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(*) PT TODAY: Miller benefits from Taylor injury

PT Today

BaseballHQ

Mar 15 2015 11:11pm

(*) PT TODAY: Miller benefits from Taylor injury

BaseballHQ

Mar 15 2015

Team-by-team playing time allocation charts can be found in our Teamview pages.

American League \| National League

Mariners \| Chris Taylor has broken wrist
Seattle Mariners SS Chris Taylor (wrist) will be sidelined four to six weeks because of a broken right wrist. He suffered the injury after getting hit by a pitched ball against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday, March 13, on a play that was ruled to be a foul tip. He remained in the game and reached on a single but will now open the regular season on the disabled list. Source: MLB.com - Greg Johns

BHQ take: Brad Miller benefits from Taylor's misfortune, as he is now the de facto Opening Day SS for the Mariners. Miller also had the job to open 2014, but a miserable start threw him into more of a part-time role. After that, Miller posted solid numbers in three of the last four months of the year, with a .296 xBA and a SLG over .500 in August and September. He's not likely to repeat those numbers, but a projected ~.720 OPS and now likely significant AB push Miller into a solid top 5-8 of AL SS in the preseason rankings. In his age 25-26 season, he also has more upside than many. —Rod Truesdell

Impact: High
Miller, Bradley	PT Gain: 10%
Taylor, Chris	PT Loss: -25%



Yankees \| Chris Capuano nursing strain
New York Yankees SP Chris Capuano (quadriceps) has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strained right quadriceps muscle. He suffered the injury covering first base in the Grapefruit League spring game Wednesday, March 11, against the Boston Red Sox. Source: New York Daily News - Mark Feinsand

BHQ take: Capuano was given a platelet-rich plasma injection on March 12 to speed the healing, but he is likely to miss the first month of the season. Adam Warren, with two starts in 100 appearances during the 2013-14 seasons, is getting the first crack at the rotation. He has started two spring training games as of this writing, and was used exclusively as a starter in the minors for NYY from 2009-2012 (90 starts, 497 IP). His BPIs as a starter in Triple-A (6.4 Dom, 2.2 Cmd) are far less exciting than those as a reliever (8.7 Dom, 3.2 Cmd in 2014), so he is likely to return to the pen once Capuano is ready to return. —Matt Dodge

Impact: Med
Warren, Adam	PT Gain: 2%
Capuano, Chris	PT Loss: -2%



Rays \| Desmond Jennings not leading off?
Tampa Bay Rays OF Desmond Jennings could be moved down to the heart of the order, according to Rays manager Kevin Cash. Source: Tampa Bay Times - Tom Jones

BHQ take: Jennings is not only moving down in the order, he is reportedly moving to LF, trading places with Kevin Kiermaier who will be the TAM CF and leadoff hitter. Kiermaier spent the majority of his playing time in 2014 batting 9th, so this means up to an extra AB per game and more runs scored (one position closer to the run producers). Kiermaier's projected 159 Spd and 12% SBO% in 2014 bode well for him at the top of the lineup. Jennings is expected to become more of a run producer, after showing slightly better than average power in 2013 (113 PX) and 2014 (105 PX). While those numbers are not prolific, Kiermaier's 10 HR in 331 major league AB during 2014 looks fluky and unsustainable when compared to 15 HR in over 1500 minor league AB. —Matt Dodge

Impact: Low
Kiermaier, Kevin	PT Gain: 5%
Jennings, Desmond





National League \| American League

Reds \| Jason Marquis likely has rotation spot
Cincinnati Reds SP Jason Marquis is likely to have a spot in the starting rotation when camp breaks at the end of March. Source: CBSSports.com - Jon Heyman

BHQ take: While Marquis seems likely to open the season in the CIN rotation, unclear is whether he will merely be a short-term replacement for Homer Bailey, or claim one of two back-end rotation openings. Bailey is likely to begin the season on the DL and miss one or two rotation turns as he recovers from off-season forearm surgery. Marquis seems likely to remain on the staff in a long-relief/spot starter role even if deposed from the rotation when Bailey is activated. Marquis' strong spring training performance has eclipsed that of David Holmberg, who has been among his competitors. Holmberg made five starts among seven appearances, spanning 30 IP, in three different 2014 trials. While Holmberg's two pre-September spot starts were PQS-0 DISasters in which he allowed 11 ER and four HRs in 5.1 IP, he allowed only five ER in 24.2 IP during September, though his 15 K/9 BB during his five September outings remained unimpressive. —Tom Kephart

Impact: Med
Holmberg, David	PT Loss: -3%
Bailey, Homer	PT Loss: -1%
DeSclafani, Anthony
Marquis, Jason	PT Gain: 4%



Mets \| Josh Edgin to undergo TJS
New York Mets RP Josh Edgin (elbow) will undergo Tommy John surgery in the near future. Source: ESPNNewYork.com - Adam Rubin

BHQ take: Lefty reliever Josh Edgin is the latest MLB pitcher to need Tommy John surgery. Edgin pitched quite well for the Mets in 2014, albeit over only 27 innings. He had a 2.83 xERA with a 9.2 Dom and a 4.7 Cmd. However, given his limited role, his absence will be felt by few, if any, fantasy owners. The Mets, however, are likely to miss him substantially more. He was considered to be the only reliable lefty in the New York pen coming into spring training. His absence leaves the Mets with very few choices, as the only other lefty relievers in camp are Scott Rice, Rule 5 pick Sean Gilmartin, Dario Alvarez and Jack Leathersich. The latter, a 24-year old fireballer, is probably the most intriguing. While he did not make BaseballHQ.com's list of the top 15 Met prospects, that is partially due to the fact that the Mets have one of the deeper farm systems in baseball right now. Leathersich has consistently struck out more than 15 batters per nine innings over his minor league career although he has also averaged nearly five walks per nine innings during that time. Whether the Mets give Leathersich a shot or instead acquire a more established lefty reliever remains to be seen. —Phil Hertz

Impact: Med
Leathersich, John Victor	PT Gain: 1%
Edgin, Josh	PT Loss: -2%



Reds \| Jason Bourgeois out 4-6 weeks
Cincinnati Reds OF Jason Bourgeois (shoulder) will miss 4-6 weeks with a fracture in his left shoulder. Source: MLB.com - John Schlegel

BHQ take: Bourgeois' injury likely secures an Opening Day roster slot for Brennan Boesch as a reserve OF. Boesch is in camp as a non-roster invitee on a minor-league contract and has made authoritative contact thus far in Cactus League action. He showed good power, with 119 PX and 119 HctX as a platoon player with DET in 2011, but has struggled to sustain those skills since. Boesch batted .332 with 1.017 OPS and 25 HRs in Triple-A in 2014, and could provide CIN with LH pop in a reserve role. —Tom Kephart

Impact: Low
Boesch, Brennan	PT Gain: 5%
Bourgeois, Jason	PT Loss: -5%



Rockies \| Adam Ottavino to see save chances
Colorado Rockies RP Adam Ottavino could see occasional save opportunities during the regular season when CL LaTroy Hawkins needs a break, according to manager Walt Weiss. Source: The Denver Post - Patrick Saunders

BHQ take: That closer Hawkins has declared 2015 as his final year has been oft reported, and if/when the Rockies will begin transitioning to his successor will be of great interest. Ottavino, with last year’s 140 BPV easily leading the team, deservedly earns the first opportunity in Hawkins’ stead. He was particularly effective in the second half with a 51% groundball rate while averaging over a strikeout an inning, with 3.2 Cmd. His performance in save situations wasn’t exemplary – 25 hits and nine ER allowed in 22 IP – but he did have 24 punchouts. At this point, Ottavino is clearly a more attractive fantasy target than former closer-in-waiting Rex Brothers, who can throw his heater through a wall but whose 6.2 Ctl in 2014 pushed his career mark to 5.1. —Rob Carroll

Impact: Med
Brothers, Rex	SV Loss: -5%
Ottavino, Adam	SV Gain: 5%
Hawkins, LaTroy

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Playing Time Key

The playing time percentage changes at the bottom of most news items correspond to BaseballHQ.com's Teamview pages. The percentages approximate changes in AB, IP and Saves in the following manner:

For batters, each 5% of PT% ~ 31 AB (100% total for each position = 618 AB)
For pitchers, each 3% of PT% ~ 44 IP (100% total for a team's entire pitching staff)
For relievers, each 5% of Svs ~ 2 saves (100% of a team's total = about40 saves)

A complete explanation of BaseballHQ.com's playing time allocations can be found in the article "How the Projections are Created."