There has been little talk in fantasy circles about the impact that Hank Blalock has had this year. Though his average sits at a pedestrian .246, he has launched 17 home runs before the All-Star break in what is rounding into a comeback year for him. Recovering from a stretch of a few years of bad health, it certainly is good to see his power stroke starting to return. With many injuries to some big-name third baseman (A-Rod, A-Ram, Lowell, Encarnacion, etc.), Blalock has likely filled in nicely for some fantasy owners.
Randy Johnson may end up on the DL after straining his left shoulder in today’s game against the Astros. He injured the shoulder on an awkward swing and was only able to throw one more pitch before summoning the training staff. RJ has been having a pretty effective season, both in real life terms and in fantasy, so this really is too bad for the big guy. Hopefully he won’t need more than a couple weeks off to allow the shoulder to right itself.
Chien-Ming Wang was sent to the DL with a strained right shoulder, and probably won’t return until early August. Look for the Yankees to replace him with Sergio Mitre for the time being, and if he doesn’t pan out, Phil Hughes could get another look - though with the way Hughes has pitched in the bullpen, they may not want to mess with his success.
Aramis Ramirez should be back in the Cubs lineup tomorrow, so make sure to activate him from the DL today.
Alex Gordon drew a huge crowd in Omaha (nearly 24,000 in attendance for a AAA game), and went 1-for-3 with a single and two intentional walks. He did not play third base, but should do so in the coming week. He is aiming for a post-All-Star break return following hip labrum surgery earlier this season.
Josh Hamilton was supposed to play the outfield on Friday night, but due to inclement weather, he was the DH and went 0-for-5. Saturday night’s game was rained out, so he was due to play in the outfield during Sunday’s game. The likelihood of him returning to the Rangers lineup on Monday seems not too good, especially because they are traveling out to Los Angeles to start a series with the Angels (long flight, sitting, abdominal tightness after surgery). The Rangers would be best served by waiting until Tuesday or Wednesday at the very earliest to put him back in the lineup, but as I said before, it would be ultimately the right decision to wait until after the break.
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