Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander pitched well on Friday night versus Seattle, permitting a couple of solo home runs but little else. By Sunday, word came down that all was not well with his valuable right arm -- one that so many fantasy managers invested heavily in as their ace. A forearm strain is often a precursor to major elbow surgery in order to fix a torn ulnar collateral ligament, aka the dreaded Tommy John surgery. Verlander, the defending AL Cy Young winner, might need it. He might not.
For now, Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters that Verlander will be "shut down for a couple weeks, then we'll reevaluate at that time," thus denying a report that his ace's season was already over. As a result, Verlander fantasy investors should remain patient and, if possible, keep him rostered in an IL spot. Looking for replacements, it is a bit tough to call Angels right-hander Dylan Bundy, Cubs right-hander Tyler Chatwood or anyone the Astros go with a "reasonable" option.
Welcome to the first Monday of the regular season and our first weekend wrap-up! So much happened, and only some of it, unfortunately, was good. Let us break it down between the good and the, well, not so good.
Good stuff
Nelson Cruz, DH, Minnesota Twins: The No. 1 option on the Player Rater entering Monday continues to prove that age is merely a number -- and an irrelevant one at that. Cruz homered three times and knocked in 10 runs against, admittedly, some awful White Sox pitching. I am thinking that ranking Cruz in the fifth round for drafts was egregious and he should be where we drafted the likes of Anthony Rendon and Pete Alonso. Too soon?
Ohio starting pitchers: Cleveland right-hander Shane Bieber fanned 14 Royals in his start without permitting an earned run. His former teammate Trevor Bauer whiffed 13 in a no-decision versus the Tigers. And it is not as if Mike Clevinger, Carlos Carrasco, Sonny Gray or Luis Castillo struggled in the least. Good for Carrasco, in particular, for looking like the former top-20 fantasy pitching option we loved prior to his receiving a leukemia diagnosis. Now we get to see the other Indians and Reds hurlers, and the bar is high for the likes of Zach Plesac and Tyler Mahle.
Switch-hitting, of a sort: If I would have known that Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi could bat right-handed well enough to homer in his very first at-bat from that side, and show his organization that a platoon is not necessary, then I would have invested much more in him. We still do not know for sure that Choi, who led off at times this weekend, will play regularly. If so, he bolts up my rankings to the middle rounds where C.J. Cron and Howie Kendrick reside. Choi has power. He takes a walk. First base is not so strong. This is great news.
Kyle Lewis, OF, Seattle Mariners: I have opined recently that Lewis could, at least statistically, look much like Cleveland slugger Franmil Reyes because he hits long home runs and nobody confuses him with a future batting champion. Lewis homered twice in Houston, but he also drew a pair of walks and his game-winning hit in the eighth inning was a single poked to right field. These are fantastic signs. The six strikeouts in 11 at-bats are not, and oh, he might hit .230 this season, but the power is real.
Not so good stuff
Nary an out: Angels right-hander Shohei Ohtani might be just fine. There is no indication he is hurt, though in his first start since recovering from Tommy John surgery he walked three Athletics and allowed three singles, retiring no hitters and having five runs charged his way. It was ugly, and his velocity was down from prior levels. I would bench him this week as a pitcher if you still can, but there remains tremendous upside, even in his Sunday outings. Be optimistic here.
Corey Kluber, SP, Texas Rangers: The former Cy Young winner with Cleveland left his Texas debut after one inning with shoulder tightness -- and in some ways that can be worse than an elbow injury. At least with an elbow there is clarity. I doubt Kluber pitches again anytime soon. Unlike with Verlander, Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg (who could be fine for this week) and certainly Ohtani, even in an ESPN standard league with multiple IL spots, feel free to move on.
Andrew Benintendi, OF, Boston Red Sox: It is way too early to panic on hitters and their struggles at the plate, but with this fellow, there is real risk his manager moves him down in the order, simply because he has options. Benintendi was hitless in nine at-bats, with four strikeouts, over two games against Baltimore pitching before sitting out on Sunday. Then he whiffed as a pinch hitter in that game. Jose Peraza hit last, then fifth on Saturday (which makes no sense) and led off on Sunday. Plus, he can steal a base. Alex Verdugo had a three-hit game on Saturday. I'm just saying that Benintendi's already compromised fantasy value can fall further.
Closer clarity: Setting aside the undetermined elbow injury for Toronto's Ken Giles, a number of potential save targets appear to be middle-inning options. Again, we need to see more. Rays right-hander Nick Anderson leads the list because so many regarded him as a sure thing (which he is not) and a top-10 fantasy closer (which he could be, due to the strikeouts). Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy hurled the sixth and seventh innings on Saturday. Why? Seattle clearly did not go with Matt Magill. Trevor Gott has a pair of saves for the Giants. Upheaval, potentially, is everywhere.
Velocity droppers: It was not just Ohtani who saw normal fastball speeds down a few ticks. Yankees lefty James Paxton also struggled in a brief outing -- his first since February back surgery. Perhaps he needs more time to get right. Rockies right-hander Jon Gray is another concern, although in the new pitchers' den of Globe Life Field, he got away with it with only one run allowed. I generally want to see three or four outings of decreased velocity before panicking on a pitcher, and while we have less time to react in a shortened season like this, that fact remains the same.