INJURY UPDATES

Yu Darvish is set to throw a simulated game Wednesday.  Trying to make his way back from a shoulder/neck issue, Darvish was placed on the DL June 13th and threw his first bullpen session since then Sunday. He even tossed a couple of breaking balls without issue. He’s reported no setbacks and it sounds like the plan is for him to throw three innings Wednesday. However, that doesn’t mean he’s close to activation from the DL as he will still need at least one, rehab outing. "He's going to have some say in this," pitching Brocail said. "We'll see how he feels after the bullpen and then we'll go from there." At this point the hope is that he’s able to return before the All-Star game (July 12th). Darvish has only thrown 15.2 big league innings since the start of the 2015 MLB season.

Gregory Polanco hasn’t started in three games due to a leg issue though he pinch hit Sunday night. Alas, he’s out of the lineup Monday yet again. We’re still hearing no DL for Polanco, and hard to think he would be placed on the DL given that he pinch hit last night. Maybe he’s just out one more day because the Pirates are facing lefty Scott Kazmir? Polanco has been really good this season, he’s on pace to go 20/20 with 95 runs and 90 RBI, and he’s also batting .297 with a .894 OPS. OK, he’s been great. However, he has one steal in 14 games. Over his last 13 games he’s seen his production dip to .273/.358/.386 as he’s not been driving the baseball. I would expect another strong second half provided he is healthy, we just gotta get him there, but that doesn’t mean his second half will be as statistically large as his first half.

Stephen Strasburg was placed on the DL with an upper back strain. This after he was supposedly fine. I don’t know why anyone is up on this guy. I know the skills are tremendous but you simply cannot trust him to stay healthy. Cannot. Said Nationals managers Dusty Baker of the injury: “It didn’t get any worse, it just didn’t get any better. We figured that this is the time to DL him. We can back-date it ten days. Who knows, he might be ready in five or six days.” Right. Great skills, but you’re nuts if you roster him as your SP1. As for who they will turn to in his stead, everyone hopes it will be Lucas Giolito. As of this writing, we still don’t know. Here are some of my thoughts on Strasburg and the potential Giolito call up. That’s right, it may not be Giolito who takes the open roster spot. In fact, it might end up being Austin Voth and not Giolito. Voth has a 2.99 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with an 8.30 K/9 rate over 14 starts against Triple-A competition. We shall see, but the Giolito wait might continue past this week.

Taijuan Walker is out with a foot issue, but things are trending up with the righty. He was skipped the last time his spot in the rotation came up because of tendinitis in his arch (that sounds painful), but it’s looking like he might take his next turn this Thursday against the Orioles. “Walk felt fine,” manager Scott Servais said. “He should be lined up to make a start before we go out on the road.” I’ve been surprised at how little support he seems to be receiving in the fantasy game. Here’s what I see. Walker has a 3.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 8.33 K/9 and 2.02 BB/9. Those are all-star level numbers, are they not? Corey Kluber has a 3.59 ERA. Jose Quintana has a 1.16 WHIP. Marco Estrada has an 8.10 K/9 rate. Julio Teheran has a 2.04 BB/9 rate. What’s wrong with Walker again other than his foot being less than 100 percent?

END OF THE ROAD FOR A-ROD?

Sounds like the days of Alex Rodriguez being the full-time designated hitter for the Yankees might be over. A report in the New York Post suggests that the Yanks might only deploy Alex against lefties moving forward. Rodriguez has hit just .200 with a .584 OPS against rigthties, and with Mark Teixeira back in the fold at-bats could start to dry up. He has continued to be very effective against lefties though with a .275/.327/.510 line, though that .327 OBP would be the first time in four seasons that the mark was below .367. Father Time appears to have caught up with A-Rod who is a month short of his 41st birthday.

NOT GONNA BE SEEN SOON

Aaron Blair will likely end up seeing an awful lot of time in the minors. Not that the 24 year olds 7.99 ERA doesn’t dictate that. “I think it was to the point where I think he needs to maybe step out of the fray a little bit,” GM Brian Snitker said. “I told him sometimes you’ve got to take a step back to take two steps forward.” Move on if you’ve been holding out hope. Why have you been holding out hope?

DFS DIAMONDS

*The following list of players are guys that Ray recommends as daily plays.

CATCHER: Stephen Vogt has hit .279/.317/.437 against righties. In the month of June he’s hit .267/.318/.483. He faces righty Jeff Samardzija who has allowed eight homers his last four starts.    

FIRST BASE: Tommy Joseph mashes lefties with an over the moon .367/.424/.633 slash line. He also took a bunch of good at-bats over the Giants this past weekend leading to four hits his last 10 at-bats. Robbie Ray has struggled against righties (.296/.379/.434) and has allowed 11 homers in 240 at-bats against them.

SECOND BASE: Ivan Nova has allowed 18 hits and 10 runs his last two starts over nine innings. He’s been taken deep in each of his last nine outings. Odor has 13 homers this season, a .788 OPS on the road and a .814 OPS at night.    

THIRD BASE: Evan Longoria has a .846 OPS at home. He’s produced three hits in five at-bats versus Eduardo Rodriguez. Longoria has mashed lefties (.298/.394/.509). Righties have a .275/.335/.535 line against ERod.

SHORTSTOP: Alcides Escobar the last seven games has produced two hits in five games. He’s also produced a hit in 7-straight games. Escobar us also batting .288 at home and he’s gone 8-for-26 against Adam Wainwright (.308 average).    
  
OUTFIELD: Charlie Blackmon has a .325/.388/.570 slash line at home. He’s produced two or more hits in six of seven games. He’s hit five homers his last seven games. He takes on Marco Estrada and his 49.8 percent fly ball rate in Colorado.  

OUTFIELD: Kole Calhoun has a .804 OPS versus righties this month. He has a .839 OPS in June. He takes on Colin McHugh whom he’s hit .304 against and McHugh is certainly homer prone (nine in 10 starts).

OUTFIELD: Colby Rasmus has produced six hits and five runs his last three games, and there may not be a streakier player in baseball. When hot he seemingly never makes an out. He’s also batting .281/.364/.479 on the road and he’s hit a homer and batted .385 against Matt Shoemaker in 13 at-bats.      

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).