AJ Mass, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Pollock, Kershaw among key players eyeing a return soon

Fantasy MLB, MLB

Even when you're a fan of one specific major league baseball team, it can be difficult to keep track of all of the news that surrounds your favorite club on a daily basis.

However, when you're a fantasy baseball owner and you now have to multiply that effort by 30 in order to be as up to date as possible with each and every club? It's a fool's errand that borders on the impossible.

Fear not! We'll be here each and every Monday to give you a snapshot of what's going on in the world of baseball, with one fantasy takeaway from each of the league's 30 teams. Think of it as your one-stop shop for the week ahead.

Here are the takeaways for the final full week of August play:

Arizona Diamondbacks: At the time of his elbow injury, it was believed that outfielder A.J. Pollock would be forced to miss the entire season. However, the rehab process has been way ahead of schedule and, after a strong 7-for-16 in Class A, the outfielder is ready to play full games at the Triple-A level this week. If all goes well, Pollock could be back in the Diamondbacks' lineup as early as next week, providing both Arizona and patient fantasy owners who had him stashed on their DL all year with a huge late-season boost.

Atlanta Braves: Freddie Freeman said that the pain in one of the fingers on his right hand -- which the first baseman has been enduring since the spring -- finally overcame him this weekend. Freeman sat out on Sunday following a cortisone shot, and the hope is that he'll be back in action as early as Monday. It sounds like this is an injury that could recur again before the end of the season, as Freeman confessed to getting a shot over the All-Star break as well.

Baltimore Orioles: The team has signed Chris Dickerson to a minor league deal, with an eye on adding him to their roster once September expansion kicks in. At the moment, the Orioles don't have a true center fielder to back up Adam Jones, and Joey Rickard (thumb) will not be ready to return for a few more weeks. Dickerson, who was with Baltimore in 2013, has been on the shelf because of shoulder surgery in June 2015.

Boston Red Sox: Outfielder Chris Young (hamstring) is ready to be activated by the Red Sox on Monday, and should immediately find himself back in the starting lineup -- at least against left-handed pitching. Owners of Andrew Benintendi shouldn't fret too much, though, as manager John Farrell admits the youngster "has done a hell of a job. I don't want to say it would be strictly a platoon when Chris comes back. I don't want to go there. But I do know that against lefties ... we can rotate through and keep guys fresh as we're getting down the stretch here."

Chicago Cubs: Jorge Soler missed 51 games earlier this season because of a hamstring injury, but the Cubs still consider him to be a player who bounces back from his bumps and bruises better than most. Manager Joe Maddon said that even though he held Soler out of Sunday's lineup following the outfielder fouling a ball off his knee the day before, he expects Soler to be back in action soon: "[His] knee was sore after the foul ball. I just thought he should sit down and have him stay inside." Soler did pinch hit Sunday, so signs are indeed good for a quick return.

Chicago White Sox: The news isn't good for Brett Lawrie as the second baseman tries to make his way back from a hamstring injury that has had him on the disabled list for a month now. Lawrie was pulled from his rehab assignment over the weekend and will be re-evaluated by doctors today. It was the second time in three days that Lawrie started a game but was unable to finish. Manager Robin Ventura was blunt about what that meant: "He's going to have to play a full game to be able to get back here and know you're going to play. You're going to have to be able to get through it a few times to feel like you can come back up here."

Cincinnati Reds: Zack Cozart feels that he will be ready to get back in the Reds' lineup on Tuesday, but the team may want him to take things a bit slower. Cozart was wearing a boot on his left foot on Sunday, as the shortstop deals with a sore left Achilles tendon. The good news is that this injury has not impacted Cozart's right knee, upon which he had surgery last June, ending his season. Assuming no setbacks, odds are good the team will rest Cozart until Friday, just to play it safe.

Cleveland Indians: Starting Danny Salazar on your fantasy team this week is an act of blind faith. On Thursday, the Indians starter lasted just one inning and 34 pitches in his first start back from the disabled list. Clearly, the hook wasn't injury-related, as Salazar then went on to throw in the bullpen to build arm strength -- but the three walks and three runs he allowed were concerning. Salazar is scheduled to start Tuesday for Cleveland in Oakland, but until he gets through at least one scoreless frame, he probably shouldn't start for you.

Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon has been dealing with a toe injury, and missed the entire weekend series against the Cubs as a result. David Dahl handled both center-field and leadoff duties without a hitch, going 4-for-12 in Blackmon's absence, and will likely continue to do so while he sits. Blackmon may miss a few more starts as a result of his injury. Meanwhile, the emergence of Dahl has impacted Ryan Raburn's playing time, and Raburn will now get some extra at-bats at first base going forward.

Detroit Tigers: The Tigers are getting healthy again. First, Cameron Maybin (thumb) came back from the disabled list on Sunday, several days earlier than expected, after his early-morning effort in a simulated game went exceedingly well. Then, the team announced that shortstop Jose Iglesias (hamstring) was ready to start a four-game rehab stint with Triple-A Toledo, beginning today, with an eye toward returning for Detroit's weekend series against the Angels.

Houston Astros: After waiting out a four-hour-plus rain delay Sunday, Yulieski Gurriel finally got his first major league at-bat for the Houston Astros, as the Cuban defector singled off Yovani Gallardo for his first hit. However, after a second rain delay, the new DH's hamstring tightened up and he was replaced in the lineup. Manager A.J. Hinch said he only pulled Gurriel because of the weather conditions, and while "he'll be day to day ... he could have stayed in the game." Of course, with no DH in Pittsburgh, we'll have to see how much he plays early in the week, if at all.

Kansas City Royals: Odds are good that Mike Minor will not be swooping in to save the day for the Royals in September. The pitcher left his rehab start on Friday with shoulder stiffness, marking the second time this season that Minor had to take a step back. In May, a similar issue sidelined him until the end of July. Minor, still under contract with the team for next season, may have to wait until 2017 to provide the Royals with any value.

Los Angeles Angels: Second base is up for grabs in Los Angeles. So says manager Mike Scioscia, after the team designated Johnny Giavotella for assignment over the weekend. He's hoping someone will emerge from the trio of Cliff Pennington, Gregorio Petit and the recently recalled Kaleb Cowart. "We're going to take a look at a couple of other different avenues and hopefully get the production we need, both offensively and defensively, at second base," Scioscia said.

Los Angeles Dodgers: There's really no other news that matters to the Dodgers more than the health of Clayton Kershaw. On Saturday, the pitcher threw 22 pitches off a mound and it seemed to go off without a hitch. The next step in his recovery will be a 40-pitch bullpen session Tuesday. As to where the team goes from there, they're remaining mum, but every step in the right direction is a step closer to the ace's return. Fingers, feel free to remain crossed.

Miami Marlins: It's easy to believe in things you want to believe, but that doesn't necessarily make it so. Michael Hill, the Marlins president of baseball operations, believes that Giancarlo Stanton will play again for Miami this season: "He's going to be back. He's told me he's going to be back. He's going to help this team get into October and help us get through October." Hill's assertions aside, Stanton has yet to do any baseball-related activities, and until he does, it's impossible to set any timetable for his return. Grain of salt time here, folks.

Milwaukee Brewers: Junior Guerra last pitched for the Brewers on Aug. 3, but the starter with a 2.93 ERA appears to be very close to a return. Guerra threw a successful bullpen session Friday, and will once again take to the hill Monday in a simulated game. If all goes well, there's a chance he could jump right back into the Milwaukee rotation, although a rehab start might also be in the cards. Still, at this rate of progress, he's very likely to pitch again for the Brewers before September starts.

Minnesota Twins: Kenny Vargas went just 2-for-25 in August -- although both of his hits were home runs -- and he has been sent back down to Triple-A. Vargas wasn't getting a ton of playing time with the Twins, so the move will allow him to get daily at-bats over the next week-plus before likely returning to the club when rosters expand in September. In the meantime, it seems Minnesota will use Vargas' roster spot to supplement their bullpen by rotating in fresh arms as needed.

New York Mets: Fantasy owners who dealt with Neil Walker's lack of consistent stats last week should probably not be counting on him this week, either. Although Walker did get back to the Mets' lineup over the weekend after missing four games with a lower back issue, the second baseman will not be around for the team's series in St. Louis. The good news is that he's headed out on paternity leave to witness the birth of his first child, but unless you're in a league with a very bizarre scoring system, you don't get any fantasy points for that.

New York Yankees: The youth movement in the Bronx continues to bear fruit. Back-to-back starts from Luis Cessa and Chad Green over the weekend resulted in 12 innings of one-run, eight-hit ball between the two pitchers. Manager Joe Girardi was thrilled with their efforts, even though the Yankees managed to win only one of the two games, "It's really positive to see the strides these kids have made since what we saw in spring training." With efforts like these, expect the pair to remain in the New York rotation the rest of the way.

Oakland Athletics: Billy Butler missed two games over the weekend with what the team was calling "nausea and vomiting." However, reports are emerging that Butler's issues may have stemmed from a clubhouse incident with teammate Danny Valencia. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, "No one in the Oakland clubhouse would discuss the matter on the record, but no one denied that it occurred, either." Valencia also was not in Sunday's lineup, but it's not clear if that was simply because of the matchup, or some internal, behind-the-scenes discipline. Stay tuned.

Philadelphia Phillies: Vince Velasquez's past three starts have been less than stellar. He has posted a 10.47 ERA and a .352 batting average against since Aug. 8, and while the young pitcher is trying to remain positive, the crooked numbers on the scoreboard are making that difficult. Velasquez, in all likelihood, has just a few more starts left this season before the team pulls the plug on his 2016 in order keep his workload down. Because of that, perhaps his next quality start will be his last, if only to try to have his season end on a positive note.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Josh Bell was promoted again by the Pirates, this time taking the roster spot of the injured Jung Ho Kang. Bell has hit 14 home runs at Triple-A this season, and added a pinch-hit grand slam for the Pirates during a brief stint with the team in July. Manager Clint Hurdle's issue with Bell is not his bat, though, but rather his glove: "He's still a work in progress. Matter of fact, in the game before we called him up, he made two errors. ... John Jaso is a better defensive first baseman than Josh is right now." As such, even in games where Bell does get the start, chances are good he won't be there at the finish, if the score is close.

St. Louis Cardinals: Luke Weaver showed improvement in his second major league start, striking out six and walking nobody -- a big step up from his three-K, three-BB debut -- though he still took the loss on Saturday. Still, manager Mike Matheny is worried the rookie is setting himself up for failure: "If there's one thing I think he's doing, he might be giving hitters at this level too much credit. It looks like he's trying to be perfect here. That's something we can tell him, but it's something that he'll have to learn." The good news, though, may be that Weaver has done enough to continue to try to learn that lesson on the big league level.

San Diego Padres: Jon Jay, who broke his right forearm in June, has finally started hitting off a tee, making the chances of an early-September return very much a potential reality. The Padres could find themselves a bit short in the outfield until then, as Jabari Blash missed most of last week with a jammed finger, an injury that could land him on the disabled list if he's still unable to hit over the next few days. Patrick Kivlehan has been filling in for Blash in right field, and will presumably continue in that role for now.

San Francisco Giants: Matt Cain's yo-yo season continues. After winning back-to-back five-inning shutout efforts against the Nationals, his past two starts have resulted in two losses and an 11.42 ERA. Now, the Giants have placed the pitcher on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain, his third such stint this season. For now, Jake Peavy is likely to take his next turn in the rotation, but Cain is currently expected back on Sept. 2 to face the Cubs.

Seattle Mariners: Help is on the way for Seattle's rotation. Although the team has not yet confirmed a starter for Tuesday's game against the Yankees, chances are good it will be Taijuan Walker who gets the call from Triple-A to try to tame the New York bats. Thursday's starter is not quite official yet either, but James Paxton (elbow) is all set to be activated from the disabled list following a solid three-inning rehab start Saturday. Hisashi Iwakuma is expected to pitch Wednesday, giving the right-hander an extra day of rest between starts, as well as putting him in line to face the Rangers in his subsequent outing.

Tampa Bay Rays: Logan Forsythe has now homered in three consecutive starts, and in six of his past 10 games, although it's worth noting that his most recent streak was interrupted by back spasms that forced the second baseman to miss four games. Still, even as Forsythe was being slowly worked back into the lineup by serving as the DH on Sunday, the power doesn't seem to have been bothered by the layoff. Forsythe is still available in over 38 percent of ESPN leagues.

Texas Rangers: Carlos Gomez has found a new home, without having to cross state lines. After being released by the Astros, the Rangers signed the outfielder to a minor league deal. Gomez is expected to play at the Triple-A level for a few days before joining Texas for a 10-game homestand, where he's expected to be the team's every-day left fielder. What that means for Jurickson Profar's playing time remains to be seen, but he had been getting the bulk of those starts since Shin-Soo Choo's injury landed him on the disabled list.

Toronto Blue Jays: Typically, you don't expect to see an uninjured pitcher who is under legitimate consideration for the Cy Young Award not only getting sent down to the minors, but all the way down to Class A, no less. Yet, that's what the Blue Jays are doing with Aaron Sanchez, who will spend the next 10 days in Dunedin, Florida, rather than with Toronto. The rationale for the move is to keep Sanchez's innings down while also opening up a roster spot for extra bullpen help in the interim. Sanchez is expected to be recalled in time for him to start on Aug. 31 against the Orioles.

Washington Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman is back from the disabled list, and more importantly, so is his bat. The first baseman went 4-for-8 with a home run over the weekend, showing no ill effects from the wrist injury that had caused him to miss the prior 16 games. Manager Dusty Baker expects Zimmerman's impact to be huge, "It's like getting a new, fresh player back. ... This is like May for Zim, and September for the rest of us."

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