Remember March, when Andrew McCutchen and Paul Goldschmidt were fantasy's consensus third and fourth overall picks, and we looked forward to great seasons from both of them? Well, their owners had a rough weekend.
Let's start with Goldschmidt, who broke his left hand Saturday on a HBP and is almost certainly done for the season. Of the widely available fantasy first basemen, you might want to take a shot at Mark Reynolds (owned in just 10.9 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) for his power and gamble that his bad BA won't hurt too much. Every league is different, so send me a tweet (@jhalpin37) if you have a question.
McCutchen's situation doesn't appear as dire, but his status is up in the air. He left Sunday's game with "left side discomfort," and will be re-evaluated today. The fear is an oblique injury, which can come with a lenghty (four weeks?) recovery time. We should know more today, but I'd lean toward keeping McCutchen on my bench in a weekly league if I had that option.
Sunday's studs & duds
Stud: Madison Bumgarner was terrific, allowing three baserunners and striking out 10 in a complete-game shutout against the Mets.
Stud: Anibal Sanchez might have been even better. He threw just seven innings, but gave up just two hits and struck out 12 Rockies. I think the Tigers' rotation might be pretty good.
Stud: Giants OF Hunter Pence had three hits - including two home runs - three runs scored and four RBI.
Stud: Danny Santana had five hits, four RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases in the Twins' rout of the White Sox. Santana played center field, but still carries fantasy eligibility at shortstop. He's owned in just 23.4 percent of FOXSports.com leagues.
Dud: Clay Buchholz gave up seven runs and allowed 13 baserunners against the Yankees. Buchholz now has a 6.20 ERA with a 1.61 WHIP.
Dud: Neftali Feliz blew his first save for the Rangers. More importantly, Feliz has five strikeouts and five walks in 14 1/3 innings since being promoted from Triple A in early July. Feliz figures to get a long leash as the Rangers' closer, but he won't succeed if he pitches like this. Unfortunately, the Rangers' alternatives aren't great. Shawn Tolleson is the longshot speculative fantasy option.
News & notes
Brewers SP Matt Garza left Sunday's game with an oblique strain. Garza sounded optimistic after the game, but you should prepare for a long absence if you own him.
A's OF Coco Crisp (neck) hit in the cage on Sunday, and manager Bob Melvin said, "Maybe we're close to having him in a game." I don't know what that means. Tonight, tomorrow ...
Trade deadline movers David Price and Drew Smyly are scheduled to start for their new teams on Tuesday.
Astros OF George Springer (quad) will begin a rehab assignment tonight, and could come off the DL any day. Teammate Dexter Fowler (intercostal strain) hopes to begin a rehab assignment sometime this week.
Here's an update on some Yankee pitching injuries. There's a ray of hope for Masahiro Tanaka, who might be able to play catch this week. Or have a catch, as we said growing up in New York.
Giants OF Angel Pagan (back) will move his rehab to Triple A today and tomorrow, and could be activated from the DL as soon as Wednesday.
The Twins claimed OF Jordan Schafer off waivers from the Braves, and plan to use him in a part-time role. Schafer has 15 stolen bases this season, and could offer some cheap AL-only speed. In other Twins' news, SP prospect Trevor May might get called up as soon as next weekend.
Streaming starters
Jon Niese was OK on Friday, Vance Worley was equally adequate on Saturday, and Bartolo Colon got knocked around on Sunday; we're 65-46 for the season. Today's pick is Brandon McCarthy (18.1 percent owned) versus the Tigers, and Tuesday's selection is new Ray Drew Smyly (15.1 percent owned) at Oakland.
See you back here tomorrow morning.
