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Lopez

There was some optimism a couple months ago that López might pitch again this season, but that doesn’t appear very likely, especially with Atlanta falling out of playoff contention. The 31-year-old righty has been out since early April recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder.

The positive news for the Braves and fantasy managers is that López could potentially return later this season after the cleanup procedure didn’t reveal any structural damage that needed to be addressed. The -year-old righty will be shut down completely from throwing until he’s re-evaluated in July, so he likely wouldn’t make it back to Atlanta until sometime in August or September, even in a best-case scenario. It’s an encouraging development from a long-term standpoint for fantasy managers in dynasty formats.

The procedure will determine the extent of the damage in the right-hander’s pitching shoulder and will hopefully determine how long he’ll be shelved for. He has already been moved to the 60-day injured list so the earliest that he would be eligible to return, even in a best case scenario, would be the end of May. There’s a strong possibility that he misses the remainder of the year, which means he’s not worth stashing in shallow mixed leagues.

This was nothing more than a procedural move to free up a spot on the team’s 40-man roster for Jason Delay who was acquired from the Pirates on Thursday afternoon. López is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, which will help to determine whether or not he’s dealing with any structural damage. The earliest that he’ll be able to return would be late May, but it would be extremely surprising if he was ready to go when he’s first eligible.

Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters he’s hoping López will be able to pitch again this season. However, the severity of his shoulder issue won’t be known until he undergoes a surgical procedure next week to determine whether he’s dealing with any structural damage. The 31-year-old righty is likely to miss at least a couple months, even in a best-case scenario, and there’s a strong possibility his season is over. He can be safely dropped in shallow re-draft formats.

Ugh. The hits keep on coming for the Braves. López allowed three runs over five innings and recorded only one strikeout on Friday in his season debut against the Padres. Shoulder injuries can be extremely complex matters and typically result in extended absences. There should be some clarity on his status in the near future, but fantasy managers should anticipate López missing at least a couple weeks, even in a best-case scenario. It’ll be Bryce Elder taking his spot in Atlanta’s rotation, at least temporarily.

Not only did López strike out just a single hitter, he did it while allowing nine hits, two walks and generating just three swings and misses on 94 pitches. And yet, he gets a no-decision, and three runs in five innings is far from a disaster. López will be back on the bump against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Atlanta boasts one of the strongest starting rotations in baseball and that’s without strikeout machine Spencer Strider (elbow) ready for Opening Day. It’ll be Chris Sale, López, Schwellenbach and prospect AJ Smith-Shawver taking the ball in San Diego before Grant Holmes is forced to contend with the defending World Series champion Dodgers’ offensive juggernaut out in Los Angeles.

He finishes the spring with a 2.08 ERA. López’s velocity was again down today, though not quite as much as it was at times earlier this month. Most importantly, it seems like he can still hit 95 mph when he wants to; he started and finished in the low-90s today, but he was up above 94 mph in the second, third and fourth innings. The Braves haven’t officially announced their rotation, but López is in line to start the second game of the year Friday against the Padres.

López came out with greatly diminished velocity today, as his first two fastballs checked in at 89.1 and 90.1 mph. Fortunately, he picked it up in the second inning, often coming in over 94 mph and topping out at 95.6 mph. His average fastball last year was 95.5 mph, and while him being down 1-2 mph at this stage wouldn’t be of major concern, 4-5 mph would be. We wouldn’t be surprised to find out if he was a little under the weather or something today. He mostly just seemed concerned about getting his work in, as 49 of his 56 pitches were fastballs.