Chad Billingsley we hardly knew you. He will miss 4-6 weeks with a strained lat. To bad too since he finally looked healthy after battling back from multiple surgeries. The Phillies called up Severino Gonzalez to take his roster spot for the moment. He could stick in the rotation but he looked horrible in two starts earlier in the year (10.57 ERA, 2.35 WHIP). In five starts at Triple-A Gonzalez had a 4.34 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, his first five starts above Double-A.
Tony Cingrani. Remember I warned you? You ignored and he had a solid rookie season. I continued to warn and preach worry, you ignored my preaching, and then he struggled and was demoted to the bullpen last year (where he still is). I’ve been preaching the same concern with Anthony DeSclafani. Are you willing to finally listen? After allowing two runs over his first three starts to the season his last five outings have been so bad that his ERA is up to 3.80 (the mark is 6.38 over the last five). Guys WHIP is up to 1.31, he’s walking 4.20 batters per nine, and his K/BB ratio is a sickly 1.62.
Corey Dickerson… crystal ball… I see a DL stint coming. He continues to shuttle in and out of the lineup due to plantar fasciitis, and the only cure for that is surgery or rest. Given that surgery would cost him the season, I would assume rest will be prescribed. I’m playing amateur doctor here, no one in Colorado has said what I just did, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.
Avisail Garcia is batting .346 with a .380 OBP and .492 SLG. Those are mighty impressive numbers that have been buoyed by 15 hits in his last eight games. Three of those hits have been big flies to push his season total up to four. He’s only 1-for-4 in steal attempts and his BB/K ratio is terrible at 0.21, but his talent is shining through. Note, in 593 career at-bats he’s batting .288 with 18 homers, 80 RBIs, 77 runs and eight steals.
Andrew Heaney is up to 5-0 at Triple-A as he bides his time until he is called up by the Angels. Heaney has a solid K/9 of 8.68 and 3.60 K/BB ratio on the farm, but his 3.62 ERA and 1.42 ERA are far from attention grabbing numbers – at least in the right direction.
Chris Iannetta is alive. He had three hits, including his first homer, Monday. I’m not ready to give up on him as a low end second catcher in mixed leagues. 
Carlos Perez has had some big hits for the Angels but he’s also batting just .250 and hasn’t walked one time in 29 plate appearances. You know I don’t like that.
Jarrod Parker will not need another Tommy John surgery on his elbow but he will need surgery to stabilize the medial epicondyle fracture in his pitching elbow. The team hasn’t said his 2015 season is over but I will. His 2015 season is over.
Jon Singleton has himself quite the week at Triple-A. Over his last seven games the slugging first baseman has hit .357 with five homers. If that was all there was it would be uber impressive. What do you call it when you add in 23 RBIs? Stupendous perhaps? In those seven games he had efforts of five, five and 10 RBIs (read that again). As a 13 year old in Pony I once had 15 RBIs in 3-straight games (6, 5 and 4). Meanwhile Chris Carter is batting .163 with six homers and a .593 OPS. Those footsteps you hear are Singleton’s. The Astros have been very patient with Carter, but at some point he needs to start hitting or Singleton will get a shot. Carter does have a hit in 3-straight and four RBIs his last three games. Singleton will get a shot at some point. It’s not like Evan Gattis is killing it either (.188/.211/.391).
Julio Urias, the dynamic young lefty of the Dodgers, is going to be sidelined for a while. As a child the 18 year old had a tumor removed over his eye, and his eyelid is drooping and giving him some trouble so he will have it corrected with surgery. The Dodgers wanted to limit his workload anyway, so this decision does nothing to setback his effort in 2015. In fact, it’s a nice break for the arm of sensational lefty. He will likely miss about a month.
And another one bites the dust. Chase Whitley undergoes Tommy John surgery tomorrow. Chris Capuano has already replaced him in the starting rotation for the Yankees.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday at 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).
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Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.