Regan's Rumblings: 30 Teams, 30 Questions

This week we'll take a look at some top-of-my-mind questions as I scan the depth charts of all 30 teams.

NL West

Will the Diamondbacks get anything out of Archie Bradley (shoulder) or Patrick Corbin (elbow)? The last news clip we posted on Bradley is that the team wanted him to get a second opinion on his shoulder from (gulp) Dr. James Andrews. I imagine not 100 percent of the players who visit Dr. Andrews go under the knife, but this doesn't sound great. I've pretty much written him off this year. As for Corbin, he's set to pitch in his first big league game since 2013 next week in Texas. He's touched the mid-90s in his rehab outings and represents a nice addition in deeper leagues.

Can Jon Gray be the rotation savior for the Rockies? After surrendering 11 hits and six runs over 4.1 innings in his last start for Triple-A Albuquerque, it's hard to say "yes". That said, in his previous 10 outings, Gray had a 2.74 ERA, so not sure what the organization is waiting for. If you can name more than one member of the Colorado starting rotation without looking, kudos to you.

What will the left side of the Dodgers' infield look like later this month? Currently it's Jimmy Rollins and Justin Turner. Rollins though is providing no offense whatsoever, while Corey Seager rates as the best position prospect still in the minors. If he gets hot in Triple-A and Rollins is still OPSing below .600, look for a move later this month. Hector Olivera should eventually be the club's third baseman, but Turner is batting .316/.388/.567, so it appears Olivera will need an injury to make it to the Dodgers.

Can Jedd Gyorko still be the Padres' second baseman of the future? I put in a claim in my NL-only league, so assuming my bid was high enough, I'm sure hoping he still has a future. Gyorko was batting .279/.362/.492 for Triple-A El Paso and he's far too young to be written completely off. I'd roll the dice in deeper formats given he's probably going to play most every day.

Is the Giants' Matt Duffy "for real"? Here we thought that after the Giants let Pablo Sandoval walk and replaced him with Casey McGehee that the production at third would plummet dramatically. Enter Duffy who, in 65 games, is batting a surprising .297/.343/.482 and fills out the Giants' 100 percent homegrown infield. Duffy is drawing walks at a sub-par 5 percent clip, but after homering once every 142 at-bats last year (3 HR), he's going deep at a once per 27.8 AB clip this season. He even swiped 20-plus bags in each of 2013 and 2014, so there's a possibility he ramps that production up as well. I think he's for real, though perhaps there's some downside given his .343 BABIP.

NL Central

Who leads the Cubs in saves between now and the end of the season? Candidates include Hector Rondon, Pedro Strop, and Jason Motte. It's tempting to go with Motte given his experience, but Rondon last allowed an earned run on May 22 and in that time, he's pitched 13.2 innings with a 10:3 K:BB. We'd like to see more strikeouts, but he's my guy the rest of the way.

Who closes for the Reds if they deal Aroldis Chapman? Plenty of contenders are going to be after Chapman this month, and if the Reds get a good offer, they'd be foolish not to bite. Perhaps Tony Cingrani factors in somehow, but my choice is J.J. Hoover. Hoover sits with a 1.53 ERA, though his ratios (6.6 K/9, 4.1 BB/9) are very modest for a closer. That said, he generates a ton of ground balls and flashes a sinking 93+ mph fastball, leaving him with a 0.00 HR/9 halfway into the season.

Where does Khris Davis fit in the Brewers' outfield picture?Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez are obviously playing every day when healthy, leaving Davis to split time in LF with Parra. Davis surely sees all the at-bats against LHP despite his being far better versus RHP, but he will also most likely eat into quite a bit of Parra's playing time. Parra is better defensively, but Davis totaled 61 XBH last year, so look for the Brewers to play him nearly every day to get his bat in the lineup.

Should the Pirates be concerned about Gregory Polanco's lack of progress? Maybe a little, especially this year. Polanco is batting just .161 in 118 big league at-bats versus LHP and he's overall walking a little less and striking out a little more compared to 2014. His 50.0 GB% is also up and is higher than we'd like to see, leading to fewer home runs. Still, despite a .299 OBP, Polanco has already swiped 17 bases to go with his three home runs, but as to whether his entire game comes together, I'm not sure that happens before 2016.

Can Xavier Scruggs take over first base for the Cardinals? With Matt Adams sidelined into September, Scruggs and Mark Reynolds are filling in at first base and Scruggs could see most of the at-bats versus RHP as long as he hits. Scruggs is 9-for-24 with a pair of doubles to start his big league career after batting a modest .251/.363/.488 for Triple-A Memphis. Scruggs hit 20-plus homers for four straight seasons (2011-2014) while walking at least 8.5 percent of the time each year. He'll strike out a lot, but he can also run a little and the power is intriguing in deeper formats. I'm looking to pick him up in an NL-only league this week.

NL East

What can the Braves expect from Manny Banuelos? Banuelos is expected to make his MLB debut this week after posting a 2.29 ERA in 82.2 minor league innings. The 24 year-old looks to have the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter given his 7.6 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9, but he should command some FAAB dollars in deeper formats.

What is the 2015 ceiling for the Marlins' Marcell Ozuna? After hitting .269 with a .317 OBP and 23 homers last year, those numbers sit at .261, .315, and four headed into Wednesday's action. It is somewhat encouraging that Ozuna has cut his K% from 26.8 to 23.4 year over year, but the real mystery is the lack of power. I do see the power returning, but given his low minor league BA's, .260-.270 is probably his ceiling there.

Will the Mets promote Michael Conforto this year? Last year's first round pick is 22 and highly advanced, so despite having just 28 games at the Double-A level, I could see it in the near future. Conforto is batting .333/.421/.543 in 121 Double-A PA's and for the year he's hit 10 home runs while posting a 52:33 K:BB in 227 PA's. Should Michael Cuddyer continue getting hurt, Conforto could be next man up.

What will the Phillies do next? The smart thing would be to sell anyone not named Maikel Franco on the current 25-man roster, but more likely we could see a Chase Utley deal and maybe Jonathan Papelbon gets moved. Should Papelbon get traded, Ken Giles is obviously next in line with his 95.7 mph average fastball and 2.12 ERA. Giles needs to drive down his 4.2 BB/9 to something closer to last year's 2.2 mark, but he's nearly a lock to be closing games in 2016, if not this year.

Is Ian Desmond in the Nationals' future plans? I'm thinking more and more that he is not. Desmond has seen his OPS decline for the third straight year to .618 this season to go with seven home runs and a very disappointing two steals. Desmond had stolen 20-plus for four straight seasons, but unless he can turn around his 4.8 BB% and 28.3 K%, Trea Turner is looking more and more like the 2016 Opening Day SS given Desmond's pending free agency.

AL West

Can Domingo Santana hold down a starting outfield job for the Astros? Santana is just 22, so his best days are ahead of him, but he's here now after batting .320/.444/.584 in Triple-A. Through 38 PA's this year, Santana has a respectable .257/.316/.386 slash despite a 15:2 K:BB. In his prime, it's easy to see him developing 30 HR power to go with 10 SB and a .280 BA, but he's probably more of a longer term guy.

Do the Angels have any hope? If you look over the depth chart, it's not a pretty sight for a team with a huge payroll. GM Jerry DiPoto is already a casualty of owner Arte Moreno's meddling ways, but what about the guys left? I'll highlight Andrew Heaney as a guy to target, as he had fared well in Triple-A recently and in two big league starts, Heaney has a 1.38 ERA and 12:3 K:BB in 13 innings. I see him as a future no. 2 perhaps.

Who closes in Oakland once the A's deal Tyler Clippard? Well it's not a lock that Clippard is dealt, but I'd be surprised if he wasn't. If Sean Doolittle is actually healthy, he's the guy, but if you're looking for a saves sleeper in Oakland, my guy is Evan Scribner (9.5 K/9, 0.7 BB/9).

How good can the Rangers' Rougned Odor be? The sky is the limit. Sure, Odor had a .699 OPS in 114 games last year and yes, he got off to a slow start this year, but whatever adjustments he made in Triple-A are working. Since being recalled, Odor is batting .391/.453/.587 to raise his overall line to .228/.321/.353 with five stolen bases. He could be a top-five 2B next year.

How good is the Mariners' Mike Montgomery? I'm not sure on that, but I am sure that the Royals and Rays both wish they had him back. Montgomery had the look of a failed starter prior to this year, but he's now thrown back-to-back complete-game shutouts and has a 1.62 ERA in six starts. His 5.9 K/9 suggests this won't continue, but Montgomery has improved his control (2.4 BB/9) and his changeup looks like it's really keeping hitters off balance. He won't keep this up, but Montgomery at least has regained some of his status.

AL Central

Is there hope for the White Sox's Melky Cabrera? After last year's resurgence, Cabrera entered Wednesday batting just .252/.296/.310 with a pair of home runs. His BB and K rates are in line with expectations, but after last year's .157 ISO, Cabrera sits at .058 this season. With a less than 2 percent HR/FB rate, Cabrera's HR output and overall output should improve in the second half. I'd target him in deeper leagues.

Is the Indians' Carlos Santana a future All-Star? Not at this rate. Santana is batting just .213/.350/.368 and while a 52:53 K:BB provides some confidence, he's just not making very solid contact. Sure, we could say that his .234 BABIP is going to skyrocket and carry his BA into the .270s, but Santana also had a .251 BABIP last year. He has value as a catcher in some leagues, but he won't be eligible there next year.

Is there any hope for a breakout from the Tigers' Nick Castellanos? After posting a .700 OPS in his rookie season last year, I was expecting a step forward this year, but Castellanos entered Wednesday's action batting .233/.280/.349 in 73 games. We probably should have seen this coming given Castellanos posted mediocre walk rates in the minors. He's still just 23, but expecting a breakout this year seems foolish.

Can Christian Colon be the Royals' second baseman of the future? Right now it's wannabe All-Star Omar Infante at second, but Colon is a former top-five pick who could eventually come into his own now that he's 26. Colon is batting .244/.306/.295, with his 8.1 BB% being a two-point improvement over last year. He's not going to be a superstar, but as a $1 keeper in very deep leagues, you could do a lot worse.

What should Miguel Sano provide the Twins now that he's reportedly being called up? Sano has been on a nice hot streak, so it's possible he hits the ground running and provides a lot of value right away. Sano was hitting .274/.374/.544 in Double-A and he should be the everyday third baseman with an occasional DH nod. Sano is walking a solid 13.3 percent of the time and a 23.8 K% isn't so high given his power, so add him immediately in all formats.

AL East

Did the Orioles find a hidden gem in Chris Parmelee? Through 50 PA's, Parmelee is batting .298/.340/.681, with four home runs, so perhaps they have. Still, a 13:2 K:BB inspires little confidence and outside of showing 15-homer power in recent big league stints, Parmelee has the look of a bench guy. That said, he was a first-round pick of the Twins in 2006, so perhaps he's just a late bloomer. Nice guy to have stashed in AL-only leagues.

Are the contracts of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval already albatross level for the Red Sox? I sure think so. Sandoval has turned things around a bit, but his OPS is still just .715 to Hanley's so-so .815. An .815 OPS from a solid defensive shortstop is certainly above average, but from a mediocre defensive left fielder, Ramirez is barely replacement level at this point. Don't be surprise to see Koji Uehara dealt and Junichi Tazawa closing games by August 1.

When will Rob Refsnyder be the Yankees' second baseman? Refsnyder was better at the plate last year with a .845 OPS, but at .275/.366/.380 with five homers and 10 stolen bases, he certainly has some upside in deeper leagues. He doesn't strike out (12.9 K%), so he should be able to hit for average and provide at least average fantasy production at some point.

The Rays' Joey Butler can't be for real, right? On the surface, it's hard to ignore a .316/.361/.480 slash that includes six homers and five steals. It's also hard to ignore a .420 BABIP, 4.5 BB%, and 27.9 K%. Butler is 29 and with those underlying metrics, regression appears inevitable, but his minor league BABIPs were also quite high, including a .380 mark in 2013 in Triple-A and last year's .409 in 106 PA's for Triple-A Memphis. No one is likely to buy this start and give up a significant piece for Butler, so you may as well enjoy the ride.

Will Roberto Osuna lead the Blue Jays in saves the rest of the way? Unless the Jays decide to put Aaron Sanchez (back) in the bullpen upon his return in mid-July, I'd say yes. Osuna is just 20, but he throws in the mid-90s and his numbers this year are excellent: 2.02 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 10.6 K/9, and 2.5 BB/9. Osuna spent most of his minor league time as a starter, but this is a guy with top-five closer potential. He'll stay in the 'pen.