Saturday Lineup Card: Blanco Drinks Your Melkshake

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

Projected Starters – A look at Saturday's matchups (all times Eastern):

American League
Rangers (Roy Oswalt – R) at Blue Jays (Carlos Villanueva – R), 1:07
Red Sox (Jon Lester – L) at Yankees (David Phelps – R), 4:05
Orioles (Zach Britton – L) at Tigers (Rick Porcello – R), 7:05
White Sox (Jake Peavy – R) at Royals (Bruce Chen – L), 7:10
Indians (Corey Kluber – R) at Athletics (Bartolo Colon – R), 9:05
Rays (Alex Cobb – R) at Angels (C.J. Wilson – L), 9:05
Twins (Scott Diamond – L) at Mariners (Jason Vargas – L), 9:10

National League
Cubs (Jeff Samardzija – R) at Reds (Johnny Cueto – R), 1:10
Cubs (Brooks Raley – L) at Reds (Todd Redmond – R), 7:10
Pirates (Erik Bedard – L) at Cardinals (Lance Lynn – R), 4:05
Diamondbacks (Patrick Corbin – L) at Astros (Jordan Lyles – R), 7:05
Mets (Jonathon Niese – L) at Nationals (Edwin Jackson – R), 7:05
Dodgers (Aaron Harang – R) at Braves (Ben Sheets – R), 7:10
Phillies (Cole Hamels – L) at Brewers (Mike Fiers – R), 7:10
Marlins (Nathan Eovaldi – R) at Rockies (Tyler Chatwood – R), 8:10
Giants (Barry Zito – L) at Padres (Eric Stults – L), 8:35

Day Game After a Night Game: TEX, TOR, BOS, NYY, CHC, CIN, PIT, STL

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)

AL
Nelson Cruz, OF, TEX – (Hamstring) Available off bench Friday.
Ryan Dempster, P, TEX – (Personal) Missing Saturday's start for personal reason.
Ben Revere, OF, MIN – (Ankle) Out of Friday's lineup after twisting ankle Wednesday.
Mark Teixeira, 1B, NYY – (Wrist) Out of Friday's lineup with soreness.

NL
Yadier Molina, C, STL – (Back) Out of Friday's lineup.
Bud Norris, P, HOU – (Foot) Should make next start as scheduled after leaving Wednesday's start when he was struck on foot with line drive.
Josh Rutledge, SS, COL – (Quadriceps) Pinch hit on Thursday, in Friday's lineup.
Joe Saunders, P, ARI – (Thumb) Hurt thumb Wednesday but expects to make next start.
Neil Walker, 2B, PIT – (Finger) Out of Friday's lineup, may miss more time.

Players on the DL

AL
Scott Atchison, P, BOS – (Elbow) Moved to 60-day.
Wilson Betemit, 3B, BAL – (Wrist0 Should be activated when eligible on Aug. 27.
Jason Hammel, P, BAL – (Knee) Will throw another bullpen session Saturday.
Rich Hill, P, BOS – (Elbow) Taking rehab to Double-A.
Orlando Hudson, 2B, CHW – (Foot) Placed on DL Friday after fouling ball off foot Wednesday.
Victor Martinez, C, DET – (Knee) Officially out for season.
Daisuke Matsuzaka, P, BOS – (Neck) Will make another start for Triple-A, may not be activated until after Sept. 1.
Daniel Nava, OF, BOS – (Wrist) Taking swings.
Daniel Schlereth, P, DET – (Shoulder) Good numbers through five rehab appearances, return this season still appears questionable.
Leyson Septimo, P, CHW – (Biceps) Placed on DL Friday with inflammation.
Jordan Walden, P, LAA – (Biceps) Expected to be activated Saturday.

NL
Lance Berkamn, 1B, STL – (Knee) Will begin rehab at Triple-A next Wednesday.
Willie Bloomquist, SS, ARI – (Back) Is not expected to be activated when eligible on Aug. 24.
Emilio Bonifacio, OF, MIA – (Thumb) Should be activated Sunday.
Jhoulys Chacin, P, COL – (Chest) Will be activated next Tuesday.
Freddy Galvis, 2B, PHI – (Upper Body) Reinstated from suspension, but straight to DL and out until September.
Jason Giambi, 1B, COL – (Illness) Regaining strength but no game action quite yet.
Donnie Murphy, SS, MIA – (Hamstring) Should be activated Sunday.
Placido Polanco, 3B, PHI – (Back) Played five innings in rehab Thursday, should be activated Monday.
Tim Stauffer, P, SD – (Elbow) Out for the season.
Huston Street, P, SD – (Calf) Still has limp, looks like he will miss some extended time.

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

Called Up
Justin Christian, OF, SF
Eric Hacker, P, SF
Matt Carson, P, MIN
Hector Santiago, P, CHW
Leonys Martin, OF, TEX

Sent Down
Rene Tosoni, OF, MIN
Cesar Izturis, SS, WAS (designated for assignment)
Cory Gearrin, P, ATL
Shawn Kelley, P, SEA

Placed on DL (15-day unless otherwise noted)
Orlando Hudson, 2B, CHW
Leyson Septimo, P, CHW
Ryan Dempster, P, TEX

Activated from DL
Anthony Swarzak,. P, MIN
Paul Konerko, 1B, CHW
Ian Desmond, SS, WAS
Tommy Hanson, P, ATL
Charlie Furbush, P, SEA

Signed
Horacio Ramirez, P, CHC

Traded
None

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

Milwaukee – Jim Henderson blew an opportunity Wednesday, but he was able to shut down the Phillies Thursday when Manny Parra put two men on. For now it appears that Henderson will get see some opportunities, but this closer situation remains highly volatile.

New York Mets – Frank Francisco was dismal Thursday, allowing five Reds to reach and nearly squandering the lead. That gave Jon Rauch the chance to retire the final batter for a save for the second time in five days. Rauch has three saves on the year and this job is looking up in the air.

Oakland – Grant Balfour earned Thursday's save in easy fashion, while Ryan Cook served as the setup man. Looks like the job has fallen back in Balfour's hands and Cook is out.

St. Louis – Jason Motte ended a streak of 13 straight saves converted Thursday by allowing two runs to the D'Backs in the top of the ninth. The job is still firmly in his grasp.

Key Matchups

Gregor Blanco, OF, SF – Melky Cabrera made a boo-boo and the benefactor of that situation will be Blanco. The problem is that Blanco is not one to hit for average. Even when he was in the lower levels of the Atlanta organization he did not hit for a high average. Where Blanco can help is in the stolen base category. He has 19 steals in 300 at-bats this season and if he plays every day the rest of the way he could steal a couple of bags per week. The Giants hit him seventh in the order Wednesday when he went 2-for-4.

Other Recent Recommendations:Jon Jay, Yonder Alonso, Eric Young, Jr., Andy Dirks, Chris Carter

DraftStreet 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 serious cash.

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.

As a reminder, the competition will be an 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.

Be sure to come back to RotoWire's Daily Lineup Card every day for all the analysis you need to dominate the competition and take home cash on DraftStreet.

Draft Street Lineup
C – Yadier Molina ($6,690)
1B – David Cooper ($5,496)
2B – Ian Kinsler ($5,496)
3B – Pablo Sandoval ($6,446)
SS – Yunel Escobar ($4,290)
OF – Colby Rasmus ($5,217)
OF – Mark Trumbo ($6,657)
OF – Mike Trout ($11,357)
UTIL – Anthony Rizzo ($5,591)
UTIL – Jarrod Dyson ($4,539)
SP – Scott Diamond ($11,788)
SP – C.J. Wilson ($11,080)
RP – Grant Balfour ($1,500)
P – Lance Lyunn ($11,950)
Total: $99,885