Sunday Lineup Card: Allen in the Desert

This article is part of our The Lineup Card series.

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Projected Starters – A look at Sunday's matchups (all times Eastern)

White Sox (Phil Humber – R) at Tigers (Brad Penny – R), 1:05
Yankees (Phil Hughes – R) at Blue Jays (Carlos Villanueva – R), 1:07
Phillies (Kyle Kendrick – R) at Mets (Mike Pelfrey – R), 1:10
Cardinals (Jaime Garcia – L) at Reds (Homer Bailey – R), 1:10
Nationals (Tom Gorzelanny – L) at Braves (Jair Jurrjens – R), 1:35
Indians (Jeanmar Gomez – R) at Orioles (Mitch Atkins – R), 1:35
Pirates (Kevin Correia – R) at Astros (Wandy Rodriguez – L), 2:05
Royals (Felipe Paulino – R) at Twins (Brian Duensing – L), 2:10
Marlins (Chris Volstad – R) at Cubs (Randy Wells – R), 2:20
Brewers (Shaun Marcum – R) at Rockies (Aaron Cook – R), 3:10
Angels (Joel Pineiro – R) at Athletics (Gio Gonzalez – L), 4:05
Giants (Matt Cain- R) at Padres (Mat Latos – R), 4:05
Rangers (Matt Harrison – L) at Mariners (Blake Beavan – R), 4:10
Dodgers (Ted Lilly – L) at Diamondbacks (Daniel Hudson – R), 4:10
Red Sox (Josh Beckett – R) at Rays (Jeff Niemann – R), 8:05

Day game after a night game: WAS, ATL, LAD, MIL, COL, SF, SD, LAA, OAK, CLE, BAL, KC, MIN, TEX, SEA

Injuries – A brief look at players who have been missing time with minor ailments and their expected returns

Day-to-Day (includes players expected to make their return from the DL)
Carlos Beltran, OF, NYM – (Illness) Held out Saturday with flu-like symptoms.
Chase Headley, 3B, SD – (Calf) Unlikely to play this weekend and could be getting an MRI Monday. May miss as much as two weeks.
Scott Baker, SP, MIN – (Elbow) Remains on track to return and pitch the second game of Monday's doubleheader.
Jose Bautista, 3B/OF, TOR – (Ankle) Expected to remain sidelined until Tuesday.
Austin Jackson, OF, DET – (Wrist) Out a second straight day Saturday after being a late scratch Friday.
Vladimir Guerrero, DH, BAL – (Hand) Sitting out Saturday, and could be headed to the DL.

Players on the DL
Allen Craig, OF, STL – (Knee) Expected to return by August 1, but what his role will be remains unclear.
Shane Victorino, OF, PHI – (Thumb) Will began a rehab assignment Tuesday, and hope to return around July 19.
Placido Polanco, 3B, PHI – (PHI) Expects to be activated from the DL Wednesday.
Ivan Rodriguez, C, WAS – (Oblique) On pace to return by the end of the month.
Stephen Strasburg, SP, WAS – (Elbow) Could pitch as part of the Nats' rotation in September.
David Wright, 3B, NYM – (Back) On track to return to the Mets on Friday.
Peter Bourjos, OF, LAA – (Hamstring) Placed on the 15-day DL. Eligible to return next Saturday due to being retroactively assigned.
Carl Crawford, OF, BOS – (Hamstring) Started playing in rehab games Friday.
Jon Lester, SP, BOS – (Shoulder) Has been throwing without pain, scheduled for a bullpen Monday, and isn't expected to need a rehab assignment before returning.
Clay Buchholz, SP, BOS – (Back) Red Sox are taking it slow with his return.
Jed Lowrie, SS, BOS – (Shoulder) Could start swinging a bat in the coming week.
Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP, BOS – (Elbow) We won't see him pitching again until the All-Star break next season.
Andres Blanco, SS, TEX – (Back) Could begin a rehab assignment in the coming week.
Rafael Soriano, RP, NYY – (Elbow) Could return to the Yankees by next weekend.
John Danks, SP, CHW – (Oblique) Expected to return to the White Sox and start Wednesday.
Bobby Jenks, RP, BOS – (Back) Placed on the 15-day DL Saturday.

Transactions – Players who have been demoted, called up, traded, released, you name it. We'll cover it here.

Placed on the DL (15-day DL unless otherwise noted)
Bobby Jenks, RP, BOS
Peter Bourjos, OF, LAA

Activated from DL
Al Alburquerque, RP, DET
Carlos Guillen, 2B, DET
Carlos Zambrano, SP, CHC

Called Up
Randy Williams, RP, BOS

Sent Down
Ryan Perry, RP, DET
Chris Carpenter, RP, CHC
Danny Worth, 2B, DET

Designated for Assignment
Tommy Hottovy, RP, BOS

Closer Watch – A closer look at intriguing ninth-inning situations (also check out our Closer Grid)

Chicago Cubs – Carlos Marmol put too many runners on base again Friday and was pulled so that Sean Marshall could come in and close out the game. Marshall will get any save opportunities that come up over the next few days, while Marmol works with the pitching coaches to figure out what's wrong with his mechanics. It's worth grabbing Marshall on a speculative add right now considering that Marmol leads the majors with seven blown saves.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Javy Guerra has now converted the Dodgers' last three save opportunities. He now has five saves on the season, and this may have gone unnoticed by lots of people with the All-Star break coming in the middle of his ascension. Grab the hit-happy closer if you need saves. He's the man to own in the land of ridiculous mortgages.

St. Louis – Fernando Salas blew the save Friday by giving up a walk-off home run to Brandon Phillips. He appears to have a decent hold on the job, but the Cardinals aren't shy about changing their closer if it's deemed necessary. Jason Motte and Lance Lynn could get called on to pickup saves if the Cards decide to remove Salas from the role soon.

Recommended Pickup

Brandon Allen, 1B, AZ – Allen was called up from Triple-A by the Diamondbacks on Friday. Juan Miranda was outrighted and Willy Mo Pena was designated, leaving Allen to fight Xavier Nady for starts at first. Considering Nady's putrid .667 OPS through 167 at-bats this season, Allen shouldn't have to put up much fight to eventually claim the everyday job at first base. However, if he struggles, the Diamondbacks could always option Allen back to Triple-A and call-up Paul Goldschmidt or Collin Cowgill. I'm making a speculative add of Allen in any NL-only leagues and deep mixed leagues. His .305 average, 18 home runs, 66 RBI, and seven steals through 305 at-bats at Triple-A this season are intriguing enough to warrant that Allen be put on all watch lists, even in shallow leagues.

Other recent recommendations:Travis Snider, Eric Thames, Bobby Parnell, Emilio Bonifacio, Mike Trout

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Draft Street Lineup

C Russell Martin (NYY-C) $5,193
1B Albert Pujols (STL-1B) $9,016
2B Chase Utley (PHI-2B) $6,880
3B Evan Longoria (TB-3B) $7,057
SS Jhonny Peralta (DET-SS) $5,644
OF Colby Rasmus (STL-OF) $4,987
OF Carlos Lee (HOU-OF) $5,474
OF Corey Hart (MIL-OF) $5,742
U Brandon Allen (ARI-OF) $4,748
U Jason Bay (NYM-OF) $3,302
SP Josh Beckett (BOS-SP) $13,862
SP Phil Hughes (NYY-SP) $7,177
RP Craig Kimbrel (ATL-RP) $3,708
P Jair Jurrjens (ATL-SP) $15,484

Total: $98,274