WebMD has baseball to thank for any spike in web traffic on Wednesday, June 5. When the news broke last week that two National League aces, Johnny Cueto and Stephen Strasburg had hit the 15-day disabled list with the same diagnosis - a strained lat muscle - fantasy owners hurried to make sense of the injury.
When ranking pitcher maladies on a scale of hangnail to Dave Dravecky, injuries to the latissimus dorsi - the large muscle that connects the back to the top of the humerous bone - are typically less concerning than those to tendons and ligaments in the elbow or shoulder. However, only two years removed from Jake Peavy’s gruesome and atypical injury - a complete tear of the latissimus dorsi tendon that the White Sox pitcher likened to being shot - we can’t help but wonder whether these recent injuries could spell disaster for the beacons of our fantasy rotations.
In the case of Strasburg, it seems any major damage was skirted. The Nationals, notoriously cautious with their prized power arm, stated Thursday that Strasburg would be ready to rejoin the rotation on June 16, missing the minimum 15 days of his DL stint. The 24-year-old righty left his start against Atlanta in obvious pain after only two innings on May 31. He cited that, for the first time, the back discomfort that had previously bothered him only in warmups had continued into game action. At 3-5 on the season, and with a 2.54 ERA and nearly a strikeout per frame, any blemish on Strasburg’s 2013 record has been the result of early-season struggles, not the lat injury that crept up late. All systems appear to be “go” for Strasburg, and fantasy owners should not shy away from starting him in the upcoming week.
Cueto’s injury raises more questions. Strangely enough, the decision to put Cueto on the disabled list came on the heels of an eight-inning, one-hit gem at PNC Park, but this being his second DL stint this season with the same injury is disconcerting. Anyone who has watched a Cueto start from a seat in the outfield has caught a glimpse of his face, for a split second, as he rears back to deliver each pitch. Whether the extreme torque of his windup caused either his recent lat troubles or past oblique issues is unclear, but the possibility was strong enough for Cueto to consider changing up his mechanics. The Reds righty has been stellar (3-0, 2.17 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 37.1 innings pitched) this season, but any time a pitcher mentions making a mechanical change mid-season, fantasy owners should be very wary. Hang on to young Tony Cingrani, the rookie who lit up the waiver wire in Cueto’s absence, as he may get more opportunities with the big club this season than at Triple-A.
As fans, it is difficult to know the true extent of a ballplayer’s injury, as managers and coaches are experts in the art of keeping mum. Without an arthroscope or a degree in medicine, all we can do is a bit of probing into both pitchers’ history and numbers to gauge how effective they’ll be in their returns. The Nationals don’t take chances with Strasburg, so you can feel confident that a healthy pitcher will be rejoining his team this Sunday. Approach Cueto with more guarded optimism. While his lat injury nowhere near approaches Peavy caliber, there is reason to believe that torso injuries could become commonplace with the Reds ace, or that he will mess with his mechanics and risk further injury and ineffectiveness.