BLUE JAYS PLAN FOR PITCHERS

Aaron Sanchez has been a star this season. We always thought, better yet we were told, he would start for a while before being moved to the bullpen to save his arm this season. Well, he kept succeeding at an impressive level, and the Jays kept open the possibility that he could remain a starter. We now know he will remain a starter. The question now is – how will the Jays use him the rest of the way.

The Jays will use a 6-man starting rotation for now.

How many starts or innings will they allow Sanchez to throw after he spent the last 10 days in the minors in essence to limit his workload? “We’ll watch him as we go,” pitching coach Pete Walker said. “We’ll make the adjustment when we need to.” Thanks for the help there Pete.

Sanchez returned to the rotation Wednesday with one run ball over six innings against the Orioles (the run was unearned. He only struck out two batters, but that was another in an impressive string of outings that have led to a 13-2 record with a 2.88 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 56.8 percent ground ball rate as he’s lived up to expectations, and then some.

ANGELS DEAL ANOTHER CLOSER

Fernando Salas was 4-for-4 since taking over as the Angels closer. No more. Salas was dealt to the Mets for Erick Manoah in a late night deal with the Mets.

Who will close for the Angels with Salas gone, Cam Bedrosian on the DL and Huston Street on the DL (the two fellas on the DL are not going to appear the rest of the season)? Oh, and let’s not forget the turn in the 9th inning taken by Joe Smith this season. So, who will become the 5th closer for the Angels?

Seems like the best options are J.C. Ramirez and/or Deolis Guerra.

Ramirez is a 28 year old righty who has a 4.87 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, a 7.10 K/9 and an impressive 54.2 percent ground ball rate. However, when he gets the ball up he gets hammered as he owns a career 1.52 HR/9 rate thanks to a 15.3 percent HR/FB ratio over 96 big league outings. He has one career save.

Guerra is a 27 year old righty who stands 6’5” and weighs in at about 245 lbs. He’s pitched better than J.C. this season with a 2.72 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and a 10.00 K/BB ratio over 32 outings. He has walked just three men all season, but his total of 30 punchouts in 43 innings isn’t ideal.

I’m gonna suggest the Guerra is the guy to own here. I have no idea if that is correct. For what it is worth, Howard Bender has Ramirez ahead of Guerra in the Closer Grid.

HOW LONG IS PHELPS DOWN FOR?

David Phelps was an ace in the hole as a reliever for the Marlins this season. Moved into the rotation, Phelps continued to pitch very, very well and looked like he might help bring home championships down the stretch.

Now the problem.

Phelps has an oblique issue and it has forced him to the disabled list. Normally an oblique issue sends a guy to the shelf for at least a month. Phelps though think they caught this issue early enough that he might not miss anywhere near that much time. "It seems like we caught it early enough," Phelps said. "We're thinking maybe four days and then start throwing again. That's the plan as of now. My arm is perfectly healthy. We're going to make sure these symptoms are out and go from there."

Uh huh.

It seems extremely unlikely that Phelps would be back in 15 days if he does indeed have an oblique issue. Moreover, Phelps was able to make it through 3.2 innings in his last start with reduced velocity. Phelps said it was merely a mechanical thing.

Uh huh.

Called up to take Phelps spot in the rotation the Fish have turned to 26 year old righty Jake Esch, the 10th ranked prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline. Can’t expect too much from Esch. In 22 starts at Double-A he was 10-9 with a 4.03 ERA while he’s gone 2-1 with a 5.70 ERA in four starts at Triple-A. Esch started Wednesday and lasted just 4.1 innings against the Mets allowing seven hits, three walks and two runs as he struck out just two batters.

BECKHAM DEMOTED – MAKING A POINT

Tim Beckham was demoted Wednesday. Why? He failed to hustle in the 4th inning of the Rays game, and that was it, donzo, as Beckham was demoted to Triple-A. The team had had it after his third base running blunder in a week. "Definitely the not hustling," manager Kevin Cash said before the demotion was announced. "That is required of us, and that's probably the easiest part to do in baseball."

You may not care about this news… unless you have been paying close attention. Beckham went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a walk Wednesday. That pushed his hitting streak to 10 games. He was demoted while working on a 10-game hitting streak during which time he had hit .417 with 15 hits in 36 at-bats.

Beckham could be back soon as the minor league season is about to begin, but this is one strong message being sent here.

DFS DIAMONDS

*The following list of players are guys that Ray recommends as daily plays.

CATCHER: Mike Montgomery is squaring off with Buster Posey Thursday. Posey hit .321 with a .412 OBP in August, an against lefties this season the slash line is HOF worthy (.300/.401/.500).   

FIRST BASE: Jeff Samardzija also allowed eight homers his last nine games. Anthony Rizzo has 18 homers in 322 at-bats against righties with a .984 OPS. Rizzo has a run scored in 3-straight games and has four RBI his last three.

SECOND BASE: Joe Panik has ripped it up the last two weeks with a .378/.455/.757 slash line over 11 games with three homers, 12 RBI and 10 runs scored. He takes on Mike Montgomery.

THIRD BASE: Wilmer Flores has a hit in 8-of-9 games for the Mets. In those nine outings he’s hit three homers and has driven in 12 runners. Jose Urena has looked better his last two starts, but here are his numbers his last four outings: 6.55 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4.09 BB/9.    

SHORTSTOP: Jose Reyes has hit .370 with a .407 wOBA over his last six games as he’s scored seven times. Jose Urena is awful. That’s especially true when he faces lefties who have mashed him this year (.317/.363/.460).
OUTFIELD: Christian Yelich has a homer in each of his last two games. He had a .505 SLG and .843 OPS in August that included seven homers and 22 RBI in 28 games. He takes on Jacob deGrom with a .941 OPS against righties. He’s also hit .375 over 24 at-bats against deGrom.  

OUTFIELD: Adam Eaton has a .400 OBP with five runs scored his last seven games and he had a .372 OPS in August. He’s had success against Ervin Santana going 5-for-13 (.385) with a homer.

OUTFIELD: Amazingly Jason Heyward is hitting with a 12-for-36 stretch that includes a homer, three doubles and five RBI over nine games.  Jeff Samardzija has pitched better of late, but he has struggled a bit against lefties this season with a .271/.320/.438 slash line.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 11 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).