Fantasy owners felt as though they had an ace up their sleeve with Álex Reyes stashed away later in drafts with hopes of catching lightning in a bottle once he returned from rehab following his Tommy John surgery. After striking out 44 batters in only 23 innings without giving up a run with a minuscule 0.61 WHIP in the minors, Reyes seemed poised to not only make an impact in fantasy, but in the Cardinals rotation as well.

His first outing did not allow for the coronation of Reyes with him leaving early with amid concerns of a visit by the trainer and working with reduced velocities. Today, Reyes underwent surgery to re-attach a tendon to his latissimus dorsi ending his season. It’s a projected six month recovery for Reyes who will be primed to return next season, but those in redraft leagues can drop him for the remainder of this season. This stinks for Álex Reyes , St. Louis and for baseball fans alike. We just cannot have nice things at times.

 

Night Moves

One day after promoting Diego Castillo to bolster its bullpen, Tampa Bay will promote Jake Bauers as well on Thursday. While neither may make one rush to the waiver wire, both could have an impact in fantasy going forward. As alluded to in yesterday’s column, Castillo will be given a chance to work in high leverage situations sooner rather than later. He struck out 32 in 26.1 innings. Castillo made his debut this afternoon by striking out two batters in a clean outing.

Bauers has hit .279/.357/.426 with 31 runs, five home runs, 24 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 52 games. Over his career in Triple-A, Bauers has hit .268 with 18 home runs and 30 steals in 683 at-bats. He’s more known for his ability to get on base with power still in development, but Bauers could net eight home runs and 12 stolen bases the rest of the way.

Boston’s Mookie Betts ramped up his workouts and would like a few minor league at-bats before returning to the team, but he could be back this weekend if everything continues to progress positively.

J.P. Crawford ’s been activated by the Phillies and should return to the lineup soon. Scott Kingery will man shortstop this evening and hit third in Chicago.

Atlanta placed Julio Teherán on the 10-day disabled list with a thumb injury. There’s no plan in place as of this writing as to who could replace him in the rotation. Perhaps Mike Soroka ?

Matt Joyce landed on the disabled list with back tightness. This could pave the way for Dustin Fowler to audition as the leadoff hitter for the A’s. Fowler’s hit .375/.412/.750 the last seven days in 16 at-bats with three runs, two home runs, four RBI and a stolen base. Speculate on him if he’s available.

Milwaukee’s Eric Thames will start his minor league rehab this evening in Triple-A. Once he rejoins the team, playing time will tough to come by for Thames, Jesus Aguilar , Ryan Braun and Domingo Santana going forward.

 

That Just Happened

Tanner Roark won his third game limiting the Rays to two earned runs over six innings giving up six hits and a walk with four strikeouts. There’s nothing exciting about Roark from a fantasy standpoint, but he’s due for some wins and has a 3.56 ERA on the season.

Speedsters Trea Turner (2-for-4 with two runs) swiped his 17th base and Michael Taylor (3-for-5 with two runs and three RBI) stole his 16th in the Nationals win. Anthony Rendón racked up four hits in five at-bats scoring four runs with two doubles and three RBI. He’s working with a BABIP 24 points below last year. Plus, he’s hitting the ball with a higher exit velocity more often. Perhaps a hot streak could on tap?

Rookie Juan Soto went two-for-four with two runs, a double, an RBI and a walk. He’s slashing .346/.443/.538 after 16 games with 11 runs, two home runs, nine walks and nine strikeouts. Take your time Adam Eaton .

Following one home run in his previous 17 games, C.J. Cron left the yard this afternoon. Maybe the Bauers promotion can spark this lineup.

Baltimore’s Dylan Bundy won his fourth game of the year firing seven shutout innings allowing only three hits and walking three with five strikeouts. Although he did not reach six strikeouts, Bundy’s whiffed six or more in nine of his 13 starts this year.

Zach Wheeler’s seven shutout innings seem wasted by the Mets. He also limited the Orioles to three hits and one walk with five strikeouts. Wheeler seems to be rounding into form and has pitched six or more innings in eight of his 11 outings.

Not to be outdone, Carlos Carrasco struck out 10 Brewers en route to his seventh win. Carrasco had been struggling with a 6.46 ERA his previous four starts over 23.2 innings. Another player who could use a hot streak going forward.

Rajai Davis stole three bases after reaching base three time with two hits and a walk. He’s 11-for-14 in steal attempts this year and ranks second among active players with 405. This hinges upon the news of the Mets potentially releasing José Reyes soon, he’s in first of active players but struggling mightily.

Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman had his 16-game hit streak snapped on Monday, but has responded by homering in each of his last two games in San Diego. Plus, Freeman’s hitting .372 (29-for-78) over his last 19 games, hitting safely in 18 of them. Kid can rake.

Unable to build on his dominating performance last Friday, Mike Foltynewicz still whiffed eight in five innings giving up five hits, two earned runs and three walks. During his last six games, Foltynewicz has a 0.97 ERA in 37 innings with 45 strikeouts.

Brad Hand notched his 18th save working two innings allowing a hit with four strikeouts. Another name for saves stashers to know, Jose Castillo garnered his first win in relief yielding a hit in 1.2 innings with two strikeouts. Castillo’s whiffed five of the 10 batters he’s faced since joining the Padres.

Could Clay Buchholz be fantasy relevant in Arizona? He did give up two runs in a start for the first time in four outings, but owns a 1.88 ERA in them. Buchholz struck out seven in San Francisco but lost his chance to win when Brad Boxberger blew the save in the ninth.

 

Did you know?

J.D. Martínez has 124 RBI his last 124 games played? Since the Hanley Ramírez designation for assignment, Mitch Moreland has hit .310/.320/.667 for the Red Sox.

The Mets have a 5 - 13 record the last 18 games in spite of their pitching owning a 2.45 ERA in them? And, New York has scored two runs the last 42 innings in a six-game losing streak.

Remember when Paul Goldschmidt could not hit? He finished 4-for-5 in a loss to the Giants today, but has hit safely in 10 of the last 12 going 17-for-47 (.362) with five doubles, a triple, three home runs and nine RBI.

Over the last eight games, Ketel Marte ’s hitting .370/.393/.926 with five doubles, two triples, three home runs and eight RBI.

 

Burning Questions

Will the Mets ever score another run? Can Jon Gray pitch well on the road? If Adam Eaton joins the Nationals, who gets demoted or loses playing time? How will Shohei Ohtani fare against the Royals?

 

All of these questions and more will be covered in Thursday’s Round Up, by yours truly. Until then, stay ahead of your competition using the resources on Fantasy Alarm.

 

Statistical Credits:

MLB.com

Fangraphs.com

MiLB.com

Baseball-Reference.com