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Monday, September 11, 2023
Overshadowing everything that happened on the field this weekend was the news that Jasson Dominguez has a torn UCL in his right elbow and is out for the season. The 20-year-old had just gotten a full head of steam, too, with four home runs in his first eight games. The recovery from that injury is more straightforward for hitters than for pitchers, but it probably puts Dominguez out for the first month or two of 2024 as well.
More cause for concern?
Also cause for alarm was Cole Ragans' weird sixth inning Sunday. After dominating the Blue Jays for the first five, as we've come to expect from him, he lost command of the strike zone and actually threw three consecutive pitches to the backstop, landing flat on his chest on the first of them and nearly losing his footing on the third as well. He said afterward that his spike kept getting caught on the mound, which is hopefully all it was, but since he didn't get a chance to recover from the series of mishaps, we'll all be holding our breath when he takes the mound against the Astros next time out. Even so, it's hard to imagine sitting him in Fantasy.
Kyle Schwarber homered both Saturday and Sunday, giving him 13 in his past 21 games and 43 overall. He's still batting under .200 for the season, though. Pablo Lopez struck out 14 over eight two-hit innings Sunday and has a 2.29 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 10.1 K/9 over his past 13 starts. Zac Gallen threw a complete game shutout at the Cubs Friday, keeping him alive in the NL Cy Young race, but his top competitors, Justin Steele and Blake Snell, each delivered a fine outing over the weekend as well.
Those players are all widely rostered in CBS Sports leagues, however. Let's check in on some who aren't:
Waiver Wire players to scoop now  
Nolan Jones, OF, Colorado Rockies
The real question is how Nolan Jones is available enough to qualify for this list still. The power has been there all along, but he's really showcased his speed of late with five stolen bases already this month. How do a .280 batting average, 28 home runs, 24 stolen bases, 90 RBI and 84 runs sound to you? That's Jones' 162-game pace, and you'd be lucky to get those numbers in Round 5 of next year's draft, much less off the waiver wire. I suppose you could criticize his 31.7 percent strikeout rate, but the boost he gets from playing half his games at Coors Field more than makes up for it. Incidentally, that's where he'll be spending all of this week.
Rostered : 72%
Kyle Wright, SP, Atlanta Braves
I'm hesitant to include Kyle Wright here for the simple reason that he's already more rostered than Jose Quintana, who's the higher-priority pickup. But reports are he could be activated as early as Monday, for the second game of a doubleheader, which would theoretically line him up for two starts right away. Of course, if he makes only one, it figures to be on the shorter side given that he didn't go beyond 3 2/3 innings or 50 pitches on his minor-league rehab assignment. And while he struck out seven while allowing just one hit in those 3 2/3 innings, there's still no guarantee he'll hit the ground running after missing four months with shoulder inflammation. He led the majors with 21 wins last year, though, and has an even better offensive backing him now, so if this first turn or two does go smoothly, he may be a fixture for you thereafter.
Rostered : 62%
Ryan Pepiot RP, Los Angeles Dodgers
In the last edition of Waiver Wire, which came out Thursday morning, I pointed out that Ryan Pepiot might finally stick in the rotation spot vacated by Julio Urias if he could simply come through at the Marlins later that day. All he did was throw six perfect innings before finally allowing a hit in the seventh. There's been no talk of sending him down since then, which may not be terribly surprising, but then again, he allowed a combined two earned runs over 14 innings in his previous three appearances and was sent down after each. Regardless, it seems like he's here to stay now, and given the huge strides he's made with his control, issuing 1.4 BB/9 between the majors and minors this year compared to 4.4 last year, there's every reason to believe he'll continue to thrive. We haven't yet seen him strike out hitters at the rate he's capable either.
Rostered : 54%
News and Notes
  • Shohei Ohtani has now missed seven straight with inflammation in his right oblique. 
  • Mookie Betts was in the lineup Sunday after missing two straight with a left foot injury.
  • Spencer Strider is dealing with an illness and had his start moved from Monday to Wednesday this week.
  • Bo Bichette made his return from the IL Friday.
  • Felix Bautista played catch for the second time Friday and hasn't been ruled out for a return this year. Here's what manager Brandon Hyde said: "We're going to see how he feels. We are just kind of monitoring it day-to-day."
  • Christian Yelich has missed two straight with a back issue, which is pretty scary given his history. 
  • John Means will make his season debut Tuesday, which might make him a two-start pitcher. There's a chance Kyle Wright returns Monday for one of the doubleheader games. 
  • CJ Abrams is dealing with a knee injury he suffered on a slide Saturday. Manager Dave Martinez did say he expects Abrams to be back in the lineup Monday.
  • Ketel Marte was out Sunday with left knee soreness after being hit by a pitch. 
  • Andres Muñoz has been battling some minor left hip tightness but threw without issue before Sunday's game.
  • Isaac Paredes was out of the lineup Sunday after getting hit by a pitch on his hand Saturday.
  • Alex Cobb said he expects to return to the rotation Monday against the Guardians.
  • Mason Miller is scheduled to start Monday against the Astros, though he'll remain on a pitch count. He only threw 27 pitches in his relief appearance last week. 
  • Walker Buehler will not pitch for the Dodgers this year. They're shifting their focus to 2024 instead. 
  • Speaking of 2024, Rays pitcher Shane Baz said he's on track to be a "full go" in spring training. He had Tommy John late last year.
  • Marcus Stroman will throw a session of live batting practice Monday and could soon be cleared for a rehab assignment.
  • JD Martinez was activated Friday. Michael Busch was sent back to Triple-A.
  • Clayton Kershaw had his start pushed back from Monday to Friday. Gavin Stone will start Monday against the Padres.
  • Jordan Lawlar was out of the lineup Sunday after getting hit by a pitch on his right hand Saturday.
  • Noelvi Marte suffered a fractured nose after being struck in the face while playing catch Saturday. It looks like he'll avoid the IL. Marte could lose some playing time, though, as Jonathan India and Joey Votto were both activated Sunday.
  • Henry Davis began a rehab assignment with Triple-A on Saturday
  • Michael Kopech has been moved to the White Sox bullpen and will be used in a multi-inning role.
 
 
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