Fantasy Baseball Morning Update: Closer news from A's, M's
Did you know that six-man no-hitter participant Kevin Millwood was our streaming starter pick on Friday? Not too shabby, eh?
Milwaukee's Michael Fiers wasn't so good for us on Saturday, but A.J. Burnett produced another solid performance on Sunday. With the record at 41-27 for the season, today's pick is Edwin Jackson (owned in 29.9 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) at Toronto, while Tuesday's selection is Baltimore's Wei-Yin Chen (11.8 percent owned) against the Pirates.
On to the news:
- A's manager Bob Melvin announced over the weekend that he'll use a closer-by-committee approach for the time being, with Grant Balfour, Ryan Cook and Brian Fuentes in the mix. Cook (1.8 percent owned) is the pick here for the most saves, but Balfour (28.4 percent owned) shouldn't be written off. Also, if anyone wants to places a futures bet on fireballing lefty Sean Doolittle (0.0 percent owned), I'll match it. Doolittle whiffed five of the six Diamondbacks he faced on Sunday, and now has nine strikeouts in four innings since his recent promotion.
- Not long after Mariners' manager Eric Wedge pretty much forecasted an imminent return to the closer's role for Brandon League, League got knocked around by the Dodgers. Still, it sounds like the M's minds are made up about League, even if they only let him close again in order to build up his July trade value. I think we'll see some more saves from Tom Wilhelmsen later this season.
- Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval was activated over the weekend, but manager Bruce Bochy still thinks he's too fat, and Sandoval seems to agree. Fat guys can hit, right?
- Yankees OF Brett Gardner (elbow) had a setback in his rehab, and the team doesn't have any idea when he'll return. Teammate David Robertson made an uneventful rehab appearance on Sunday, and could be back by the weekend.
- D-backs' pitching prospect Trevor Bauer had a terrific Triple-A outing on Friday. His time has to be almost here, but don't ask me exactly when.
- Giants OF Melky Cabrera (hamstring) missed three games over the weekend, but they're hoping he can return Tuesday against the Astros.
- Brian Roberts' long-awaited return to the Orioles' lineup is expected to come on Tuesday. This sounds exciting, until you remember that Roberts hasn't been productive since sometime in early 2010. Manage your expectations for Roberts, and know that Robert Andino is about to lose playing time.
- The two major interleague DH situations that need to be watched this week are with the White Sox and Red Sox, who are both in National League parks through the weekend. The White Sox say they'll play Adam Dunn in left field and sit Dayan Viciedo against the Cardinals (at least), so Viciedo's owners might want to sit him this week. I haven't seen details from the Red Sox, but for some games, I'm guessing they'll have David Ortiz at first base, Kevin Youkilis at third and Will Middlebrooks on the bench.
- Tigers SP Doug Fister won't be ready to come off the DL on Wednesday, but he shouldn't be too far away. Teammate Drew Smyly left Sunday's start with a blister, and his status is TBD. At least the Tigers got Austin Jackson back over the weekend.
- Felipe Paulino's groin-related DL stint doesn't project to be a long one. In other Royals' news, OF Lorenzo Cain's recovery from a hip flexor injury is taking forever.
- Rangers SP Alexi Ogando made his first start of 2012 in place of Derek Holland last night, hurt his groin while running the bases, and appears headed for the DL. Have I mentioned how much I like watching pitchers hit?
- Edwin Encarnacion played the outfield on Sunday for the Blue Jays, but since they're back home this week, don't expect it to happen again.
- Has Ubaldo Jimenez figured something out? Yesterday's start was his second strong one in a row, with 11 strikeouts against only one walk in 13 2/3 innings over that span. I'm not sold yet, but I'm intrigued.
- Keep an eye on Padres OF Cameron Maybin, who had his bell rung in a collision with an outfield wall on Sunday. They think he'll play Tuesday, but it's not a certainty yet.
- How unbelievably awesome is Mike Trout? Halos Heaven provides some details. I traded a low-priced Trout (for David Price) in my AL keeper league last night, and later cried myself to sleep.
- The Dodgers expect to get 3B Juan Uribe back from the DL tonight or tomorrow.
- The Marlins have brought 1B Gaby Sanchez back from Triple A. In the preseason, we had Sanchez ranked somewhere between 20th and 25th among first basemen, and that sounds about right now.
- Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki hopes to come off the DL on Friday, but the team's trainers might not be on the same page. Stay tuned.
- It sounds like 3B Scott Rolen (shoulder) and OF Drew Stubbs (oblique) are getting close to playing again for the Reds. They're not really going to bench Todd Frazier to accommodate Rolen, are they?
- Cubs C Geovany Soto (knee) might be ready to come off the DL this weekend.
- 3B Chipper Jones returned to the Braves' lineup on Sunday. Chipper isn't bad when he can stay on the field.
See you back here tomorrow morning.
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