Week That Was: Week That Was: Rising Fast
The 2015 draft class has been one of the fastest-rising groups in memory. Already we saw three of last June’s top ten picks – Boston’s Andrew Benintendi, Chicago’s Carson Fulmer and Houston’s Alex Bregman – break into the majors.
This week, Dansby Swanson became the fourth. The No. 1 draft pick debuted for the Braves on Wednesday, starting at shortstop and batting eighth. He picked up a pair of hits against the Twins in his first MLB game.
It’s been an odd journey for Swanson up to this point. After being selected by Arizona with the top selection, the former Vanderbilt star was shipped to the Braves in a blockbuster trade that sent Shelby Miller to the Diamondbacks. That deal has been a disaster for the D-backs, as Miller owns a 2-9 record and 7.14 ERA in 14 starts this year, and has been in Triple-A since the All Star break.
Swanson possesses immense long-term upside but it’s not realistic to expect him to be a major contributor down the stretch. He was promoted directly from Double-A, where his numbers were merely decent, and has only 127 games worth of pro experience. In deeper leagues he’s worth a look, but most will want to pass for now.
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* Miami announced on Sunday that Giancarlo Stanton will miss the remainder of the season due to a severe groin strain, suffered running the bases over the weekend. It’s obviously a major blow for the Marlins, who are trying to hang in the wild-card race. The oft-injured Stanton has played in more than 125 games only twice in since debuting in 2010, and that number will remain the same as he finishes this year with 103.
Stanton’s absence has opened up an everyday role for Ichiro Suzuki, who collected his 3,000th hit earlier this month and is impressively batting.313 as a 42-year-old.
* The Reds are on pace to allow nearly 900 runs. So, it goes without saying that they are hugely invested in Cody Reed, helping explain why they gave the highly touted pitching prospect so much leash to work through his rookie struggles. However, they finally ran out of patience after the lefty suffered his seventh loss in 10 starts with a brutal outing on Sunday. Facing a generally ineffective Brewers offense, Reed was raked for six runs while recording only three outs. He was optioned the following day.
It wasn’t all bad for the 23-year-old. He showed some positive signs during his initial stint in the majors, and may be back in September. Meanwhile, Tim Adleman replaces him in the Cincy rotation.
* We finally have some clarity on the elbow of Aaron Nola, but it’s not the most reassuring news. The young righty visited Dr. James Andrews this week and was diagnosed with a UCL sprain and low-grade flexor strain. The damage wasn’t significant enough to put him under the knife, and Nola is undergoing PRP therapy for now, but he’s out for the season and sprains are often precursors to tears.
He’ll be a risky draft pick next spring.
* Zack Wheeler, who had his comeback from Tommy John surgery put on hold earlier this month due to elbow pain, was diagnosed with a flexor strain. He was given a PRP injection and prescribed rest. The setback probably erases any hope for Wheeler joining the Mets at any point this season, but hopefully he’ll be good to go for 2017.
* Pitchers weren’t the only ones dodging bullets when it came to their elbows this week. Twins slugger Miguel Sano – a TJ survivor himself – has been complaining of pain for a few weeks and underwent an MRI on Monday. Fortunately, the scan came back negative for structural damage.
Sano played third in his return to the lineup on Thursday but we wouldn’t expect to see him there a ton the rest of the way, which is probably for the best since he’s been an error machine.
* While some others managed to avoid serious elbow injuries, the news wasn’t so good for Nathan Eovaldi. The hard-throwing right-hander was diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon and partially torn UCL in his elbow, requiring major surgery that may keep him out for the entirety of next year. Even though he’s been around for a while, Eovaldi is still only 26 so we’re not writing him off yet in the long run.
With Eovaldi out and Luis Severino demoted, Chad Green jumped back into the New York rotation and was brilliant in his return on Monday, firing six shutout frames with 11 strikeouts and zero walks. He has pitched extremely well in Triple-A and could be useful down the stretch if he sticks.
* Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel, signed by the Astros last month to a $48 million deal, was promoted to Triple-A on Tuesday after a very brief run with Class-AA Corpus Christi. The 32-year-old power hitter has demonstrated a very aggressive thus far while speeding through Houston’s system, with mixed results. Clearly the Astros aren’t too concerned with the numbers, and gave him a start in the outfield on Thursday. We suspect he’ll be up in the majors within a week or so.
* Sidelined since August 1st with elbow inflammation, Danny Salazar stepped back into the Cleveland rotation this week. He had struggled in his last handful of starts before going on the DL and did so again on Thursday, allowing three runs on a hit and three walks before being pulled after one inning. Salazar’s command was plainly not there. Until he shows something again, owners need to keep him benched.
* Released by the Nationals last weekend, Jonathan Papelbon went into free agency and remains there, despite rumors of an imminent decision floating early in the week. He’ll latch on with a new club before long. The Red Sox, his former team, are said to be among his possible destinations.
* Amidst a massive slump, Justin Upton was benched for three straight games this week, with manager Brad Ausmus calling it a “reset.” Upton’s turbulent first year in Detroit has included a slow start, a big mid-season surge and now another painful offensive drought. He’s batting .130 with zero extra-base hits this month. Hopefully the mental and physical break gets him going.
* With Jed Lowrie going down for the season, the Athletics called up Chad Pinder, who figures to be the primary second baseman in Oakland from here on out. The former second-round pick is coming off a strong year at Double-A (15 homers, .847 OPS, 86 RBI in 117 games) but hasn’t been quite as productive at Triple-A this season. His lackluster control of the strike zone figures to hold him back in his first taste of the majors.
* A nightmarish season for Shin-Soo Choo is now, most likely, over. The Rangers outfielder has been unable to stay off the disabled list and figures to spend the rest of the year there after fracturing his forearm when he was hit by a pitch on Monday. Texas hasn’t officially ruled him out but he had a plate inserted and there’s only six weeks left so it’s difficult to envision a return before the playoffs.
The Rangers recalled Ryan Rua to take Choo’s spot on the roster. If he plays enough his power and decent speed could provide some deep-league value.
* The Tigers acquired infielder Erick Aybar from the Braves in exchange for Mike Aviles and a catching prospect. Aybar adds infield depth for Detroit but doesn’t hit or run enough these days to make a fantasy impact.
* Atlanta activated Arodys Vizcaino from the disabled list on Thursday. He will be eased into reclaiming the closer role from Jim Johnson, who has notched eight saves in his past nine appearances without allowing a run. The Braves also brought back top starter Julio Teheran, who started against the Nationals Friday and allowed three runs over five innings.
