Could Clayton Kershaw be nearing a return?
Although the Los Angeles Dodgers have never given an official recovery timetable, Kershaw was initially expected to be out four to six weeks after hitting the DL on July 24th with a lower back strain. But he claims to feel healthy and is slated to throw off the mound over the weekend. If all goes well, a simulated game and rehab start should follow. Although that still likely means Kershaw won’t be back for another couple weeks, it puts him at the low end of the estimates, which is great news for his fantasy owners.
As noted last week, his return will inevitably knock someone out of a deep Dodgers rotation. Given his occasional use in the bullpen, Kenta Maeda seems like the logical choice, but he’s pitched well lately and nothing official has been announced.
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Reynaldo Lopez Set to Make White Sox Debut
Lopez is slated to make his White Sox debut against the Kansas City Royals on Friday, and should remain in the rotation the rest of the season. In Triple-A this year, Lopez has posted a 3.79 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 25.4% strikeout rate, and a pristine 2.70 ERA over his last eight starts. Although he struggled across 44 innings for the Washington Nationals last year (4.91 ERA), remember that Lopez is a top pitching prospect and he’s still just 23 years old. While it’s hard to say if he’ll be ready for The Show this time around, and wins could be hard to come by on a weak White Sox team, given the wasteland starting pitching has been for much of 2017, he’s well worth a flier in most leagues.
Rhys Hoskins to be Called Up This Week?
Down in Triple-A, Hoskins is getting starts in left field to prepare for what could be an imminent major league call-up. A first baseman by trade, with Tommy Joseph blocking the way, the Philadelphia Phillies figure they can get Hoskins at-bats in the outfield while Aaron Altherr is back on the DL with a multi-week injury.
Hoskins is an exciting power-hitting prospect, sporting a .280/.383/.571 line with 28 dingers in Triple-A, to go along with 38 in Double-A last year. He’s also shown excellent plate discipline, striking out just 16.0% of the time, while walking at a 13.6% clip. We’ve seen plenty of rookies make an impact this season, and Hoskins deserves a look in most formats.
Yonder Alonso Shipped to the Mariners
With the Oakland A’s in full rebuild mode, they sent the surprisingly effective Alonso to the Mariners over the weekend. Much has been written about Alonso this season and his new fly ball hitting approach at the plate, which has led to a career-high 22 home runs. However, much of his production came in the season’s first three months, and since then he’s slowed down considerably. Since the All-Star break, he’s slashing .227/.346/.364 with just two homers, and isn’t hitting nearly as many fly balls or making as much hard contact.
Additionally, the move to the Mariners could be a hit to his value, as he is expected to man the strong side of a platoon with Danny Valencia. The good news is he batted second on Tuesday night, which would be a nice consolation if it sticks moving forward.
In all, due to Alonso’s drastic changes to his batted-ball profile this year, it’s difficult to say how much of his hot start this year was a fluke and how much was the result of his new approach. Like many things, the truth may very well fall somewhere in the middle, but if Alonso can go back to hitting fly balls at a high rate, he could provide nice value down the stretch. That said, his recent funk reminds us to temper expectations for a guy who previously had a career-high of nine home runs entering the season.
Cardinals Demote Stephen Piscotty
Following a breakout 2016, the St. Louis Cardinals rewarded Piscotty by extending him to a six-year, $33.5 million contract at the start of the season. However, that didn’t stop them from sending the struggling outfielder down to Triple-A, as he’s in the midst of a disappointing 2017 season. Prior to his demotion, Piscotty was hitting just .232/.340/.362 with six home runs, well off the pace of the 22 long balls he hit last year. While the demotion hopefully rights the ship for him in the long run, he’s droppable in most formats.
The move ensures regular playing time for the powerful, but strikeout-prone, Randall Grichuk. Slashing .231/.280/.448 this year, he’s a batting average liability as usual, but has 14 home runs across 307 plate appearances. With a career .235 ISO, 43.3% fly-ball rate and 40.0% hard-hit rate, if you need some power, you could do worse than take a shot with Grichuk.
New Twins Closer?
Of the myriad of new closers who emerged after the trade deadline dust settled, the Minnesota Twins situation was one of the more hazy ones. But two saves later and it looks like Matt Belisle is the man to own in the Twins bullpen. Technically this could still be a committee, and the 37-year-old journeyman is hardly a flamethrower with his 4.43 ERA and 19.5% strikeout rate, but if your waiver wire cupboard is bare of saves, then take a gander at Belisle.
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Kenyatta Storin is a featured writer with FantasyPros. For more from Kenyatta, check out his archive and follow him @kenyattastorin.
