouldn’t say if he could pitch in April.
Holy cow, a ton of news to catch up on so let’s get started.
• Johnny Cueto hasn’t lost the twist, but he says he is feeling good.
Besides going through the normal injuries, I decided to give a detailed injury outlook for a starting pitcher. Today’s pitcher is Clay Buchholz (a Paul Swydan request), but please let me know if you want anyone else. I am now sure how many I will have time for in the future, but I will try.
• Josh Hamilton may not be ready to go for the regular season after injuring his ankle.
Asked if he believes Hamilton will get enough Spring Training action to be ready to go by Opening Day on March 31, Scioscia said: “Under the guidelines we’ve been given, he should, but this thing has to heal on its own terms and we’ll just see where this leads.”
Hamilton is so frustrating. I am glad someone else usually believes in him (and Matt Kemp) more than me during drafts, so I don’t have to live with the fustration.