Colorado's DL Gets Crowded

BY Aaron Gleeman












It was a rough weekend for the Rockies, who lost Matt Holliday, Brad Hawpe, and Clint Barmes to the disabled list in the span of 48 hours. With both corner-outfield spots open, Ryan Spilborghs figures to play nearly every day, leaving Seth Smith and Scott Podsednik to essentially fight over one job. Spilborghs has hit .298/.364/.460 with 16 homers and 12 steals in 590 career plate appearances, making him a! solid asset in NL-only leagues with borderline mixed-league value.Smith has just 16 plate appearances in the majors, but smacked his first MLB homer Sunday and has hit .318/.398/.523 with 23 homers and 18 steals in 174 games at Triple-A. He'll be a fine NL-only pickup if the Rockies decide to make him a quasi-starter, but the team figures to give a big chunk of the playing time Podsednik despite the fact that he hasn't slugged above .370 since 2003. Of course, even if Podsednik can't hit he still has enough speed to be a major fantasy plus.Meanwhile, with both Troy Tulowitzki and Barmes out, Omar Quintanilla is suddenly the Rockies' starting shortstop. Minimal power limits his fantasy value, but any middle infielder playing every day for the Rockies is worth grabbing! in NL-only leagues and he's hit .305 in 213 career games at T! riple-A. With Quintanilla needed at shortstop, Jeff Baker figures to see plenty of action at second base is also worth grabbing despite a measly .527 OPS in 72 plate appearances so far.In terms of waiver-wire priority, Spilborghs is the best bet among Rockies outfielders, followed by Podsednik and then Smith. Baker is a better pickup than Quintanilla, but both are definitely worth considering if you need middle-infield help. Also keep an eye on Ian Stewart, who could see time at second base if the Rockies get creative defensively. His prospect stock has declined some over the past couple years, but he's still hit .297 with 27 homers in 158 games at Triple-A.While the banged-up Rockies try to avoid last place with a lineup that looks nothing like the group that took the field! during the World Series or even on Opening Day, here are some other notes from around baseball .* Clayton Kershaw lived up to the hype in his big-league debut Sunday, holding the Cardinals to two runs over six innings while racking up seven strikeouts. As a 20-year-old with just 14 career starts above Single-A and nearly four walks per nine innings in the minors, Kershaw will struggle with his control at times. However, he threw 69 of 102 pitches for strikes Sunday and handed out just a single walk to a lineup that leads the NL in free passes.Kershaw worked with an overpowering mid-90s fastball and knee-buckling high-70s curveball that combined to hold the Cardinals to just five hits. My guess is that sporadic command will keep him from being an immediate asset in mixed leagues, but there's no doubt that Kershaw has a chance to have sizable value in NL-only ! leagues right away and is a must-grab. He'll get at least two! more st arts to show that he should be in the majors to stay, with the Mets next up this week.* Evan Longoria has struggled to make consistent contact in his first taste of the big leagues, striking out 42 times through 40 major-league games. That works out to 155 strikeouts per 600 plate appearances, which helps explain his lowly .246 batting average. However, Longoria has provided more than enough power and plate discipline to make up for the measly batting average and rule out a return to the minors.He notched his first career two-homer game and drove in six runs Saturday, and then delivered a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday. Longoria has seven homers, 17 total extra-base hits, and 16 walks in 163 plate appearances, which is good for a .791 OPS that ranks seventh among all MLB third basemen. He'll always be a high-strikeout hitter, but sho! uld be able to make 10-20 percent more contact eventually, so expect the batting average to gradually rise.* Fausto Carmona coughed up a season-high six runs Friday before exiting his start after two innings with a strained left hip and the Indians placed him on the disabled list Saturday. He's expected to miss a month, but the good news is that Jake Westbrook is healthy enough to take his rotation spot Wednesday. Swapping Carmona for Westbrook also means that Daily Dose favorite Aaron Laffey remains in the rotation after pitching very well subbing for Westbrook.* As expected, Andruw Jon! es headed to the disabled list Sunday with torn cartilage ! in his k nee and will be out 4-6 weeks following surgery. Jones won't be missed much after hitting .165 in 43 games, but his absence means that Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Juan Pierre will all play nearly every day. Jones has hit just .211/.304/.386 in 197 games since last season, essentially falling off a cliff once he turned 30 years old, yet the Dodgers will be paying him $18 million in 2009.AL Quick Hits: Jon Lester followed up last week's no-hitter by allowing four runs (three eaarned) over five innings Sunday versus the A's . Initially scheduled to return from a hamstring injury Friday, Hank Blalock is now expected to out until at least next week thanks to recently diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome . Sunday's outing was Justin Verlander's third straight Quality Start and his velocity is back in the mid-90s after lagging behind last month . Howie Kendrick (hamstring) is slated to begin a minor-league rehab assignment by the middle of this week, but given previous setbacks there's no clear timetable for his return . With a second-inning walk Sunday, Lyle Overbay set a new Blue Jays record by reaching safely in 12 straight plate appearances . Victor Martinez rejoi! ned the lineup Sunday after sitting out two games with a cut on his finger . Glen Perkins held the Tigers to one run over 7.1 innings Sunday and figures to remain in the rotation once Scott Baker (groin) returns . Starting Sunday for the first time since being talked up in this space last week, Daniel Cabrera struggled versus the Rays while walking more than two batters for the first time this month.NL Quick Hits: John Smoltz reported tightness in his shoulder after making his first minor-league rehab appearance Saturday, but the Braves said afterward that it wasn't a setback . Jake Peavy (elbow) is set to undergo an MRI exam Tuesday and could be cleared to begin throwing as soon as Wednesday . Called up from Triple-A after hitting .359 with 12 homers and a 1.146 OPS in 45 games, Russell Branyan could steal at-bats from Bill Hall at third base . Chipper Jones was scratched from Sunday's lineup with back spasms, but as usual figures to be day-to-day . Troy Glaus exited Saturday's game with what the Cardinals feared was appendicitis, but returned to the lineup Sunday . Aaron Cook toss ed his seventh career complete game Sunday, holding the Mets to one run while inducing 16 ground-ball outs . Barring a setback Jack Wilson (calf) is set to come off the disabled list Tuesday . Corey Patterson went 0-for-8 in Sunday's marathon loss, adding fuel to the Jay Bruce fire . After starting both ends of Sunday's doubleheader, Omar Vizquel moved past Luis Aparicio to become the all-time leader in games at shortstop with 2,584.