More Fantasy Baseball: Juan Soto is here
How necessary is it to stash Alex Reyes right now?
Well, he was the top pitching prospect in baseball when he succumbed to Tommy John surgery last spring -- one who has already semi-proven in the majors, having compiled a 1.57 ERA in 12 major-league appearances, five of them starts. And he's back to doing top-pitching-prospect-in-baseball-like things on his rehab assignment, following up a 12-strikeout one-hit effort at low Class A with a 13-strikeout, one-hit effort at Double-A Saturday.
Which prompted this response from Cardinals management:
“He will be in the rotation.” — GM Michael Girsch on Alex Reyes return to the #stlcards. He will start Thurs for Memphis and Team is targeting for start in majors as early as May 29, against #Brewers.
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) May 21, 2018
How's that for clarity?
One point of hesitation was, of course, the timetable, which we now know is thundering toward a conclusion. The other was the role Reyes would fill. Certainly, the 23-year-old is a starter long-term, and I've suspected the Cardinals would have no hesitation putting him there after stretching him out on his rehab assignment (he went 7 2/3 innings in his last outing). But to prevent an uncomfortable situation with their current starting five, breaking him in as a reliever seemed like the more prudent course of action.
Instead, nope, "let's get crazy," they've said -- and the talent certainly warrants the approach. It's enough to push Reyes into the top 10 here, ahead of mainstays like Miguel Cabrera and Wil Myers (both of whom have murky timetables, which contributes to the ranking).
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But it doesn't solve the riddle of who's the odd man out. By the time Reyes is ready, Carlos Martinez will have likely returned from a strained lat, so there goes your easy answer. Jack Flaherty is the most recent addition and would seem another easy choice to go except that he just turned in the most impressive start of any Cardinals pitcher so far, striking out 13 over 7 2/3 two-hit innings Sunday. Miles Mikolas is a lock to stay. Michael Wacha may be the least talented of the bunch but he's too entrenched and, frankly, has pitched too well.
Which I guess would leave Luke Weaver, who's a darn talented pitcher himself and has gotten back on track in his past two outings. Either that or the Cardinals go the six-man route for a while.
Look, we still have a week to sort it all out, and in these instances, I tend to think life finds a way. So instead of overthinking it now, let's just prepare for Reyes' activation in the same way the Cardinals are: with great enthusiasm.
Again, here's the criteria for these rankings:
- How good is the player?
- What's the timetable?
- How likely is the injury to impact his performance?
Other big movers this week include Ervin Santana and Carlos Rodon, who are ramping up to return in early June (meaning as soon as a couple weeks from now). Joey Lucchesi and Marcus Stroman may be back sooner, but I don't expect them to be as impactful.
| 1 | 
Clayton Kershaw
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
|
| biceps tendinitis | |
| 2 | 
Carlos Martinez
St. Louis Cardinals SP
|
| strained lat | |
| 3 | 
Madison Bumgarner
San Francisco Giants SP
|
| fractured hand | |
| 4 | 
Starling Marte
Pittsburgh Pirates CF
|
| strained oblique | |
| 5 | 
A.J. Pollock
Arizona Diamondbacks CF
|
| fractured thumb | |
| 6 | 
Elvis Andrus
Texas Rangers SS
|
| fractured elbow | |
| 7 | 
Robbie Ray
Arizona Diamondbacks SP
|
| strained oblique | |
| 8 | 
Alex Reyes
St. Louis Cardinals SP
|
| Tommy John surgery | |
| 9 | 
Miguel Cabrera
Detroit Tigers 1B
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 10 | 
Wil Myers
San Diego Padres RF
|
| strained oblique | |
| 11 | 
Daniel Murphy
Washington Nationals 2B
|
| knee surgery | |
| 12 | 
Adam Eaton
Washington Nationals CF
|
| ankle surgery | |
| 13 | 
DJ LeMahieu
Colorado Rockies 2B
|
| fractured thumb | |
| 14 | 
Yoenis Cespedes
New York Mets LF
|
| strained hip flexor | |
| 15 | 
Miguel Sano
Minnesota Twins 3B
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 16 | 
Adrian Beltre
Texas Rangers 3B
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 17 | 
Ryan Braun
Milwaukee Brewers LF
|
| back tightness | |
| 18 | 
Mike Soroka
Atlanta Braves SP
|
| strained shoulder | |
| 19 | 
Johnny Cueto
San Francisco Giants SP
|
| sprained elbow | |
| 20 | 
Mark Melancon
San Francisco Giants RP
|
| strained elbow flexor | |
| 21 | 
Zach Britton
Baltimore Orioles RP
|
| ruptured Achilles | |
| 22 | 
Yadier Molina
St. Louis Cardinals C
|
| groin surgery | |
| 23 | 
Ervin Santana
Minnesota Twins SP
|
| finger surgery | |
| 24 | 
Carlos Rodon
Chicago White Sox SP
|
| shoulder surgery | |
| 25 | 
Greg Bird
New York Yankees 1B
|
| bone spur in ankle | |
| 26 | 
Mac Williamson
San Francisco Giants RF
|
| concussion | |
| 27 | 
Paul DeJong
St. Louis Cardinals SS
|
| fractured hand | |
| 28 | 
Rich Hill
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
|
| blister | |
| 29 | 
Joey Lucchesi
San Diego Padres SP
|
| hip strain | |
| 30 | 
Marcus Stroman
Toronto Blue Jays SP
|
| shoulder fatigue | |
