MASH Report (2/21/13)

Russell Carleton wrote a good article on what traits are common for injured pitchers. The leading cause to no surprise was past injuries.

Recent injury data

• Dustin Ackley had off season surgery to remove some bone spurs which were bothering him. The injury could have been part of the cause of his struggles last season. Marcels projected him to produce .276/.349/.427 in 2012 while he only hit .226/.294/.328. If the bone spurs were really bothering him, he looks to be a player to out perform his 2013 projections.

 • Lorenzo Cain strained his right hand, but looks to be back soon. Cain spent two stints on the DL last season for a strained groin and hamstring. Keep an eye on this injury because his replacement would be stolen base accumulator Jarrod Dyson.

 • Matt Thornton reported elbow inflammation. While he has closed in Chicago in the past, I would not count on him getting the chance this year.

First, his fastball took a 1-2 MPH dive last season.

Also, the 36-year-old lefty has recently struggled getting out right-handed hitters and is basically a LOOGY.

2012 Stats
vs. LHH: 5.0 K/BB, 0.3 HR/9,
vs. RHH: 1.8 K/BB, 0.9 HR/9

 • Albert Pujols will not play until mid-March, but plans on being ready for opening day. This news does not move him out of the top 10 or so picks. If I was torn between Pujols and another player, I would go with the other player as Pujols may miss some time and still be hampered by the injury.

 • Matt Garza is expected to miss only a week with a oblique/lat strain. With last season’s injury and this one, I would be leery of paying too much for him on draft/auction day.

 • Phil Hughes is dealing with a bulging disk, but plans to be back pitching within a couple of weeks. Back injuries give me caution with both pitchers and hitters.

 • Daniel Murphy was sent to New York after pain in his ribs. He got a cortisone shot and should be ready to go in a day or two.

 • Brian Cashman stated Alex Rodriguez will be back by the All-Star break yesterday on Clubhouse Confidential (4:00 mark). I will take the over right now.

 • Rafael Furcal will miss some time because his elbow hasn’t yet healed. He had the problem before the end of last season and did nothing about it. The news makes he pretty much un-roster-able. Instead of a being a declining useless vet, he is now an injured declining useless vet.

 • Shelby Miller was shutdown with shoulder tightness. Keep track to see how the shoulder reacts the next time he takes the mound.

 • Matt Capps should be pitching in games within a week or two. All is good for now.

 • Wilson Ramos plans on being ready for opening day after tearing his ACL last May. He is Kurt Suzuki’s back up, so he doesn’t have much of fantasy value.

 • Tsuyoshi Wada is throwing off the mound and expects to be back in May or June (h/t to Joelskil)

 • Daniel Hudson (TJS) and Ryan Kalish (shoulder surgery) were both officially placed on the 60-day DL.

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)
Lance Berkman	Knee	10/1/12	Late April	Mid March	Working out	(1)
Jeremy Bonderman	TJS	04/24/12	Late March	Late March	Healthy	(1)
Tim Byrdak	Shoulder Surgery	07/01/12	Early July	Early July	Bullpen Sessions	(1)
Edwar Cabrera	Shoulder	08/01/12	Mid March	Unknown	Unknown	(1)
Chris Carpenter	Nerve	02/05/13	September	Retire	Rest	(1)
Andrew Cashner	Thumb laceration	1/25/13	Late March	May	Rest	(1)
Carl Crawford	TJS	8/23/12	Early March	Late April	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)
Mat Gamel	Knee	2/18/13	2014	2014	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)
Wilson Ramos	ACL	5/1/12	Late March	Late March	Catching	(1)
Alex Rodriguez	Hip surgery	1/16/13	Early July	2014 season	Rest	(1)(2)
CC Sabathia	Bone Spur	10/1/12	Late March	Late March	Throwing	(1)
Johan Santana	Back		Late April	Middle March	Throwing off mound	(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	(1)
Tsuyoshi Wada	TJS	05/11/12	May	Jun	Throwing off mound	(1)
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)
Delmon Young	Right ankle	10/1/12	Mid April	Early May	Rest	(1)

Players Returning From Injury

Name	Injury	Source
Hanley Ramirez	Shoulder	(1)

Players Playing Through Injuries

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: Dustin Ackley, Matt LaPorta and Howie Kendrick