MLB.com reports that Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya has started to throw off of a mound as he continues his rehab from offseason shoulder surgery. Manager Jim Leyland has frequently commented over the last week or two on reports that say Zumaya is throwing hard during his rehab at the Tigers' Spring Training facility in Lakeland, Fla. That was while Zumaya was playing catch on flat ground. What Zumaya is doing now, said head athletic trainer Kevin Rand, is playing catch off of a mound at the end of his otherwise flat ground throwing sessions. He'll soon start making light tosses to a catcher in those situations as the Tigers try to ease his way into full bullpen sessions at the start of May. (Updated 04/23/2008).
Injury Report
Shoulder - 15-day DL. Out until at least early July (Updated - 3/30/08)
Fantasy Analysis
The original timetable on Zumaya following his surgery last November calls for him to miss at least the first half of the season. That still appears to be the case. The Tigers are going to be very cautious with Zumaya after he suffered two major injuries in 2007 because of his hard-throwing style. There has been talk about Zumaya taking it down a notch when he does return, but that's not good news since he built his reputation and being a hard thrower. Since he is out until midseason and likely to return to a contender that will need to have an established closer in place, consider Zumaya only in keeper leagues as a DL stashee at this point. (Updated 04/23/2008).
No information available at this time.
MLB.com reports that Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya has started to throw off of a mound as he continues his rehab from offseason shoulder surgery. Manager Jim Leyland has frequently commented over the last week or two on reports that say Zumaya is throwing hard during his rehab at the Tigers' Spring Training facility in Lakeland, Fla. That was while Zumaya was playing catch on flat ground. What Zumaya is doing now, said head athletic trainer Kevin Rand, is playing catch off of a mound at the end of his otherwise flat ground throwing sessions. He'll soon start making light tosses to a catcher in those situations as the Tigers try to ease his way into full bullpen sessions at the start of May. (Updated 04/23/2008).
Injury Report
Shoulder - 15-day DL. Out until at least early July (Updated - 3/30/08)
Fantasy Analysis
The original timetable on Zumaya following his surgery last November calls for him to miss at least the first half of the season. That still appears to be the case. The Tigers are going to be very cautious with Zumaya after he suffered two major injuries in 2007 because of his hard-throwing style. There has been talk about Zumaya taking it down a notch when he does return, but that's not good news since he built his reputation and being a hard thrower. Since he is out until midseason and likely to return to a contender that will need to have an established closer in place, consider Zumaya only in keeper leagues as a DL stashee at this point. (Updated 04/23/2008).
= probable start
