Currently Injured, Soon To Be Helpful?
The long baseball season tends to take a toll on bodies, but with just a handful of weeks remaining, there is hope to be had for those looking to replace injured players. Alternatively, some owners may be looking to scoop up a currently injured player to make a push in the final weeks. Every player listed has sub-50 percent ownership in Yahoo! formats — so maybe they’re available in your league. As always, for more injury news, Jeff Zimmerman’s MASH Report is excellent.
Matt Adams, 30 percent owned
Count me among those surprised to see Adams expected to play again this season. After experiencing a tear of his right quad, Jenifer Langosch reports Adams seems set to return to action around the first of September. I’d expect his playing time to come at the expense of Brandon Moss, as both are left-handed hitters, though Moss owners may not see a dip in his plate appearances as he can shift to the outfield.
Joe Panik, 41 percent owned
Currently on the 15-day disabled list due to lower back inflammation, he could be back in action as soon as September 3 for a series against the Rockies. If Panik is activated for the Rockies series, he’d have a full month of playing time for you. He’s hit almost exclusively from the No. 2 spot in the solid Giants lineup, so make sure to pick him up where available.
Steven Souza, 32 percent owned
My fondness of Souza is well known, so of course I had to mention him here. My pre-season 20-20 candidate pick, Souza’s season was sidelined after he broke his left hand thanks to a Joe Kelly pitch that tailed in, Souza should be back in a week or two. His 35.1 percent strikeout rate is tough to stomach in the rate stats department, but his 15 home runs and 10 steals are helpful. As with wrist injuries, broken hands worry me with power hitters, though the Rays opposing pitcher schedule isn’t too bad for him, squaring off against the relatively unintimidating rotations of the Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees a combined 19 times in the final weeks.
Marcus Stroman, 11 percent owned
Similar to Adams, I’m pleasantly surprised to see Stroman likely to play this season. When he underwent knee surgery back in March, myself and many others basically wrote off this season. Stroman and the Blue Jays clearly had other plans as he’s been aggressively rehabbing, with a likely September payoff for the effort. His minor league rehabbing has been geared towards starting over relieving, and despite the acquisition of David Price, the Jays do need help in the rotation. Stroman is expected to toss a simulated game on Saturday, and I’ll be picking him after his outing, assuming it goes well.
Steven Matz, 43 percent owned
A partial lat tear has kept Matz on the DL for six weeks now, however he is excepted to make his third rehab start overall and first at Double-A Binghamton today. If he doesn’t hit a setback, I’ll be looking to see him in the Mets rotation probably around the first of the month. Our own Eno Sarris speculated on the Mets going to a six man rotation, something I agree would make sense.
Rick Porcello, 27 percent owned
He’s making today’s start against the White Sox, so he’s not technically still injured, but I’m counting it because he was on the DL when I wrote this. Like Billy Beane in Moneyball, I’m a believer in the power of the ground ball. That said, Porcello’s 43.2 percent GB% is the lowest of his major league career. He’s relied on the four-seamer at a 30.68 percent clip (his highest rate) and his sinker at the second lowest frequency, a mere 34.34 percent thus far. Porcello has managed to post a higher swinging-strike rate and strikeout than his career average, so hopefully he can find a balance of generating whiffs and ground balls going forward.
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Please make a correction. Porcello is pitching against the White Sox today.
That’s what I get for reading and writing at the same time. Thanks, fixed!
(another correction) (Matz)
“…he is excepted to make his third rehab start…”
should read “…expected…”
Thanks for this! I’m in a massively deep league, so it’s nice to read about guys who are actually available (Porcello is, at least).
Just a quick FYI: Brandon Moss is already seeing big time cuts to playing time. I think he’ll be pinch hitting if Adams comes back.
For leagues like that, the deep league waiver wire pieces are best here at RotoGraphs by Karl de Vries.
There’s also the fact that Jon Jay is also expected back pretty soon, which will cut even further into Moss’s playing time, and that’s without even mentioning the eventual returns of Holliday and Grichuk. Any remaining Moss owners should’ve cut bait by now, and if you’re still holding on to the guy, there’s no time like the present to drop the dead weight.
FYI, the Cardinals are so ridiculously stacked in the OF that Moss is not likely to get that many starts there. Heyward, Piscotty, and Pham are going to get the bulk of the starts, with Bourjos being the late-game defensive replacement. (Matheny has an inexplicable distaste for playing Bourjos.) And they still have Holliday and Grichuk on the DL.
The interesting thing is what happens once those guys getting healthy. If Adams is up soon, Pham is almost certainly going to end up back in Memphis, but Piscotty has been pretty damn good and it seems doubtful that they’d play Moss over Piscotty in the OF very often, even against RHP. With Adams back, I suspect Moss is mostly going to be a pinch hitter. It would get even more interesting if all three of Holliday, Adams, and Grichuk came off the DL before the end of the regular season. In fact, if they didn’t have Moss signed thru 2016, you’d have to think a DFA would be a distinct possibility, because Moss has slashed a whopping .170/.291/.213 since the trade.
While I agree with the essence of your post, there are a couple of corrections to make. First, Pham isn’t going back to Memphis this year with expanded rosters on the horizon. Second, Moss is arb eligible for another year but not signed, so he almost certainly will be non-tendered, as the Cards aren’t going to pay that kind of money for an even worse left-handed Mark Reynolds (with an already crowded 2016 outfield even without Heyward) on the slim hope he recovers his former stroke (especially since they didn’t keep Craig or Masterson, and their new teams are paying for their foolishness).
By the way, don’t forget about Jay coming back as well. Also, Bourjos doesn’t get much playing time because he still hasn’t shown much ability with the bat (although still better than Moss) in his nearly two years in St. Louis. He’s been deservedly passed over by Jay, Grichuk, and Piscotty, and even Pham’s young potential is seen as a mostly better option at this point. Bourjos’s speed and defense (and not absolutely horrible bat) will keep him in the Majors for a while, but he’ll never hit enough to be a starter on a contending team.
Thoughts on Wainwright?
He’s going to be throwing from a mound in the beginning of next month. Until that happens, I’m skeptical at him being able to contribute much this season.
Even if Waino comes back this year, it will be in the bullpen with very little of the regular season left (although we all remember how things turned out the last time he pitched in the bullpen during the playoffs back in 2006, right?). He’s not worth anything in fantasy leagues.
Well, yearly fantasy leagues, anyway. He’s still a pretty good keeper option.
better to hold onto jose Fernandez in my DL slot or pick up stroman now?
I’m holding Fernandez
I’d take Stroman. Miami has no reason to push Fernandez back into the rotation.