Wednesday Lineup Card: Catcher on the Rise

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

Sponsored by DraftStreet

Tuesday's Starters

American League
White Sox (Chris Sale – L) at Athletics (Jarrod Parker – R), 3:35
Royals (Luke Hochevar - R) at Indians (Ubaldo Jimenez – R), 7:05
Mariners (Felix Hernandez – R) at Tigers (Adam Wilk – L), 7:05
Blue Jays (Kyle Drabek – R) at Orioles (Jason Hammel – R), 7:05
Angels (C.J. Wilson – L) at Rays (Jeremy Hellickson – R), 7:10
Yankees (Phil Hughes – R) at Rangers (Scott Feldman – R), 8:05
Red Sox (Clay Buchholz – R) at Twins (Liam Hendriks – R), 8:10

National League
Rockies (Juan Nicasio – R) at Pirates (James McDonald, R), 12:35
Rockies (Jhoulys Chacin – R) at Pirates (Charlie Morton – R), TBD
Astros (J.A. Happ – L) at Brewers (Shaun Marcum – R), 1:10
Cardinals (Lance Lynn – R) at Cubs (Chris Volstad – R), 2:20
Phillies (Cole Hamels – L) at Diamondbacks (Trevor Cahill – R), 3:40
Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann – R) at Padres (Joe Wieland – R), 6:35
Marlins (Mark Buehrle – L) at Mets (R.A. Dickey – R), 7:10
Giants (Barry Zito – L) at Reds (Bronson Arroyo – R), 7:10
Braves (Brandon Beachy – R) at Dodgers (Ted Lilly – L), 10:10

Day Game After Night Game: 
Rockies, Astros, Cardinals, Phillies, Pirates, Brewers, Cubs, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Athletics

Injuries

Day-to-Day

AL
Andy Dirks, OF, DET – (Hamstring) Was held out of the starting lineup Tuesday.
Justin Smoak, 1B, SEA – (Hamstring) Kept out of the starting lineup for the second straight day Tuesday.
Mark Reynolds, 3B, BAL – (Illness) Missed Tuesday's game due to the flu.
Alexi Casilla, SS, MIN – (Illness) Out of the starting lineup Tuesday.
Jim Johnson, P, BAL – (Illness) Unavailable Tuesday after being hospitalized Monday with flu-like symptoms.
Nolan Reimold, OF, BAL (Neck) Orioles optimistic Reimold will not go on DL.

NL
Chipper Jones, 3B, ATL – (Knee) Started for the Braves Tuesday.
Hunter Pence, OF, PHI – (Shoulder) Had an MRI on Tuesday.

Aubrey Huff, 1B, SF – (Personal) Out of starting lineup on Tuesday.
Jon Jay, OF, STL – (Shoulder) Diagnosed with a partial separation on Tuesday.

Disabled List
AL
Andrew Miller, P, BOS – (Hamstring) Threw a perfect inning during rehab outing in Triple-A on Monday.
Brett Gardner, OF, NYY – (Elbow) Won't try hitting until Friday, at the earliest.
Al Alburquerque, P, DET – (Elbow) Moved from 15-Day DL to 60-Day DL.
Sergio Santos, P, TOR – (Shoulder) Will miss at least four weeks.

NL
Dan Hudson, P, AZ – (Shoulder) Could begin playing catch after five-day rest period.
Chien-Ming Wang, P, WAS – (Hamstring) Threw three innings in his first rehab start Monday.
Allen Craig, OF, STL – (Knee) Hit three singles for High-A Palm Beach on Monday.
Freddy Sanchez, 2B, SF – (Shoulder) Went 1-3 in first rehab game for High-A San Jose on Monday.
Bill Bray, P, CIN – (Groin) Placed on 15-Day DL on Tuesday.
Jason Bay, OF, NYM – (Ribs) Placed on 15-Day DL on Tuesday.
Ryan Howard, 1B, PHI – (Achilles) Told to limit activities for at least one more week.
Mike Pelfrey, P, NYM – (Elbow) Placed on 15-Day DL with swelling in right elbow.
Chris Narveson, P, MIL – (Shoulder) Will have season ending surgery.

Transactions 

Activated from Bereavement List
Kameron Loe, P, MIL

Placed on DL
Bill Bray, P, CIN
Jason Bay, OF, NYM
Mike Pelfrey, P, NYM

Optioned to Triple-A
Jair Jurrjens, P, ATL
Jeremy Hefner, P, NYM
Wily Peralta, P, MIL

Called Up
Robert Carson, P, NYM
Zach Lutz, 3B, NYM
J.J. Hoover, P, CIN
Cody Gearrin, P, ATL

Free Agent Signings
Dustin Martin, OF, NYM
Jim Negrych, 2B, WAS

Closer Watch
Current Red Sox closer Alfredo Aceves got the save for Boston without too much trouble Monday night against the Twins. Aceves allowed just one hit, a single to Chris Parmelee. This makes Aceves 3-5 in save opportunities since taking over the closer position from the injured Andrew Bailey. In his three saves, Aceves has allowed just one hit while striking out a combined four batters. However, in his two blown saves, he has allowed eight earned runs. His current role as closer is tenuous at best, especially in big market Boston.

Jason Motte blew his first save of the season on Monday for the Cardinals. With a 2-1 St. Louis lead, Motte allowed two runs to score on a Joe Mather single. It's nothing to worry about for now as Motte is in no danger of losing his job, and has pitched very well this year.

Brewers closer John Axford struck out the side in the ninth inning against the Astros on Monday night. This comes three days after allowing a run on three hits and taking the loss against the Rockies. Axford currently has a 6.35 ERA, but he also started last season slow and finished with a 1.95 ERA in 2011.

Recommended Pickup

Devin Mesoraco, C, CIN – Perhaps not quite a player to pick up immediately, but someone you absolutely want to keep an eye on. In fact, you may want to jump early to avoid being beaten to the punch. Mesoraco has gotten off to a good start this season, hitting .304 as the backup catcher to Ryan Hanigan. However, with Hanigan hitting for a meager .543 OPS so far, Mesoraco may be poised to win the starting job sooner than later. Mesoraco is certainly talented, as Baseball America rated him as the 16th best prospect in the nation prior to the 2012 season. And despite not hitting for much power yet, the 24-year-old Mesoraco has shown plenty of pop in the minors, including hitting 26 home runs in 2010. Catcher isn't a strong position, and Mesoraco could potentially be a big help.

Other Recent Recommendations: Jarrod Parker, Jason Hammel, Francisco Cordero and Alex Presley.

Draft Street Competition

Draft Street is offering all Rotowire users an opportunity to compete in a $300 Freeroll on Friday.

Click here to sign up for free and join the Rotowire $300 Freeroll on DraftStreet.com.

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 – Jesus Flores ($3,742)
1B – Paul Konerko ($7,624)
2B – Jemile Weeks ($6,234)
SS – Alexei Ramirez ($5,029)
3B – Ryan Zimmerman ($7,421)
OF – Jason Heyward ($7,941)
OF – Will Venable ($4,953)
OF – Justin Upton ($6,355)
UT – Hunter Pence ($6,276)
UT –Matt Kemp ($12,950)
SP – Mike Minor ($13,483)

SP – Gavin Floyd ($11,762)
RP – Jonathan Papelbon ($3,013)
P – Craig Kimbrel ($2,770)

Total: $99,553

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