Daily Dose: Hamels Hamstrung

Cole Hamels may still be a Phillies starter, but he won't be starting for the club on Friday.

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Hamels was scratched from his scheduled Friday start due to a mild right hamstring strain. The Phillies will promote right-hander Phillippe Aumont from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start in Hamels' place.

"He did not feel like it was a long term thing," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said of Hamels. "The fact that it showed up 24 hours later [following a bullpen session Tuesday]. He said somewhat minimal."

It behooves the Phillies to be careful with their ace -- not so much for their own success, but for his trade value as the trade deadline approaches. Showing some self-awareness, Hamels actually hinted at his own future Thursday, cleaning out his locker to play a prank on media members.

Hamels' durability has actually been one of his greatest strengths this season. The southpaw leads the National League with 14 starts and 94 1/3 innings pitched, posting a strong 2.96 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 103/31 K/BB ratio in that span.

Sandberg left open the possibility of a disabled list stint, according to reports, but the club would obviously like to keep Hamels pitching and keep his value up. Until the Phillies hint that it's something more serious, concerns -- from fantasy owners and potential suitors alike -- should be tempered.

Altuve Absent

The Astros hope life without Jose Altuve won't last too much longer.

The club rested Altuve on Thursday after he exited Wednesday's game with hamstring issues, but Astros manager A.J. Hinch said the team is hopeful it will be days, not weeks, before Altuve plays again.

"It's day to day," Hinch said. "He's already gone through one round of treatments, and he'll go through another round of treatments. He's doesn't feel a lot of discomfort, so that's an encouraging sign. I really don't want to play him until we're certain he can play with the pace of play that we're accustomed to. We'll be very careful with him."

Any game without Altuve is one too many for the AL West leaders. The second baseman is batting .287/.328/.390 with 28 runs scored and an American League-best 17 steals. Without Altuve, the team will likely lean on Marwin Gonzalez at the position.

And while the team anticipates Altuve avoiding a disabled list stint -- Hinch said the club is "not ready to give two weeks away yet" when asked about the DL following Wednesday's game -- it's unclear when he'll return to the field as things stand.

"We're being cautious," Hinch said. "I'm the one being the most cautious, because when you see your players on the field play a little guarded, whether they think they are or not, it's my job to make the decision to be careful."

Numbness Returns For Ventura

In what has become a running theme of this particular column, the Royals have also opted to err on the side of caution with one of their best players.

The team placed Yordano Ventura on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with ulnar neuritis, an injury related to Ventura exiting his most recent start last Friday. The move is retroactive to June 13, the date of that start.

“It didn’t make any sense to try and push through this thing right now,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “This is something that if you continue to battle through it, it can get worse.”

During that start against the Cardinals, Ventura suffered inflammation of his ulnar nerve that caused numbness in his right hand. Ventura left with what the team described as right hand weakness.

He had his scheduled start pushed back from Wednesday to Friday in hopes a few extra days of rest would solve the problem, but the right-hander said the numbness returned during Wednesday's bullpen session.

Losing feeling in a hand is no small matter, but the Royals sound as though the move is largely proactive. Whether Ventura is ready to return by the end of the month remains to be seen.

National League Quick Hits: Bryce Harper left Thursday's game with a mild left hamstring strain. He'll be re-evaluated Friday and, assuming the injury doesn't worsen overnight, the 22-year-old should only miss a day or two due to the injury ... Doug Fister made his first start in over a month Thursday, allowing five runs over 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Rays. Fister missed a month with a flexor tendon strain in his right forearm, and his velocity on Thursday showed the effect of the injury and subsequent layoff. The Nats will hope for better results next time ... The Marlins placed Martin Prado on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder sprain. Derek Dietrich will likely get the lion's share of the playing time at third base in Prado's absence ... Andrelton Simmons (hand) returned to the Braves lineup Thursday. He'd missed the previous two games after being hit in the hand by a pitch, and he finished 0-for-4 in his return to action ... Wil Myers underwent surgery on his left wrist Thursday. The procedure will keep the outfielder sidelined for approximately eight weeks ... With Mike Foltynewicz struggling at the major league level, the Braves will turn to another young pitcher acquired in an offseason trade -- Matt Wisler -- on Friday. The start against the Mets will be Wisler's MLB debut after posting a 4.29 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 49/13 K/BB ratio over 65 innings with the Braves' Triple-A affiliate this season.

American League Quick Hits: Adam Jones (shoulder) was out again for a third straight game Thursday. The outfielder, who is dealing with a sore shoulder, is hopeful he'll be able to play in Friday's game against the Blue Jays ... Robinson Cano was also out Thursday, a late scratch due to a stiff lower back. The injury doesn't appear serious and the second baseman should be back at some point this weekend ... Mark Teixeira was back in the Yankees' lineup Thursday. He went 1-for-5 after missing Wednesday's game with mild neck stiffness ... Michael Bourn was suspended for one game for bumping home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi on Tuesday. Bourn played in Thursday's game while he awaits his appeal of the suspension to be heard ... Kris Medlen (elbow) is scheduled to start a minor league rehab assignment Friday with Double-A Northwest Arkansas. The right-hander will likely need most to all of his 30-day rehab window, approximating his arrival in Kansas City somewhere shortly after the All-Star break ... Kyle Seager was also absent from the Mariners' lineup on Thursday. The third baseman was dealing with food poisoning and should be fine going forward.