| | | | Friday, August 25, 2023 | | A day later, we have some clarity on Shohei Ohtani's plans for his torn UCL. He'll continue to DH until ... well, until he decides it's time to do something about the elbow. OK, so that's not much clarity at all, but the bottom line is your Fantasy team hasn't lost an MVP-caliber bat yet. And he should continue to perform at an MVP level pre-surgery. Upon learning he needed Tommy John surgery late in 2018, Ohtani went on to hit .310 (27 for 87) with seven homers, four steals and an 1.003 OPS. | | You know who else is performing at an MVP level? Mookie Betts, whose 7-for-8 performance in two games Thursday raised his batting average to .310. He was batting .255 on June 28, but in 45 games since then, he has hit .407. The pitching star Thurday was Merrill Kelly, who struck out 12 Reds over seven one-hit innings before leaving with a hamstring cramp that isn't thought to be a big deal. He's of course been doing it all year, but an aging pitcher who hasn't, Charlie Morton, turned in a similar line just a day earlier, striking out 11 Mets over seven two-hit innings. It was his second straight double digit-strikeout effort. In both, the rpm on his curveball was up, and the control was much better. It's a sharp enough turnaround that you almost have to use Morton with two starts in Week 23, despite the tough matchups. | | | | Speaking of advisable starts in Week 23, I have several pitcher and hitter recommendations for you, including Cole Ragans, who hit 101 mph in an 11-strikeout gem Wednesday, and Wilyer Abreu, who collected four hits, including a home run, in his second major-league start Thursday. | | Top 5 Two-Start SPs for Week 23 | | Zac Gallen, SP, Diamondbacks | | Start 1 : @ Dodgers (LAD) | | Start 2 : vs Orioles (BAL) | | Blake Snell, SP, Padres | | Start 1 : @ Cardinals (STL) | | Start 2 : vs Giants (SF) | | Justin Steele, SP, Cubs | | Start 1: vs Brewers | | Start 2: @ Reds | | Kevin Gasuman, SP, Blue Jays | | Start 1: vs. Nationals | | Start 2: @ Rockies | | Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers | | Start 1: vs. Diamondbacks | | Start 2: vs. Braves | | | | Week 23 Sleeper Pitchers | | Cole Ragans, Royals | | Things just keep getting better and better for Ragans, whose average fastball velocity was up another 2 mph in his last start, making for an overall increase of 6 mph this season. At this point, would anyone be surprised if he struck out a dozen Pirates? | | Tarik Skubal, Tigers | | The roster rate is getting up there for Skubal, but I'll take this one last opportunity to tout him with favorable matchups against the Yankees and White Sox forthcoming. He's coming off back-to-back six-inning starts, too, which makes him more usable than ever. | | Kenta Maeda, Twins | | Lugo has generally been reliable this year, a recent blip against the Dodgers notwithstanding, so he seems like a safe choice against a Marlins lineup that ranks in the bottom six in runs scored despite its recent acquisitions. He'll first need to get past the Diamondbacks this weekend, though. | | Week 23 Sleeper Hitters | | Kerry Carpenter, OF, Tigers | | The August standout (nine home runs this month) has become an everyday player, but Carpenter is still at his best against right-handers, batting .296 with a .933 OPS. Fortunately, that's all the Tigers are scheduled to face in their seven games this week, and they're some of the worst the Yankees and White Sox can throw at them. | | Nolan Jones, OF, Rockies | | Jones caught fire on the Rockies' last home stand and is back at Coors Field for back-to-back series against the Braves and Blue Jays. Seeing as he's batting .282 with an .875 OPS this season, it's a wonder he's as available as he is. | | Yainer Diaz, C, Astros | | Diaz is quickly rising the catcher ranks while splitting his time between his primary position, first base and DH. He doesn't have a job all to himself, but seeing as he's batting .341 (31 for 91) with eight homers in his past 26 games, Dusty Baker is motivated to play him. | | | | News and Notes | | Yordan Alvarez returned to the lineup Thursday, finished 1-3 with a walk.Ozzie Albies is trending in the right direction but remains day-to-day and is not certain to return this weekend, when first eligible. Jonathan India traveled to the Reds' training complex where he was slated to begin running on an anti-gravity treadmill. He could return in early September if he suffers no setbacks. Kenley Jansen reported improvement with his injured right hamstring and is confident he can avoid a stint on the IL.Kyle Wright threw three scoreless innings while allowing one hit and striking out four in his first rehab outing at High-A. He's 61% rostered.Mason Miller threw three scoreless innings while striking out five at Triple-A Thursday. He's 30% rostered. Joey Votto was placed on the IL due to left shoulder discomfort. He's expected back in early September. Alek Manoah has joined Triple-A to be built back up after a wide range of medical tests cleared him of any major structural issues.Stone Garrett was placed on the IL with a fractured left fibula, just a brutal injury he suffered Wednesday night. Hate to see it.The Rays optioned Curtis Mead back to Triple-A.The Guardians optioned Brayan Rocchio back to Triple-A as well.The White Sox promoted catcher Korey Lee, who came over from the Astros in the Kendall Graveman trade. Some bittersweet news as Stephen Strasburg is planning to retire in September at 35 years old. Once one of the best pitchers in the sport, his career has been cut short following thoracic outlet syndrome. | | | | | | | | NFL on CBS | | PGA Tour on CBS | Tonight, the NFL on CBS preseason kicks off with the Lions heading to Carolina to take on the rookie quarterback and overall first-draft pick, Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers. The NFL returns tonight at 8 PM ET.
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| | This weekend on CBS, the PGA Tour's FedexCup Playoffs reach their epic conclusion. Thirty of the best players in the world including Scheffler, Hovland and McIlroy will be in the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta with the winner taking home golf's toughest trophy to win. Live coverage begins Saturday at 3 PM ET and continues Sunday at 1:30 PM ET.
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