This year, The Dynasty Guru will provide a weekly report every Saturday. The weekly report will link to TDG articles for the past week, touch upon notable player developments, and preview upcoming TDG articles for the next week.

This Week at TDG

Baseball

TDG Weekly Report, May 19-25, 2018 – last week’s report

Ronald Acuna Injury Analysis – assessing the likely severity of Ronald Acuna’s knee injury

The Next Dodger Ace – examining Dennis Santana

Exploiting Injuries to Build a Dynasty Monster – explaining how you can use this mishandling of player injuries to your advantage

Digging for Diamonds: Leonys “The Lion” Martin – advocating Leonys Martin as a breakout candidate

2018 MLB Mock Draft Picks 1-15 – providing a glimpse at what may happen during the MLB Draft next week

New Pitching Landscape: Continued – touching upon pitching strategy in the new pitching landscape

What is Didi Gregorius? – when is Didi Gregorius? Not in May . . .

Monthly Prospect Update: Infielders, May 2018 – detailing the top infield prospect performers in May

Notable Player Developments

Major Leagues

• Clayton Kershaw returned from the disabled list on Thursday, only to go back to the DL on Friday. His back problems once more sideline him, this time for at least one month. Dr. Mike Tanner recently expounded upon the declining health of Kershaw.
• The notable rehab assignments: Daniel Murphy, Todd Frazier, Ervin Santana, J.P. Crawford, Zach Britton, Madison Bumgarner, and Carlos Martinez.
• The notable DL returnees: Greg Bird, Starling Marte, Raisel Iglesias, Dee Gordon, Adrian Beltre, Khris Davis, D.J. LeMahieu, Miguel Cabrera, and Mark Melancon.
• The notable injuries: Yu Darvish (right triceps tendonitis); Andrew Miller (right knee inflammation); Ronald Acuña Jr. (left knee contusion and mild ACL sprain); Franchy Cordero (right forearm strain); Matt Davidson (back spasms); Brian McCann (right knee soreness); Noah Syndergaard (strained ligament in right index finger); Jeff Samardzija (right shoulder tightness); Kenta Maeda (right hip strain); Byron Buxton (toe fracture); Carl Edwards Jr. (right shoulder inflammation); Rhys Hoskins (fractured jaw); David Dahl (fractured foot); Josh Donaldson (left calf tightness); Mookie Betts (left abdominal strain)

Minor Leagues/Prospects

• The long-awaited return of Alex Reyes from Tommy John surgery was a short one, as he left his start after just four innings. Later, the Cardinals announced he suffered a “significant” right lat strain and will miss several starts.
• Are you a Belieber in Bieber Fever! Shane Bieber debuted this week after one of the most dominant performances in the Minors this year (1.10/0.70 ERA/WHIP with a 61-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 65 innings). Unfortunately, he did not carry his magic to the majors (5 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 6 K, 8 H, BB, 2 HRA). In fact, the Indians promptly demoted Bieber on Friday. Nevertheless, he impressed (in my opinion), with good velocity (93.8 mph average) and two swing-and-miss breaking balls (slider and curveball).
• Meanwhile, the Dodgers promoted Dennis Santana on Wednesday, after a strong performance across Double- and Triple-A (2.54/1.05 ERA/WHIP with 65 K in 49 2/3 IP). With a mid-90s, two-seam fastball, a nasty slider, and a solid changeup, he has the makings of a potential mid-rotation starter.
• Ryan McMahon was briefly the starting second baseman for the Rockies. Now, he is back to operating as a bench bat.

Next Week at TDG

Baseball

• TDG’s Triple Play
• PROSPECT WEEK!
  • Monthly Prospect Update: Outfielders, May 2018
  • Monthly Prospect Update: Pitchers, May 2018
  • 2018 MLB Draft: First Impressions
• Jim’s First Dynasty League Experience
• Hot/Cold Streak Check Up

Please feel free to post comments, questions, or your own observations!

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