This week, “Beef” Welington Castillo took a foul ball right to his “beef.” Which made me question — do major league baseball players ever wear cups? Especially catchers? I know they’re awkward, bulky and uncomfortable, but the alternative is genital mutilation. (This has to be the first genital mutilation reference on Razzball, right? Wait…Grey must have written it at least once.) When I was a kid playing baseball it felt like I was always taught that a cup was the most important piece of equipment I had to wear. The older kids would tell horror stories about coaches who would do cup checks by letting a bat pendulum swing into your crotch. While wearing a cup and jock strap as a kid was an uncomfortable experience, the fear of a sadistic sociopath of a coach crushing my manhood was much worse.
Matt Andriese , SP, Groin Strain.
This injury is seeming to be a minor one so Andriese could return on Saturday. He is in the midst of a pretty nice, cheap season. He’s allowed three earned runs or less in eight of his 10 starts so far this year, however, he has struggled to pitch late into games which limits his overall production. Hopefully this groin strain doesn’t continue to inhibit him. Stash or Trash: Stash. Fill In: Since you’re only going to need someone for one start [Player]Mike Foltynewicz[/player] (14.5% | 57.2 IP, 3 wins, 51 K, 3.90 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) could be a good option. On June 7th, Folty will face off with the Phillies who rank 26th in runs scored.
Justin Bour, 1B, Bone Bruise in Ankle
This injury does seem like it is going to keep Bour out for more than the 10 day minimum. He is currently tied with Ryan Zimmerman[/player\ and [player]Scott Schebler for the NL-lead in HR with 16. On May 8th, after an 0 for 4 day, Bour found himself with a season low batting average of .219, only 4 HR and a real existential crisis. Since that day, Bour has been the hottest hitter in baseball hitting 12 HR, 17 runs, 23 RBI with a .388 average in 24 games. Stash or Trash: Easy stash. Fill In: Lucas Duda (22% | 15 runs, 10 HR, 21 RBI, 0 SB, .269 AVG) Duda that dude who could end up with 40+ HR if he has a healthy season, but he doesn’t know how to have a healthy season. After only have 4 HR over his first 21 games of the season, Duda has hit 6 over his last 14 games. With Cespedes nearing a return, it is safe to imagine Duda’s numbers getting even better.
Welington Castillo , C/OF, Ball to Ball
Hello! A Didi Gregorius foul ball bounced up into Castillo’s undercarriage on Tuesday, May 30th. A really unfortunate circumstance for a guy nicknamed “Beef.” As of June 3rd, the reports are that Castillo is going to be appearing in rehab games next week. Hopefully he’ll be sporting two cups to protect his swollen plums. Stash or Trash: Despite his .317 average you can trash him in one catcher leagues. Fill In: [Player]Tyler Flowers[/player] (12.6% | 16 runs, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, .356 AVG.) Over Flowers’s last 17 games he has a .350 average with 12 runs and three HR. Flowers has split the Braves catching gig with Kurt Suzuki, but has been getting the lion share of starts.
Joe Musgrove, SP, Throwing Shoulder Discomfort
After pitching seven shutout innings in the best start of his year and getting his owner’s hopes up, Musgrove was placed on the 10-day DL with throwing shoulder discomfort. He’s struggled a bit with pitch counts, only completing six full innings four times out of his 10 starts this year. While Musgrove posted some impressive numbers in the upper minors (2.56 ERA in 130.1 IP) he has been inconsistent so far in the majors. His 2.87 BB/9 is a bit high when you’re rarely getting out of the 5th inning and his 1.5 HR/9 doesn’t help his overall numbers either. Stash or Trash: Trash. He’s only owned in 6.1% of innings so you can safely trash him in standard leagues due to his inconsistency. Fill In: In deep, AL-only leagues where you’ve lost Musgrove you can add [Player]Buck Farmer[/player] (1.7% | 6.1 IP, 1 win, 11 K, 0.00 ERA, 0/79 WHIP) for his June 8th home start against the Trout-less Angels. In his only start of the year he struck out 11 batters 6.1 IP with only five baserunners. Maybe it’s just me, but I will always trust beefy (6’4”, 225 lbs), starting pitchers from Georgia named Buck.
Eduardo Rodriguez, SP, Right Knee Dislocation
You ever have one of those trades you’re glad you didn’t make? Last week there was a bidding war in my league for a pre-injury [Player]Danny Duffy [/player]that I luckily lost, this week I was eyeing Eduardo Rodriguez as a trade target. Sometimes, the best trade is the one you don’t make. Back to Eduardo: right now there is a lot up in the air with him. He’s either going to miss a few weeks…or a few months if he needs surgery. Stash or Trash: Stash until we know more. In a string of six starts from April 23rd to May 21st, Eduardo was six for six in quality starts with 40 K’s to only 11 BBs in 38 IP. Fill In: [Player]Chase Anderson[/player] (49.6% | 62.2 IP, 4 wins, 59 K, 3.30 ERA, 1.26 WHIP.) I’m pretty hesitant to recommend Anderson, but when you suffer an injury your pickings might slim so grabbing a guy that others in your league might be unsure of as well can bring you solid results. Chase’s career 4.14 ERA isn’t completely hideous so maybe this is just a case of him taking another step forward in his career. His H/9 and HR/9 are down, his K/9 and fastball velocity are up and his BABIP for the season is a .302 and his FIP is only 3.55 so it isn’t like he’s due for some huge correction. Grab him while you can.
Danny Salazar, SP, Sore Throwing Shoulder
After putting up a 5.50 ERA over his first 10 starts of 2017, Indians manager Terry Francona sent Salazar to the bullpen to minimize the damage he could do to the Indians winning percentage. After only two bullpen appearances, Salazar now finds himself on the disabled list. According to reports, Salazar will be spending his DL time with Indians minor league pitching coaches trying to sort out his suckiness. Stash or Trash: Stash. Salazar was an All-Star in 2016 and has a 3.63 ERA over his previous two seasons, so you know the talent is all there — but something is definitely off. Fill In: (63.9% | 54.1 IP, five Wins, 61 K, 3.81 ERA, 1.05 WHIP): Manaea had an April to forget: 5 starts, 24.1 IP, 5.18 ERA. Over his three most recent starts, he’s been much better with 20 IP, only three ERs allowed and 24 K’s.
[player]Jean Segura, SS/2B, High Ankle Sprain
Segura injured his ankle on a slide into second base. Mariners manager Jerry DiPoto is worried Segura might miss two months while Segura himself is thinking he’ll be before the end of June. Segura is currently leading the NL in batting average…and being caught attempting a stolen base. With a high ankle injury you hope he comes back healthy or he’ll continue to lead in being caught stealing. Stash or Trash: Stash. He’s still performing pretty well for the Mariners and unless he’s going to miss three or four months he is worth holding on to. Fill In: [Player]Andrelton Simmons[/player] (35.9% | 22 runs, 6 HR, 23RBI, 6SB, .267 AVG.) Simmons started May going 3-for-35, but finished the month going 27 for 77 and earning the lead off spot in the Angels lineup. Simmons so far has six HR and six SB on the season but given that his career high for HR is 17 (in 2013) and career high for SB is 10 — don’t expect him to continue being an overwhelming power/speed threat.
Devon Travis, 2B, Bone Bruise in Knee
Another cursed player — I’ve been recommending Devon as a second base fill in option for weeks now because he has been hitting like a mad man. It was only a matter of time until he found himself on this dubious list. Blue Jays don’t have a specific time frame for Travis’s return because this injury seems to be more than just a bone bruise — they are thinking there might be some cartilage damage which is much more concerning than just a bone bruise. Stash or Trash: Stash until more medical results roll in. Travis has been one of the hottest players in baseball over the past month. Fill In: I’ve been trying to avoid recommending [Player]Chris Taylor [/player\(40.5% | (26 runs, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 3 SB, .316 AVG) as a fill in option because I’m truly not a believer of him in the slightest, but he’s been raking lately so egg on my face. Taylor’s previous high in HR is only nine in 695 plate appearances as a 22-year old in 2013 so don’t expect the power to continue. But, also in 2013, Taylor stole 43 bases so there could be some additional speed upside here. Taylor also has recently been hitting out of the Dodger’s 3-spot so hopefully he can keep up his hot hitting around the Dodgers other run producers.
Jayson Werth, OF, Left Foot Contusion
Werth fouled a ball off his foot and is now missing time for what seems like his 15th season in a row. He was actually having himself a bit of a resurgent season so far. No, he’s nowhere close to his amazing power/speed Philly years, but much better than .235 cumulative average he put up from 2015 to 2016. Werth has been hitting in what might be the best lineup spot in all of baseball: behind [Player]Trea Turner [/player]and in front of [Player]Bryce Harper [/player]and [Player]Ryan Zimmerman[/player]. Stash or Trash: He’s going to be back June 14th so you can stash him. Fill In: [Player]Leury Garcia[/player] (7.8% | 24 runs, 6HR, 26 RBI, 5 SB, .296 AVG.) Garcia hasn’t hit over 10 HR for any team during a season at any level, but he definitely could continue to steal bases. He stole 30 as recently as 2015 in 90 AAA games. And while he only has a .226 career average over 470 major league at-bats, his .295 career average in 882 AAA at-bats shows that maybe he is just a late bloomer.
As always, if you have a league-specific injury question leave a comment at the bottom of the article and I’ll get back to you!
