Week 12 Rundown
With interleague play coming to an end, there are many good interstate matchups this week. This weekend, the Mets will try to even out the season series with the Yankees, with their first series at Citi Field. Other matchups include the Cubs vs. the White Sox, the Orioles vs. the Nationals and the Indians vs. the Reds.
John Smoltz will be making his first start of the season on Thursday against the Nationals, after the Red Sox placed Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list on Sunday.
There are a handful of players that should be picked up this week and also players that should be benched, due to interleague play.
Players to pick-up for week 12
Jake Fox, 3B, OF (CHC): With the Cubs playing six games this week against the American League, Fox should be getting the nod as the designated hitter. He hasn’t been able to get consistent at-bats thus far this season, so this should be a great time for him to prove he should be in the everyday lineup.
Kyle Banks, 1B (SD): Just called-up by the Padres, this youngster will receive at-bats at either designated hitter or at an outfield position. He is not eligible to be put in an outfield spot on your fantasy team as of yet, but will receive eligibility in no time. The Padres will be playing in six games this week and they are all in American League ballparks.
Jonny Gomes, OF (CIN): Gomes was used as the designated hitter in the Reds other interleague games this season. He hit the ball well, so he should be looked at to fill the role again this week. After this week he really won’t have much fantasy value.
Players to sit down for week 12
Hideki Matsui, OF, DH (NYY): The Yankees will be playing all their games this week on the road in National League ballparks, so expect Matsui to have the week off. He isn’t able to play the outfield anymore with his bad legs, but may be used as a pinch hitter if the matchup is right.
Mike Jacobs, 1B, DH (KC): Jacobs is having an unproductive season thus far, and will mostly likely not see any action this week with the Royals playing in only National League ballparks. Depending on the pitching matchups he may split time with Billy Butler, but don’t count on it.
David Ortiz, DH (BOS): Ortiz has been swinging the bat well as of late, which means playing in National League ballparks this week may end his hot streak. Ortiz will likely be benched for the whole week, due to the loss of the designated hitter. Ortiz may receive playing time if the Red Sox want to put Kevin Youkilis at third base and give Mike Lowell the day off.<!-- my page break -->
American League injury updates
The Red Sox have placed Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list with a sprain in his throwing shoulder.
Ervin Santana with throw his final bullpen session on Sunday before making his next scheduled start on June 23.
After leaving his last start after only 1 2/3 innings, Josh Outman is still listed as day-to-day and is unsure about his next start.
Roy Halladay is scheduled to throw off of a mound this Tuesday, after playing catch on flat ground on June 19 with no discomfort.
The Indians have reported that Asdrubel Cabrera will likely be playing again within the next five to seven days, but the level of play is unknown.
Grady Sizemore threw 120 feet on Saturday and is slated to return at the end of the month.
After an MRI revealed no structural damage, Erik Bedard is scheduled to return June 30.
Josh Hamilton has begun hitting off of a tee this week and is still on track to be back in the Rangers lineup sometime in July.
The Rays Scott Kazmir is scheduled to have a rehab start on Monday for Triple-A Durham.
Coco Crisp is scheduled to meet with Dr. James Andrews on Monday about his nagging rotator cuff strain that has kept him sidelined for a few weeks now.
The Tigers placed both Dontrelle Willis and Jeremy Bonderman on the disabled list this past week with no timetables set for their returns.
Denard Span will make two rehab starts this week before the Twins activate him from the disabled list.
The White Sox have been very cautious with outfielder Jermaine Dye, after a nagging sore left calf limited him to a pinch-hit role.
The Yankees have reported that outfielder Xavier Nady is close to beginning a minor league rehab assignment.
National League injury updates
Edwin Encarnacion will begin his rehab assignment today for Triple-A Louisville after being injured for the last 48 days.
The Reds Joey Votto is set to start his rehab assignment for Class Single-A sometime this week.
Ryan Howard missed his second game in a row on Sunday due to the flu, but is expected to return this week.
The Phillies close Brad Lidge is expected to make one more rehab start before being activated and taking over the closing duties for the Phillies.
Raul Ibanez is slated to return to the Phillies next weekend, after giving his groin a little over two weeks to heal.
Kyle Lohse will attempt his first bullpen session on June 27. If all goes well he is slated to return to the rotation July 9.
The Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez hit off a tee for the first time on Saturday since being placed on the disabled list almost two months ago with discomfort in his left shoulder.
Brandon Webb had his last bullpen session cancelled and is now scheduled for an MRI on his throwing shoulder.
The Mets Jose Reyes was supposed to take ground balls on Saturday, but the rain prevented him from baseball activity. He is expected to return to the Mets around the all-star break.
John Maine is slated to throw a simulated game on Tuesday, with a possible return sometime next week.
The Mets Oliver Perez is expected to pitch in an extended spring training game on Tuesday.
Carlos Beltran is going to have an MRI on Monday to see what the extent of his injury on his right knee.
After missing a little over a week, Scott Hairston is expected to rejoin the Padres sometime this week.
The Padres received great news on pitcher Chris Young, after an MRI revealed there is no structural damage in his throwing shoulder.<!-- my page break -->
Two-start pitchers
Great options
Zack Greinke (KC): @HOU (Ortiz), @PIT (Snell)
Javier Vazquez (ATL): CHC (Dempster), BOS (Beckett)
Edwin Jackson (DET): CHC (Zambrano), @HOU (Ortiz)
John Danks (CWS): LAD (Kuroda), CHC (Zambrano)
Good options
Carlos Zambrano (CHC): @DET (Jackson), @CWS (Danks)
Ryan Dempster (CHC): @ATL (Vazquez), @CWS (Buehrle)
Trevor Cahill (OAK): SF (Sanchez), COL (Cook)
Francisco Liriano (MIN): @MIL (Suppan), @STL (Pineiro)
Max Scherzer (ARI): TEX (Harrison), LAA (Palmer)
David Price (TB): PHI (Moyer), FLA (Miller)
OK options
Jamie Moyer (PHI): @TB (Price), @TOR (TBD)
Tommy Hanson (ATL): NYY (Wang), BOS (Wakefield)
Joel Pineiro (STL): @NYM (Hernandez), MIN (Liriano)
Hiroki Kuroda (LAD): @CWS (Danks), SEA (Olson)
Aaron Cook (COL): @LAA (Palmer), @OAK (Cahill)
Matt Palmer (LAA): COL (Cook), @ARI (Scherzer)
John Lannan (WAS): BOS (Penny), @BAL (Uehara)
Other notable two-start options
Jeff Suppan (MIL), Ian Snell (PIT), Matt Harrison (TEX), Garrett Olson (SEA), Livan Hernandez (NYM), Micah Owings (CIN), Todd Wellemeyer (STL), Russ Ortiz (HOU), Tim Redding (NYM), Jonathan Sanchez (SF), Koji Uehara (BAL), David Huff (CLE), Chein-Ming Wang (NYY).
Good luck to all this week, and check back next week for the weekly rundown!
This article was originally published on www.rotoinfo.com
- Login to post comments