Fantasy Baseball Morning Update: DL possible for Kemp
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The weekend was good for our streaming starter selections, as James McDonald, R.A. Dickey and A.J. Burnett all had solid games. The record is up to 29-12 for the season. Today, we'll go with Tampa Bay's Jeff Niemann (owned in 7.3 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) at Toronto, with the Mets' Dillon Gee (2 percent owned) being Tuesday's pick against the Brewers. A few readers have asked for the picks to appear a day ahead of time, and since that's an easy enough task, it'll be that way from now on.
On to the news:
- Dodgers OF Matt Kemp left Sunday's game after re-aggravating a hamstring injury. Kemp will have an MRI today, and while he insisted Sunday that he won't need a DL stint, let's hear what the doctors have to say. At the very least, you can expect him to miss tonight's game.
- Another blog post, another significant injury for the Nationals. Catcher Wilson Ramos is probably done for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. Jesus Flores could hit a half-dozen homers the rest of the way as Ramos' primary replacement, but his career BA is .252. Don't expect much.
- Speaking of the Nats, Padres SP Tim Stauffer (1.8 percent owned) makes his 2012 debut against them tonight. I like Stauffer, who had a 3.73 ERA and 1.25 WHIP last season, but I'd like to see him throw one game against big-league hitters before adding him to the streaming starter rotation. Does the current Nats' lineup count as "big-league hitters?" They barely have anyone left.
- Grant Balfour is reportedly unhappy that he lost the A's closer role to Brian Fuentes. Fuentes is owned in 3.1 percent of FOXSports.com leagues, and should be picked up for short-term saves until he becomes unhappy when HE loses the role to Balfour or Ryan Cook.
- MetsBlog thinks that Big Jon Rauch is the likely option to replace the struggling Frank Francisco (8.59 ERA) as the team's closer - if Frankie Frank gets replaced following his latest bad outing, of course. I made a bid on fireballing Bobby Parnell in my dynasty league, so I'm clearly rooting for a different outcome.
- Royals SP Danny Duffy, who left Sunday's game during the first inning because of elbow tightness, will have an MRI today. Keep your fingers crossed even if you don't own Duffy, because he's fun to watch.
- Orioles 3B Mark Reynolds is on the DL due to a strained oblique.
- A's OF Yoenis Cespedes (hand) hopes he'll be able to come off the DL when eligible on May 22. With the A's experiencing numerous injuries, OF Collin Cowgill got a couple of starts over the weekend, and he could be an interesting AL-only pickup.
- Dodger manager Don Mattingly seems committed to leaving SS Dee Gordon (.250 OBP) in the leadoff spot for now. That's bad for the Dodgers, but good for Gordon's fantasy owners.
- Recently demoted Cubs closer Carlos Marmol is on the DL with a strained hamstring, which appears to be minor.
- Look for Todd Frazier to get most of the starts at third base for the Reds while Scott Rolen (shoulder is on the DL). Frazier is a fellow Rutgers Scarlet Knight, so I hope he keeps the job and breaks the major league home run record.
- It sounds like Tyler Colvin is starting to steal playing time from longtime blog mascot Dexter Fowler in Colorado. Fowler isn't exactly making a compelling case to keep his job.
- The Twins don't have a target date for Justin Morneau's return from the DL. It sounds like he's progressing, though.
- Padres OF Carlos Quentin (knee) has had a setback in his rehab, and probably won't return this week.
- In case you missed it, Chris Sale returned to the rotation on Saturday for the White Sox, who are considering a three-way closer committee between Addison Reed, Hector Santiago and Matt Thornton. You'll excuse me if I don't believe anything Robin Ventura says at this point, right? Reed is still my guy in this situation.
See you back here tomorrow morning.
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