Weekly Planner: Danny Salazar gets another shot in Indians' rotation

Danny Salazar was one of the biggest busts in the first half of the season after starring for the Indians in a cameo last year. He was in the rotation for the

Danny Salazar was one of the biggest busts in the first half of the season after starring for the Indians in a cameo last year. He was in the rotation for the first two months of the season, compiling a 1-4 record, 5.53 ERA and 1.62 WHIP before being sent down to Triple-A Columbus. He hasn’t pitched much better in the minors, going 3-6 with a 4.02 ERA and 1.52 WHIP, and yet he’s still of interest to fantasy owners.

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Justin Masterson hit the DL just before the All-Star break with a sore knee, and will be on the shelf for at least the rest of the week. He made a rehab start with Columbus on Sunday, and could rejoin the Indians’ rotation in time for his next turn. Salazar will take his place for the time being, starting Tuesday against the Twins. Even if Masterson is able to come back and make his next scheduled start on Friday, Salazar could earn a permanent spot in the rotation with a good outing Tuesday.

Despite his season-long struggles, there’s no doubt Salazar is one of the most talented pitchers in the Cleveland organization. He made 10 starts down the stretch in 2013 as the Indians charged into the playoffs, amassing a 3.12 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 65 strikeouts against 15 walks in 52 innings. His strikeout stuff is undoubtedly legitimate, but he fell victim to the longball time and time again before getting sent back to Columbus to work things out. That ability to miss bats is what makes him such an attractive option for fantasy owners, even though he has been a net negative this year.

Salazar can take advantage of a Minnesota team that is hitting .246/.320/.373 with a .309 wOBA, 94 weighted runs created plus and, most importantly, a 21.6-percent strikeout rate. Feel free to kick the tires and see what he brings you this week. If he ends up sticking in the rotation, he can be a major addition for the final two months of the season.

Two-start pitchers

1. Chris Sale
2. Adam Wainwright
3. Julio Teheran
4. Cliff Lee
5. Scott Kazmir
6. Mat Latos
7. Wily Peralta
8. Rick Porcello
9. Hyun-jin Ryu
10. Doug Fister
11. Mike Minor
12. Justin Verlander
13. John Lackey
14. Jonathon Niese
15. Jacob deGrom
16. Ryan Vogelsong
17. Bud Norris
18. Matt Cain
19. Jeremy Guthrie
20. Taijuan Walker
21. Drew Hutchison
22. Jake Peavy
23. Roenis Elias
24. Eric Stults
25. Hector Santiago
26. Franklin Morales
27. Bruce Chen
28. Tom Koehler
29. Chase Whitley
30. J.A. Happ
31. Jimmy Nelson
32. Roberto Hernandez
33. Shane Greene
34. Jacob Turner
35. Michael Gonzalez
36. Edinson Volquez
37. T.J. House
38. Scott Carroll
39. Miles Mikolas
40. Nick Martinez
41. Vidal Nuno
42. Matt Shoemaker
43. Kris Johnson
44. Yohan Pino
45. Kyle Hendricks

Teams playing seven games

Angels
Braves
Orioles
Red Sox
White Sox
Indians
Tigers
Royals
Marlins
Brewers
Twins
Yankees
Mets
Phillies
Mariners
Giants
Rangers
Blue Jays

Teams playing five games

Cardinals
Rays

Weekday day games (all times Eastern)

Wednesday

Indians @ Twins, 1:10
Royals @ White Sox, 2:10
Reds @ Brewers, 2:10
Nationals @ Rockies, 3:10
Mets @ Mariners, 3:40
Tigers @ Diamondbacks, 3:40

Thursday

Red Sox @ Blue Jays, 12:37
Rangers @ Yankees, 1:05
Giants @ Phillies, 1:05
Astros @ A’s, 3:35

Friday

Cardinals @ Cubs, 4:05

Favorable matchups

Braves (vs. Miami, vs. San Diego) – The Braves spend the entire week at home, and their two most challenging matchups are against Nathan Eovaldi and Jesse Hahn.

Indians (@ Minnesota, @ Kansas City) – The Indians do draw Yordano Ventura and Jeremy Guthrie in Kansas City, but any week that includes the Twins is a good one.

Tigers (@ Arizona, @ Los Angeles Angels) – The Tigers begin the week in a great hitter’s park in the desert, and they avoid Garrett Richards and Jered Weaver in their trip to Arizona.

Pirates (vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, @ Colorado) – The Pirates have the good fortune to miss Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and get to play in Coors Field for three days.

A’s (vs. Houston, @ Texas) – The A’s are slated to face Brett Oberholtzer, Brad Peacock, Scott Feldman, Nick Tepesch, Miles Mikolas and Nick Martinez this week.

Unfavorable matchups

Diamondbacks (vs. Detroit, @ Philadelphia) – Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello, Anibal Sanchez and Cliff Lee make this a rough week for the Diamondbacks.

Orioles (@ Los Angeles Angels, @ Seattle) – It isn’t a terrible week for the Orioles, but they will face Jered Weaver, Felix Hernandez and Taijuan Walker.

Reds (@ Milwaukee, vs. Washington) – The Reds have to deal with Wily Peralta, Kyle Lohse, Tanner Roark, Gio Gonzalez and Doug Fister this week.

Giants (@ Philadelphia, vs. Los Angeles Dodgers) – Any week you have to face Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke is a tough one. The Giants also go up against Cliff Lee and A.J. Burnett.

Rays (@ St. Louis, vs. Boston) – The Rays only play five games this week, and they’ll see Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Jon Lester and John Lackey.