BATTERS

Yunel Escobar (Player Profile) is in line to bat leadoff for the Angels. Escobar does not have an exciting skill set my any means, but hitting in front of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Kole Calhoun (Player Profile) certainly could give more value to Escobar than we thought he would possess two weeks ago.

Desmond Jennings had two hits Thursday. Both were doubles. Both drove in runs. The addition of Corey Dickerson to the Rays means that Jennings isn’t a lock to earn a starting spot in the outfield with the Rays. Even if he does earn the role, can he possibly stay healthy? If healthy, is the 20/20 talent still there?

Hyun-soo Kim went 0-for-3 Thursday and that’s three straight outings with an 0-fo-3 line. It’s too early to panic of course, but that’s a very inauspicious start to his big league career.

Cameron Maybin hurt his wrist. Turns out the injury is worse than expected. Sounds like Maybin will miss 4-6 weeks due to a non-displaced hairline fracture in his left wrist. Obviously he will miss Opening Day forcing the Tigers to turn to Anthony Gose and Tyler Collins. That’s a wee bit underwhelming. Gose can run, he stole 23 bases last season, but he also has one huge issue – he cannot hit. Gose batted .254 last season and is a career .243 bat. He also owns a .659 career OPS and he’s hit 10 homers in 342 games. Not good at all.

A.J. Pollock has been dealing with some arm soreness. No big deal is what we are hearing. He was able to take batting practice Thursday and it sounds like he could see his first game action Friday.

Trea Turner hit a homer Thursday. He is apparently batting with Danny Espinosa and Stephen Drew for a roster spot with the Nationals. He might be the most talented of the trio, but the expectation is that he will begin the year in the minors. 

Make sure to pick up your copy of the 2016 MLB Draft Guide which includes more than 600 Players Ranked, auction values, rookie reports, hitting and pitching targets as well as all the info you need if you’re ready to start playing DFS.

PITCHERS

Brett Anderson is out 3-5 months as he will need arthroscopic back surgery. Consider me shocked. He is always hurt. From 2010 to 2014 Anderson never threw more than 112.1 innings. Please tell me you weren’t tempted by the dark side since he tossed 180.1 innings last season. Please tell me you weren’t. Please.

Doug Fister hurled two scoreless innings Thursday. He even struck out four batters. Fister was sitting between 87-90 mph according to reports. He threw his heater at just 86.4 mph last season. A return of the heat would go a long way to him being a viable fantasy option in 2016 for the Astros.

Drew Pomeranz is still hopeful of starting for the Padres, after initially hoping to be a significant arm in the bullpen. Looks like the Pads rotation has three men locked in – Tyson Ross, James Shields (Player Profile) and Andrew Cashner – and then there are two spots that are far from locked down. Pomeranz will battle with Brandon Maurer, Brandon Morrow, Colin Rea and Robbie Erlin. We will see how it plays out but Pomeranz certainly has a shot to grab one of the final two spots.

Erasmo Ramirez struck out three batters over two innings for the Rays. He was nails last season after two terrible outings to begin the year. Underrated is he.

Koji Uehara threw 44 pitches, and all his offerings, Thursday. It was the first time he threw since he was hit by a comebacker that caused a non-displaced fracture to his right wrist last season. Uehara is 40 years old, he will be 41 on April 3rd meaning he has the exact same birthday as my brother (happy early B-day Jeff), but the guy can still pitch. He will setup for Craig Kimbrel and profiles as an impressive setup man a year after he struck out 47 batters with a 2.23 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over 40.1 innings.

Ryan Vogelsong threw two scoreless and perfect innings Thursday for the Pirates. The 38 year old is hopeful of making the Pirates’ rotation, and he should. He is coming off a down season that included a 4.67 ERA and 1.47 WHIP over 135 innings.

 

Follow this link to check out the entire Player Profile Series.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 6 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).