Howdy, folks!
Oh how joyous it is to have baseball back! Lineups galore need setting! Waiver wire races have already started! What a time of year.
I’m just glad some of these injured guys have finally hit the IL so I can stash them and scoop up some replacements. Pretty peeved that some guys didn’t hit IL until it was too late to do anything about it for Opening Day.
I hope you had a successful first couple of days. Mine was a mixed bag, but I’m ready for Byron Buxton to go so ham. I know it’s easy to fall victim to inflated hype, but how can you not love this guy for fantasy? If healthy, of course; I imagine he’ll find his way into one of these updates sooner or later…
Alrighty, enough blathering. Let’s get yinz caught up:
Adalberto Mondesi: Welllllllllll. This is the part where you sit and endure victory laps by all the people who told you not to draft him. Thing is, this could have happened to anyone — it just happened to have happened to the most polarizing figure in all of fantasy sports. Mondesi has an oblique strain, which for now is slated to keep him out a couple weeks. That’s not too bad, all things considered, it’s just scary cuz obliques can get re-aggravated any ol’ time. I have one Mondesi share, but it’s not in a league I have any money on. I am firmly in camp “he’s worth his price,” but I’m also a little bit in camp “I’m not sure I’m willing to pay it.” I’m not going to draft-shame you for picking him and now having to suffer for it. I sympathize, I empathize, I recognize. And again, the bright side is he shouldn’t miss too much time. He’ll more than make up for it if he’s back to full speed in two-ish weeks.
Washington Nationals: As of writing this up, the Nationals have had three four positive COVID tests. Names haven’t been released. Of those three, one is showing symptoms. The entire team is quarantined from the sound of things, and it’s not clear at all when they’ll be able to finally start their season. The Nats may not be the best team in the NL East anymore, but they still pack loads of fantasy punch. It’s waiting game time, sadly. Getting a real early-2020 Marlins/Cardinals vibe here.
Nick Senzel: Senzel was injured in Cincy’s opener against St. Louis. He left after making a diving catch in the fourth, nursing his shoulder. Sounds like he’ll be back this weekend, though. He was batting in the 6-spot.
Trevor Rosenthal: Rosenthal went ham last year. Like, 41.8 K% and 35.2 (!) CSW% kind of ham. The Oakland closer gig is a very nice one to have, so an elite fantasy season would be well within T-Rose’s grasp. Buuuut, he got hurt. It’s his shoulder, and they don’t know how serious it is yet. Latest reports indicate he hasn’t even had an MRI; he’s just taken medicine for it. That seems like maybe not the best idea? But hey, I’m not a medical professional. Stay tuned, but either good news or bad news is on the way. I mean, duh. Jake Diekman and Sergio Romo are the guys you’ll want to own in the meantime.
Luke Voit: Just in time for the season to start, news came that ol’ Voity is outy. More like Luke Void, amirite? He tore something in his knee, had a lil’ ol’ surgery, and will be out for a few weeks. Maybe a mid-May-ish return? Jay Bruce is playing 1B in the meantime. Don’t slouch too hard on Old Man Bruce! He can still bop. The power is still there, and Yankee Stadium is a good HR park for lefties like Bruce. Just peep his ISO lately…a mark of .271 is quite good, and that’s where the ol’ geezer was just last year, but that .306 from 2019 is ridonk. All I’m saying is if you need HR, Bruce could help while Voit is out.
Trent Grisham: Grisham opened the year on the 10-day IL. I’m getting the vibe he’ll be back in action when those 10 days expire, but for now it’s Jurickson Profar and Jake Cronenworth seeing more time as a result of his absence. Both were productive on Opening Day. In a semi-related note, I’m curious to see what a strong start for Croney would do for Ha-Seong Kim‘s outlook…
Kyle Lewis: It was unclear whether he’d be ready for the start, but Lewis finally hit the IL. Sounds like a nasty bone bruise in his knee will keep him out around two weeks. Yet another sexy rookie OF in the Seattle system, Taylor Trammell, will see time due to the absence. Trammell would be a top OF prospect on most teams, but the M’s already have Julio Rodriguez and Jarred Kelenic. Trammell has great speed and solid hit/power tools. Could be a spitting image of Lewis in the boxscores, perhaps?
Tommy La Stella: The Star missed San Fran’s opener, even though it was reported he was healthy after a suffering a knee contusion toward the end of Spring Training. It was probably a matchup thing, given he’s noticeably more successful against RHP. I’m still a fan of his fantasy floor and the fact he’s eligible all over the place. I’d rather (and do) have David Fletcher, but The Star is a good consolation prize.
Michael Lorenzen: Lorenzen had a “setback” with his shoulder, thusly landing on the 10-day IL. Still not a clear timetable for a return, and this certainly isn’t encouraging news. So the Reds are definitely without both Lorenzen and Sonny Gray in the rotation for the foreseeable future. That means past Luis Castillo (who got ROCKED on Opening Day — go Cards!) and Tyler Mahle, they ain’t got a soul I’m paying any mind to in that rotation. Gray is out until mid-April and Lorenzen is a “who knows when.” Feast, NL Central bats; feast, I say!
Josh Donaldson: Oh, Josh Donaldson. The Stephen Strasburg of bats. Except really that’s Buxton, but Donaldson is making a fair case these days. Donaldson pulled up lame after running the bases in his first at-bat. It’s a hamstring issue, and Donaldson isn’t the type of guy who recovers quickly. Rocco Baldelli hinted at a fair level of concern after the game. I’d go add Luis Arraez everywhere you can if you need runs and batting average. And if Donaldson is set to miss a lengthy amount of time, you might consider stashing Alex Kirilloff away, since Arraez shifting to third opens up the LF slot. Jake Cave and/or Kyle Garlick will get looks there in the meantime, but this could just speed up Kirilloff getting the call-up.
Carlos Carrasco: Carrasco isn’t super close to returning, but he’s apparently progressing very, very well and is closer than originally thought. It’s still “week-to-week” according to Luis Rojas, but it’s all positive news so far. The initial estimate had him coming back sometime mid-May, but late April ain’t off the table at this point. I’m ready for Cookie to start crumbling some batter knees, ayoooo.
Jose Leclerc: Well, it was risky, but I drafted him a couple times. Now he’s gone and had Tommy John and will miss the entire year and probably a decent chunk of 2022 as well. Look for Ian Kennedy and Matt Bush to get closing reps until Jonathan Hernandez is back, and that’ll be a good long while.
Sixto Sanchez: The Marlins’ shining gem underwent an MRI yesterday for slight shoulder discomfort. He was already set to miss some time in order to get fully ramped up for the rigors of regular season baseball, but now we’ve hit a little roadblock. As of now, there’s nothing serious to report, but it does seem to me like a decently extended absence is forthcoming. All this does is set him back once again, so he’ll need to revamp his game strength once again. Gotta wait for Sixto to get Fixto. See what I did there? Proud of that one.
Toronto Blue Jays: Got some updates on a smattering of Blue Jays. George Springer is making great progress and could very well return when eligible late next week. Robbie Ray is throwing at full strength. And Nate Pearson threw off a mound yesterday, so it sounds like he’s progressing nicely as well.
Hunter Dozier: Dozier left Thursday’s game with thumb swelling. His status for today’s game isn’t 100%, so keep a close eye on any updates throughout the day. Doesn’t sound like anything that’ll keep him out long either way.
Find me on Twitter: @jkj0787. DMs are always open for questions, comments, concerns, complaints, etc. Odds are good I’m drinking black coffee, dark beer, or some form of bourbon at any given time.
