A.J. Burnett

A's catcher Sean Murphy is recovering from surgery on a collapsed lung over the offseason. Bob Melvin states he should be ready by Opening Day.

Fantasy Impact

In Murphy's rookie season, he had a .233 batting average, .364 on-base percentage, and a .821 OPS. He also tallied seven home runs. He's an interesting backstop to target late in one-catcher formats.

Burnett went six innings while giving up seven hits, two walks, and two earned runs while striking out seven.

Fantasy Impact

Burnett was out-dueled by Jake Arrieta on the evening but has continued to be an effective pitcher since returning from injury earlier this month. Burnett hasn't kept the pace he set for himself in the first half of the season but still has his ERA under four for the month of September.

A.J. Burnett had another good outing against the Chicago Cubs. He scattered eight hits but only gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings. Burnett also had seven strike outs. He did not get a decision as the Pirates lost in extra innings, 3-2.

Fantasy Impact

This is good news to see Burnett getting some of his form back for the rest of the season. Burnett should be a viable starter in your lineup from here on out.

According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, A.J. Burnett has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to elbow inflammation. This not too surprising considering Burnett has struggled since the All-Star break. He has pitched just 16 innings in his last three starts, giving up 18 runs and 32 hits, including seven earned runs and 10 hits in just 4 1/3 innings in his last outing versus Cincinnati.

Fantasy Impact

Since boasting a 2.11 ERA before the All-Star Game, Burnett has seen it swell to 3.06 while dropping his last two decisions. Keep monitoring his progress. If this is merely swelling due to fatigue, the rest could get the 38-year-old Burnett back to form and he could help your fantasy team in the late season run.

The Pittsburgh Pirates went to extra innings twice in three days with the Phillies. The crazier part of that, both games were knotted at 0-0. Burnett went 9 innings of shut out baseball, but the Bucs weren't able to back Burnett's outstanding outing.

Fantasy Impact

A.J. Burnett went full beast mode on Sunday, as he threw 9 shut out innings and struck out 4 batters. Burnett does not record a high volume of strikeouts, but he does tend to go 7+ innings every time he takes the mound. He also has one of the lowest NL ERA's, which makes him an extremely valuable fantasy pitcher.