SYNDERGAARD GOOD TO GO – UH HUH

According to Jon Heyman, the issue with Noah Syndergaard’s arm is nothing that will preclude him from taking the hill out of the break. The plan currently calls for Noah to take the hill in one of the first five games out of the All-Star break for the Mets. His arm is so sound that Noah even went so far as to state that the Mets didn’t even bother taking an MRI. If you believe any of that I don’t know what to tell you. Here is what I know.

1 – It was revealed May 11th that Syndergaard had an unreported MRI on his elbow two weeks previously.

2 – June 21st he had a start pushed back a day. The Mets said it was a strategic decision.

3 – The following day it was reported that he was to visit Dr. David Altchek after experiencing elbow discomfort after tossing six innings in his start on the 22nd. Remember, his arm was fine and the start was moved back because of strategery. Uh huh.

4 – His arm was fine according to the player and the team after the doctor visit.

5 – Noah flat out told the media he had nothing wrong with his arm including the fact that he had no bone chips in his elbow.

6 – On June 27th we learned that Syndergaard did indeed have a bone spur according to the New York Daily News. He, again, denied it.

7 – On June 28th Noah game up five runs in three innings of work.

8 – On June 28th Newsday reported that Syndergaard did have a bone spur despite continual denials by Syndergaard.

9 – On June 29th Syndergaard finally acknowledged he had a bone spur. Couch it any way you like, but Syndergaard lied about the health of his elbow for a long time.

10 – On July 3rd he allowed one run over seven innings. All was right in the world.

11 – On June 8th he failed to complete five innings as he was removed from the game as his fastball was sitting in the 91-93 mph range in the 5th inning of the outing. Remember, that this guy leads baseball with a fastball velocity of 98.1 mph according to PITCHf/x. After the game Noah just said he was tired, there was some fatigue, but he was fine. His arm was good, just tired was he.

12 – The Mets said they didn’t have a plan to have Noah undergo another MRI.

13 – It sounds like the Mets plan to push back Syndergaard’s next start a bit, slating him to start 5th for the Mets coming out of the break (he won’t skip a start).

If you can read all of that and have faith in Syndergaard in the second half, more power to you, but I would be borderline panicked if I owned him.

BUNDY TO START?

Dylan Bundy was at one point one of the top-5 prospect in all of baseball (2013). Since then he’s been a mess of injury and his star had almost vanished from the fantasy landscape. Finally healthy, Bundy is back on his game and he’s done a solid job for the Orioles with a 3.08 ERA, 1.20 WHIP with 32 strikeouts and just 12 walked over 38.0 innings. Over his last six outings he’s been a dominant force: 0.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 11.93 K/9 and 2.51 BB/9 over 14.1 innings.

Alas, there are just no innings on this arm which is why he was placed in the bullpen this season (it’s more than that actually as Bundy was out of options meaning he would have to be on the big league roster or be exposed to waivers if the Orioles wished to send him to the minors. Obviously he wouldn’t make it through waivers, so the plan was to stick him in the bullpen for 2016). Here are his professional innings pitched marks per season.

2012: 105.1 innings
2013: None
2014: 41.1 innings
2015: 24.0 innings
2016: 38.0 innings

Think about the above. After throwing 105.1 innings in 2012 he’s thrown a total of 103.1 innings in three and a half years since.

Now we’re hearing some chatter that the struggling Orioles pitching staff could use Bundy as a starter. That idea seems patently absurd to me.

There are no innings on Bundy’s arm.

He’s been hurt a bazillion times to this point.

If the Orioles start him it is a MASSIVE mistake.

Even if the Orioles start him there is no telling how long he will be able to pitch before his arm falls of. Folks, he’s has NOT thrown 42 innings in four years.

It would be idiotic for the Orioles to start Bundy for anything other than a handful of outings, max, and even that seems like a foolhardy decision.

COBB MINOR SETBACK?

In his first rehab outing Alex Cobb threw 21 pitches, eight strikes, as he began the process of working his way back into game shape as he returns from Tommy John surgery. His follow up effort was one inning covering 27 pitches. That’s two outings and 1.2 innings of work for Cobb. That’s not good. Moreover, Cobb was removed from his outing Monday because of fatigue. "It was (Stone Crab manager) Michael Johns' and the trainers' call," Cobb said. "Too many pitches. Getting tired." Cobb tried to spin the outing in the positive. "The difference between this outing and last outing was night and day. A couple of more outings and I'll feel comfortable on the mound." Maybe he will even be able to pitch two innings soon.

Be cautious with Cobb. Just like we’ve seen with Zack Wheeler, it’s just not that easy to come back from Tommy John surgery.

SALAZAR SAYS HE IS FINE

According to Jon Heyman, the elbow issues with Danny Salazar are nothing to worry about. Salazar guaranteed that he will take a turn in the rotation as planned and not skip a start. The quote from Salazar was there is “nothing bad” going on with his arm. I gave my thoughts Monday on Salazar in this Daily Dive video.

 

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).