MASH Report (2/14/13)

Quite a few updates since pitchers and catchers have reported. If you are short on time, the big four updates are with Ryan Madson, Frank Francisco, Grant Balfour and Howie Kendrick.

Recent injury data

 • Grant Balfour is out 4-6 weeks with a meniscus tear in his knee. Ryan Cook could get a couple early season Saves.

 • Ryan Madson will not be ready for the season’s start. Don’t pay too much for Saves from him, but he may be a nice buy low candidate as other owners may be completely scared off.

 • Frank Francisco can’t throw right now. No word on a return timetable, but he will likely start the season on the DL. Looks like Bobby Parnell will get the first shot as the Mets closer. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the bullpen shakes out.

 • Howie Kendrick has off season surgery on his elbow. He was able to play through the pain during 2012. Playing through an injury usually sap’s a players power and it may have with Kendrick. He was projected by Marcels to have .149 ISO in 2012. Instead, he posted a career low ISO of .113. I expect him to out perform his projections and should be marked as a buy low candidate.

 • Scott Baker may not be ready by opening day. Cubs will not rush him back.

 • Johnny Cueto reports he has recovered completely from a pulled muscle which limited him to 8 pitches in the postseason.

The 19-game winner said on Wednesday that he’s had no lingering problems from the pulled muscles in his right side that knocked him out of the playoff opener in San Francisco. “I feel good,” Cueto said. “I feel 100 percent.”

We should know more on his health as he plans on pitching in the WBC

 • Michael Kohn is ready to return in 2013 after TJS in 2012. He could be an interesting pickup in deep/hold leagues. He had crazy strikeout numbers in the minors and Oliver has him at 9.6 K/9. If he gets the walks down (projected at 4.8 BB/9), he could be a great cheap bullpen pickup.

 • Dustin McGowan is hurt again. This time it is his shoulder. I see no real upside in rostering him in any format until he has a clean bill of health.

 • Nick Masset is a ways off from returning. He is a non-factor in fantasy baseball right now.

 • Felipe Paulino was the first player officially placed on the DL in 2013. Alex Rodriguez became the second.

 • Felix Doubront and Craig Breslow are lacking strength and have discomfort.

 • Joel Peralta hurt his neck getting sandwiches in his Camaro.

 • Clay Buchholz suffered a hamstring injury, but is only expected to miss a few days.

 • Carl Crawford hopes to be ready by opening day.

 • Johan Santana feels good.

 • Brett Anderson is ready for his first full season since 2009.

 • C.J. Wilson won’t have any limitations in spring training.

 • Jorge de la Rosa finally feeling 100% healthy. He wasn’t close to being healthy when he came back from TJS last season.

 • A reader requested an update on Carlos Quentin and all I could find was he has lost 10-15 pounds.

Player Return Timetables

Name	Injury	Injury/Surgery Date	Early Return Date	Later Return date	Status	Source(s)
Scott Baker	TJS	4/17/12	Late March	May	Throwing off mound	(1)
Grant Balfour	Knee	2/14/13	Late March	Middle April	Rest	(1)
Brandon Beachy	TJS	6/21/12	Mid June	Mid June	Playing Catch	(1)
Jeremy Bonderman	TJS	04/24/12	Late March	Late March	Healthy	(1)
Tim Byrdak	Shoulder Surgery	07/01/13	Early July	Early July	Bullpen Sessions	(1)
Chris Carpenter	Nerve	02/05/13	September	Retire	Rest	(1)
Andrew Cashner	Thumb laceration	1/25/13	May	May	Rest	(1)
Carl Crawford	TJS	8/23/12	Late April	Early March	Throwing	(1)
Scott Diamond	Elbow Surgery	10/1/12	Early April	Early May	Unknown	(1)
Kyle Drabek	TJS	6/19/12	Mid Season	Mid Season	Unknown	(1)
Danny Duffy	TJS	6/13/12	Late May/Early June	All Star Game	Playing Catch	(1)
Neftali Feliz	TJS	8/1/12	July	August	Playing Catch	(1)
Frank Francisco	Elbow	2/14/13	April	Unknown	Rest	(1)
Corey Hart	Right knee surgery	1/26/13	Late April	Late May	Rest	(1)
Daniel Hudson	TJS	7/9/12	July	July	Playing Catch	(1)
Drew Hutchison	TJS	08/08/12	August	October	Rehabilitation	(1)
Derek Jeter	Fractured Left Ankle	10/1/12	Late March	Late March	Fielding	(1)
Ryan Kalish	Shoulder Surgery	1/25/13	Early April	Unknown	Rest	(1)
Matt Kemp	Shoulder	8/1/12	Late March	Late March	Light Training	(1)
Colby Lewis	Elbow Surgery	7/1/12	Late May	July	Throwing	(1)
Francisco Liriano	Broken humerus	12/1/12	Early April	Late May	Rest	(1)
Cory Luebke	TJS	5/23/12	July	July	Unknown	(1)
Ryan Madson	TJS	04/11/12	April	May	Rest	(1)
Nick Masset	Shoulder Surgery	09/07/12	Unknown	Unknown	Throwing	(1)
Brian McCann	Torn labrum	7/4/12	Mid April	May	Running and throwing	(1)
Logan Morrison	Knee	9/1/12	Late March	Late April	Light Training	(1)
Charlie Morton	TJS	06/21/12	June	Unknown	Throwing	(1)
Juan Oviedo	TJS	09/06/12	September	2014	Rest	(1)
Felipe Paulino	TJS	7/3/12	Early July	Early July	Unknown	(1)
Carl Pavano	Ruptured spleen	1/25/13	Late March	Mid April	Rest	(1)
Mike Pelfrey	TJS	05/01/12	Late March	Late March	Throwing	(1)
Michael Pineda	Shoulder Surgery	5/1/12	June	Early July	Rest	(1)
Alex Rodriguez	Hip surgery	1/16/13	Early July	2014 season	Rest	(1)
CC Sabathia	Bone Spur	10/1/12	Late March	Late March	Throwing	(1)
George Sherrill	TJS	5/1/11	Late April	May	Bullpen Sessions	(1)
Joakim Soria	TJS	4/2/12	Late May	Early June	Playing Catch	(1)
Eric Surkamp	TJS	07/24/12	Late July	September	Unknown
Tsuyoshi Wada	TJS	05/11/12	Late March	Early July	Unknown	(1)(2)
Josh Tomlin	TJS	08/22/12	August	2014	Rest	(1)
Joe Wieland	TJS	07/27/12	Early August	2014	Catch	(1)
Brian Wilson	TJS	4/19/12	Unknown	Unknown	Not ready to pitch	(1)
Randy Wolf	TJS	10/30/12	2014	2014	Rest	(1)

Players Returning From Injury

Players Playing Through Injuries

Name	Injury	Source
Hanley Ramirez	Shoulder	(1)

Here is the list of players who should exceed their power projections for 2013:

Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Howard, Cameron Maybin, Trevor Plouffe, Justin Upton, Paul Konerko, Dustin Pedroia, Luke Scott, Matt Kemp, Joey Votto, Mike Moustakas, Pablo Sandoval, Carl Crawford, Giancarlo Stanton, Jacoby Ellsbury, Evan Longoria, and Troy Tulowitzki. New additions: Matt LaPorta and Howie Kendrick