MLB Fantasy Baseball: Thursday News and Notes

The first day back after the break always brings fewer games than you might hope. Only four on the docket today, but plenty coming tomorrow. There are a fair amount of stories to keep your eyes on this week, mainly concerning injuries and comebacks. Let's get to it.

• David Ortiz is scheduled to play six rehab games in AA and AAA. He's likely to return to the Boston lineup on the 25th of this month. The question will be his complete health. The Red Sox won't have long to determine if the Ortiz they are getting is the one that has been the team MVP for the last several seasons. If not, they'll need to make a move quickly. Watch Ortiz's rehab performances closely, and we'll keep you up to date on how he looks.
• Takashi Saito will be out until at least August with a sprained ligament in his pitching elbow. Look for Jonathan Broxton to take over as the closer until Saito is back and healthy. He's a fine pickup for anyone looking for saves.
• The news keeps getting worse for the Yankees. It looks possible that Hideki Matsui will be out for the season. He's experienced swelling around the same knee that has sidelined him since the middle of June and may need surgery to heal it completely. Not good news there. Johnny Damon is eligible to come off the DL, but he may need until the end of next week to get his shoulder to heal.
• Who could be a potential replacement in the Yankee outfield? The hot rumor is Barry Bonds, obviously. He has fantasy value if for power alone. Should your league count OBP, that value is even higher. Otherwise, look for youth to take over. None of this will have a material impact.
• Magglio Ordonez will come off the DL before today's game, so adjust lineups accordingly. Ordonez has been sidelined with a strained oblique, but he feels good enough to go. If he's playing, he should be in your lineup.
• Keep an eye on Dan Uggla. I'm not expecting him to fall flat after his All-Star Game performance, but stranger things have happened. He struggled on the national stage, and that can stick with a guy.
• Here are a couple other final All-Star notes. I'd be very careful with Scott Kazmir next time out. He threw 104 pitches on Sunday, then pitched an inning in the game on Tuesday. He could see a setback, and he's been prone to injury before. Not as concerned with Brandon Webb, but the potential for that issue is there as well.

Notes for today's games:

• Note on pitching this week, most leagues waive innings limits. Because of the short schedule, Yahoo! leagues waive innings limits and don't require you to hit that certain target. It lets you pick and choose starters more carefully. Look at how your league scores them.
• Garrett Olson has come back to earth lately, but he still has a solid home record. He's the best of limited spot-start options in this case. Because of the note above, and how well Detroit was swinging heading into the break, I'd leave this one alone. The Tigers offense is clicking and Olson still has an ERA over four at home.
• Aubrey Huff is just 3-for-22 against Kenny Rogers. Ramon Hernandez, Jay Payton, and Melvin Mora are all above .292 and should be considered decent plays if you have them available. Avoid Rogers here; his ERA on the road is 4.75.
• We've actually seen Jake Peavy struggle on the road this season, sporting a 3-2 record and 4.41 ERA in six starts. The Cardinals' big bats have been able to handle Peavy. Glaus (.417/2/3) and Pujols (.353/2/6) give Peavy fits, but the rest of the lineup seems to struggle. The situation isn't bad enough to bench him.
• Jody Gerut saw a fair amount of Kyle Lohse during their AL days and liked all of it. Gerut is a .360 hitter against Lohse, who is still a solid start today, given the 5-1 record and .219 average he holds hitters to at home.
• If you're going to start Johnny Cueto, you do it at home. But you don't do it against a lineup like the Mets, and not with the way they're playing. Strike three would be his opponent, Johan Santana.
• All your regular Pirates and Rockies should be in the lineup today. No concerns on either end.
• No spot start recommendations. Let's hold off here and not get people in a hole.

Notes for Friday's games:

• Clay Buchholz gets a second start for Boston. Buchholz still had command problems in his last outing and it took him a while to get into the flow. Given what's working against him, I'd find another option.
• Lackey has been very good, but he does struggle with Boston. No reason to bench your regular starters here, and all the studs have decent numbers against the Angels ace.
• Jamie Moyer has been much better on the road than at home and pitches fairly well against the Marlins. If you have better options for any of them outside of Hanley Ramirez, they are worth exploring.
• I'm a fan of Mike Mussina pitching at home. He's 6-5 there, but his ERA of 3.72 makes me feel pretty good. Add to that, Oakland's offense just hasn't been very good, and Mussina matches up with the weakest of the Oakland starters in Joe Blanton.
• Jeremy Guthrie has been especially tough on right-handed hitters and been very good at home. Guthrie makes a fine play against the Tigers.
• Greg Maddux is on the road; avoid this one at all costs, but start your Cardinals.
• Jair Jurrjens was very tough on the Nationals during his only other outing against them, going seven solid innings. He's 5-1 at home on the season and has a 2.74 ERA when in Atlanta. His recent string of starts should make you bench any Nationals you might have played.
• I'm going to continue to ride the Hiroki Kuroda bandwagon when I'm not on Dana Eveland's. Kuroda is pitching very well since his stint on the DL. Sometimes that's all a pitcher needs. Start him against Arizona.
• Kevin Millwood has only put together two solid road outings all season, while Glen Perkins is pitching very well at home.
• Early spot start calls: let's go with Perkins, Kuroda, Guthrie, and Braden Looper.

Back as the need arises. Check out the full Roundtable blog.