On The Lookout, 4/6: Injuries Pile Up on Friday

The Alamo Short Stacks and Nashville Aristocrats enter Saturday in 1st and 4th place, but both look set to lose their ace due to elbow injuries that continue to claim some of the top pitchers in the sport. Spencer Strider, handed the largest contract in RDBL History for a pitcher, complained of elbow pain after lasting just four innings Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander is scheduled to receive a MRI this morning with an IL-stint all but guaranteed. The injury follows a hamstring strain to off-season acquisition Justin Steele, leaving the Stacks two short from their Opening Day rotation.

The more shocking news came Saturday morning as Guardians officials announced that ace Shane Bieber will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of 2024.

The devastating news comes on the heels of an injury-shortened 2023 campaign for the right-hander, as Bieber was limited to 128 innings while missing about two and a half months due to elbow inflammation.  He returned from the 60-day injured list to make two starts in late September, which seemingly indicated that the problem was behind him, and that Bieber could now look forward to a more normal offseason and ramp-up routine.  However, as the Guardians’ statement indicates, Bieber had some discomfort in his elbow following his first start this year, and the problem continued through his next outing.

Certainly nothing appeared to be amiss in terms of results, given that Bieber looked completely dominant in tossing 12 shutout innings and recording 20 strikeouts (against just one walk and 10 hits allowed) over his two starts.  This will now unfortunately mark the last we’ll see of Bieber on a big league mound for the next 13-15 months, and we might have already seen his final outing in a Cleveland uniform since he is a free agent this winter.

The 'Crats took a big hit in the field as well as Trevor Story came up in significant pain after diving for a ball in the hole. He's expected to have a MRI on his shoulder today, but all signs point to a long absence.

The Asti Grape Stompers couldn't avoid the injury bug either as Luis Robert, Jr. suffered a right hip flexor injury during Friday's loss against the Royals, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Manager Pedro Grifol said after the game that more information on Robert's injury will come after he gets X-rays on Saturday, but he confirmed that the issue is in the outfielder's right hip. Robert has battled hip issues before in his career, missing roughly three months of the 2021 season due to a right hip flexor injury. Should Robert have to miss an extended period of time, Kevin Pillar would likely fill in as Chicago's center fielder.

Projected Starters for Saturday, 4/6

Stacks: N/A (Winn vs. SD if Strider hits IL Today)

Falcons: N/A

Grapes: N/A

Aristocrats: Miller (@ MIL)

Clovers: Gausman (@ NYY), Ryan (vs. CLE)

Hammerheads: N/A

Maulers: N/A

Goutfish: Whitlock (@ LAA)

Ducks: Blackburn (@ DET), Maeda (vs. OAK), Fried (vs. ARZ)

Fish: N/A

Fringe: N/A

Devils: King (@ SF)

Jokers: Wacha (vs. CHW), Hall (vs. SEA)

Hops: Gray (vs. HOU), Suarez (@ WSH)

Tacos: N/A

Top 10 Pitchers

1 Brady Singer (Fightin' Fish), 62.0

2. Tyler Glasnow (Clovers), 55.0

3. Marcus Stroman (Ducks), 54.0

T-4. Merrill Kelly (Devils), 53.0

T-4. Cody Bradford (Free Agent), 53.0

T-4. Garrett Crochet (Goutfish), 53.0

7. Ronel Blanco (Grapes)52.0

T-8. Shane Bieber (Aristocrats), 51.0

T-8. Nathan Eovaldi (Ducks), 51.0

T-10. Jordan Hicks (Falcons), 50.0

T-10. Cristian Javier (Aristocrats), 50.0

T-10. Zack Wheeler (Falcons), 50.0

Top 10 Hitters

1 Mookie Betts (Devils), 66.5

2. Freddie Freeman (Clovers), 44.5

3. Will Smith (Goutfish), 41.5

4. Bobby Witt, Jr. (Grapes), 39.5

5. Michael Conforto (Grapes), 39.0

6. Tyler O'Neill (Falcons), 38.0

7. Jarren Duran (Hammerheads), 37.5

8. Spencer Steer (Grapes), 37.0

9. Teoscar Hernandez (Stacks), 35.0

10. Ketal Marte (Ducks), 33.5

On The Lookout, 4/5: Stacks Look to Flip Back to Top with Five Starters

The second weekend of Major League Baseball action is upon us with a morning-heavy schedule as teams that started on the road return home for their Opening Day. 16 Starting Pitchers are set to toe the rubber in the RDBL on Friday led by the Alamo Short Stacks who have five going.

Here's the latest On The Lookout for Friday, 4/5:

Projected Starters for Friday, 4/5:

Grapes: Greene (vs. NYM), Canning (vs. BOS)

Falcons: Hicks (vs. SD)

Stacks: Strider (@ ARZ), Skubal (vs. OAK), Jones (vs. BAL), Gilbert (@ MIL), Littell (@ COL)

Aristocrats: N/A

Clovers: N/A

Hammerheads: Crawford (@ LAA)

Maulers: N/A

Goutfish: Cease (@ SF)

Hops: N/A

Devils: Peralta (vs. SEA)

Ducks: Stroman (vs. TOR)

Jokers: Hendricks (vs. LAD), Quintana (@ CIN)

Tacos: Brown (@ TEX), Kikuchi (@ NYY)

Fringe: Rodriguez (@ PIT)

Pitching Matchup of the Day: Jones vs. Rodriguez

Two of the most exciting young arms in baseball will face off Friday afternoon as Fringe activation Grayson Rodriguez will take on Stacks right-hander Jared Jones. Rodriguez was excellent in his 2024 debut, posting 23.0 points while allowing just one run and striking out nine in six innings of work. Jones lived up to the hype in his major-league debut, notching 22 swings and misses on 89 pitches. According to MLB's Sarah Langs, 22 swings and misses are the most by a pitcher in their MLB debut in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008).

Stacks Looking for Big Day with Five Starters

The Alamo Short Stacks entered Period 3 with a 78.0 point lead, posting 281.0 points over a four day Period. Thanks to a 25-for-125 run in Period 3, the Stacks have a league-low 90.0 points this week and will be looking to change that in a big way Friday when they send five starting pitchers to the mound. Rainouts pushed co-aces Tarik Skubal and Spencer Strider back, a positive for Skubal who moved from a Mets matchup to the Sacramento Athletics today while Strider lost a start against the Chicago White Sox and now has to face the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks.

Hammerheads Posting Elite Strikeout Numbers

The Honolulu Hammerheads are off to a scorching start on the mound, leading the RDBL with 197.0 pitching points entering play on Friday. The staff has posted a 2.30 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over 62 2/3 innings, but the big number that stands out is a league-high 80 strikeouts.

Help on the Way for Fish?

While Jackson Holliday is getting all of the attention in the Triple-A Norwich lineup, Spokane Fightin' Fish outfielder Heston Kjerstad is off to a ridiculous .571/.581/1.214 start with five home runs and three doubles in 28 at-bats. The Orioles depth chart in Baltimore is loaded, so a call-up might not be imminent but Kjerstad, a two-time RDBL draftee who dealt with heart issues that forced him to miss 2021, looks poised for a strong future.

Looking Ahead: 2025 Projected Keeper Rosters

It's never too early to think about next season, right? As part of a new Roger Dorn Baseball League feature, we will be tracking the Projected 2025 Keeper Rosters throughout the season with monthly updates as trades and player performance alter future Front Office plans across the league.

The 2025 Projected Keepers will be included as a tab in the RDBL Archives Spreadsheet.

Notes on 2025 Keeper Rosters

• The Nashville Aristocrats have the makings of a potential juggernaut with a wave of young stars on the way to the big leagues. Offensively, Jackson Chourio and Jackson Holliday will be set to join the rotation while Jackson Jobe, Max Meyer, Gavin Stone and Hurston Waldrep all look poised for big roles in 2025 while Chase Burns, Tink Hence, Jacob Misiorowski and Cade Horton try and knock down the door to the big leagues.

• The Burlingame Blue Ducks might be the Front Office most focused on 2025 with the arrivals of Paul Skenes, Wyatt Langford and Dylan Crews along with Taj Bradley and Rhett Lowder. It wouldn't surprise anyone to see Travis Bazzana pull a Langford next Spring and make the big league club out of camp as well. Good things appear to be ahead for GM Ryan Walsh.

• The Lake Merced Goutfish could have a scary rotation for 2025, especially with the early emergence of Garrett Crochet. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Bobby Miller look to be in for 2024 Playoff activations while Jacob deGrom and Shane McClanahan could be additional pieces of a 5-man rotation owed just $18 combined.

• After four premium activations in 2024, the Maltese Falcons are hardy done adding impact talent with Coby Mayo, Drew Gilbert and A.J. Smith-Shawver all good bets to be ready for Opening Day in 2025.