COLE IN TROUBLE?

Gerrit Cole will miss his start Monday and is on his way for more tests on his elbow (Steven Brault will start). It might be one start that he misses, it might be many more. "Cole made us aware after his last start that he had a little bit of discomfort on the outside of his elbow," executive VP Neal Huntington said. "We've been working through the evaluation process. We're going to get him a second opinion sometime in this upcoming week. He will miss at least his next start."

I don’t think Cole has been right all year.

In addition to his current elbow situation he missed a month of action this season with a triceps issue. Don’t forget that he dealt with a rib issue this offseason so he may not have entered the season healthy, or ever been fully at the peak of his powers this season.

Cole has a 7.06 ERA and 1.89 WHIP with a 0-3 record his last four starts as he’s been a disaster.

His value the rest of the way is extremely murky. Extremely

BAILEY HAS BICEPS TENDINITIS

Don’t know how many times you have to see a guy dealing with physical woes as he attempts to return from Tommy John surgery before you finally move on from these guys in year one (I’m looking squarely at you folks who are banking on something great out of Alex Cobb who returns this week from TJ surgery for the Rays). The following pitchers have all returned to the DL for something as they work their way back from the surgery: Cobb, Yu Darvish, Brandon McCarthy, A.J. Griffin, Tyler Skaggs etc. Oh, and we’re still waiting on Zack Wheeler who is dealing with arm woes yet again.

Add Homer Bailey to the list. Nothing official yet here in terms of a DL stint, but you have to think a stay is coming as Bailey is dealing with right biceps tendinitis. "At this point in time, there is absolutely zero concerns on his elbow at all," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "I know there's going to be peaks and valleys from this elbow injury," Price said. "The ball is not coming out [well]. You can tell the last couple of times out, it's just not the same. He's pitching at 88-91 mostly, trying to create movement, throwing two-seam fastballs. He doesn't really have the teeth on the slider.”

In six starts Bailey has a 6.65 ERA and 1.83 WHIP. So much for that.

LEAKE TO DL

Mike Leake will head to the disabled list with shingles (something I’ve had). The DL stint will be backdated to August 22nd. Alex Reyes took the last turn in the rotation for Leake and one would think he will continue to hold down that spot for the moment. For Reyes and what he brings to the bump, check out his Player Profile. He probably should be added in pretty much every league he’s available as his talent is elite.

GLASNOW SENT TO MINORS

Tyler Glasnow has been sent to the minors, after being activated from the DL where he has been with a shoulder issue. The hope is that he will be able to return to the bump in the big leagues in September. Glasnow has made only two ineffective starts at the big league level this season as the top-15 prospect in baseball simply cannot find his lost game which includes throwing strikes as he’s continued to issue the free pass with 64 in 111 minor league frames or 5.2 per nine. Just can’t do that and succeed. No expectation from me the rest of the way.

DODGERS DE LEON

The Dodgers Jose De Leon struck out 13 batters in his most recent outing at Triple-A over 7.2 innings. A top-30 prospect according to MLB.com, Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America, the righty has dominated all season long with a 2.61 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 11.6 strikeouts per nine frames in 16 Triple-A starts. There is little debate that he could get big league batters out at this point, but the Dodgers seem content to leave De Leon in the minors until rosters expand in September. If he is indeed finally called up, it’s unclear if he will be asked to start or work out of the bullpen.

DFS DIAMONDS

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

CATCHER: Gary Sanchez. Just look at the numbers. In 16 games: 11 homers, 18 RBI, 15 runs scored, 1.098 SLG and .655 wOBA. He faces Dillon Gee. #InsaneInTheMembrane   

FIRST BASE: Miguel Cabrera has hit .332/.392/.603 at home this season. He has a .320/.382/.585 slash line at night. He has a .381/.435/.683 slash line, with three homers, over 69 plate appearances against James Shields.

SECOND BASE: Jose Ramirez has a .355/.384/.589 slash line in August (5-16-21 too). Against lefties this season he’s gone .299/.347/.448. Hector Santiago has gone 0-4 with a 10.89 ERA and 1.84 WHIP in August. His thumb is an issue.    

THIRD BASE: Josh Donaldson has five homers and 10 RBI his last four games. He faces Wade Miley with a .309/.446/.564 slash line against lefties this season.  

SHORTSTOP: Troy Tulowitzki has a hit in 8-of-10 games with two homers. He has a solid .289/.372/.474 slash line in August. He takes on middling Wade Miley with a .368/.478/.632 slash line with a homer over 23 plate appearances.  
OUTFIELD: Chris Davis has just a .154 batting average against Marco Estrada, so why list him? (1) Davis has a .450 OBP in the matchup. (2) He has a .615 SLG in the matchup. (3) Estrada has allowed five homers his last two starts (11 earned runs over nine innings). Davis has eight homers his last 12 games.

OUTFIELD: Randall Grichuk has appeared in 15 games since he was recalled. He has hit .315 with six homers, seven doubles and 12 RBI on his way to an 1.142 OPS. He faces Zach Davies who has allowed four homers in four games and 13 runs his last 15 innings.  

OUTFIELD: Mookie Betts has hit .333 with a .374 OBP and .564 SLG against righties. His numbers in August: .389/.417/.667 with eight homers, four steals and 25 RBI. Matt Andriese has allowed sieve homers his last three starts as he’s allowed 14 runs over 17.1 frames.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 11 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).