Rays 3B Evan Longoria is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a torn hamstring, which is a big blow for both the Rays and Longoria's fantasy owners. My colleague Joel Beall has some suggestions on replacing Longoria, and I'd like to add a couple of names to his list: Baltimore's Chris Davis (owned in 26.2 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) for mixed leaguers, and Oakland's Brandon Inge (0.6 percent owned) if you can still grab him in AL-only leagues.

***

Edinson Volquez had another terrific PETCO outing last night, raising our streaming starter record to 21-9 for the season. Today's pick is Washington's Edwin Jackson (25 percent owned) against the punchless Pirates oops, D-backs.

On to the rest of the news:

• Padres SP Cory Luebke will be skipped in the rotation due to a sore elbow. Luebke isn't expected to go on the DL, but it's unclear when he'll pitch again. Jeff Suppan will start in Luebke's place tonight.
• Indians SP Ubaldo Jimenez got rocked again last night. Jimenez walked six batters, gave up a couple of home runs, and his fastball velocity is still way down. This might not get better.
• Rangers C/1B Mike Napoli left Tuesday's game due to blurred vision, which reportedly improved by the time the game ended. Napoli is expected to see an eye doctor today, but with an early game, don't be surprised if he sits out. Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre might sit again today for the Rangers as well.
• All is well, Javy Guerra owners. Your guy got the save last night.
• Angels OF Peter Bourjos was on the bench again last night. Boooooooooo, Mike Scioscia!
• Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis missed another game last night due to his stiff back. The Sox apparently don't think Youkilis will go on the DL, but how much do you trust a 33-year-old guy who's had back issues for two consecutive seasons?
• There are five afternoon games today, with the Rangers and Blue Jays starting things off at 12:37 p.m. ET. Set your lineups early.
• Here's a link to yesterday's chat transcript, and here's another to this week's Fantasy 15 podcast with Mike Harmon, Joel Beall and me. We discussed Albert Pujols, some closer issues, and sell-high/buy-low ideas.
• Hot-starting Orioles OF Nolan Reimold has a bulging disk in his back, but got treatment on Tuesday and hopes to return to the lineup by Friday.
• Brewers 1B Mat Gamel left Tuesday's game with a right knee injury, and the team sounds worried. Stay tuned.
• Justin Morneau's wrist inflammation won't require a DL stint, and he might be back in the lineup by Friday.
• The White Sox let closer Hector Santiago pitch the ninth inning with a five-run lead last night. No problem, right? Santiago gave up a hit and two walks. He needs to straighten things out, and fast.
• Nats 3B Ryan Zimmerman is expected to start taking batting practice on Saturday, with an eye on coming off the DL early next week.
• Rays RP Kyle Farnsworth has been moved to the 60-day DL, meaning that the earliest he can return is June 5.
• Cardinals 1B Lance Berkman (calf) is eligible to come off the DL on Friday, but it doesn't sound like that will happen.
• Kila Ka'aihue is starting to take at bats away from Daric Barton in Oakland. If you can't win a competition with Barton to be a starting big-league first baseman, I mean, what's the point?
• Johnny Damon will lead off tonight for the Indians, who expect to get Shin-Soo Choo back in the lineup as well.
• The Royals have Felipe Paulino penciled in to come off the DL and start against the Yankees on Saturday.
• The Cubs will have to start thinking about getting Bryan LaHair and prospect Anthony Rizzo in the lineup together at some point, right? Here's an article that discusses the possibility, though it might not happen too soon. I've heard that LaHair is a bit of a nightmare in the outfield.
• Braves OF Jason Heyward (oblique) is aiming for a Thursday return to the lineup.
• Diamondbacks' manager Kirk Gibson thinks that 1B Paul Goldschmidt - who had three hits last night - might be breaking out of his early season slump. Just remember that Goldschmidt's high strikeout rate makes him a risky proposition, and I'm not someone who usually cares much about hitters striking out.

See you back here tomorrow morning.

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Matt Kemp finished April with a .417 BA, 12 homers, 25 RBI, 24 runs scored, two stolen bases and a 1.382 OPS. That's pretty good, right?

***

R.A. Dickey's decent start against the Astros raised our streaming pitcher record to 20-9 for the season. Today, let's go back to the well with early-season favorite Edinson Volquez (4.9 percent owned) at PETCO against the Brewers. Hopefully, Ryan Braun got all the home runs out of his system last night.

On to the news:

• Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre is questionable for tonight's game due to leg soreness, and the Dallas Morning News suggests that he might sit out tomorrow's contest as well. Teammate Josh Hamilton (back) hopes to return tonight. Fortunately for the Rangers, they can rest one or two of their starters every day and still kick the crap out of everyone.
• Rays 3B Evan Longoria left Tuesday's game with a sore knee, and will probably get tests done on it today. He's day-to-day.
• Delmon Young's suspension will keep him out until Friday, but FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi thinks Young already had job-security issues.
• Jesus Montero made his sixth appearance of the season at catcher last night. With Miguel Olivo expected to go on the DL today due to a groin injury, Montero will share time behind the plate with John Jaso for awhile. It looks like Montero will reach the 20-game threshold for keeper league owners. With his big bat, that's a big deal.
• Twins 1B Justin Morneau is heading back to Minnesota to have his sore left wrist - on which he had surgery in October - checked out. Keep Morneau on your bench until further notice.
• Cliff Lee will miss at least one more start for the Phillies, but hopes to return next Wednesday.
• Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis was scratched again Monday due to a stiff back. He's day-to-day.
• This story from the Yankees' website contains conflicting information about Nick Swisher's strained hamstring. Apparently, manager Joe Girardi thinks Swisher will be out until next Tuesday, while Swisher hopes to be back by this Thursday. For fantasy lineup purposes, I'll believe the manager until I hear otherwise.
• Andy Pettitte appears close to joining the Yankee rotation. You know his 40th birthday is next month, right?
• Mets SP Mike Pelfrey will undergo Tommy John surgery today, and return sometime in 2013. Ugh.
• After a strong Monday rehab start, Felipe Paulino is expected to make his first start of the season for the Royals on Saturday. See if Paulino is still available in AL-only leagues.
• Nationals RP Brad Lidge will undergo hernia surgery today, and hopes to start throwing again in three weeks. Henry Rodriguez's ownership level is up to 52.2 percent in FOXSports.com leagues, so your window is closing if you want to get him.
• 1B Allen Craig will make his 2012 debut tonight for the Cardinals. Ditto for Johnny Damon and the Indians, though Damon might sit against White Sox lefty Chris Sale.
• Padres OF Carlos Quentin (knee) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment tonight, and could return to the lineup as soon as next week.
• Remember when Evan Meek was an All-Star and closer-in-waiting for the Pirates? He got sent to Triple A yesterday.
• So far, the playing-time victim of Mike Trout's promotion in Anaheim has been Peter Bourjos, who sat for the second straight game on Monday. I realize that Bourjos has started slowly this season, but do the Angels know that Vernon Wells' on-base percentage is .247 since the beginning of 2011? Two-forty-seven!
• The Dodgers hope to get 1B/OF Juan Rivera back in the lineup on Wednesday.
• Cubs SP Ryan Dempster (quad) is likely to come off the DL on Thursday.
• In other Cubs' news, Bryan LaHair is a hitting machine.
• Orioles' pitching prospect Dylan Bundy gave up a hit last night? What a stiff.
• Braves OF Jason Heyward missed Monday's game due to oblique soreness. J-Hey will probably sit again today, but could return tomorrow.
• Mets closer Frank Francisco is day-to-day due to a hamstring injury. I hate to be a wet blanket, but it's just a matter of time until Frankie Frank's first DL stint of the season, right?
• I'll make my weekly appearance in the FOXSports.com fantasy chat room today at 2 p.m. ET. Please clear your schedule and stop by with some questions.

See you back here tomorrow morning.

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Colleague Ryan Fowler covered the callups of OF phenoms Mike Trout and Bryce Harper on Friday night. As I noted in this week's edition of Free Agent Frenzy, I like Trout more than Harper for this season. Harper didn't hit much at Double A and Triple A, so why should we expect him to hit right away in the majors? He's 19, for crying out loud.

***

Streaming pitcher update: Edinson Volquez had a fine outing on Thursday in PETCO; Jake Arrieta didn't get it done on Friday against the A's; Erik Bedard continued his strong start on Saturday at Atlanta; and new blog favorite Chris Capuano dominated the Nats on Sunday. The picks are now 19-9 for the season, and today's selection is Mets' knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (owned in 8.9 percent of FOXSports.com leagues), who is a quality start machine.

On to the news:

• Rangers OF Josh Hamilton left Sunday's game due to back stiffness, and might miss some of the early-week series against the Blue Jays. In daily leagues, sit Hamilton until you know he's playing. If you're setting a weekly lineup, think about benching him if you have a strong alternative.
• Closer update #1: Kenley Jansen got Sunday's save for the Dodgers - his second of the weekend. After the game, manager Don Mattingly said that Javy Guerra is still the closer, but didn't exactly sound emphatic about it. Stay tuned.
• Closer update #2: Matt Thornton notched Sunday's save for the White Sox, but after the game, manager Robin Ventura seemed to say that Hector Santiago is still his closer. Again, stay tuned.
• Closer update #3: With Brad Lidge (abdominal strain) on the DL, Henry Rodriguez (52 percent owned) is the Nationals' closer. H-Rod blew a save on Saturday, but should be owned in all formats.
• Closer update #4: You probably heard that the Angels have replaced Jordan Walden with Scott Downs. You can pick up Downs for short-term saves, but this looks like a temporary change.
• Speaking of the Nats, Harper was promoted because 3B Ryan Zimmerman is on the DL. Zimmerman is eligible to return on May 6.
• Tigers OF Delmon Young is on the restricted list after being arrested Friday on a hate-crime harassment charge in New York. Young could return as soon as tonight. If the allegations are true, I hope he gets cut.
• Patrick Corbin (1.67 ERA in four Double-A starts this season) will make his first big-league start tonight for the Diamondbacks, replacing Josh Collmenter in the rotation. Corbin doesn't project to be a star, but he's not bad, and can be picked up in NL-only leagues. Trevor Bauer should now be next in line for the D-backs' rotation, in case you're wondering.
• Look for OF Johnny Damon to join the Indians on Tuesday. As noted previously in this space, Damon is likely to platoon in left field with Shelley Duncan. Why would you pick up a platoon player in a standard mixed league?
• Indians OF Shin-Soo Choo (hamstring) appears on track to return to the lineup on Tuesday after a five-game absence.
• Yankees OF Nick Swisher might go on the DL due to a hamstring strain. Even if Swisher stays active, you should bench him in weekly leagues.
• Rookie David Phelps will replace Freddy Garcia in the Yankee rotation, and start on Thursday in Kansas City. Don't expect too much from Phelps. He could be OK, but is no more than AL-only material.
• Slugger Brad Eldred is getting an opportunity as the Tigers' designated hitter. Eldred had 13 homers in 20 games at Triple A before his promotion, and has mashed home runs in the minors for a long time. He's also 31 years old, and racks up strikeouts by the boatload. I love when guys like this finally get a chance, but odds are long that Eldred will stick around. Grab him in your AL-only league if you can, but don't get too attached. Eldred qualifies at first base in FOXSports.com leagues.
• In other Tiger news, Doug Fister will make his next rehab start on Wednesday.
• Remember during the preseason, when we kept talking about how Dodgers SS Dee Gordon could make a huge fantasy speed impact IF he hit enough to keep his job? Gordon is tied for the major-league lead with 10 stolen bases, but he's batting .207 with a .494 OPS. If you own Gordon, you should have a free-agent replacement on your radar in case of a demotion. If the Dodgers weren't playing so well right now, Gordon might be in Triple A already. If the Dodgers drop him out of the leadoff spot into the No. 8 hole, it will impact his stolen-base opportunities.
• Royals OF Lorenzo Cain could miss another month - or more - due to a hip flexor strain. Speedy Jarrod Dyson is expected to play in Cain's absence, and though Dyson doesn't hit too well, he should steal plenty of bases. In related news, I'd like to officially declare my strategy of targeting Jason Bourgeois in AL-only leagues to be a bust.
• D-backs 1B Paul Goldschmidt appears to have fallen into a platoon with veteran Lyle Overbay. In other D-backs' news, the team will reportedly work out Vladimir Guerrero this week. Don't get too excited, as Vlad can't play the field anymore.
• The Mets are expected to activate Andres Torres from the DL today. Look for a Kirk Niewenhuis/Scott Hairston platoon in left field, at least until Jason Bay comes off the DL.
• The A's are about to sign Brandon Inge, who could become their starting third baseman. Inge qualifies at second base in some leagues after appearing in six games there this season. Check him out in AL-only leagues.
• With or without Aubrey Huff, the Giants still won't start Brandon Belt every day. It's a good thing they're such an offensive juggernaut.
• Look for Allen Craig to be activated from the DL and get regular at bats at first base for the Cardinals starting on Tuesday.

See you back here tomorrow morning.

Check out more Fantasy Baseball News and Notes.

Hey, fantasy baseball owners! It's Fowler pinch blogging for John Halpin who is out of town this weekend. I, too, am on a three-day road trip, but lucky enough to return to my alma mater, THE Bowling Green State University where I hopefully inspired and encouraged future journalist and broadcasters to find a job where you write about fantasy players, fantasy leagues and fantasy owners, but somehow manage to get paid in real money. It's good work ... if you can find it.

So, after a few speaking engagements back on campus, I plopped down in front of my computer to learn the fantasy baseball world had been flipped upside down in the 18 hours since I last looked at my lineup.

Here are the hot points:

• Bryce Harper is getting called up by the Washington Nationals and will make his Major League debut on Saturday. He's struggled a little bit at Triple-A Syracuse this season, but it would be silly not to pick him up.
• Ryan Zimmerman to the DL. If you're lucky and he's still available in your league, I like Mike Aviles as the 15-day bandage at third. If not Aviles, Chipper Jones is probably the next most available option.
• Brad Lidge to the DL. If you've been paying attention, Henry Rodriguez should have already been on your roster.
• Jordan Walden is out and Scott Downs is in as closer of the Angels.
• Bobby Abreu cut and Mike Trout called up.  I just picked up Trout (10:50 PM EST).
• Carl Crawford is out at least 3 more months. Owners of Crawford already assumed they'd be without him for awhile and made necessary roster adds.
• Delmon Young was arrested. We are waiting to learn his punishment.

Phew, busy Friday.

Good luck in all your daily and weekly leagues this weekend. John's blog will return on Monday.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine had to change the team's lineup card last night because the first one he submitted assumed that Twins SP Liam Hendriks is a lefty (he's not). In the end, all worked out fine, as the Sox won the game. It's still funny, dammit.

***

A fine outing from R.A. Dickey raised our streaming starter record to 16-8 for the season. Today, we'll stubbornly go back to San Diego's Edinson Volquez (owned in 4.1 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) against the Nationals at PETCO. Since I won't be blogging tomorrow, the weekend selections are Jake Arrieta (15.5 percent owned) at home against the A's on Friday; Erik Bedard (3.8 percent owned) at the Braves on Saturday; and Dodger lefty Chris Capuano (4.4 percent owned) against the Nats on Sunday. Did you know that Bedard has gotten three runs from his offense in four starts? Ugh.

On to the news:

• Yankees SP Michael Pineda will have surgery next week on his torn labrum and miss the rest of the season, plus probably some of 2013. You should obviously cut Pineda in redraft leagues, and consider doing the same in keeper leagues unless you have DL space to use on him now and can keep a large number of players later. We have no idea how effective Pineda will be when he's ready to pitch again.
• The Nationals still haven't decided if 3B Ryan Zimmerman will go on the DL due to his shoulder injury. An MRI showed no structural damage, so that's good news.
• Red Sox OF Carl Crawford will see Dr. James Andrews soon to get his sore elbow checked out. I hope Crawford can locate his fastball when he returns.
• Pedro Strop got his second straight save for the Orioles last night. Strop might get a couple more chances in the coming days, as closer Jim Johnson was still in the hospital Wednesday due to a flu-like bug.
• Hector Santiago blew a save last night, but White Sox manager Robin Ventura says he's still the closer. 
• Giants 1B Aubrey Huff has been placed on the 15-day DL due to anxiety disorder. That sounds like a terrible thing to go through, and we hope Huff gets well soon. In related news, Brandon Belt was on the bench again last night. %$#@!
• Alfredo Aceves had another shaky save last night, but Daniel Bard is listed as Friday's starter for the Red Sox.
• Tim Hudson will make his 2012 debut for the Braves on Sunday.
• Rookie Jarrod Parker had a terrific first start for the A's yesterday. His next outing will be against the Red Sox in Fenway Park next week.
• Indians OF Shin-Soo Choo missed last night's game with a hamstring injury, and is still day-to-day.
• There are five afternoon games today, with the Royals and Indians getting things underway at 12:05 p.m. ET. Set your lineups early.
• Been waiting for a Mike Trout update? Of course you have! The Angels' prospect is batting .419 with a homer, 13 RBI, 21 runs, six steals and a 1.132 OPS in 19 games at Triple A. However, the Angels say that they're not planning to promote Trout soon. I guess that makes sense. It's not like they're 12th in the American League in runs or anything.
• All you Kenley Jansen owners must have had a difficult time hiding your glee when Javy Guerra blew last night's save for the Dodgers. Manager Don Mattingly said after the game that Guerra is still his closer.
• Josh Collmenter's rotation status in Arizona is getting shakier. Also, when you click on the link to the Collmenter story, read the note about the ballpark scoreboard tweets. It's pretty funny.
• What in the world has gotten into Orioles SP Jason Hammel, who has a 1.73 ERA and is whiffing almost a batter per inning through four starts? Hammel is still available in 84 percent of FOXSports.com leagues. I can't say I trust him, but I'd take a flier on him if I needed a starter.
• Kerry Wood should be back in the Cubs' bullpen within a week.
• Royals OF Lorenzo Cain might have his DL stint extended, as he injured a hip flexor yesterday while rehabbing his groin injury. Stay tuned.
• Twins 1B Chris Parmelee is apparently OK after getting beaned last night. The Twins are off today, so hopefully Parmelee will be back in the lineup tomorrow.
• Andy Pettitte is probably a couple of starts away from joining the Yankee rotation. Pettitte will be 40 in June, and didn't pitch at all last season. Let someone else have him in mixed leagues.
• What's this about the Padres moving the fences in at PETCO Park? Don't they know that the park helps fantasy owners (and analysts) pick which pitchers to start? I could be out of a job if this happens. Booooooooo!
• OF Allen Craig might be ready to rejoin the Cardinals by next week.
• Speaking of the Cardinals, it's probably time to believe in SP Lance Lynn, who pitched another excellent game yesterday. Lynn is owned in 78.6 of FOXSports.com leagues, so maybe I'm one of the last people to figure this out.
• Neftali Feliz pitched an inning of relief last night, and will have his next two starts pushed back to give him extra rest. If you own Feliz, you should be happy about this, as the Rangers are trying to keep him fresh. he threw 63 innings last season, so you weren't going to get 200 from him, anyway.

See you back here Monday morning.

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An Internet tragedy was averted yesterday when, a few hours after it had reportedly been shut down, Jose Canseco's Twitter account resumed entertaining us with the former slugger's weird tweets. If you're not in the Twitterverse, you should venture into it, if only for Canseco. Words don't accurately describe the hilarity it produces. Last week, he wrote that global warming would have saved the Titanic by melting icebergs.

***

Randy Wolf's solid outing raised the record for our streaming pitcher selections to 15-8. Today, let's go with R.A. Dickey (owned in 6.5 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) against the Marlins. Before his bad game against the Braves last Wednesday, the Mets' knuckleballer had thrown 14 consecutive quality starts.

On to the news:

• Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman might be headed to the DL. Zimmerman had an MRI on his injured shoulder on Tuesday, and manager Davey Johnson called the results "not real favorable." We should know more today, but plan to be without Zimmerman for at least a few days.
• The Phillies are optimistic that Ryan Howard (Achilles') will be able to resume baseball activities after being immobilized for one more week. If that's the case, Howard's target date for a return will probably be early June.
• To confirm something we noted here yesterday, Blue Jays' closer Sergio Santos (shoulder) is probably four weeks away from returning to action.
• Red Sox OF Carl Crawford isn't happy about the continued soreness in his left elbow, and will get a second opinion in the coming days. Hmm ...
• Don't get too excited about Pedro Strop's save last night. Strop is a nice handcuff, but handled the ninth inning for the Orioles because closer Jim Johnson was unavailable due to the flu. Johnson might be out tonight as well.
• In other O's news, 2B Robert Andino will miss tonight's game and possibly tomorrow's while attending the birth of his daughter in Miami.
• Yu Darvish shut out the Yankees for eight-and-a-third innings last night. Darvish is now 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA, a 1.58 WHIP due to too many walks in his first three starts, and 24 strikeouts in 26 innings. I can't believe that today's New York Post didn't go with EFF YU on its back cover.
• A's crafty lefty Tommy Milone threw eight shutout innings against the White Sox, and lowered his ERA to 2.00. Milone has great control, and 13 strikeouts in 27 innings. Nice story, but I think I saw this movie last year, when it starred Josh Tomlin.
• Indians OF Shin-Soo Choo is day-to-day with a hamstring injury. Choo left Tuesday's game in the eighth inning due to tightness in the hamstring, but it doesn't sound serious.
• Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez hit his first and second homers of the season last night. See what happens when you're patient during a player's slow start?
• Here's a link to this week's Fantasy 15 podcast with Mike Harmon and me. You can also review the transcript of my Tuesday chat if you weren't there for the live version. Go ahead and make it an all-Halpin fantasy baseball day.
• The Rockies and Pirates have a doubleheader today that begins at 12:35 p.m. ET, and there are four more afternoon games on the schedule. Set your lineups early.
• Henry Rodriguez got another save for the Nationals last night. Today is Brad Lidge's turn, as the Nats are alternating by day, not by save opportunity.
• Skip Schumaker was last night's starter in the Cardinals' three-man second-base carousel. Expect more juggling between Schumaker, Daniel Descalso and Tyler Greene.
• Speaking of the Cardinals, hang in there with Adam Wainwright. He pitched a good game last night, and his K/BB ratio looks a lot better than his 7.32 ERA. I got a lot of questions about Wainwright in this week's chat, and while I have doubts that he'll return to ace status this season - his velocity is still down, and Tommy John patients tend to have command issues for awhile - but he'll still be pretty good.
• Prospect Jarrod Parker will make his first start of the season today for the A's. AL-only owners, take note.
• Josh Johnson's owners finally got a good start last night. Let's see another one, Josh.
• Brewers SP Chris Narveson is done for the season due to a torn rotator cuff.
• Dodgers OF Juan Rivera is day-to-day with a strained hamstring. Don't expect Rivera to play tonight.
• Rockies SP Jorge De La Rosa (Tommy John surgery) is getting close to a rehab assignment.
• Need speed? Cubs OF Tony Campana has stolen four bases over his last two games, and should get quality playing time in the wake of the Marlon Byrd trade. Campana had eight steals in 14 games at Triple A before his recent promotion, and is available in more than 99 percent of FOXSports.com leagues. I grabbed Campana this morning in a league that uses net stolen bases, because some of my colleagues apparently like to make things too complicated for my tiny brain to handle. I won't mention any names, though.
• Tim Hudson had a strong rehab start last night. Look for him to return to the Braves' rotation on Sunday.
• Scheduling note: I'll be taking a blog vacation day on Friday. Weekend streaming starter selections will appear in Thursday's post.

See you back here tomorrow morning.

Check out more Fantasy Baseball News and Notes.

Alfredo Aceves came about five feet from giving up a save-blowing home run last night and sending Red Sox Nation into full-on BARD SHOULD CLOSE mode. Damn the baseball gods and their bad sense of humor.

***

Chris Capuano's terrific outing last night raised our streaming starter record to 14-8 for the season. Today, let's gamble on slow-starting Brewer Randy Wolf (owned in 2.3 percent of FOXSports.com leagues), only because he's pitching against the Astros.

On to the news:

• It turns out that Adrian Beltre's hamstring injury is just some inflammation, and instead of being in danger of a DL trip, he might return to the lineup tonight. Make sure Beltre is playing before you start him, but things look good.
• Phillies OF Hunter Pence missed Monday's game due to a shoulder injury, and is considered day-to-day.
• Giants 1B Aubrey Huff missed Monday's doubleheader due to a family issue, and his status for tonight's game is uncertain.
• After his latest bad start, struggling Braves SP Jair Jurrjens has been sent to Triple A. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Tim Hudson will be activated from the DL on Sunday or Monday to take Jurrjens' spot in the rotation.
• The Twins will skip Francisco Liriano's next turn in the rotation so he can work on mechanics and get a "mental break," according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Liriano's fantasy owners sure can use a mental break. Does he have any idea what kind of emotional pain he inflicts on us? Well, not on me - I was finally strong enough to avoid Liriano in 2012 drafts.
• Daisuke Matsuzaka (elbow) threw 57 pitches in his first rehab outing last night. In a month or so, he could become relevant in deep leagues.
• White Sox SP Jake Peavy threw a shutout last night, raising he record to 3-0 and lowering his ERA to 1.88 over four starts. Peavy has been one of the best surprises of the season, but remember that he hasn't made 20 starts since 2008. Start thinking about selling high.
• After suffering a setback in his rehab over the weekend, Yankees SP Michael Pineda will have an MRI on his shoulder today. Is anyone else expecting really bad news?
• And speaking of the Yankees ... holy cow, Derek Jeter! The Captain had four more hits last night, raising his batting average to .411. Maybe I should have started this bullet with, "and speaking of selling high ..."
• Here's an update on injured Diamondbacks Chris Young, Stephen Drew and Daniel Hudson. It's almost time to pick up Drew in leagues where he's unowned.
• The Royals expect to get Lorenzo Cain (groin) back in their lineup on Friday.
• Reminder: Indians SS Asdrubal Cabrera will return to action tonight after missing six games due to a death in his family.
• The Angels don't sound ready to call up OF prospect Mike Trout anytime soon. Jerks.
• Mets OF Jason Bay probably won't play tonight after bruising his ribs on Monday.
• Did you know that there's a Twitterbot that lets you know every time A's OF Yoenis Cespedes comes to bat? This is a great example of technology making our lives better.
• Chase Utley took batting practice with his Phillies teammates in Arizona yesterday. That's about all we have as an update on his progress.
• NL-only note: Hulking Padres OF Kyle Blanks will have labrum surgery and miss the rest of the season.
• U.S.S. Mariner tells us that Justin Smoak can't hit breaking balls. Great.
• Cardinals OF Jon Jay is day-to-day with his sprained right shoulder. It sounds like he'll avoid the DL.
• The Rays are reportedly about to sign DH Hideki Matsui to a minor-league deal. Apparently, they don't have enough lefty 1B/OF/DH power with Matt Joyce, Luke Scott, Carlos Pena and Brandon Allen.
• Jays' closer Sergio Santos has no structural damage in his shoulder, and is expected to start throwing in 10 days to two weeks. Figure that he's at least weeks away from returning to action.
• I'll be in the FOXSports.com fantasy chat room today at 2 p.m. ET. Make sure to send questions!

See you back here tomorrow morning.

Check out more Fantasy Baseball News and Notes.

There was plenty of player news over the weekend. I covered the fantasy spin on Sergio Santos' DL stint, while Joel Beall had some recommendations on replacing Cliff Lee and Daniel Hudson. 

***

The most interesting news today is that the Red Sox are putting Daniel Bard back in the bullpen, at least for a day or two. With Bard's scheduled Sunday night start getting rained out, he'll be skipped so that Josh Beckett and Jon Lester can stay on their regular turns.

According to the Boston Globe, Bard will be available to relieve tonight and possibly tomorrow, and then make his next start on Friday. The Boston Herald suggests that the writing is on the wall for Bard's full-time return to the beleaguered Red Sox 'pen, and it's hard to disagree with that. If Bard happens to whiff a couple of batters tonight, it'll be difficult for Bobby Valentine to stop this freight train, even if it might be in the team's best long-term interest to leave Bard in the rotation. Everyone north of New Haven will be clamoring for Bard to close, right? As a fan of Red Sox chaos, I can't wait to see if Bard pitches tonight. As a fantasy analyst, I'd recommend grabbing Bard (owned in 12 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) ASAP.

***

As for the weekend streaming starter selections, Edinson Volquez didn't quite meet our Fantasy Quality Start criteria on Friday, Blake Beavan was just so-so during Philip Humber's perfect game on Saturday, and Erik Bedard was good enough on Sunday. This season's record is now 13-8, and today's pick is Dodger lefty Chris Capuano (4 percent owned) at home against the Braves. Capuano's K/BB ratios always make me smile.

On to the rest of the news:

• Rangers 3B Adrian Beltre says that he doesn't expect his strained hamstring to land him on the DL, but he'll probably miss a few games. With the DL still a possibility, you might want to bench Beltre this week if you have a decent backup. He'll have an MRI today.
• The Nationals expect 3B Ryan Zimmerman (shoulder) to return to the lineup on Tuesday. Zimmerman was scratched on Saturday, and the Nats had a rainout on Sunday.
• The Red Sox have acquired OF Marlon Byrd from the Cubs. Byrd has modest power with hardly any speed, but does carry a .278 career batting average. Byrd will probably play every day while Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury are out, but when the first of that pair (probably Crawford) returns, he'll battle with Cody Ross and Ryan Sweeney for playing time. Byrd (1.7 percent owned) is an AL-only target, and can provide short-term production in deeper mixed leagues as well.
• Cubs SP Ryan Dempster is on the DL with a quad injury. He should only miss a couple of starts.
• The Giants and Mets will play a doubleheader in Queens today beginning at 4:10 p.m. ET. Get your hitters from those teams in your lineup.
• Indians SS Asdrubal Cabrera, who has missed the last six games due to a death in his family, will be back in the lineup on Tuesday.
• Rookie SP Jarrod Parker will make his first start for the A's on Wednesday. Parker (2.18 ERA in four Triple-A starts this season) is a very good prospect, but there are usually bumps in the road for any rookie starter. Parker is a decent AL-only target, and should be owned in keeper leagues if he isn't already.
• White Sox OF Alejandro De Aza has three home runs, two stolen bases, 14 runs scored and an .869 OPS in 15 games. He's owned in 30.4 percent of FOXSports.com leagues. You know what to do.
• Speaking of guys to pick up, here's a link to this week's edition of Free Agent Frenzy.
• Nationals manager Davey Johnson says that he's sticking with his co-closer arrangement, so Brad Lidge and Henry Rodriguez will continue to alternate days. Rodriguez has more dominant stuff at this point and hasn't allowed a run yet in 2012, while Lidge blew a save with a three-walk inning on Saturday. However, Rodriguez has walked six batters in seven-and-one-third innings after issuing 45 free passes in 65 2/3 innings last season. Expect lots of inconsistency here.
• Drew Smyly's 1.13 ERA is definitely part smoke and mirrors, but I'd give him a try in AL-only leagues.
• The Cardinals aren't sure how long OF Jon Jay's sprained right shoulder will keep him out of the lineup.
• Giants 2B Freddy Sanchez (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment tonight, and if all goes well he could return to the lineup in less than two weeks. If Sanchez possessed any fantasy-friendly skills, this would be good news.
• The A's have claimed former Twin Luke Hughes off the waiver wire, and will put him in the mix for playing time at third base. Hughes hit 11 homers between Triple A and the majors last season. AL-only owners, take note.
• Mets manager Terry Collins said Sunday that Frank Francisco is still his closer. Frankie Frank has been shaky lately, and Collins yanked him in the middle of an inning on Saturday.
• It sounds like the Twins are fed up with Francisco Liriano, and might send him to the bullpen or the minors. Either move would be well-deserved, as would making Liriano wash the car of every fantasy owner whose season he's wrecked over the last few years.
• Mark Trumbo played first base for the Angels on Sunday, with Albert Pujols at DH and Kendrys Morales on the bench. Please trade someone!
• Brandon Phillips' hamstring is still hurting, but he's expected to be in the Reds' lineup on Tuesday.
• Reliever Wade Miley will start tonight for the Diamondbacks due to Daniel Hudson's absence. Don't expect too much from the lefty.

See you back here tomorrow morning.

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The Blue Jays have placed closer Sergio Santos on the DL with shoulder inflammation. The injury doesn't sound serious, and Santos probably won't be out longer than the required 15 days.

The Jays' website quotes manager John Farrell as saying that Francisco Cordero will close in Santos' absence. Cordero is owned in 13.9 percent of FOXSports.com leagues, and can be grabbed by anyone in need of short-term saves.

Other widely available options for saves, in order of FOXSports.com ownership percentage, are:

Jonathan Broxton, Royals (27.8 percent owned) - Broxton's velocity and strikeout rate are back up after an injury-plagued 2011. He has only one save so far, but the Royals will improve and give him more opportunities.

Henry Rodriguez, Nationals (19.6 percent owned) - The flamethrowing Rodriguez has gotten four saves while alternating days with Brad Lidge. However, Lidge walked three batters during a ninth-inning implosion on Saturday, so you never know if Rodriguez could become the Nats' sole closer soon.

Brett Myers, Astros (11.8 percent owned) - Many fantasy owners shy away from closers on bad teams, and that's not smart. You know why? Bad teams don't win blowouts often, so the games they do win are close. If the Astros win 60, Myers will probably save 30 of them. Of the pitchers listed in this blog post, Myers is the best bet for saves for the rest of the season.

Daniel Bard, Red Sox (11.5 percent owned) - After the Sox' latest bullpen debacle, some in the Boston media are clamoring for a makeover that makes Bard the closer. Bard would be a speculative play for saves, but if other options aren't available, he's worth a shot. The payoff could be big, and he might also help you if he stays in the rotation.

Hector Santiago, White Sox (9.2 percent owned) - Sure, he's a rookie. He's also the closer, and he's whiffing more than a batter per inning. This isn't complicated.

FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi notes that after flying out against Yu Darvish last night, Tigers 3B Miguel Cabrera made a crack about a Japanese restaurant while jogging back to the dugout. Even though he's somewhat slimmer this season, I'm guessing that the only word Cabrera knows on a Japanese menu is tempura.

***

Edwin Jackson got knocked around yesterday, but Ricky Nolasco's effort was good enough to help fantasy owners with wins and Ks. With our streaming pitcher record at 12-6, the weekend picks are Edinson Volquez (owned in 4.7 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) tonight at PETCO against the Phillies, Seattle's Blake Beavan (1.1 percent owned) against the White Sox on Saturday, and Erik Bedard (4.9 percent owned) against the Cardinals on Sunday.

On to the news:

• Cardinals 1B Lance Berkman is headed to the DL after re-aggravating his calf injury. Matt Carpenter will be Berkman's replacement in St. Louis, and he's not a bad fantasy fill-in after hitting over .300 with 12 homers in each of his last two minor-league seasons. Carpenter qualifies at third base in FOXSports.com leagues, but should fit at first base by early next week. Of the other available first basemen on the wire, I've got my eye on Lucas Duda (21.8 percent owned), who offers similar 1B/OF flexibility. More outfielders were covered in Wednesday's post on Chris Young.
• The Rays expect to get B.J. Upton back from the DL tonight, and this article explains how the Rays will move people around in the wake of Upton's return. Rejoice if you're a fan of Upton's power, speed and low batting average.
• The Rays also claimed 1B Brandon Allen off waivers from the A's. The Rays like to use their whole roster, so owners of Carlos Pena and Luke Scott will want to keep their eyes on this situation. Allen is an interesting AL-only option.
• D-backs OF Justin Upton is still day-to-day with his bruised thumb. It doesn't sound like he'll need a trip to the DL.
• Last night's Angels' lineup had Mark Trumbo at DH and Kendrys Morales on the bench against A's lefty Tom Milone. Trumbo was shagging flies in the outfield before the game, and to get some playing time there, something will have to give. The bet here is that Vernon Wells will be the odd man out at some point.
• Twenty-one-year-old Drew Hutchison will make his first big-league start on Saturday for the Blue Jays. Hutchison is a solid keeper prospect, but don't expect much from him yet.
• Padres OF Carlos Quentin (knee) is getting close to a rehab assignment.
• I know it was against the Padres, but check out last night's tremendous start by Vance Worley. He's still available in 25.8 percent of FOXSports.com leagues.
• A's OF Coco Crisp missed another game on Thursday due to the flu. I'm no doctor, but can't teams with nine-figure budgets get some superpowered IV treatments for cases like this?
• There doesn't seem to be any news on whether Pirates' closer Joel Hanrahan (hamstring) will be ready to return tonight. If I see an update, I'll tweet it later.
• Dodgers 3B Juan Uribe missed Thursday's game due to a sore left wrist. His status for the weekend is TBD.
• Cubs 1B prospect Anthony Rizzo is on fire in Triple A. It's a good thing Bryan LaHair is hitting.
• Looking for an under-the-radar starter? Mike Minor is pitching very well for the Braves, and is owned in just 14.3 percent of FOXSports.com leagues.

See you back here tomorrow morning.

Check out more Fantasy Baseball News and Notes.