- Note: I will be away this weekend, starting Thursday, to cover the Fanduel World Fantasy Baseball Championship where $4 million in prizes will be given away. There likely won't be much writing from now through the weekend.
Greg Bird, starting in place of the injured Mark Teixeira, hit two 2-run homers Wednesday. He had hit six homers in 34 games at Triple-A this season after hitting six in 49 games at Double-A. He’s got 20 homer power, but he doesn’t have a spot in the lineup unless Tex heads to the DL with his bone bruise (the Yankees are hopeful that won’t happen).
Byron Buxton has been recalled from the minors with Aaron Hicks going down with a hamstring injury (he’s been placed on the DL). Buxton was hitting .412 with an OPS of .993 at Triple-A after returning from his thumb injury. Same story as before. An elite talent is Buxton but one that simply cannot stay healthy. The 21 year old had a .501 OPS over 11 big league games.
Khris Davis is powering the ball like Chris Davis of late. Khris hit two homers Wednesday, with five RBIs, and that gives him seven homers in the month of August, and he’s hit six of those in three games with all three contests resulting in two big flies an outing. That’s impressive.
Derek Holland was in mid-season form his first start back from the DL as he allowed two runs over 6.1 innings against the Mariners. Holland struck out six and didn’t issue any free passes. You can take a shot in mixed leagues, but realize that this is one outing and that he’s only made two starts all year so it’s anyone’s guess how he will perform the final six weeks.
Dominate your fantasy football league with the Fantasy Alarm team. This is not your typical draft guide with the same players in every rookies, sleepers and bust columns. Every Coaching System broken down. Every Offensive Line broken down. 30+ winning strategies. 500+ players ranked and updated every day. Check out the Preview Today!Lance McCullers will return to the Astros and start… Sunday against the Dodgers. The team had previously hinted that McCullers might remain in the minors until September. Realize though that it’s highly unlikely that McCullers will make every start the rest of the way when his turn comes up. The Astros are monitoring his workload closely.
Did you see Miguel Cabrera throwing his glove at the ball cause he wasn't wearing it? The result was an out, though it shouldn't have been. You can read rule 7.05 of the offical rules to find out what should have happened.
Mitch Moreland hit another homer Wednesday, his 18th of the year. Moreland has 64 RBIs, is batting .295 and has a .506 SLG. Know how many other first baseman can match all three of those numbers? The answer is three: Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Abreu and Anthony Rizzo.
Drew Pomeranz picked up his second save Wednesday for the Athletics. He’s a better option that Edward Mujica, but he’s not the “closer” – at least yet.
Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 30th save of the year for the Brewers. Not only does he have a terrific 49/9 K/BB ratio, but he’s also perfect converting all 30 chances that have been presented to him. Some thought he was close to be doing. Certainly doesn’t look that way.
Tyson Ross allowed one runs over six innings Wednesday to drop his ERA down to 3.32. He’s still only 8-9 but over his last 12 starts he has a 2.66 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Pitching well now is he.
Miguel Sano went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts Wednesday. That’s 57 strikeouts in 137 at-bats. That’s a pace for 229 strikeouts over 550 at-bats. That is pathetic. No way on earth he can hit .285, his current mark, if he swings and misses that much.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday at 8 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.