Nobody wanted to see San Diego Padres RHP Dinelson Lamet leave after just two innings in his 2021 debut on Wednesday with more forearm tightness, but it happened. Fantasy baseball managers need to prepare because, if you roster Lamet, this is not likely to end well. Hey, you were certainly warned. While a healthy Lamet would have been a borderline top-10 starter in our rankings, it always seemed to be overly optimistic that he would be able to pitch through his elbow tear and make it through this season completely unscathed.
Colleague Tristan H. Cockcroft expertly discussed young left-hander Ryan Weathers in a recent column. He now stands to handle a rotation spot with Lamet likely out again. Still, it would be remiss not to remind fantasy managers that lefty MacKenzie Gore is arguably the top pitching prospect in all of the minor leagues. He is on the verge of a big-league promotion at some point. Will that point be next week? In July? Nobody but the Padres know, but when Gore makes his debut, you want him.
Gore boasts four above-average pitches, with a fastball up to 97 mph, a power curveball, and a capable changeup and slider that all should help him pile on the strikeouts. I thought he would debut in 2020, especially since the contending Padres seemed to need help down the stretch, but they were patient. They chose Weathers. This is fair, since Gore has yet to pitch at Triple-A. That said, there is no need for patience in 2021! The Padres should summon Gore soon -- and if it does not happen soon, I will remind you every month until it does. It might become annoying.
Anyway, the Padres and rival Los Angeles Dodgers begin another fun series on Thursday night, with Weathers scheduled to face right-hander Walker Buehler. Weathers needed 79 pitches to get 11 outs against the Dodgers this past weekend, so his efficiency was not great, but he was hardly overwhelmed. I think it is risky to trust Weathers in fantasy for this one, but there is obvious upside against normal teams, of which the mighty Dodgers are not one.
A week ago in this space we covered young Toronto Blue Jays RHP Alek Manoah, and while nobody would compare him to Gore for either skills or upside, I do think the Blue Jays must be aggressive, just like the Padres. All franchises want to win now, but these organizations need rotation help -- the clear weakness for both teams at this point. Perhaps they just need their young pitchers to get some minor-league work in first.
Rookies in the news
Detroit Tigers OF Akil Baddoo saw his batting average plummet 100 points over the past week, which is hardly a surprise because pitchers can exploit his aggressive ways. Baddoo has just one walk (versus 16 strikeouts) over 40 at-bats. Oh, he has power, too, but you had to know a cold stretch was coming. Be happy if he ends up hitting .250 with 400 PA.
Cincinnati Reds 2B/3B Jonathan India has also cooled off, though we should trust his ability to get on base enough to keep a starting role. The way Eugenio Suarez has struggled both at the plate and in the field (and with Mike Moustakas out with an illness), it feels as if the Reds could move Suarez back to third base and see what happens. That could affect India. So far, though, there have been no changes. India may not have either power or speed, so fantasy managers will likely want to look elsewhere.
Cockcroft also wrote about young Seattle Mariners OF Jarred Kelenic and his looming potential promotion to the big leagues, which I agree with. The Mariners already have gotten their extra year of control, so call him up! Kelenic should be a special hitter, and he is worth stashing on a fantasy roster even if he does not debut for another month or more.
Speaking of Seattle, Taylor Trammell investors will not be pleased, but he looks overmatched at the plate -- as if striking out 50% of the time is not enough proof. Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis is healthy and handles center field, Mitch Haniger looks awesome leading off and in right field, and Kelenic can move right in to a regular role in a corner outfield spot. The lefty-hitting Trammell is really struggling against same side pitchers, so perhaps he ends up in a platoon.
Here's your Andrew Vaughn update. At some point, the kid is going to have to really hit in order to force the club to play him regularly. Vaughn has one hit in each of his last three starts (spread out over five team games), but right-handed pitchers are overpowering him. The White Sox face three Texas Rangers right-handers this weekend, with no lefty on the schedule for 10 days. I have already dropped Vaughn, now eligible both in the outfield and at first base, in a shallow league.
Pittsburgh Pirates 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes could come off the injured list this weekend at Minnesota, and I would put him back in fantasy lineups right away. Yeah, I know that he was out with a wrist injury, which could sap power, and Hayes was not supposed to feature much power in the first place. Just play him. I think he can hit at least .280 with 20 home runs this season, which makes him a viable mixed-league option.
The Minnesota Twins could have called up outfielder Alex Kirilloff when Max Kepler hit the COVID-19 list this week, and perhaps they will indeed do so by the weekend. Kirilloff will get his chances soon enough, with a sweet left-handed swing offering some power and a safe batting average floor.
You should have known when you drafted Miami Marlins SP Sixto Sanchez that he was not going to pitch in the majors in April, but people selected him anyway. Now he is on the most-dropped list. We may not see Sanchez before June. The organization calls it shoulder inflammation, but they also wanted to keep his innings down. I doubt he reaches 100 big-league innings this season.
Philadelphia Phillies RHP Spencer Howard seems likely to be on the shuttle between the majors and Triple-A for much of the season. The fact that he retired four San Francisco Giants in relief on Wednesday was more of a desperation move by the team than anything else. Howard looked better than I had seen him, throwing his slider and changeup for strikes. The Phillies need just as much relief help as they do starting assistance. I do not see Howard starting or closing this season.