The Yankees start a huge three-game series tonight at Toronto, but their best starter won't be able to help them. SP Masahiro Tanaka suffered a strained right hamstring on Friday, and will miss his Wednesday start. Ivan Nova will take Tanaka's spot, and his 5.11 ERA doesn't seem like an ideal match for the Blue Jays' power-packed lineup.
With the Yankees' website saying that Tanaka will miss "one turn" instead of just having his start delayed, he's likely out of play this week for those in weekly leagues.
In other news ...
Ten more strikeouts without a walk for Red Sox SP Rich Hill, huh? I can't say I'm a believer, but after seeing Hill whiff 20 batters in two starts, I'll give him a chance in his two remaining outings. Hill is owned in one percent of FOXSports.com leagues, and should pitch at home against the Orioles this weekend.
Cardinals C Yadier Molina will have an MRI today on his left thumb and wrist. Manager Mike Matheny says he's "concerned." With the Cards having clinched a playoff berth (but not yet their division), Molina could get some rest this week even if the test results aren't bad.
Remember when we were all panicked about Robinson Cano? He's batting .326 with 11 homers since the All-Star break. I hope you bought low.
In other Mariners' news, Felix Hernandez thinks he'll make his next start despite leaving early Sunday due to a stiff elbow. Also, SP Taijuan Walker might be getting shut down for the season.
According to the Mets' website, Matt Harvey "will make two more starts in the regular season, possibly pitching fewer than five innings in each of them." Look for one of those starts to be this weekend at Cincinnati. If I owned Harvey, I'd roll with him and hope for the best.
Brewers OF Ryan Braun hasn't played since Friday due to a sore lower back. Consider him day-to-day, and cross your fingers while starting him in weekly leagues.
Royals DH Kendrys Morales hit three homers on Sunday, giving him 21 for the season, along with a .293 BA, 105 RBI and 75 runs scored. Morales' preseason fantasy ADP was 319, according to the NFBC. Hard to beat that value, eh?
The White Sox and Tigers play a doubleheader today, with Game 1 starting at 1:08 p.m. ET. Set your lineups accordingly.
This probably doesn't surprise his owners, but Blue Jays SS Troy Tulowitzki still doesn't seem likely to play before the end of the regular season.
Twins SP Tommy Milone is dealing with shoulder fatigue, and his availability for the rest of the season is TBD. Phil Hughes will start in Milone's place on Wednesday.
Our streaming starter pick for today is Mets' lefty Jon Niese (owned in 11.8 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) against the terrible Braves. Niese had a rough four-start stretch in late August/early September, but allowed two runs in six innings last Sunday at Atlanta.
DFS advice (based on 50/50 games, salaries from DraftKings): David Price ($12,400) has averaged 27.5 DK points in nine starts as a Blue Jay, and is probably worth paying for ... At SP2, a guy like Niese doesn't strike out enough batters. Consider Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez ($8,300), who has averaged 19.7 DK points over his last five outings ... The Pirates and Rockies play at Coors, where rookie Rox righty Jon Gray has struggled (7.88 ERA in four starts) ... BvP alert: Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo ($5,000) is 12-for-26 with five homers vs. Wily Peralta; C Matt Wieters ($2,500) is 10-for-17 with a homer against Gio Gonzalez ... Braves 2B/3B Hector Olivera ($2,000) hasn't been great, but he has four hits in his last three games, and batted second over the weekend. At that price, he's worth a long look ... I'm not able to start everyone in the White Sox lineup against Randy Wolf, but I can definitely use SS Alexei Ramirez ($3,400) ... I don't know what's gotten into Cardinals OF Tommy Pham ($3,400), but he's killing the ball, so I won't argue.
See you back here Wednesday morning.
