Friday Lineup Card: Tommy John for Anderson

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

Sponsored by DraftStreet

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

Marlins (Ricky Nolasco – R) at Cubs (Ryan Dempster – R), 2:20
Indians (Josh Tomlin – R) at Orioles (Jake Arrieta – R), 7:05
White Sox (Gavin Floyd – R) at Tigers (Justin Verlander – R), 7:05
Yankees (Freddy Garcia – R) at Blue Jays (Brandon Morrow – R), 7:07
Phillies (Vance Worley – R) at Mets (R.A. Dickey – R), 7:10
Cardinals (Jake Westbrook – R) at Reds (Johnny Cueto – R), 7:10
Red Sox (Andrew Miller – L) at Rays (David Price – L), 7:10
Nationals (Livan Hernandez – R) at Braves (Tim Hudson – R), 7:35
Pirates (Jeff Karstens – R) at Astros (Brett Myers – R), 8:05
Royals (Luke Hochevar – R) at Twins (Nick Blackburn – R), 8:10
Brewers (Chris Narveson – L) at Rockies (Juan Nicasio – R), 8:40
Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw – L) at Diamondbacks (Joe Saunders – L), 9:40
Giants (Tim Lincecum – R) at Padres (Dustin Moseley – R), 10:05
Angels (Dan Haren – R) at Athletics (Brandon McCarthy – R), 10:05
Rangers (Colby Lewis – R) at Mariners (Doug Fister – R), 10:10

Day Game After a Night Game: FLA, CHI

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)

Carlos Gonzalez, OF, COL (wrist) – Out Thursday; could miss more games
Johnny Damon, OF, TB (hand) – Still hurting, but plans to play Friday
Peter Bourjos, OF, LAA (hamstring) – Running agility drills Thursday; possible weekend return
Vladimir Guerrero, DH, BAL (hand) – Not in the lineup Thursday
Scott Baker, SP, MIN (elbow) – Throwing and on track to start Monday
Miguel Cabrera, 1B, DET (oblique) – Supposed to be re-evaluated Thursday
Fausto Carmona, SP, CLE (quad) – On track to return July 18
Jose Bautista, OF, TOR (ankle) - Left Thursday's game with twisted ankle; day-to-day

Players on the DL

Ivan Rodriguez, C, WAS (oblique) – Played long toss Thursday without incident
Kris Medlen, SP, ATL (elbow) – Had a setback and won't be back this season
Ryan Madson, RP, PHI (hand) – Threw a scoreless rehab appearance Wednesday; could be back Friday
Steve Pearce, 1B, PIT (calf) – Started rehab; 0-for-6, four BB so far
Jose Tabata, OF, PIT (quad) – Played first rehab game Wednesday
John Jaso, C, TB (oblique) – Placed on DL
Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY (knee) – Finally placed on DL
Brett Anderson, SP, OAK (elbow) – Tommy John surgery on Thursday; out well into next year
Alex White, SP, CLE (finger) – Threw first bullpen (fastballs only) since injury Wednesday
Brian Roberts, 2B, BAL (concussion) – Progressing very slowly
Carlos Guillen, 2B, DET (knee) – Expected to return soon, but nothing definite

Transactions - Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.

Called Up
Ezequiel Carrera, OF, CLE
Trevor Plouffe, SS, MIN

Sent Down
Brad Thomas, RP, DET (outrighted)
Brandon Guyer, OF, TB
Darren O'Day, RP, TEX

Placed on DL
Alex Rodriguez, 3B, NYY
John Jaso, C, TB

Activated from DL
Scott Feldman, RP, TEX

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

Milwaukee – John Axford and the newly acquired Francisco Rodriguez will share closing duties, apparently, with each deployed where necessary as an ace reliever anytime in a game. That's the scuttlebutt for now.

New York Mets – Bobby Parnell and Jason Isringhausen will both get their chances, but look for Parnell to get more shots, more often, and eventually lock down the role.

Recommended Pickup

Eric Thames, OF, TOR – One of the best-kept secrets in fantasy, Thames (no relation to the Dodgers' Marcus Thames; they even pronounce their names differently) has been playing every day in the Jays outfield since being recalled, and has thus far compiled a .308 average, four homers, 11 RBI and 20 runs in 104 AB. That's no fluke; he ripped 27 homers and drove in 104 runs last season in Double-A, and raked to the tune of .352/.423/.610 in Triple-A this year. He's been hitting second for the Jays, right in front of Jose Bautista, which is about as good as you can get in lineup protection. His plate discipline isn't great, but the lefty bat has held his own in a small sample against left-handed pitching so far – a concern coming into the season. At this point, I consider him a playable outfielder even in standard mixed leagues; in AL-only, he's a must-own.

Other recent recommendations: Bobby Parnell, Emilio Bonifacio, Zach Cozart, Nolan Reimold, Joe Nathan

Draft Street Competition

If you missed out on our recent free roll with DraftStreet, don't worry - we have another chance for you to take home some cash FOR FREE.

Click here to join this Friday's $250 giveaway. Free to enter and you can edit your lineups right up until 7pm est on Friday so register now and set a preliminary lineup to make sure you don't miss out on the $250 prize pool.

As a reminder, the competition will be a one-day MLB Salary Cap league where values for each player are set based on projected fantasy value each day and your mission is to find the bargains and make the best 14 player team possible within the $100,000 budget. The teams with the best scores at the end of the night will take home some money which they can withdraw immediately via paypal/check or keep in their DraftStreet account and use it to enter other competitions for even more money.

Register for a free account at DraftStreet.com today and start practicing. Remember to use bonus code Rotowire on your first deposit to get some extra cash released into your account as you play. Be sure to come back to Rotowire's Daily Lineup Card on Friday for all the analysis you need to dominate the competition and take home cash on DraftStreet.

Draft Street Lineup

C – Joe Mauer, MIN ($3,939)
1B – Michael Morse, WAS ($6,271)
2B – Howie Kendrick, LAA ($5,673)
3B – Mark Reynolds, BAL ($5,104)
SS – Jhonny Peralta, DET ($6,047)
OF – Lance Berkman, STL ($8,856)
OF – Eric Thames, TOR ($6,388)
OF – Colby Rasmus, STL ($5,134)
UT – Mark Teixeira, NYY ($6,817)
UT – Todd Helton, COL ($6,970)
SP – Dan Haren, LAA ($18,312)
SP – Livan Hernandez, WAS ($8,111)
RP – Jordan Walden, LAA ($2,258)
P – Josh Tomlin, CLE ($9,751)

Total: $99,631

Register for a free account at DraftStreet.com and start playing daily fantasy sports games today!