Stephen Strasburg Sidelined
Washington Nationals fans and fantasy managers alike were forced to hold their collective breaths on Sunday as right-hander Stephen Strasburg was forced to exit his Grapefruit League start due to injury.
Strasburg reached 45 pitches before appearing to tweak his left leg during his follow-through. Nats catcher Yan Gomes came out to check on his hurler and immediately signaled to the dugout for the trainer and manager Dave Martinez to come out.
The 32-year-old exited the game and seemed to be favoring his lower body. Strasburg later stated that his left calf “grabbed me a little bit,” but that “it’s not something that’s going to require any sort of long-term recovery.” [[ad:athena]]
Officially, Strasburg was diagnosed with a strained plantaris muscle in his left calf. He told reporters after the game that he would have kept pitching if it were a regular season start, so hopefully this doesn’t affect his status for the beginning of the 2021 campaign. “Luckily, I feel like I’m a fast healer,” Strasburg added. “So I don’t think it would be something that could be a prolonged absence.”
Strasburg was already in the process of working his way back from surgery due to carpal tunnel syndrome and was on track to be ready for Opening Day before this incident. It doesn’t sound like this calf issue should keep him out for long -- and he may still be ready in time for the start of the regular season -- but it’s still something to take note of with the oft-injured right-hander.
Strasburg, like most starting pitchers, have seen their average draft position pushed up a bit in recent weeks. Over the last seven days, he has had an average draft position of 64, making him the 20th starting pitcher off the board on average.
Austin Nola Fractures Finger
Padres manager Jayce Tingler announced some tough news on Sunday that catcher Austin Nola was diagnosed with a fractured middle finger on his left hand. The injury occurred when he took a foul tip off of his glove hand during Saturday’s Cactus League game. Tingler told reporters that Nola will undergo a couple of days of treatment before the Padres determine a plan for his recovery.
As far as a potential timeline, Tingler explained, “We need to wait and see how he responds… Will he be ready for Opening Day? I don’t know. I know he’s extremely tough. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s ready sooner rather than later, but we’re not going to know much until he gets some treatment on it.” If Nola isn’t ready for the start of the regular season, the Padres will roll with a combination of Victor Caratini and Luis Campusano.
The 31-year-old backstop had a big season offensively during 2020, slashing .273/.353/.472 with seven long balls, 24 runs scored and 28 RBI in 184 plate appearances between the Padres and Mariners. He has consistently been drafted as a top-10 option at the catcher position throughout the draft season, settling in around pick 185 overall over the past week.
Sonny Gray Scratched
Reds right-hander Sonny Gray was scratched from his scheduled Cactus League start against the Padres on Sunday due to a mid-back injury.
The 31-year-old hurler told reporters he has been dealing with back spasms and underwent a precautionary MRI on Saturday night. “It’s nothing anyone’s worried about, it’s very easily treated,” Gray added. “Let’s take the days now.” The right-hander said he’s about a week behind schedule but, “I’ll be in games here before spring is over... probably next week.”
It sounds like he will try to throw again on Wednesday or Thursday and could slot into the Reds’ season-opening starting rotation sometime in early April.
While it doesn’t sound like a major issue or anything to be concerned about, back injuries can be tricky and can tend to linger throughout the season. Gray is currently being drafted as a top-25 starting pitcher with an average draft position of 76 over the last week. That’s a steep price to pay for an SP2 -- especially one who may be dealing with a back issue all season long. I’m not advising that you don’t draft him -- it all depends on how risk-averse you prefer to be at the draft table -- what I’m saying is that I won’t be drafting him.
Orioles land Maikel Franco
Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported early Sunday that the Orioles were closing in on a deal with free agent third baseman Maikel Franco. By the middle of the afternoon, Heyman updated that the two sides were finalizing an agreement.
The 28-year-old resurrected his career with the Royals in 2020 -- slashing .278/.321/.457 with eight homers and 38 RBI while playing in all 60 games. From a fantasy perspective, it’s about as good of a landing spot as could be for Franco -- who will not only have a good shot at earning the everyday job at third base -- but he’ll do so while hitting in one of the premiere hitter’s parks in all of baseball.
Over the past week, Franco’s average draft position has resided outside the top 400 players overall. That’ll certainly climb a bit now based on the new ideal landing spot. I’d expect he winds up somewhere in the 300 range.
The Franco signing is bad news for Rio Ruiz, who had been in position to serve as the O’s unquestioned starter at third base. The 26-year-old showed power during the 2020 campaign -- swatting nine homers and driving in 32 runs -- but he did so while slashing an underwhelming .222/.286/.427 so it’s not surprising that the club was in the market for an upgrade.
Who’s on Top for Astros?
Astros manager Dusty Baker previously indicated that he was considering using either Myles Straw or Carlos Correa as his regular leadoff hitter to begin the season, and had functioned that way for the first two weeks of spring training games.
Then on Sunday, he threw everyone a curveball on Sunday when he told reporters that he’s considering using Jose Altuve in that spot as well. He went on to explain that he’ll experiment with that top spot in the order for the rest of camp.
In terms of projected fantasy value, it doesn’t matter much for Altuve or Correa -- as they’ll both still hit in the top half of the lineup regardless. Who it will make a major difference for is Myles Straw. If he doesn’t wind up as the leadoff man, it’s more likely than not that he’ll wind up batting eighth or ninth which is a major difference in terms of at-bats and more importantly counting stats.
For what it’s worth, Straw hasn’t hurt his case so far in Grapefruit League action, hitting .381 (8-for-21) with a double, triple and a stolen base. Correa is having a strong camp in his own right, hitting .294 (5-for-17) with a homer, three RBI and a 4/3 K/BB ratio. Altuve, who has the most career experience hitting leadoff, has struggled in Grapefruit League competition, hitting just .150 (3-for-20) with no homers or RBI and a 3/4 K/BB ratio.
American League Quick Hits: Miguel Andujar has been dealing with wrist and hand soreness and will be seeing a hand specialist on Monday, according to Yankees manager Aaron Boone. … Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday that Jonathan Schoop could play multiple positions during the season and has been working at third base. … Wander Franco returned to the Rays lineup on Sunday -- and did so playing third base. … Steven Souza Jr. checked out fine after fouling a ball off of his foot on Saturday. … Xander Bogaerts played shortstop for the first time this spring in a simulated game on Sunday. … Roenis Elias reportedly has a serious issue with his left elbow and forearm and is currently talking with multiple doctors to find out the next step. … Jarred Kelenic (knee) took batting practice on Sunday as he recovers from a Grade 2 adductor strain in his left knee… Jo Adell is day-to-day with a knee contusion after colliding with the outfield wall on Saturday. … Athletics manager Bob Melvin stated that A.J. Puk would ideally be the top option to fill a rotation spot if Mike Fiers isn’t ready for Opening Day. … Trevor Rosenthal (groin) threw a successful bullpen session Sunday in A’s camp. He’s expected to make his Cactus League debut during the coming week. … Alek Manoah recorded seven strikeouts over three perfect innings on Sunday in a Grapefruit League start against the Yankees… Kenta Maeda struck out five over four shutout innings against the Red Sox. … Lance McCullers whiffed six over four shutout innings in a dominant start against the Nationals. … Byron Buxton swatted his first spring homer off of Nathan Eovaldi on Sunday. … Carlos Correa took Brad Hand deep for his first long ball of the spring in a victory over the Nationals. … Yusei Kikuchi punched out six over 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball against the Brewers. Run along, nothing to see here, keep ignoring him in fantasy drafts. … Kohei Arihara struck out three over four scoreless innings against the Rockies. … Brady Singer struck out six over four innings of one-run ball against the Dodgers. … Bobby Witt Jr. continued his impressive showing in Cactus League play, going 2-for-3 with a 12-pitch walk and a home run out of the leadoff spot in the lineup against the Dodgers. He’s hitting .333 (8-for-24) with a pair of homers and six RBI on the spring.
National League Quick Hits: Carlos Carrasco (elbow) threw from 75-feet on Sunday and told reporters that he “felt pretty good.” The 33-year-old remains confident that he’ll be ready to take his first turn in the rotation when the regular season begins. … Tejay Antone was pulled from Sunday’s Cactus League start in the fourth inning due to a mild right groin strain. Antone expressed optimism afterwards that he would be able to make his next start. … Rockies manager Bud Black said Sunday that the team’s training staff is “encouraged” about Brendan Rodgers’ right hamstring strain. … Jon Lester tossed two innings of live batting practice on Sunday at about 75-80 percent and felt good afterward according to Nationals manager Dave Martinez. … Brewers prospect Zack Brown has been shut down with shoulder fatigue according to manager Craig Counsell. … Dodgers manager Dave Roberts officially announced that Clayton Kershaw will start on Opening Day against the Rockies. … Ha-seong Kim was scratched from Sunday’s Cactus League game with aches and pains, but the Padres went out of their way to explain that they don’t believe it’s COVID-19 related. … Chris Martin will make his Grapefruit League debut within the next two days according to Braves manager Brian Snitker. …. Nico Hoerner was scratched from the Cubs’ Cactus League lineup on Sunday due to lower back tightness. … Wil Myers (knee) could return to Cactus League action as early as Monday. … The Reds claimed Carson Fulmer off of waivers from the Pirates. … Anthony Alford (hand) performed baseball activities on Sunday in Pirates camp, per manager Derek Shelton. He should return to game action early in the week. … Matt Moore punched out three over four innings of one-run baseball against the Pirates and seems to have a leg up on the Phillies’ final rotation spot. … Ronald Acuna Jr. went deep for the second time of the week in a victory over the Rays. … Odubel Herrera homered and scored a pair of runs as the Phillies edged the Pirates. … Michael Conforto went 3-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs as the Mets topped the Cardinals. … Jordan Hicks threw 22 pitches (18 strikes) and failed to record an out on Sunday in his Grapefruit League debut against the Mets, though he did average 100.1 mph on his fastball. … Adrian Houser was pulled from his Cactus League start against the Mariners due to a thumb cramp. He’s considered day-to-day. … Yu Darvish struck out three batters over three perfect innings Sunday in a Cactus League start against the Reds. … Mike Yastrzemski blasted his first Cactus League home run as the Giants topped the Diamondbacks. … C.J. Cron socked his second dinger of the spring as he stakes his claim to the Rockies starting gig at first base.
