MASH Report with Velocities (3/12/15)

Marcus Stroman will miss all of the 2015 season with a torn ACL. Sadly, there is just nothing to discuss about him until he returns next year. The Blue Jays talked about some of the options for his rotation spot.

Right-hander Aaron Sanchez immediately jumps to the forefront of that discussion as he’ll likely compete with right-hander Marco Estrada and left-hander Daniel Norris for the final two spots on the staff.

“Our plan for Sanchez was always the same,” general manager Alex Anthopoulos insisted Tuesday afternoon. “I think it certainly gives him a better opportunity to start but we still have Estrada being stretched out, still have Norris being stretched out, still have the remainder of camp.

• The earliest Chris Sale could be ready for the season is April 12th. It could take longer.

Chris Capuano will miss an unknown amount of time on the DL with a quad strain. The Yankees are looking at several options for his replacement.

With Capuano’s projected return date unknown at this time, Girardi mentionedAdam Warren, Esmil Rogers, Bryan Mitchell and non-roster invitee Scott Baker as part of the group that will continue to make Grapefruit League starts.Chase Whitley has also started this spring.

I like Warren out of the group listed, but I am not sure how he will transition from the bullpen to being a starter.

Masahiro Tanaka will finally get a start today. I plan on looking at his start for my Friday’s Quick Looks post.

• I would would not expect any production out of Cliff Lee this season.

Lee threw a bullpen session in the morning, a few days after an MRI exam reconfirmed a tear in his common flexor tendon. Lee entered Spring Training feeling fine after a winter of rehab, but the discomfort in his elbow returned following a start last Thursday.
…..
Lee, 36, is trying to test the elbow to see if he can pitch through it. If he cannot, season-ending surgery is the next option, although Lee has not said if he would have surgery to continue his career.

Even if he does pitch, his production could be horrible.

• Initially it was assumed Michael Saunders would miss half the season, but now he may be ready by Opening Day.

Omar Infante is dealing with shoulder elbow pain and is only 80%. He played through this injury last season and hit horribly (2014 76 wRC+ after a 117 wRC+ in 2013). I would not expect much from him this season and in deep leagues may consider picking up Christian Colon.

Jacob Turner will begin the season on the DL win elbow issues.

Cubs pitcher Jacob Turner has a mild flexor strain and bone bruise on his right elbow and will likely open the season on the disabled list.

Turner, whom the Cubs acquired in a trade with the Marlins for two Minor League pitchers last August, underwent an MRI which revealed the problems. The test showed that Turner does not have any ligament damage. He will get a second opinion.

Josh Edgin will be out for a while because of an ailing elbow. Tommy John surgery may be in his future.

Tim Collins is officially done for the season.

• So is Brandon Cumpton who also had TJS.

• Ben Lindbergh at Grantland looked at players who declared they were in the Best Shape of His Life and found the following:

So what can we conclude? Being a best-shaper isn’t a magic bullet, but it’s not necessarily as meaningless as the reflexive jokes suggest. BSOHL position players don’t hit any better than expected, but they do tend to beat their playing-time projections and potentially play better on defense. BSOHL pitchers, meanwhile, seem to enjoy a genuine advantage. By the standards of most stories out of spring training, that makes being in better shape big news.

Velocity Readings from Injured Pitchers

Velocity is one of the few spring training stats which is extremely reliable which Mike Fast (now with the Astros) discovered a few years back at Baseball-Prospectus. Here are some values of interest.

From Pitchf/x stadium (homes of Royals, Rangers, Padres and Mariners). The values are mph increases or decreases.

Gainers
Jesse Hahn +4
Adam Ottavino +1.5

Same
Carlos Carrasco
Taijuan Walker
Jesse Chavez
Neftali Feliz
Ian Kennedy
Robbie Erlin
Jeremy Guthrie
Brandon Finnegan
Yordano Ventura
Odrisamer Despaigne
Fernando Rodney
Erasmo Ramirez
David Hale

Iffy
Brandon Morrow -1.5

Losers
Greg Holland -2
Yusmeiro Petit -2
Wade Davis -3 (Was ok in first appearance)

From Twitter searches

Kyle Gibson is trying to ramp up his velocity.

Kyle Crick’s prospect status is taking a bit of a hit.

Justin Verlander hasn’t gotten his velocity back after his core surgery.

Players with Injuries Going into 2015

(*) 15 Day Disabled List
(**) 60 Day Disabled List
(***) 7 Day Concussion List
(****) Free Agent
Red colored entries are updates since last report.





Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.

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Lenardmember
9 years ago

Jesse Hahn at +4?! Could that be a product of a hot gun?

Lenardmember
9 years ago
Reply to  Jeff Zimmerman

Interesting. I wasn’t doubting it, I’ve just never seen a jump that high. Considering Hahn is already fragile, do you think it significantly increases his chances for injury?

Matthew
9 years ago
Reply to  Jeff Zimmerman

I just looked at it more.His velocity started at 95mph the first couple games last year before settling in at around 91

Matthew
9 years ago
Reply to  Lenard

I am wondering this too. If Hahn is throwing 95, he would be more interesting