The Lineup Card: A Is for Available

Projected Starters - A look at Wednesday's matchups:

Marlins (Josh Johnson – R) at Phillies (Roy Halladay – R), 7:05 ET
Pirates (Brad Lincoln - R) at Nationals (Livan Hernandez - R), 7:05 ET
Yankees (CC Sabathia – L) at Orioles (Chris Tillman – R), 7:05 ET
Red Sox (Clay Buchholz – R) at Indians (Justin Masterson), 7:05 ET
Padres (Mat Latos – R) at Mets (Johan Santana – L), 7:10 ET
Giants (Jonathan Sanchez – L) at Reds (Aaron Harang – R), 7:10 ET
Blue Jays (Shaun Marcum – R) at Rays (David Price – L), 7:10 ET
Mariners (Ian Snell – R) at Rangers (C.J. Wilson – L), 8:05 ET
Cubs (Carlos Zambrano – R) at Brewers (Randy Wolf – L), 8:10 ET
Royals (Kyle Davies – R) at Twins (Carl Pavano – R), 8:10 ET
Tigers (Rick Porcello – R) at White Sox (Freddy Garcia – R), 8:10 ET
Astros (Felipe Paulino – R) at Rockies (Aaron Cook – R), 8:40 ET
Braves (Kenshin Kawakami – R) at Diamondbacks (Ian Kennedy – R), 9:40 ET
Angels (Joe Saunders – L) at Athletics (Dallas Braden – L), 10:05 ET
Cardinals (Adam Wainwright – R) at Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw – L), 10:10 ET

Day Game After Night Game: None

Injuries - A brief look at players that have been missing time with minor ailments and their expected returns

Day-to-Day (includes players expected to make their return from the DL)

Manny Delcarmen, RP, Red Sox (back) – Back still sore Monday and wasn't available
Rajai Davis, OF, Athletics (hamstring) – Says injury is minor, shouldn't need DL
Maicer Izturis, SS, Angels (knee) – Missed Monday, check to see if he returned Tuesday
Jeremy Hermida, OF, Red Sox (ribs, forearm) – Collision on Sunday, not in Tuesday's lineup but not placed on DL
Corey Patterson, OF, Orioles (groin) – Out of Tuesday's lineup after missing Sunday, too
J.J. Hardy, SS, Twins (wrist) – Not in Tuesday's lineup
Nate McLouth, OF, Braves (toe) – Scratched from Monday's game, remains day-to-day, check Tuesday's lineup
Jeremy Affeldt, RP, Giants (hamstring) – Was available Monday but didn't pitch in close game against Reds
Chipper Jones, 3B, Braves (finger) – Check to see if he returned to Tuesday's lineup
Emmanuel Burriss, SS, Giants (foot) – Started rehab Tuesday
Colby Rasmus, OF, Cardinals (calf) – Was expected to return Tuesday, check him to see if he did
Ryan Doumit, C, Pirates (concussion) – Out until at least Thursday
Bobby Crosby, 3B, Pirates (stomach) – Out on Tuesday with virus, didn't make trip to Washington
Ryan Church, OF, Pirates (illness) – Out of Tuesday's lineup but available to pinch-hit
Arthur Rhodes, RP, Reds (foot) – Trying to pitch through soreness

Players on the DL

Erik Bedard, SP, Mariners (shoulder) – Bullpen session went fine Monday, another one scheduled for Thursday and a simulated game could come next week
Coco Crisp, OF, Athletics (chest) – Rehab could start later this week
Eric Chavez, 3B, Athletics (neck) – Rehab could be on tap for next week
Brian Roberts, 2B, Orioles (back) – "S" word was pulled out Tuesday… that's "surgery" and All-Star break return looks like best-case scenario
Alfredo Simon, RP, Orioles (hamstring) – Should return by the weekend
Mike Gonzalez, RP, Orioles (shoulder) – Threw simulated game and velocity was in mid-80s, not good news if you are hoping for him to return to the closer role
Dustin McGowan, SP, Blue Jays (shoulder) – Threw off mound for first time since March, August is earliest ETA
Orlando Hudson, 2B, Twins (wrist) – Finally placed on DL
Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Red Sox (ribs) – Getting a second opinion
Jair Jurrjens, SP, Braves (hamstring) – Threw BP without problems, could return in early-July after rehab
Mark DeRosa, 3B, Giants (wrist) – Likely out for season
Jorge De La Rosa, SP, Rockies (finger) – Was set to throw in bullpen on Tuesday
Tony Abreu, 2B, Diamondbacks (wrist) – About a week away
LaTroy Hawkins, RP, Brewers (shoulder) – Out until at least early-July
John Baker, C, Marlins (forearm) – Setback in rehab, still sore

Transactions - Players that have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here (draft picks not included).

Placed on the DL (15-day DL unless otherwise noted)
Orlando Hudson, 2B, Twins

Activated from the DL
Ivan Rodriguez, C, Nationals
Michael Cuddyer, OF, Twins (bereavement list)

Called Up
Anderson Hernandez, 2B, Indians
Danny Worth, SS, Tigers
Stephen Strasburg, SP, Nationals – Christmas for Nationals fans

Sent Down
Mark Grudzielanek, 2B, Indians – designated for assignment
Adam Everett, SS, Tigers – designated for assignment
Jamie Burke, C, Nationals – designated for assignment

Closer Watch - A closer look at intriguing ninth-inning situations (check out Dave Regan's Closer Grid with the link to the left).

ARZ – Chad Qualls decided to switch things up and convert a save for a change… but not before he loaded the bases on three walks. Yunel Escobar bounced into a double play to end the game.

CHC – Sean Marshall picked up a 1.2 innings save when the Cubs upped their lead to five runs in the top of the ninth inning. No cause for concern to owners of Carlos Marmol.

COL – Since blowing a save on June 4, Manny Corpas has converted two in a row without incident.

LAA – Brian Fuentes pitched for the first time Monday in four days since getting the rockiest of saves on June 3. This time he had no problems in retiring the Athletics 1-2-3 with two strikeouts.

Hot

Ryan Howard v. Josh Johnson – 8-for-26 (.308), 2 HR, 7 RBI, 2:4 BB:K, .345 OBP
Prince Fielder v. Carlos Zambrano – 13-for-36 (.361), 2 HR, 6 RBI, 12:8 BB:K, .531 OBP
Lance Berkman v. Aaron Cook – 7-for-19 (.368), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3:2 BB:K, .435 OBP
Rafael Furcal v. Adam Wainwright – 7-for-16 (.438), 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0:0 BB:K, .438 OBP
Russell Martin v. Adam Wainwright – 7-for-13 (.500), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:0 BB:K, .563 OBP
Miguel Tejada v. CC Sabathia – 13-for-41 (.317), 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3:5 BB:K, .364 OBP
Jose Lopez v. C.J. Wilson – 7-for-13 (.538), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:0 BB:K, .600 OBP
Joe Mauer v. Kyle Davies – 8-for-21 (.381), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:1 BB:K, .409 OBP
Jason Kubel v. Kyle Davies – 7-for-17 (.412), 0 HR, 5 RBI, 4:2 BB:K, .524 OBP
Jim Thome v. Kyle Davies – 4-for-12 (.333), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 5:3 BB:K, .529 OBP
Miguel Cabrera v. Freddy Garcia – 5-for-14 (.357), 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1:4 BB:K, .400 OBP
Mark Ellis v. Joe Saunders – 9-for-29 (.310), 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2:4 BB:K, .344 OBP
Erick Aybar v. Dallas Braden – 8-for-21 (.381), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0:2 BB:K, .381 OBP

Johan Santana v. Padres – The Padres have not been able to get a whole lot off Santana, though they don't have a very long history with him. They hit just .178/.267/.267 with just four extra base hits and a strikeout rate at more than 25% of total at-bats (23/90).

Cold

Jorge Cantu v. Roy Halladay – 3-for-20 (.150), 0 HR, 2 RBI, 1:2 BB:K
Jerry Hairston Jr. v. Johan Santana – 0-for-13 (.000), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:3 BB:K, .133 OBP
David Eckstein v. Johan Santana – 0-for-11 (.000), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2:2 BB:K, .154 OBP
Freddy Sanchez v. Aaron Harang – 9-for-45 (.200), 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1:11 BB:K, .208 OBP
Jim Edmonds v. Carlos Zambrano – 10-for-43 (.233), 2 HR, 3 RBI, 8:19 BB:K, .389 – lucky .417 on balls in play
Rickie Weeks v. Carlos Zambrano – 8-for-35 (.229), 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1:14 BB:K, .289 OBP
Aramis Ramirez v. Randy Wolf – 5-for-25 (.200), 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1:8 BB:K, .231 OBP
Ichiro Suzuki v. C.J. Wilson – 4-for-17 (.235), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1:5 BB:K, .278 OBP – closest he can come to a contact problem?
Justin Morneau v. Kyle Davies – 1-for-16 (.063), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4:4 BB:K, .286 OBP
Gerald Laird v. Freddy Garcia – 1-for-13 (.077), 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0:2 BB:K, .077 OBP
Brandon Inge v. Freddy Garcia – 10-for-48 (.208), 2 HR, 3 RBI, 5:16 BB:K, .283 OBP
Kurt Suzuki v. Joe Saunders – 2-for-24 (.083), 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2:1 BB:K, .154 OBP – cold, but definitely a bad break on balls in play
Howie Kendrick v. Dallas Braden – 3-for-18 (.167), 1 HR, 2 RBI, .167 OBP
Torii Hunter v. Dallas Braden – 3-for-16 (.188), 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:2 BB:K, .222 OBP

Adam Wainwright v. Dodgers – With a line against Wainwright of .314/.352/.510, it is pretty much as cold as Wainwright will get when looking at this one on the surface. However, Wainwright doesn't get credit in these numbers for holding the Dodgers to one run on three hits and one walk in eight innings in a playoff game in 2009. That makes this one not as cold as one might think.

Recommended Pickup

Trevor Cahill, SP, Athletics – How is Cahill owned in only 8% of Yahoo! Leagues? He has a world of potential and he should continue to improve since he is so young (turned 22 just before the start of the season). After keeping a low profile in his first three starts after returning from a shoulder injury in his non-throwing shoulder, he has dropped five quality starts in a row, most recently against the Twins. Cahill does not typically strike out a lot of batters, though six strikeouts in six innings against the Twins was a season high. Expect his numbers to be similar to those of Jeff Niemann the rest of the way.

Other Recent Recommendations: Tyler Colvin, Edwin Jackson, Felipe Paulino, Reid Brignac, Mike Stanton, Troy Glaus