Alex Reyes SP, Cardinals
The Cardinals activated pitching prospect Alex Reyes and intend to start him Wednesday night. Reyes was injured during spring training in 2017 and underwent Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. The Inside Injuries algorithm calculated April 10 as his return to health date, so his Overall Injury Risk is currently Low and his Health Performance Factor is at Peak. During his recent minor league rehab stint, Reyes pitched a total of 23 innings and didn’t allow a single run with seven hits allows, seven walks and a whopping 44 strikeouts. Reyes should be activated in all fantasy formats and started immediately.
Clayton Kershaw SP, Dodgers
Kershaw has been sidelined since May 1 with biceps tendonitis, the first reported arm injury of his career. Inside
Injuries currently has him listed at Elevated risk of injury with an Above Average Health Performance Factor. He can safely be started in all fantasy formats upon his return, which is expected Thursday. Prior to the injury, Kershaw had three starts in which it was obvious something was wrong. In those starts, Kershaw pitched a total of 18 innings and gave up nine runs (4.50 ERA) on 20 hits, including three home runs, with a 17:7 K:BB ratio. Those three starts raised his season ERA to 2.86, the highest it has been dating back to his second start of 2017, when it was 3.46. He finished last season at 2.31. Now that he is past his Optimal Recovery Time and allowed plenty of time for his arm to heal, he should be back as the Dodgers’ ace.
Ryan Braun OF, Brewers
After a weeklong stint on the disabled list, Ryan Braun returned to the field on May 24. Since then, he has shown signs of heating up. He’s started five games and made 17 plate appearances in which he’s batted .462/.588/.538 with zero home runs and two stolen bases. Prior to hitting the DL, Braun scuffled, batting just .222/.268/.413. He hasn’t homered since April 20, but the two steals give him six for the season. Braun remains at High Risk for injury with an Above Average Health Performance Factor. Since he’s hitting for average, this may be a great time to trade him to someone unaware of the risk he represents in fantasy play. The Injury Risk indicates he could go down at any moment with another problem, but the Above Average HPF is a sign that while he is playing he should continue to put up strong numbers.
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