Week That Was: Week That Was: Royal Setback
Alex Gordon was one of four Kansas City Royals voted into the All-Star Game as a starter, but now he will miss the Midsummer Classic, and many more games, after injuring his groin while chasing a fly ball in left field on Wednesday.
Diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain, Gordon will be out of action for eight weeks, meaning that he’ll miss much of first-place Kansas City’s stretch push. That’s a big blow, since he has been a strong performer at the plate and in the field, but it does open the door for Jarrod Dyson to play regularly, and that’s a key development from a fantasy perspective.
Dyson is one of the league’s fastest players and has swiped 110 bases since the start of 2012 while always functioning as a part-time player. He is 11-for-12 on steal attempts this year and is also a threat in the triples category, tied for 10th in the American League with four three-baggers even though he only has 118 plate appearances.
He is currently owned in 19 percent of Yahoo leagues, and that number is rising fast.
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* Chase Utley‘s fall from greatness has been evident for some time, but now that reality has really hit home. The veteran infielder batted just .179 in 65 games before landing on the disabled list last month with ankle inflammation, and Philadelphia general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. suggested this week that Utley’s starting spot might not be there for him when he returns, calling out Cesar Hernandez as the team’s best second baseman.
Amaro later backed off those comments, but sadly they were not off the mark. In 2014 Utley turned in a career-worst 746 OPS and this year at age 36 he has looked totally ineffective. Age and injuries have caught up with the once-elite player and it’s hard to have faith that he’s going to turn things around when he returns, even if he does play.
* The Tigers will be without injured Miguel Cabrera until mid-August, but the rest of their lineup is helping make up for his absence. J.D. Martinez continues to crush, proving that last year’s “breakout season” was but a precursor. He hit his 25th homer on Friday and has already surpassed his 2014 total. He is on pace for 110 RBI. Meanwhile, Victor Martinez, who evidently benefited greatly from taking some time off, is batting .341 with 910 OPS since coming off the disabled list.
* Brian Dozier‘s 19 home runs lead all major-league second baseman by a wide margin (Stephen Drew is second with 12) and he is also pacing the AL in runs scored and RBI at the position, but he was left off the initial roster for next week’s All Star Game, and then lost out to Mike Moustakas in the Final Vote.
Whether or not he was motivated by the snub, Dozier had a huge week for the Twins, crushing three home runs including a pair of walk-off game winners. He has been the beating heart in a Minnesota lineup that has mostly struggled. Dozier learned on Saturday that he did ultimately end up making the AL All-Star team as a replacement for injured Jose Bautista.
* That lineup has received another critical boost, however, from the addition of Miguel Sano, who has substantially upgraded the middle of the order. Through his first nine MLB games, the young slugger is batting .414 with a homer and five RBI. Perhaps more importantly, he’s showing tremendous plate discipline with 10 strikeouts and seven walks. Sano’s excellent early output has moved him into the cleanup spot and he seems likely to stick there. With eligibility at shortstop in Yahoo, the 22-year-old should be owned in almost every league.
* Steven Matz has been phenomenal in two starts since being called up by the Mets, but he’s going to be sidelined for a while. The rookie suffered a partial lat tear in his latest start and and will be evaluated in three weeks after receiving a platelet-rich injection. In retrospect, the decision to let Matz pitch through soreness on Monday looks questionable, but he did toss six shutout innings in that game so the warning signs weren’t exactly obvious.
* The Royals recalled outfielder Paulo Orlando on Monday, and the 29-year-old rookie made an immediate impact, hitting a ninth-inning grand slam to lift Kansas City over the Rays on Tuesday. In order to make room for Orlando, the Royals designated reliever Jason Frasor for assignment, which is noteworthy since the righty had a 1.54 ERA out of the bullpen. Of course, that shiny ERA came attached to a lousy 18-to-15 K/BB ratio in 23 innings, so it’s tough to criticize KC’s decision.
* Clay Buchholz is having quite a year for the Red Sox, but left his start on Friday night due to elbow tightness and wound up on the disabled list with a right flexor strain. There’s no ligament damage, so Boston is hopeful he won’t miss more than a couple weeks, but in the meantime they’ll get a look at top prospect Brian Johnson, who was called up from Triple-A to fill in.
* Rafael Soriano tossed a couple scoreless innings for Class-AA Tennessee this week as he gears up to join the Cubs bullpen. He might be called up during the All-Star break and could quickly become the team’s primary recipient of save chances.
* Andrew Miller returned from the disabled list on Thursday and he retakes the reins as Yankees closer, even though fill-in Dellin Betances did well in his stead, picking up five saves in six chances. Betances loses much of his fantasy value for now, though he’ll still be an excellent source of strikeouts whenever he enters a game. If Miller should falter at all in the second half, Betances has shown he can handle the job.
* Neftali Feliz was designated for assignment by the Rangers and passed through waivers unclaimed, both of which are fairly surprising for a 27-year-old former Rookie of the Year with a 2.69 career ERA. Granted, Feliz has lost some velocity and hasn’t been very good this year, but he still seems to offer some decent upside. He elected free agency and signed with Detroit, where he should start seeing action immediately.
* The offense-needy Mariners recalled Jesus Montero, with hopes that the former top prospect can finally turn a corner in the big leagues and propel Seattle’s struggling lineup. In three seasons since he was acquired from the Yankees in exchange for Michael Pineda, Montero has hit just .251/.291/.358 in the majors, but he hit well last year at Triple-A and has been even better there this year, with an 899 OPS, 15 homers and 68 RBI in 84 games. It might be tempting to write him off but he’s only 25. In leagues where he has catcher eligibility, he’s a very intriguing pick-up.
* The Orioles released outfielder Delmon Young on Thursday. He offers no defensive value and hasn’t hit much this year, as evidenced by his 628 OPS with two homers for Baltimore. He’ll end up latching on somewhere.
* Kolten Wong missed a few days this week with a concussion but avoided the disabled list and returned to action Thursday.
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