Pounce On Pineda
It’s time to start stashing Yankees righty Michael Pineda.
The talented 24-year-old allowed just one (unearned) run over 4 1/3 innings Sunday in his first minor league rehab start at High-A Tampa. He took on the Tigers’ Florida State League affiliate and was sharp throughout the outing, yielding just two hits while striking out four and regularly clocking in at 93-94 mph with his fastball.
Pineda was acquired from the Mariners in January 2012 as part of a blockbuster four-player trade but has yet to make a pitch in pinstripes. He suffered a torn labrum two months after that deal was completed -- near the end of spring training -- and underwent major shoulder surgery just after the start of the 2012 campaign. If everything continues to go smoothly with his rehab, Pineda will finally debut for the Yanks by the end of this month.
Pineda had an excellent 3.74 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 173/55 K/BB ratio in 171 innings with Seattle in 2011. He can be a major fantasy asset in the second half of the 2013 regular season on a good New York team.
Mets Ship Ike To Vegas
The Mets were swept by the Marlins in an embarrassing two-game series this weekend at Citi Field, prompting some late-Sunday roster changes. Ike Davis went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in Saturday’s 2-1 loss (the game took 20 innings) and 0-for-3 with one strikeout in Sunday’s 8-4 loss (which took 10 innings), and he was among those demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas when the hammer fell Sunday night.
Davis has a .161/.242/.258 batting line in 207 plate appearances this season at the major league level and he has struck out 66 times in 55 games. The 26-year-old first baseman may be able to get it together down on the farm, but he can be dropped in most standard fantasy leagues.
There were high hopes for Davis heading into the 2013 season after last year’s 32-homer campaign.
Ackley Could Be Coming Back Soon
The Mets will hope that Davis responds to his demotion like Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley has responded to his.
Ackley, 25, was sent off to Triple-A Tacoma on May 27 after batting just .205/.266/.250 with one home run, eight RBI and 31 strikeouts over his first 171 plate appearances with Seattle. And he has suddenly turned it around down on the farm.
Ackley is hitting .408/.508/.592 with two homers, three doubles and eight RBI in 60 plate appearances since arriving in Tacoma and Mariners beat writers are now wondering aloud whether he’s ready to be brought back to the major leagues. Ackley might make for a kind of in-season post-hype fantasy sleeper. He had 12 homers, 13 steals and 50 RBI in 153 games with the M’s last year.
National League Quick Hits: An MRI taken Sunday confirmed that Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval has a strained left foot … Logan Morrison (knee) went 2-for-4 with a walk Sunday in his 2013 regular season debut … Matt Kemp suffered a minor setback while running on Sunday and is no longer expected to return from the disabled list this Friday … Edwin Jackson held the Pirates to one run over seven innings Sunday in his best outing since signing with the Cubs this past winter … Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko left Sunday’s game against the Rockies with a right groin injury … Jordan Zimmermann tossed seven scoreless innings in another dominant outing Sunday against the Twins … Ryan Braun was pulled from Sunday’s game against the Phillies with renewed soreness in his right thumb … Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) will return from the disabled list on Monday … Cardinals setup man Trevor Rosenthal has thrown 19 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings … Carlos Gomez hit his 11th home run of the season in the Brewers’ win over the Phillies on Sunday … Matt Holliday hit a grand slam Sunday in the Cardinals’ extra-innings victory over the Reds … Sean Marshall (shoulder) has begun a throwing program and is on track to return around the All-Star break … Brewers starter Kyle Lohse tossed eight innings of one-run ball in Sunday’s defeat of the Phillies … Mike Minor earned his eighth win of the season Sunday as the Braves beat the Dodgers … Diamondbacks lefty Tyler Skaggs was shelled for five runs on eight hits over five innings Sunday in a loss to the Giants … Carlos Ruiz (hamstring) is expected to begin running on Tuesday and is on track to return in mid-June … Cardinals prospect Oscar Taveras is back in action at Triple-A Memphis after missing nearly a month with a high ankle sprain.
American League Quick Hits: Angels outfielder Peter Bourjos (hamstring) is scheduled to return from the disabled list Monday … Matt Moore has allowed a total of 19 hits and 14 earned runs over his past two starts (totaling just seven innings) … Twins prospect Miguel Sano has been promoted from High-A Fort Myers to Double-A New Britain … Joe Nathan tallied his 19th save of the season in the Rangers’ win over the Blue Jays on Sunday … White Sox setup man Matt Thornton earned his 12th hold of the season in Sunday’s victory over the A’s … Trevor Plouffe (calf) will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Monday with Triple-A Rochester … Brett Gardner went 4-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a stolen base in the Yankees’ win over the Mariners on Sunday … Angels right-hander Jerome Williams will make a spot start Wednesday against the Orioles … Adam Jones finished 2-for-5 with an RBI double and a solo home run Sunday as Baltimore beat Tampa Bay … Royals closer Greg Holland earned his 12th save of the year Sunday in a 2-0 victory over the Astros … Addison Reed collected his 19th save of 2013 as the White Sox topped the A’s on Sunday … Rays outfielder Sam Fuld hit his first home run since the 2011 season Sunday against the Orioles …Adam Lind hit a three-run homer in Sunday’s loss to the Rangers and is now batting .340/.419/.536 in 49 games this season … Tigers lefty Jose Alvarez tossed six innings of one-run ball in his major league debut Sunday afternoon against the Indians … Alexi Ogando was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with right shoulder inflammation.
