Ray updates the progress of some of the elite minor leaguers in baseball like Bryant, Buxton and Seager. He also touches on the Dodgers growing pitching woes, the ill health of Rios and the struggles of Lester and Stanton.

MAJOR LEAGUE REPORT

Andrew Cashner is one frustrating fella. Through two starts he has 15 punchouts in 11 innings but he's also posted a 4.09 ERA and 1.73 WHIP. With health, and he's never hit 180-innings, the production should be there by seasons end. Keep an eye on the K-ball. The last two years as a starter he hasn't recorded seven strikeouts per nine, so his early season surge in that category is very encouraging.  

Evan Gattis has 13 strikeouts in 24 at-bats. He also has one hit. Keep the faith. He's a 25+ homer bat who is catcher eligible. Buy low if you can. 

Kenley Jansen was supposed to be back in a few weeks from his foot issue, but according to Bill Shaikin it could be another month on the sidelines for the closer. It's now looking like a mid-May return for Jansen and there's still no real clarity as to what the Dodgers are doing in the 9th inning (sounds like Joel Peralta might be the guy right now?). While that is bad news, it's even worse without being catastrophic for Hyun-Jin Ryu. Out with a shoulder issue, the club is hopeful that Ryu will be back in late May. Shaikin tabbed that return date optimistic however. From being an SP3 in the fantasy game to missing two months of the season just like that for Ryu. 

Jon Lester struggled in his second outing allowing six runs in six innings. He is better than this, certainly easy to say when you note the 7.84 ERA through two Cubs outings. Can't say I didn't warn you to be a bit cautious though in his Player Profile.

Shawn Marcum allowed one run over five innings for the Indians. His reward was being designated for assignment. He'll latch on somewhere else. 

Shelby Miller looked solid again in his second start for the Braves. He has a 0.90 ERA and 1.10 WHIP through two starts but he has yet to find his strikeout pitch with five in 10 innings. 

Alex Rios has a fractured bone in his left hand after being hit by a pitch Monday (a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal - that's his pinkie). There doesn't seem to be a firm timetable for his return to action. “I think it would be a little careless to put six weeks on it,” GM Dayton Moore said in a telephone interview. “And maybe a little premature to be two to three weeks on it. I think it’s somewhere in between.” What will the Royals do in the meantime? A likely scenario would be a platoon of Jarrod Dyson facing righties and Paulo Orlando facing lefties. "Jarrod Dyson’s been a productive player for us," said Moore. "Certainly Paulo’s had some big moments in the first week. They’re both going to bring terrific defense and speed.” Dyson is the player to add in fantasy. He's swiped 30 bags in each of the past three seasons despite never seeing 300 at-bats in any campaign. He's limited and doesn’t' do anything much other than run, but there's value there. The Royals could also call up Brett Eibner but since he's not on the 40-man roster the club might wait to see how Dyson/Orlando do.

Giancarlo Stanton is batting .130 with no home runs. So what? I can't believe I got a question on Twitter about whether or not someone should be nervous with Stanton. Go play fantasy ping pong if you're worried about Stanton. 

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Byron Buxton had four hits Monday to boost his average up to .280 at Double-A Chattanooga (what a name). Buxton was limited to less than 40 games last year do to injury so his call-up date this season is totally uncertain. Still, if he puts it all together are the Twins really going to keep him in the minors in favor of Jordan Schafer or Aaron Hicks? Yeah, can't think they would either. 

Kris Bryant has hit two homers, stolen two bases, and drive in seven runners in five games at Triple-A. He could be called up as soon as late this week. 

Dylan Bundy tossed three perfect innings in Double-A in his season debut. He had Tommy John Surgery and the club is being cautious with his workload as he returns to full health. He could debut in the second half in the rotation if things go smoothly. Wonder if Kevin Gausman will be in the rotation by then?

Rusney Castillo will be placed on the DL with a shoulder injury. The team doesn't believe there is anything serious going on but this obviously isn't good news for a guy who is trying to work his way to the big leagues in short order. It wont happen until May at the earliest. 

Corey Seager has hit .550 over his first 20 at-bats at Double-A. One of the elite prospects in the game, Seager will have a hard time cracking the Dodgers lineup this season if everyone is healthy. Guess the Dodgers could try the shortstop at third base if Juan Uribe, Justin Turner and Alex Guerrero can't figure it out. Boy can Corey hit.

Noah Syndergaard allowed seven hits and three runs over four innings in his season debut Monday. He was held back a bit do to right forearm stiffness and didn't exactly look great Monday. Still, a 2015 call-up is going to happen at some point for the elite prospect.

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