Here is a look at the latest news and notes from around the diamond to help you set your fantasy baseball lineup for week 17.
American League:
It looks like the Texas Rangers have been scouting corner infielders in the likes of Jorge Cantu from Florida and Ty Wigginton from Baltimore as well as Mike Lowell in Boston. Reading the tea leaves, that could spell trouble for Chris Davis at first base. Since taking over after Justin Smoak was traded, Davis is hitting .200 with no home runs and one RBI in 45 at bats. His strikeout rate is down since coming back to the major leagues but it looks like Texas may not wait for his swing to come around.
Fantasy baseball owners are breathing a sigh of relief after Alex Rodriguez left the game Sunday after being hit on his wrist with a pitch. It looks like he escaped without any pain or broken bones so he is safe to leave active for next week.
Victor Martinez is expected to come off the disabled list for the Boston Red Sox and get the start at catcher at Monday. Matt Wieters came off the disabled list for the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday and hit seventh in the lineup going 1-for-4.
The Detroit Tigers lineup is in flux right now with a string of injuries over the last week. After losing Brandon Inge, the Tigers also saw Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez go on the disabled list. Ordonez is expected to miss almost two months with a broken ankle. It looks like recent call up Jeff Larish could see the majority of time at designated hitter with Ryan Raburn, Scott Sizemore, Ramon Santiago and Don Kelly rotating between second and third base. Larish was hitting .275 in Triple-A with 15 home runs and 55 RBI in 298 at bats.
Ozzie Guillen continues to ride Omar Vizquel at third base for the Chicago White Sox and you can too while he is hot, especially since he can qualify at up to three positions in a line up depending on your leagues requirements for games played at a position. Vizquel is hitting .333 in July in 48 at bats with two stolen bases.
Wilson Betemit gets a shot at the third base job full-time in Kansas City with the trade of Alberto Callaspo to the Los Angeles Angels. Betemit is definitely a play in AL only leagues although his batting average is off to a fluky .382 in 68 at bats this year. If you are a team at the bottom of a dynasty or keeper league, this is the type of guy you pick up to package with another player to a contending team for a better keeper for next season.
Orlando Hudson is headed back to the disabled list for the Minnesota Twins a strained oblique. AL only leagues in search of infield help could pick up Alexi Casilla while Hudson is out of action.
Brett Anderson is expected to return to the Oakland A’s rotation on Friday against the Chicago White Sox. In his last two starts in Triple-A, he threw 10 1/3 innings, allowing 13 hits, four runs and 11 strikeouts.
The Cleveland Indians have tabbed 25-year-old Josh Tomlin to get the start on Tuesday against the New York Yankees. Tomlin was 8-4 in Triple-A with a 2.68 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 107 1/3 innings.
National League:
J.A Happ returned to the rotation for the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, allowing three runs in five innings with eight baserunners and four strikeouts. His numbers were less than stellar in Triple-A so if you have better options for your rotation, I would leave Happ benched for now.
For those that still don’t believe that the place in the batting order has little to no impact on fantasy stats, check out Starlin Castro’s numbers for the Chicago Cubs since being moved to second in the batting order. In 73 at bats, he is hitting .329 with 10 runs scored, two home runs, nine RBI and three stolen bases, numbers that give you a chance to play him now in mixes league formats.
The Colorado Rockies lineup is going to cancel out a lot of players effectiveness this week with the team scheduled to face three left-handed starting pitchers. That means Seth Smith platoons with Ryan Spillborghs and Jason Giambi platoons with Brad Eldred at first base. In addition, the first basemen also have to deal with Brad Hawpe working into the mix with Dexter Fowler seeing more playing time in the outfield.
Troy Tulowitzki is supposed to return to the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday although he may receive a day off here or there more than usual in the early going. His return will move Clint Barmes back to second base and puts Jonathan Herrera back to the bench.
The trade of Dan Haren to the Los Angeles Angels knocks him out as a two-start pitcher in week 17 and leaves an open slot in Arizona’s rotation for Tuesday.