Roto Roundup: Jason Heyward Begins Rehab, Derek Jeter to the DL?

I'm back at it after an unplanned Sunday night away from writing as Comcast,  my internet service provider, was upgrading the speed of their internet service, and I was unable to get on the internet. Well, that's the story my neighbor told me last evening, as he works at Comcast.

Here are some thoughts on Sunday's games:

Braves second baseman Dan Uggla might be finally righting himself at the plate, as he has hits in his last 3 games entering Monday's action. He is 5-11 with 4 strikeouts and 3 walks in his last 3 games. I know, it's only 3 games. But, this is a hitting streak for Uggla, and we should all take notice.

Adrian Gonzalez has received alot of accolades during the Red Sox winning streak, but DH David Ortiz is quiety having an excellent season at the plate. Just one year ago, many were worried that he was washed up as he had a very slow start to the 2010 season. He hit just .143 in April 2010, followed that up with a .363 May, but slumped to just .238 in June 2010. No such worries this season, as he is hitting .325-.395-.624 with 17 HRs and 43 RBIs.

More Roundup after the jump:

Braves outfielder Jason Heyward started his injury rehab at AAA Gwinnett last night going 1-3 with a walk and a double. There is talk that he might return to the Braves lineup this week, per David O'Brien at the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Manager Fredi Gonzalez said that if Heyward has no problems in games with Gwinnett Monday and Tuesday, he could be activated from the DL as soon as Wednesday.

Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez is expected back from the DL today and will bat leadoff. Hanley has a career triple slash line of .311-.387-.538 hitter batting leadoff with 70 HRs and 118 SBs. He has a career BA of .299 in June, .308 in July, .335 in August and .320 in September.

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter left last night's game with a sore right calf, and was diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain . I initially thought he would be right back in the lineup on Tuesday as he needs only 6 hits to reach 3,000, but he could land on the DL if the Yankees want to play it safe with their aging shortstop. Eduardo Nunex 

Mets third baseman David Wright won't be evaluated by a doctor till June 24th, so he won't be doing any baseball related activiites until then. So, best case scenario is he can start on the 24th or 25th, and return just before the All Star break. So that means he returns in just about a month from now. Worst case scenario? He returns the end of July-early August? Tough season for Wright owners.

Pirates starter Paul Maholm shut out the Mets for 7 innings last night, giving up just 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 4. He won his 3rd game and lowered his ERA to an excellent 3.12 ERA. Look no further than Maholm's ERA to see that hitting and run scoring is down this season. 

The Mets weren't the only New York team to be shut out for 7 innings last night as Indians starter Carlos Carrasco shut out the Yankees as well. Carrasco allowed just 8 base runners and struck out 7 to win his 6th game of the season last night. Its hard to forget that he is still only 24 years old, and this could be the start of a break out season for him.

Rays rookie starter Alex Cobb held the Tigers to one run in 5+ innings, but gave up 10 base runners in doing so. He struck out 7 and walked 2. He has given up one earned run in each of his last two starts, striking out 10 and walking 2. 

Mark Melancon owners don't have to worry about him losing the closers job in Houston, as Brandon Lyon got knocked around for 3 runs on 3 hits, one of them a HR, in his one inning of work last night. His ERA rose to 11.48 with this effort, and Melancon is in no danger of losing his job anytime soon.

Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano is rehabbing at AAA Iowa and could be back in the Cubs lineup within the next few days. Soriano already has 12 HR this season and is on pace for a 30 HR season.

Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero went 3-5 with 2 runs and 4 RBIs last night. Montero is hitting .282-.364-.480 with 7 HRs and 33 RBIs. Montero is 5th amongst MLB catchers in RBIs with 33 and has reduced his K rate from 24% to 17% this season.

Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton went 2-4 with 2 RBIs last night and is now hitting .259-.343-.569 with 16 HRs and 41 RBIs. Last night's game was Stanton's 162 major league game, and he has hit 38 HRs and driven in 100 in those 162 games. And he's only 21 years old.

Cub starter Ryan Dempster shutout the high scoring Brewers for 7 innings last night, giving up just 4 hits, walking one and striking out 7. Dempster has had a sub-par season thus far, but has given up 2 runs or less in 7 of his last 10 starts. Dempster's ERA sits at 5.48 after his Monday night start, but his xFIP sat at just 3.40 entering his start, so better days are ahead for Dempster.

Hunter Pence is having a career year for the Astros this season, and if the Astros get serious about rebuilding their farm system, they sure could get plenty in return for him come July 31st. Last night, he went 3-4 with a HR and 4 RBIs. He is now hitting .325-.368-.509 with 9 HRs and 50 RBIs, and is on pace for a 22-121 season.

Dodgers reliever Vicente Padilla won't be coming off the DL anytime soon as he will have neck surgery to cure a bulging disk. He will be sidelined indefinitely. With Kenley Jansen coming off the DL sometime this week, he could step into the closer's job with no one really running with the job since he was DL'd. Former closer Jonathan Broxton is scheduled to return from the DL sometime in July, so Jansen could establish himself in the month or so before Broxton returns.