The injury to Tyler Glasnow headlines this week’s depth chart review. Regardless of your take on Glasnow before the season, there’s no denying his dominance through the first two-plus months of the season. We’ll touch on who fills in for Glasnow on the Rays in that section. Oh, and this person named Wander Franco is receiving the call to the big leagues. Outside of the Rays players, we have several deep-league players who gain an increase in playing time with injuries to the starter. As always, we have a full slate of injuries, news, and notes for many fantasy-relevant players. Let’s get after it.

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Angels

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Astros

Abraham Toro (1B/3B – HOU)
In recent years, Abraham Toro became a dynasty league sleeper but then stumbled quite a bit in his MLB experience. With Alex Bregman hitting the injured list with a quad injury, Toro slides over to third. Astros manager Dusty Baker was a bit vague and worrisome that “it will be a while” until Bregman returns. 

Alex Bregman will miss "a period of time," Dusty Baker said. He declined to give a timeframe, but said "it will be a while."

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) June 18, 2021

In his first game back, Toro hit one home run with one steal against the White Sox. At Triple-A this season, he was hitting well with two home runs, two steals, and a .352 batting average. With that said, Toro is someone to pick up and roster in 15-team leagues since he should play every day.

Athletics

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Blue Jays

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Braves

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Brewers

Kolten Wong (2B – MIL) is Back
Ah, some good news – Kolten Wong is back from the injured list due to a strained oblique. As expected, Wong slotted right back into the leadoff spot. We’ll see if this trend sticks, but Daniel Vogelbach stayed in the two-hole while Luis Urías went down to 7th after batting leadoff in Wong’s absence. 

Cardinals

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Cubs

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Diamondbacks

Corbin Martin (SP – ARI)
The Diamondbacks recalled Corbin Martin earlier last week on June 15, and he made one relief appearance. Martin allowed four hits, two earned runs, and two walks with two strikeouts in three innings. Then on Sunday, Martin allowed seven hits, four earned runs, and three walks with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings. He is someone to monitor in deeper leagues since he made two short starts in May with a 9.00 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 18.6% strikeout rate, and 16.3% walk rate. That’s not great at all, but it’s a small sample, and Martin may need to make a spot start from time to time. 

Carson Kelly (C – ARI)
This one stings a bit with Carson Kelly hitting the 10-day injured list with a wrist injury. Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler hit Kelly on the wrist with a pitch, which resulted in Kelly leaving the game over the weekend. It stings because Kelly had eight home runs, 22 runs, and 26 RBI with a triple slash of .260/.385/.460. Kelly boasted career bests with an 11.2% barrel rate, .367 wOBA, .391 xwOBA, and 15% walk rate. In 15-team leagues with two catchers, hang on to Kelly since it’s difficult to find a catcher that hits well. 

On Sunday, the Diamondbacks recalled Daulton Varsho, but the question with Varsho involves playing time. However, given the other options in Stephen Vogt, Varsho could play catcher and in the outfield if necessary. We know the allure with Varsho is a catcher-eligible hitter that can provide stolen bases. In two catcher leagues, Varsho is a must-add in case the production and playing time come around. 

Update: On Sunday, Varsho started at catcher and moved to centerfield later in the game. He went hitless in four at-bats while batting 7th.

Dodgers

Cody Bellinger (1B/OF – LAD) & Max Muncy (1B/2B/3B – LAD)
Both Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy played in a simulated game on Saturday. That’s good news as both expect to return sometime this week. If and when both hitters return, Matt Beaty and possibly Zach McKinstry’s playing time take a hit. Beaty typically plays the strong side of the platoon with a .296 batting average and .802 OPS against righties. McKinstry is a bit of a Chris Taylor light, so his playing may stick around to some extent with the utility role. 

Giants

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Indians

José Ramírez (3B – CLE)
On Friday, José Ramírez left the game late with a foot injury. However, unless he hits the injured list, then this is more of an injury note to monitor. Fortunately, he returned to the lineup on Monday, so it sounds like a minor issue. 

Mariners

Jake Fraley (OF – SEA)
With Kyle Lewis moving to the 60-day injured list, it further cements playing time for folks like Jake Fraley. Since Fraley’s call-up on May 31, he is hitting .263 with four home runs, 11 runs, 15 RBI, and four steals. During that stretch, Fraley boasts a 10.8% barrel rate and a 29.7% line drive rate, yet a 24.3% hard-hit rate. Make sure he’s not hanging around on waivers in 15-team leagues since he provides power and speed plus secure playing time. 

Justin Dunn (SP – SEA)
Mariners starting pitcher Justin Dunn left Thursday’s start and ended up landing on the injured list with right shoulder discomfort. Dunn pitched fairly well with a 3.75 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 22.5% strikeout rate, and 13.3% walk rate in 50.1 innings. The walk rate looks worrisome, and it seems the ratios might be a bit unsustainable given his .238 BABIP allowed and 79.5% LOB%. 

Dunn’s primary secondary pitches in the curveball and slider perform well with an 11.2% swinging-strike rate on the curve and a 14.5% swinging-strike rate on the slider. In 15-team leagues, I’d consider holding Dunn for a week or two since fantasy managers can use him as a streamer. In the meantime, this locks up a five-man rotation for the Mariners with Chris Flexen and Justus Sheffield, which could mean a potential two-start week for one of the Mariners starting pitchers. 

Marlins

Miguel Rojas (SS – MIA)
The Marlins activated shortstop Miguel Rojas from the injured list, which means playing time for Jon Berti takes a minor hit. However, Berti still earns playing time with Brian Anderson and José Devers on the injured list too. Rojas provides value in 15-team leagues with a solid .265 batting average, three home runs, 32 runs, 16 RBI, and four steals.

Mets

Jeff McNeil (2B/3B/OF – NYM)
Jeff McNeil finally returned on Monday after landing on the injured list and not playing since May 16. In the half-month of May, McNeil hit better with a .302 batting average and .806 OPS, which looks better than his season-long line. The Mets need help on offense with a .314 team wOBA (No. 20) over the past 14 days. On Monday, McNeil pinch hit for Jacob deGrom and went 1-for-1 with one run scored in the first game of the doubleheader.

Jacob deGrom (SP – NYM)
On Monday, news broke that Jacob deGrom will start the first game of the doubleheader. That’s good news since deGrom had shortened outings recently due to injuries. deGrom threw a deGrom like performance with five scoreless innings with one hit and one walk allowed while striking out six hitters. Outside a slider dip in slider velocity, deGrom’s four-seamer velocity went up 0.4 mph.

Nationals

Max Scherzer (SP – WSH)
The same day last week’s depth chart review went out, Max Scherzer hit the 10-day injured list. Scherzer left his start last weekend with a groin injury, but per Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports, Scherzer will only stay on the IL for a minimum of ten days. 

Max Scherzer doesn't expect to be on the 10-day IL for more than 10 days, but the Nationals will need someone to take his place for tomorrow's series finale against the Pirates. https://t.co/HSF9mkFLZd

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) June 15, 2021

If that’s the case, then Scherzer could return sometime this week. Although I’m not 100% buying into Erick Fedde’s profile, it’s worth noting him as a deep-league streamer.

Austin Voth (P – WSH) & Erick Fedde (SP – WSH)
Possibly even Austin Voth, but Voth is currently in the bullpen. Fedde recorded three straight scoreless appearances with two in June. One of those starts came in May before he landed on the COVID-19 injured list. In total, that’s 19 scoreless innings with a 25% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate.

On Friday, Fedde’s cutter and curveball performed well against the Mets. With Fedde’s heavy sinker usage (45.3%), he induces a ton of ground balls, evidenced by a 63.6% GB% in those three scoreless starts and a 51.9% GB% on the season.

Orioles

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Padres 

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Phillies

Jean Segura (2B/3B – PHI) 
The Phillies placed Jean Segura on the injured list with a groin strain. Unfortunately, it sounds like it will keep Segura out around three weeks.

Jean Segura has a Grade 1 groin strain. He could miss three weeks.

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) June 17, 2021

Segura’s injury means more playing time for Brad Miller, Luke Williams, and Nick Maton. Since Miller is likely rostered in 15-team leagues, we’ll touch on Williams and Maton.

Luke Williams (SS – PHI) & Nick Maton (2B/SS – PHI)
In 31 plate appearances, Williams hit one home run, four runs, and three RBI with a .355 batting average. At Triple-A in 2021, Williams had three steals with a .352 batting average. Then back in Double-A in 2019, Williams stole 30 bases in 39 attempts, although it came with a .238 batting average in 504 plate appearances. That said, Williams may not be relevant in 15-team leagues quite yet, but a name to monitor for potential steals. 

With Nick Maton, the Phillies recalled him in a corresponding move with Segura’s injury. Maton’s profile looks more like a bench bat, although we have a limited sample outside of 2019 at High-A before this season. In 2021, Maton is hitting .250 with two home runs, ten runs, eight RBI, and two steals in 111 plate appearances.

Pirates

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Rangers

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Rays

Tyler Glasnow (SP – TB)
One of the headliners for this past week involves Tyler Glasnow, his injury, and the video where he mentioned the use of sticky stuff and injuries. According to manager Kevin Cash, Glasnow will not throw for four weeks and receive treatment on his elbow.

Kevin Cash says he feels more encouraged now that RHP Tyler Glasnow has seen Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas. The current plan is for Glanow to be shut down from throwing for 4 weeks and also receive some treatment for the bones in the joint that may be causing issues #Rays

— Steve Carney (@stevecarney) June 19, 2021

Try and hang onto Glasnow while you can since he holds that ace-like upside this season and in the past. The next difficult question involves who fills in for Glasnow.

Michael Wacha (SP – TB)
Michael Wacha looks like the most logical replacement since he averaged over five innings per appearance/start in the first five appearances. During that stretch, Wacha had a 3.86 ERA, 1.129 WHIP, a 22.3% strikeout rate, and a 7.8% walk rate. 

Since then, Wacha made four starts with three relief appearances, all consisting of 3.2 innings or fewer. In two of those appearances, Wacha allowed nine earned runs, including his most recent start against the Mariners. With the added opportunity to start and earn wins, this puts Wacha back on the streaming pitcher radar in 15-team leagues.

Other Rays Pitching Options

Similar to the Cardinals losing Jack Flaherty, the Rays don’t have much starting pitcher depth outside of Ryan Yarbrough, rookie Shane McClanahan, plus veteran/injury risk Rich Hill and Josh Fleming. Maybe they call up Luis Patiño or Brent Honeywell Jr. for some depth, but Wacha is the most likely to go about five innings, assuming he isn’t pitching poorly. 

Collin McHugh (RP – TB)
One other fantasy-relevant Rays pitcher to monitor, especially in 15-team leagues – Collin McHugh. In 2020, McHugh opted out of the season, but he’s finding renewed production with the Rays. In 26.1 innings primarily in relief, McHugh has a 2.39 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 36.4% strikeout rate, and 6.5% walk rate. He made a few starts of no more than two innings of work, meaning he served in an opener role. Even if McHugh doesn’t make any starts, he should provide strikeouts and solid ratios moving forward. 

Wander Franco (SS – TB)
Oh, baby, it’s happening! Insert the GIF with Michael Scott here, as we have the Rays calling up Wander Franco on Tuesday. Outside of Jarred Kelenic receiving the call – this is the move we’ve all been waiting for. In June at Triple-A, Franco is hitting .371 with three home runs, 12 runs, 17 RBI, and two steals. 

At this point, fantasy managers have Franco stashed in almost all league sizes and formats. With the Rays calling him up, we have to imagine Franco plays most days a week. That means Taylor Walls, Joey Wendle, or even Yandy Díaz may lose some playing time. 

Red Sox

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Reds

Mike Moustakas (1B/2B/3B – CIN)
The Reds moved Mike Moustakas to the 60-day injured list after a setback during a rehab game. This puts the injury timeline for Moustakas back to the middle of July. Moustakas hasn’t played since May 18 with four home runs, 15 runs, and 13 RBI. Interestingly, all the hard-hit metrics were down for Moustakas with a 4.2% barrel rate and 29.2% hard-hit rate. With Moustakas out longer than expected, this solidifies playing time for Jonathan India, their current leadoff hitter, and Kyle Farmer, who can play all over the infield. 

Rockies

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Royals

Adalberto Mondesi (SS – KC)
On Sunday, Adalberto Mondesi left the game with a side issue. Manager Mike Matheny noted they’re waiting on more information regarding this injury/issue. 

Update: On Monday, the Royals placed Mondesi on the injured list with a strained left oblique.

We have made the following roster moves. #Royals pic.twitter.com/6qNOFe0FhQ

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 21, 2021

When Mondesi is playing this season, he is crushing it with a .361 batting average, four home runs, six runs, nine RBI, and one steal in 38 plate appearances. Hopefully, Mondesi won’t need to miss much time.

With Mondesi hitting the IL, Nicky Lopez should earn playing time once again. However, Lopez only provides value with steals and a decent batting average. Over the past two weeks, Lopez has a .394 batting average with zero home runs, four runs, two RBI, and two steals. The Royals run a bunch with the second-most steals behind the San Diego Padres, but Lopez’s lineup spot isn’t great towards the bottom of the lineup. Regardless, Lopez is worth picking up for steals in 15-team leagues.

Bobby Witt Jr. (SS – KC)
Anytime we have an injury to a Royals infielder, we must check in on Bobby Witt Jr. In June, Witt is slashing .343/.405/.672 with four home runs and five steals. This is great to see after some struggles in May with seven home runs and six steals, yet he slashed .233/.314/.478.

Bobby Witt Jr. now has the 6th best wRC+ in the Royals system at 141 (meaning he’s 41% better than league average). Since May 12 he’s hitting .301/.369/.632/1.001 with a 0.43 BB/K and 161 wRC+ in 149 PA. There’s still some swing and miss but he is absolutely clobbering baseballs.

— Royals Farm Report (@RoyalsFarm) June 21, 2021

Tigers

Matthew Boyd (SP – DET)
On Friday, news broke that Tigers starting pitcher Matthew Boyd will not return before the All-Star break, which puts his timetable into mid-July. Such a tough blow for fantasy managers since it looked like Boyd was on pace for a career season in terms of ratios with a 3.44 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 18.8% strikeout rate, and 6.4% walk rate in 70.2 innings.

Boyd’s walk rate is similar to his 2019 walk rate, yet Boyd’s strikeout rate is down. However, it’s coming with the lowest ERA and lowest HR/FB% of his career. Part of the reason involves the highest first-pitch strike percentage of his career at 71.1% compared to a career rate of 61.9%.

Boyd also adjusted his pitch mix by lowering the four-seamer usage and increasing the changeup usage, which he uses as a weapon against right-handed hitters. Boyd throws his changeup 22.7% of the time and 252 times to right-handed hitters and only two times to lefties. 

Since Boyd pitched well so far with some metrics to back up the solid start to 2021, I would hold Boyd in all formats. The Tigers starting pitching coach is having a positive impact on Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal with their pitch mix changes. When we add in Boyd’s pitch mix change, then it looks like a positive trend. Tigers’ top prospect Matt Manning is one to monitor. 

Matt Manning (SP – DET)
After a dreadful start in Triple-A this season with an 8.07 ERA in 32.1 innings, the Tigers called up Matt Manning to start against the Angels. Manning’s last two starts in June looked better, though with 11 innings pitched, eight hits, four earned runs, four walks, and eight strikeouts.

In Manning’s MLB debut, he went five innings and allowed four hits, two earned runs, and two walks with three strikeouts. Manning relied heavily on the four-seamer (69%), which resulted in an 18% whiff rate and 26% CSW%. He also threw ten sliders with zero whiffs or called strikes. All that said, it’s one start, and the results look good, but we want more skills to back it up.

Wilson Ramos Designated for Assignment
In a bit of some surprising news, the Tigers designated Wilson Ramos for assignment, which essentially locks in playing time for Eric Haase. Admittedly, I had not heard of Haase before this season. Haase had an unreal home run stretch in early June with six home runs in six games that included a pair of two home run games. Although he cooled off a bit with a .139 batting average since that home run streak, Haase is crushing baseballs with a 16.2% barrel rate and 54.4% hard-hit rate. Overall, it locks in playing time for Haase, which adds to his value in 15-team leagues with two catcher spots.

Niko Goodrum (2B/SS – DET)
The day after Niko Goodrum left the game, the Tigers placed him on the 10-day injured list with a left finger injury. Goodrum is worth hanging onto in 15-team leagues since he already has 12 steals with five home runs, yet it comes with a low .211 batting average. The Tigers recalled Isaac Paredes in a corresponding move. 

Paredes made a brief appearance recently with one home run, two runs, and two RBI with a .143 batting average in 24 plate appearances. I wouldn’t recommend going after Paredes since he likely won’t earn enough playing time to make him relevant. Roster Resource shows Harold Castro to platoon at shortstop as a lefty bat, meaning he should take on the strong side of the platoon. 

Willi Castro (2B/3B/SS – DET)
However, Willi Castro is the Castro to roster in deeper leagues. Willi Castro has six home runs, 27 runs, 25 RBI, and three steals with a .216 batting average. Although Willi Castro uses a bit of an aggressive approach with a 40.3% O-Swing%, he ranks about league average with an 84% Z-Contact%. However, he doesn’t barrel up the ball much with a 3.9% barrel rate even though he boasts a career-best 115.4 maximum exit velocity.  

Twins

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

White Sox

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

Yankees

No fantasy-relevant news and notes.

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