Mound Musings: See You in September?

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Updated on August 22, 2019 7:01PM EST

Are you heading into the fantasy season's final month with your sights set on a league title? This is a tricky time because some teams will back off on the innings pitched for key arms they want fresh for the playoffs, while other teams — especially those out of the playoff picture — will want to see what they have coming into next season. These guys are a mix of arms who could help now, or they might be deserving of your attention next spring. Some are expected to return from the injured list, (there may also be a few young arms). Let's briefly see who might be worth a look during the season's final month:

Johnny Cueto Like all of the pitchers featured below, Cueto is expected to return from an extended absence (or experience a change in roles) before the end of the season. Time is short, so making a fantasy impact is iffy for most, but they might be worth a look. Cueto is the king of deception – or perhaps it would be better described as distraction. The hitter sees his back, arms and legs going everywhere, and then, finally the baseball. It works for him and makes him entertaining to watch. Injuries, including Tommy John surgery a year ago, have wrecked the past couple seasons, but there have been very encouraging signs in his rehab. His fastball is back in the low 90s, and even more importantly, he has a 12:1 K/BB through 11 innings.

Sean Manaea Working his way back from shoulder woes, he may be even closer to returning than Cueto. He has thrown as many as 91 pitches (in his last rehab start), but his results in his rehab outings have been mixed, and there have been minor setbacks. The important takeaway is a positive trend. In his first four rehab outings, the lefty, not surprisingly, struggled with command and allowed 14 earned runs in 12 innings, but more recently, against tougher competition, he has held opponents to just five earned runs over 17 innings while fanning 24 in three starts. He's probably very close to returning, assuming no more setbacks, but he has minor league options remaining if the A's decide to take it slowly. He has a higher ceiling than pretty much any pitcher on their MLB staff, but that also means the team could opt to take it easy and do what they can to protect his future. He needs to be monitored closely in the immediate future until the A's announce a timeline and plan for his return to action.

Julio Urias This is a possible role change scenario, albeit Urias is currently out serving a suspension and won't be eligible to return until early September. Having thrown just 27 innings over 2017-18, the Dodgers have been extremely cautious with his workload this year. He has appeared in just 27 games – six starts – accumulating 67 innings, but the Dodgers recently announced he could be a candidate to start games in October. Wait, October? Hmmm. Interesting. There is no question the Dodgers are sky high regarding Urias' future, but that's quite a leap. It sounds like they could be preparing to cash in those innings they have been saving yet this year. However, if they are to do that, it can't happen overnight. They will likely need to slot him into the rotation fairly early in September if they expect to build him up enough to take a regular turn in the playoffs. Urias is an elite talent. If he's somehow available, and your season runs the full month of September, he could potentially be a significant difference-maker.

Luke Weaver Weaver is a darkhorse at best to make it back in time to contribute before the end of this season. He was pitching at the top of his game through 11 starts to begin 2019, but a pronator and a UCL sprain put him on the injured list in late May. He hasn't pitched since. Those are injuries that could result in Tommy John surgery, but they opted to take a conservative, nonsurgical, approach. He's throwing off a mound now, but he has limited his throws to fastballs, and the clock is ticking, meaning he would need to pitch much more aggressively very soon, and I don't really expect that to happen. Let's list him as a grab-and-stash possibility for keeper leagues and hope his recovery sees him at 100 percent next spring.

Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell Normally, I would list both as longshots to make a fantasy impact yet this year, but we're dealing with the very creative Rays, here. Glasnow is slightly ahead of Snell, having thrown a couple bullpen sessions at close to full speed, while Snell hasn't progressed to mound work quite yet. They already have announced he will come back as a reliever because there isn't enough time to get him back up to a starter's pitch count, so we have to assume it will be the same for Snell. In most cases, this would equate to a limited fantasy impact, but with the possibility of Rays' pitchers working as openers or bulk relievers, depending on your scoring needs and eligibility requirements, both could be very useful down the stretch. They are both currently on schedule to return around the middle of next month.

Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco This spot on the list was originally intended to highlight the impending return of two key arms in the Indians arsenal, albeit Carrasco is expected to pitch out of the bullpen when he comes back. Kluber was quickly progressing toward a return, but, unfortunately, he suffered an oblique strain in his most recent rehab appearance. He has been shut down, and won't be reevaluated for two weeks. Even if all goes well, that probably doesn't leave enough time for him to build up the arm strength to return as a starter this year. Carrasco is more of a feel good possibility. He's making his way back from acute myloid leukemia, and while a bullpen role limits his fantasy impact, he's talented enough to collect some meaningful innings.

Clay Buchholz He has always been something of an enigma for me. He can look absolutely awful for a stretch, then inexplicably turn things around and perform as a productive starting pitcher for a while. Buchholz was mediocre (generous) for Boston in 2016, awful (briefly) for the Phillies in 2017, then dazzled for half of a season for Arizona last year. He had a dismal start to this year with Toronto before hitting the injured list with shoulder woes in early May. Did the shoulder contribute to his poor performance? I can't say. He has now made three rehab starts including a solid 67-pitch outing for High-A Dunedin in his last outing. Barring any setbacks –always a risk with shoulder injuries – he should return to the Jays rotation fairly soon. I'm just unsure whether he will come back as Dr. Jeckyl or Mr. Hyde.

There are a few others approaching a return to major league mounds. Luis Severino (Yankees) might be the highest profile, but he like others running out of time to build arm strength, is expected to work out of the bullpen. The Dodgers' Rich Hill finds himself in a similar situation. Not enough time. Felix Hernandez (Mariners) could return to Seattle as soon as this weekend, but even if his shoulder is fully healed, his performance has declined, probably from the high mileage on his arm. And, there is one other pitcher I'm anxious to see this September. Garrett Richards (Padres) is another who is unlikely to have a fantasy impact this season, but reports have been encouraging, and he could be a very interesting sleeper next spring.

Some Notable Rotation Ramblings:

Some would say even Nostradamus predicted unavoidable Tommy John surgery for the max-effort Chris Sale, and we had to fear the worst when he went on the injured list and saw Dr. Andrews for a second opinion. However, even though he is out for the rest of this season, it looks like he'll be good to go next spring.
The news wasn't so good for the Pirates' Jameson Taillon. He underwent elbow surgery, but they discovered more damage than anticipated, resulting in a full Tommy John procedure. He's now out until 2021, and one has to wonder if he will ever get (and stay) healthy enough to reach his once lofty potential.
I was able to watch a few innings of Masahiro Tanaka's last start, and it was pretty encouraging. He has always been something of a rhythm pitcher, and while his strikeouts are down, he was consistently locating his pitches, keeping the ball in the park and generally generating weak contact.
In an interesting statement, the Phillies announced that Aaron Nola will start every five days. Roughly translated that means, he is by far our best chance to win a game, so no matter whose turn it is, on the fifth day, Nola gets the ball. They no doubt wish he could go every three or four days.
A Rule 5 pick last year, the Royals' Brad Keller has been learning on the job. It's been mostly baby steps, but those steps have been in the right direction. As it is with most young pitchers, he has to continue working on a consistent release point, and he's finding that first-pitch strikes are his very best friend.
Speaking of learning on the job, the D'backs' Zac Gallen is finding that major league hitters are far less likely to chase pitches out of the strike zone. His somewhat deceptive motion and a wide variety of pitches have helped him avoid potentially disastrous innings, but he needs to up his strike percentage soon.

Endgame Odyssey:

Even many of the game's most reliable bullpen arms have suffered as a result of the overwhelming meltdowns that have been a defining characteristic of this season. In Washington, Sean Doolittle has landed on the injured list with a sore knee, but he likely needs a breather just as much given his season-long heavy workload. Probably look for Daniel Hudson to fill in. It's the same story for the Dodgers' Kenley Jansen who hasn't been as sharp as expected. He'll get some much needed extra rest as the Dodgers coast into the postseason with Joe Kelly his likely caddy. In Colorado, Scott Oberg experienced a recurrence of an arterial problem that will keep him out for the remainder of this season. Wade Davis, initially returned to the closer's role, but he was promptly thumped. Carlos Estevez, Jairo Diaz, or perhaps a mix and match with Jake McGee, might be the plan. The M's may be auditioning for their closer job. Anthony Bass got the first few chances, but he has recently been pitching the eighth inning with Matt Magill working the ninth. It may remain a fluid situation until season's end. Craig Kimbrel is back with the Cubs after a couple weeks on the injured list, but home runs continue to haunt him. In other little bear news, former ace closer Brandon Morrow suffered yet another setback and is done for the season. He's facing more surgery, so even next year is full of question marks.

Next week, we'll look at a list of pitching attributes that appear to be extremely influential in translating to success in this age of the long ball. Don't miss it!