Wednesday Lineup Card: Kemp Makes Surprise Early Return

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Projected Starters - A look at Wednesday's matchups (all times Eastern)

Blue Jays (R.A. Dickey – R) at Rays (Roberto Hernandez – R), 12:10
Twins (Scott Diamond – L) at Marlins (Tom Koehler – R), 12:40
Reds (Homer Bailey – R) at Athletics (A.J. Griffin – R), 3:35
Pirates (Jeanmar Gomez – R) at Mariners (Felix Hernandez – R), 3:40
Rockies (Roy Oswalt – R) at Red Sox (John Lackey – R), 4:05
Diamondbacks (Wade Miley – L) at Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann – R), 7:05
Indians (Scott Kazmir – L) at Orioles (Jason Hammel – R), 7:05
Rangers (Justin Grimm – R) at Yankees (Andy Pettitte – L), 7:05
Angels (Tommy Hanson – R) at Tigers (Jose Alvarez – L), 7:08
Braves (Mike Minor – L) at Royals (Luis Mendoza – R), 8:10
Cubs (Scott Feldman – R) at Brewers (Yovani Gallardo – R), 8:10
Mets (Shaun Marcum – R) at White Sox (John Danks – L), 8:10
Cardinals (Lance Lynn – R) at Astros (Erik Bedard – L), 8:10
Phillies (Cole Hamels – L) at Padres (Robbie Erlin – L), 10:10
Giants (Tim Lincecum – R) at Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw – L), 10:10

Day Game After A Night Game: TOR/TB, MIN/MIA, CIN/OAK, PIT/SEA, COL/BOS

Injuries

Day-To-Day
Jason Bay, OF, SEA (hamstring) – Returned to the lineup Tuesday.
Lance Berkman, 1B, TEX (soreness) – Returned to the lineup Tuesday.
Peter Bourjos, OF, LAA (thumb) – Expects to avoid disabled list but remained out of the lineup Tuesday. Was available to pinch-hit and play defense.
Ryan Doumit, C, MIN (ankle) – Out of the lineup Tuesday but was available to pinch-hit.
Carlos Gonzalez, OF, COL (leg) – Back in the lineup Tuesday against the Red Sox.
Carlos Gomez, OF, MIL (shoulder) – Out of the lineup Tuesday against the Cubs.
Josh Hamilton, OF, LAA (wrist) – Returned to the lineup Tuesday.
Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI (knee) – Returned to the lineup Tuesday.
John Jaso, C, OAK (hand) – Late scratch from Tuesday's game with a hand injury and may not be back until Friday.
Jonathan Pettibone, SP, PHI (back) – Threw a full bullpen session Monday and unlikely to miss scheduled start.
Brandon Phillips, 2B, CIN (personal) – Will miss one-to-three days after being placed on paternity list Tuesday.
Justin Upton, OF, ATL (hand) – Back in the lineup Tuesday against the Royals.
Jayson Werth, OF, WAS (groin) – Returned to the lineup Tuesday against the Diamondbacks.

Disabled List
Mike Adams, RP, PHI (shoulder) – Diagnosed with three tears in shoulder Tuesday and likely done for the season.
Alex Avila, C, DET (forearm) – Has gone 0-for-8 in his first two rehab games at Triple-A Toledo.
Josh Beckett, SP, LAD (finger) – Reports feeling better in rehab put no dramatic improvement.
Rafael Betancourt, RP, COL (groin) – Hopes to be back from the disabled list Thursday after throwing Tuesday's live batting practice session.
Clay Buchholz, SP, BOS (neck) – Threw from 120 feet on flat ground Tuesday and hoping to throw bullpen sessions Wednesday and Friday before starting rehab assignment.
Dylan Bundy, SP, BAL (elbow) – Suffered forearm discomfort while throwing from 120 feet Monday and will be examined Wednesday by Dr. James Andrews.
A.J. Burnett, SP, PIT (calf) – Threw bullpen session Tuesday without any issues.
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS, CLE (quadriceps) – Expected to be activated from the disabled list Wednesday.
Wei-Yin Chen, SP, BAL (oblique) – Will start a rehab assignment Saturday.
Carl Crawford, OF, LAD (hamstring) – Has not resumed running full speed in rehab work but could return to team during next week's road trip.
Marco Estrada, SP, MIL (hamstring) – Rehab assignment put on hold after experiencing renewed soreness in hamstring following Sunday's outing.
Roy Halladay, SP, PHI (shoulder) – Will visit doctor Thursday for routine follow-up exam.
J.A. Happ, SP, TOR (head) – Threw live batting practice Monday.
Bryce Harper, OF, WAS (knee) – Targeting a Monday return from the disabled list.
Corey Hart, 1B, MIL (knee) – Has suffered setback with injury to previous healthy left knee while working out lately and return date remains uncertain.
Eric Hinske, 1B, ARI (suspension) – Five-game punishment reduced to one game following appeals process.
Brett Lawrie, 3B, TOR (ankle) – Will begin rehab assignment at High-A Dunedin on Wednesday.
James McDonald, SP, PIT (shoulder) – Won't be activated from DL on Wednesday when rehab assignment ends.
Michael Pineda, SP, NYY (shoulder) – Completed rehab start at Double-A Trenton on Tuesday.
J.J. Putz, RP, ARI (elbow) – Tossed third consecutive scoreless inning at Triple-A Reno on Monday and expected to be activated from DL on Friday.
Jose Reyes, SS, TOR (ankle) – Slated to be activated from the DL on Wednesday.
Clayton Richard, SP, SD (shoulder) – MRI on Tuesday revealed no major joint damage.
Wandy Rodriguez, SP, PIT (forearm) – Reported some soreness after Sunday's rehab start at Triple-A Indianapolis but still plans to make next rehab start Monday.
Anibal Sanchez, SP, DET (shoulder) – May need to make additional rehab start before returning to rotation.
Jason Vargas, SP, LAA (arm) – Will undergo surgery this week to remove blood clot from armpit and will likely be out until end of July.

Transacations

Called Up (from Triple-A unless otherwise noted)
Dustin Ackley, 2B, SEA
Pedro Beato, RP, BOS
Brian Bogusevic, OF, CHC
Jake Elmore, SS, HOU
Kyle Gibson, SP, MIN
Tyler Moore, OF, WAS
Henry Rodriguez, 2B, CIN
Will Smith, P, KC
Brandon Snyder, 1B, BOS
Stephen Vogt, C, OAK
Brett Wallace, 1B, HOU
Zack Wheeler, SP, NYM

Sent Down (to Triple-A unless otherwise noted)
Quintin Berry, OF, KC
Francisley Bueno, RP, KC (designated for assignment)
Greg Burke, RP, NYM
Danny Duffy, SP, KC
Kelvin Herrera, RP, KC
Donald Lutz, OF, CIN (Double-A)
Carlos Marmol, RP, CHC (designated for assignment)
Will Middlebrooks, 3B, BOS

Activated From Disabled List (15-day unless otherwise noted)
Danny Duffy, SP, KC (60-day DL)
Chris Heisey, OF, CIN
Aaron Hill, 2B, ARI
Matt Kemp, OF, LAD

Placed on Disabled List (15-day unless otherwise noted)
Franklin Gutierrez, OF, SEA
Dan Haren, SP, WAS
Ryan Madson, RP, LAA (transferred to 60-day DL)
Franklin Morales, P, BOS
David Ross, C, BOS (transferred to 60-day DL)

Traded
Collin Cowgill, from NYM to LAA
Kyle Johnson, from LAA to NYM

Signed
Mike MacDougal, RP, PHI (minor league contract)

Released
Reid Brignac, SS, NYY
Ian Stewart, 3B, CHC

Closer Watch

Phillies – Jonathan Papelbon was charged with his fourth blown save in his last five opportunities Monday against the Padres, but it doesn't appear time to scramble for a potential replacement. His large contract and stable track record will lock him into closing duty for the Phillies for the time being; however, a potential trade to a closer-needy contender like the Tigers remains a possibility if the Phillies fall further behind in the standings. For all his difficulties, Papelbon still maintains a healthy 2.12 ERA and 0.88 WHIP on the season. The Phillies won't panic, and neither should fantasy owners.

Rays – Fernando Rodney recorded his 16th save of the season Monday against the Blue Jays, working around one hit to strike out two batters in a scoreless inning. He's turned in zeroes in the scorebook over his last four outings and has rebounded well from his deep mid-May struggles, lowering his ERA from 6.05 to 4.83 since May 25. He'll retain some security for now, but if a string of blowups occurs again, Jake McGee or Joel Peralta would likely assume the closer's mantle in Tampa.

Ike Davis, 1B, NYM – If there's one area where fantasy players often falter, it's in the assumption that a player's current statistics are a sound predictor of his future results. As savvy players know, the fantasy baseball season is a long one, and a hot run at the plate for a few weeks or a month for a marginal player doesn't mean we should expect that performance the rest of the way. (John Buck, anyone?) Some might be understandably gun-shy about picking up Davis, who is currently playing at Triple-A Las Vegas after batting a paltry .161/.242/.258 with the Mets. However, with Lucas Duda now on the DL and few attractive alternatives at first base available, Davis could be back before the weekend, and there's reason to think he can be useful after he started off in a similar manner last season, only to rebound with a huge second half. The average will always remain a risk, but it's still been heavily weighed down by a .216 BABIP that can really only go up from here. Even if he struggles to bat .250 the rest of the way, what you're counting on Davis for is power, something that's well within his capacity after he smacked 32 home runs last season. Though Davis' numbers since heading out to Las Vegas should be taken lightly, it seems he's at least made some corrections in his approach and is too talented to remain in a season-long funk. Those is deeper mixed leagues should stash him on the bench until he gets called up and re-establishes himself as the everyday first baseman, and then hope that he rediscovers his form and can surge to another big second half.

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DraftStreet Value Picks

SP: Shaun Marcum, NYM ($8,573)
C: Salvador Perez, KC ($5,874)
1B: Adam LaRoche, WAS ($5,122)
2B: D.J. LeMahieu, COL ($6,562)
3B: Chris Johnson, ATL ($6,749)
SS: Jimmy Rollins, PHI ($6,221)
OF: Marlon Byrd, NYM ($7,249)

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