Just when the Baltimore Orioles rotation returned to full strength with Kyle Bradish and John Means reentering the fray last week, the club's pitching staff was dealt a big blow out of nowhere after Grayson Rodriguez hit the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right shoulder.
The words "optimistic" and "precautionary" have been thrown around by manager Brandon Hyde in regard to Rodriguez's injury and placement on the IL, so there's reason to believe that the hurler is not dealing with a significant setback.
Let's see where Rodriguez's health is at in his progression from the issue.
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Grayson Rodriguez Injury Update for Fantasy Baseball
Rodriguez played catch ahead of Sunday's series finale against the Cincinnati Reds to begin his throwing program, pitching coach Drew French said. Rodriguez threw from 60 to 75 feet, and the plan is to soon ramp him up to bullpen sessions.
Grayson Rodriguez played catch today to begin his throwing program after being placed on the IL last week, pitching coach Drew French said.
Rodriguez threw from 60-75 ft. The plan is to ramp him up to bullpens. Whether he needs to go on a minor league rehab assignment is TBD.
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) May 5, 2024
Whether or not he needs to go on a minor league rehab assignment before rejoining Baltimore's rotation has yet to be determined, but the O's and fantasy managers could get the 24-year-old former top prospect back sometime in May if all goes well in the hurler's recovery.
Grayson Rodriguez Fantasy Baseball Outlook
Despite a shaky 3.71 ERA (3.57 FIP), 1.41 WHIP, and 37:12 K:BB over 34 innings (six starts) this year, Rodriguez needs to be stashed in all leagues. The hard-throwing right-hander was MLB Pipeline's top pitching prospect in baseball for 2023, and he looked the part during the second half of last season with a 2.58 ERA (2.76 FIP), 1.09 WHIP, and 73:21 K:BB across his final 76 2/3 frames (13 starts) of the campaign. This year, his changeup grades in Statcast's 96th percentile in terms of off-speed run value.
Grayson Rodriguez, Filthy 84mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/gDolPgAC6A
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 29, 2024
In the meantime, Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin will serve as streaming options in favorable matchups. Over Kremer's last three starts, he owns a 1.96 ERA and 20:6 K:BB with three wins through 18 1/3 innings. Irvin has also been the winning pitcher in each of his past three appearances, riding a scoreless inning streak of 20 frames with an 11:2 K:BB covering this span.