Fantasy Baseball July 18 Round Up: Another Chris Sale Injury & 2022 MLB Draft History
It’s time for a break – the MLB All-Star Game break! The always popular MLB Home Run Derby starts the festivities on Monday night following another fantasy baseball week. Before closing the door on the first half of the Major League Baseball season, we need to first take a look back at the top fantasy baseball news and headlines from Sunday’s action. That includes a family affair in the 2022 MLB Draft, the Seattle Mariners continuing their historic win streak, Dylan Cease on a mission, and yet another injury to Chris Sale. There may not be regular season baseball for a few days, but you can still improve your fantasy baseball lineups during this break. Check out our updated July fantasy baseball rankings, keep track of the latest MLB Injury report, and find gems on the fantasy baseball waiver wire. If you want some in-depth player breakdowns of the top MLB prospects from the 2022 MLB Draft, check out Matt Selz's coverage (Part 1 and Part 2). Now let’s look back at the top performances and key injuries from Sunday’s baseball action.
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Chris Sale Breaks Finger
Chris Sale’s 2022 comeback lasted all of 5.2 innings. The Red Sox ace southpaw left yesterday’s 13-2 loss after just 24 pitches with a left finger fracture after being hit on the hand by an Aaron Hicks line drive. Sale has been dealing with injuries since 2018 and this is yet another setback for the Boston starter. He also missed most of 2021 and half of this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
2022 MLB Draft All In The Family
History was made yesterday when two sons of former major leaguers went 1-2 in the 2022 MLB Draft. The Baltimore Orioles chose Jackson Holliday (son of Matt) first overall, and then Druw Jones (son of Andruw) was chosen with the second pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The first round of the draft was chock full of sons of former professional athletes – Justin Crawford (Carl), Cam Collier (Lou), and Elijah Green (Eric, NFL). Holliday is the second son of a former MLB player to be taken No. 1 overall – the first being, of course, the great Ken Griffey Jr.
Seattle Mariners Keep Rolling
The Mariners kept their 14-game winning streak alive yesterday thanks to bombs by Cal Raleigh and Ty France in a 6-2 win over the Rangers. They became the first team in MLB history to enter the All-Star break on a 14-game streak and only three teams previously had gone into the Midsummer Classic with an active double-digit winning streak: the 1935 Detroit Tigers (10), the 1945 Chicago Cubs (10), and the 1975 Cincinnati Reds (10).
Can “King Alonso” Be Unseated?
The New York Mets' Pete Alonso has dominated the MLB Home Run Derby as of late. He has won the last two contests while hitting a record 131 home runs in the process. Alonso is now the favorite to win an unprecedented third straight crown but will be facing stiff competition in a stacked Derby field that includes Juan Soto, Ronald Acuna Jr, José Ramírez, Kyle Schwarber, and others.
I am laying my money down on plenty of Kyle Schwarbombs after he was robbed in the 2018 Derby, but my sentimental favorite is the great Albert Pujols. Who is your choice?
Plus, check this out: Think you know the HR Derby? Show off your Derby knowledge and even win some $$ while participating in the FREE Fantasy Alarm 2022 MLB Home Run Derby Contest.
Dylan Cease Continues to Prove Them Wrong
White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease was surprisingly left off the AL All-Star team in the midst of his best MLB season. Over his last two starts since the snub, he sure is doing a fine job of proving to the league that it was a mistake. Cease has not allowed a run in his past two starts, spanning 12 2/3 innings, and he hasn’t allowed more than one earned run in an outing since May 24 – when he gave up a season-high seven against the Red Sox.
New York Yankees Steam Roll Into Break
After yesterday’s 13-2 rout of Boston, the Yankees now have 64 wins – a new club record for victories before the All-Star break. The Bronx Bombers are just the sixth team since 1947 to win at least 64 of their first 92 games, joining the 1954 Indians (64-28), 1969 Orioles (64-28), 1970 Reds (64-28), 1998 Yankees (68-24), and 2001 Mariners (66-26).
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- 2022 MLB Fantasy Baseball Prospect Report Week 12: Top 15 Prospects for the MLB Draft
- MLB Streaks & Trends: Leody Taveras Playing At An Elite Level
Player News
Tommy Edman is dealing with right ankle discomfort.
It explains why Edman sat out Wednesday afternoon’s series finale against the Marlins. The 29-year-old will benefit from the extra time off to rest and recover. It sounds like there’s a chance he’s ready for Friday’s series opener against the Braves at Truist Park. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.
Javier Báez hit his ninth career grand slam Wednesday in the Tigers’ 7-4 defeat of the Astros.
Incredibly enough, Báez is currently a 19-12 team’s best option at shortstop, third base and in center field. The 350-foot homer off AJ Blubaugh was his first of the year, but he’s batting .296/.337/.407 while mostly playing center right now.
Making his first start in 12 days, Jackson Jobe yielded three runs in four-plus innings Wednesday in a no-decision against the Astros.
Jobe was given seven runs to work with in the first three innings today and had a 7-1 lead going to the fifth, but he fell short of his third win. The bottom of the fifth opened with a walk, a single and a two-run double, at which point Jobe was pulled. Braden Hanifee took over and stranded the runner, preventing further damage to Jobe’s ERA. Jobe ended up allowing four hits, walking four and striking out four. He has a 3.38 ERA after five turns, but the 18/14 K/BB in 24 innings is thoroughly unimpressive. He’ll likely make his next start Tuesday or Wednesday in Coors Field, and he doesn’t seem like a great mixed-league option then.
Tommy Kahnle got four outs for his fifth save Wednesday against the Astros.
Just as it looked like Will Vest might run away with the closer’s role, Kahnle seems back in position now. He probably would have gotten the call Tuesday, when Vest was used in the sixth inning and gave up three runs in blowing a lead. Since he didn’t end up pitching in that loss, he was available to get four outs today. Kahnle should be effective enough to close, but there are workload concerns for a 35-year-old reliever who last put in a full season six years ago. We’d take Vest over him for the rest of the season, but if Kahnle was dropped in your league, he’s a decent enough option for now.
Riley Greene singled four times in four at-bats and scored twice versus the Astros on Wednesday.
When Greene gets hot, he can stay that way for a while. He went 7-for-12 with two homers in the series against Houston, pushing his average up to .261, and now he could feast on Angels pitching the next four days.
Colt Keith hit his first homer and walked before being lifted for a pinch-hitter Wednesday against the Astros.
Keith got a third straight start today after being on the bench four of the previous five games. His homer was hit 109.6 mph, which is a new regular-season high for him. He topped that at least a couple of times this spring, when it looked like he’d take a step forward as a sophomore, but he’s instead been very passive at the plate, and he came into the day with just two doubles and three RBI in 85 plate appearances. Maybe things will start to change now. At least he no longer looks like a candidate to be sent to Triple-A to make room for Manuel Margot’s return this weekend.