Clearing The Bases

Baltimore Orioles: Well I guess the news about SP Dylan Bundy is good, he had a platelet rich plasma injection earlier this week and has been advised to rest his pitching arm for six weeks. That takes us to early June and he will certainly need some kind of rehab stint before he is ready to pitch again which now brings us closer to July. This is quickly starting to look like a lost season for Bundy. Hopefully this treatment solves the problem…..Nate McLouth has been fantastic in the early going for Baltimore, 21 Rs, .351 AVG, 8 SB. Has he rediscovered what once made him an up and coming player, or is this just a hot April?

Boston Red Sox: Are the Red Sox the best team in the American League? Probably not, but they are better than expected. Question is, what happens when injuries occur, especially to the pitching staff? Can Jon Lester and Clay Buccholz make 30+ starts each? If they can than Boston is likely to be in the playoff hunt all season, if not than it could be a long summer in beantown…..Now injuries to their offense they are more equipped to handle. Outfielder Shane Victorino has missed the last four games with back tightness but is planning on playing in the upcoming series versus Boston.

Chicago White Sox: Wouldn’t recommend him in a 10 team league but in a 12 team or deeper SP Dylan Axelrod wouldn’t make a bad pickup…..The Sox may have dodged a bullet with SP Gavin Floyd. He was diagnosed with a strain of his flexor muscle. He could be back in the rotation shortly after his DL stint is up.

Cleveland Indians: Trevor Bauer is going to make a spot start on Wednesday, hopefully this one goes better than the last…..Outfielder Michael Bourn won’t be returning from the DL as quickly as expected, he is hitting off of a tee, but will need a rehab stint…..Closer Chris Perez is good to go after taking a comebacker off the thumb…..Finally looks like 2B Jason Kipnis has found his hitting stroke, good thing to, because with this pitching staff, the only way this team wins consistently is if they outhit the opponents.

Detroit Tigers: Fantasy owners have to be a little worried about SP Justin Verlander. Not only had the velocity on his fastball been down a few MPH this season, but now they have to contend with cracked skin on his thumb. Not what you want to see during a two-start week…..Hard to believe that the Tigers have committed the fewest errors in MLB, could that be because with Miguel Cabrera at 3B, Jhonny Peralta at SS, and Prince Fielder at 1B, they just don’t get to many balls? Can’t drop what you can’t reach…..Don’t forget about 2B Omar Infante, he’s gotten off to a pretty good start and with this lineup that could continue.

Houston Astros: Have to hand it to the Astros, after getting swept at Fenway Park over the weekend, they went into Yankee Stadium and beat the tar out of SP Andy Pettitte, Lucas Harrell had his sinker going, three double play balls and plenty of runs to work with…..Even thought Phillip Humber has pitched terribly, he’s staying in the rotation for now, Houston just doesn’t have many options at this point.

Kansas City Royals: Can SP Ervin Santana continue to be this good? Might be the biggest question facing the Royals. We know James Shields is an ace, if Jeremy Guthrie can continue to pitch well and Santana be a reliable number two, the Royals might be able to stay in race all season long…..Third Baseman Mike Moustakas has finally started to hit, when will 1B Eric Hosmer follow suit?

Los Angeles Angels: The Angels pitching staff is a wreck and I’m not sure Jered Weaver is going to be enough to fix it if and when he returns to action. It’s not helping that OF Josh Hamilton looks lost at the plate right now and seems to b following that 11th Commandment “thou shall not pass without being swung at”…..As the season moves along, assuming the Angels stay in the playoff hunt and right now they are seven games behind division leading Texas, three and a half from the wildcard, they will be searching for starting pitching. Problem is everyone wants pitching and the Angels may have to pay a heavy price to acquire it.

Minnesota Twins: How is this team 11-11 with that pitching staff? Good to see they have gotten off to a solid start, but if there is ever a team that is going to fall off a cliff, this one is it…..If and when the Twins do fall out of the race the Twins could be a source of power for contending clubs. First baseman Justin Morneau and OF Josh Willingham could certainly help a contender, Ryan Doumit also…..Pitcher Rich Harden had to stop his rehab due to soreness in his shoulder, shocking I know.

New York Yankees: Hard to believe the Yankees are playing .600 ball through the first 25 games of the season. Most expected a free fall, but so far so good, and they are going to get a couple of their big boys back in the near future. Outfielder Curtis Granderson could return in about 10 days with 1B Mark Teixeira about a week after that…..Not all the new is good however. The team erred in letting 3B Kevin Youkilis play Saturday after missing the previous six games, now he has just had an epidural injection, has missed two more games and probably will need to be placed on the DL even though he may not need the full two weeks off. Problem is the NYY can’t keep playing with a 24 man roster. If he hadn’t played Saturday, they could’ve backdated the DL move, and he would’ve been eligible to return this weekend…..Starting pitcher Ivan Nova was also placed on the DL, David Phelps will take his spot in the rotation.

Oakland Athletics: Pretty impressive win for the A’s on Monday versus the Angels. Not only did they overcome a 7-3 deficit and win in 19 innings, but SP Brady Anderson, who didn’t make this start to rest his sprained ankle, ended up pitching 5 1/3 innings of scoreless relief…..Now they just need to get there other prized starter, Jarrod Parker untracked. He has been little more than a softball pitcher so far this year…..Anyone see the record the A’s have with OF Yoenis Cespedes in the lineup and without. Check them out. Keeping him healthy should be their first priority.

Seattle Mariners: Outfielder Jason Bay has caught fire of late, going 7-14, further clouding an already crowded OF/DH situation…..Outfielder Michael Morse finally hit his first HR since injuring his finger earlier this season…..Plenty of fantasy owners were extremely worried about 3B Kyle Seagar and his slow start, well he is on fire of late, stop panicking…..SP Hisashi Iwakuma who has been incredible so far this season had to be removed from his last start due to a blister, nothing all that serious, but something to look out for…..

Tampa Bay Rays: Have to wonder about the foresight with pitchers David Price and Jeremy Hellickson. They both got into it with home plate umpire Tom Hallion on Sunday. Price was the starter and didn’t exactly like the strike zone and apparently when leaving the field was yelling at Hallion (not facing him) and claims Hallion cursed at him. This caused several teammates including Hellickson to defend Price, Hellickson was then thrown out of the game. After the game a twitter happened with both sides calling the other a liar. Anyone else have a feeling that Hellickson and Price aren’t going to get the benefit of any close pitches anytime soon.

Texas Rangers: Even though he’s not piling up the wins, SP Alexi Ogando is starting to look really good again, Rangers could really use him to be a number two behind Yu Darvish. Darvish by the way, is everything he was cracked up to be this year, a Cy Young Award waiting to happen…..Fantasy owners should know that the Rangers are close to making 1B Mitch Moreland a platoon player. The good news of course is that he will be on the right side of the platoon. Could Mike Olt be called up to be his platoon partner?

Toronto Blue Jays: The MRI on SP Josh Johnson came back negative and he is expected to make his start this week, that being said, no way I would use him in fantasy leagues…..The Blue Jays have been criticized quite a bit for claiming anyone and everyone off of waivers. Not sure why, they are just throwing mud against the wall and seeing if anything sticks, although SP Aaron Laffey apparently didn’t, he was released after a spot start against the Yankees…..Another SP, R.A. Dickey will have an MRI on his neck/back to try and find the reason for his discomfort. He did pitch well in a loss to the Yankees on Sunday, so all is not lost.

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