White out early

Indians starter Alex White only lasted three innings against the Reds due to an apparent right middle finger injury. White cruised through the better part of two innings before recoiling awkwardly on a third-inning pitch. After initially staying in the game, White did not return for the next frame. He struggled to throw strikes and threw no off-speed pitches after getting check out by the Indians' trainer.

Fantasy Impact: White is not your typical sinkerballer. The rookie right-hander hits the mid 90s with consistency and has shown composure on the mound of a pitcher far his senior. With fellow Indians starter Mitch Talbot having completed a rehab assignment you have to wonder if an injury to White could allow Talbot back to the Indians at White's expense. Whether that is via a disabled-list stint for White or demotion to the minors, he's certainly in limbo if the injury forces him out of his next start.

Heyward thumbs down

Braves outfielder Jason Heyward has revealed that an injured left thumb is hampering his approach at the plate. His average had plummeted 50 points since May 30 with many analysts, writers and bloggers believing he was mired in a typical rookie slump. He's expected to miss at least a couple of games and will visit a hand specialist while he's out.

Fantasy Impact: The good news? This isn't your typical skid for a young player, which means Heyward may still be the fantasy baseball freak everyone was hoping to be landing. He has homered just once in his last 24 games, but the power outage may be due to that thumb issue. Then again, we don't know when the problem perked up. We also don't know how long he'll be out. Any time a player visits a specialist it's a situation beyond your typical aches and pains. Heyward may be out or affected by the injury for much more than a span of two missed games. He's a major keeper candidate, but his stock for 2010 may be slipping.

Matsuzaka's sore back

Daisuke Matsuzaka is suffering from what the Red Sox hope is a minor upper back problem. The issue started last Friday, and Matsuzaka hasn't resumed working out since. He's scheduled for a spring physical this Friday which could clear him to resume preparing for the 2010 season immediately.

Fantasy Impact: Matsuzaka had already earned sleeper status thanks to his disastrous 2009, a season in which he only starter 12 games and posted four wins to go along with a 5.76 ERA. The World Baseball Classic was blamed, in part, for Matsuzaka's struggles. After an early start to last season or that competition, it appears the Red Sox will baby him through any early issues this spring. No doubt that will scare away fantasy owners thinking he's now completely damaged goods. At age 30 Matsuzaka still slots as a good No. 3 pitcher in fantasy, and if he slips even further in a draft, take him. We're expecting much better things in 2010.

Berkman out a night

Lance Berkman sits out the night after suffering a mild calf strain. It doesn't sound like a problem, although Berkman is thinking about the injury.

"It's just tight and sore," he said. "It's probably a small pulled muscle or something like that. I'm just worried about a lingering issue, which I obviously don't want, especially going into a pretty important stretch for us here in the first part of the second half."

Fantasy Impact: Lingering injuries are never a good thing. They not only keep players out of the lineup now and again, they also impact statlines. Berkman might need to be benched until he gets back in the game.

Adam Jones tigthens up

Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones looked destined for a breakout 2009 season. Hitting .371 through a couple weeks of his second professional season will turn heads. In today's Orioles-Red Sox game, however, Jones experienced tightness in his hamstring and had to leave the game.

Fantasy Impact: Anyone who's ever owned Eric Byrnes will tell you hamstring injuries are serious matters. They can turn a star-studded fantasy season into a star-crossed one. Jones is best sat for the Orioles next game.

Valverde hurt?

LaTroy Hawkins worked the ninth inning of the Astros' 6-3 victory at Pittsburgh. Both Rotoworld.com and The Sporting News worry that Valverde may have some sort of arm problem. He only threw 16 pitches the night before in a non-save situation.

Fantasy Impact: If Valverde is hurt, Hawkins hasn't had a whole lot of success as a closer.

Cubs lose Soto for a few days

The Cubs may be without starting catcher Geovany Soto for a few days. He felt pain in his throwing shoulder while gunning down Kaz Matsui on a steal attempt in the third inning of the Astros 3-2 win over the Cubs Tuesday night.

"I kind of over-exposed my shoulder a little bit," Soto said. "There was a little discomfort in my shoulder. I felt some weakness in it, and I felt I didn't have a shot if somebody else [tried to steal]. I need to keep up my exercises, and we'll see how it is in a couple days."

Soto said he had the same problem in Spring Training and doesn't expect to miss much time.

"You never know," he said when asked how long he'd be sidelined. "I just have to stay on top of my exercises, and I'll be all right in a couple days. As long as I stay in good shape and do my exercises, it won't happen again all year."

Fantasy Impact: Koyie Hill is Soto's backup this year. He beat out Paul Bako for maybe one start each week to spell Soto. That means he's a true backup catcher unexpected to pay dividends in fantasy baseball. Hill did hit 17 homers at Triple-A Iowa last year, which is very impressive considering the accident that nearly ended his baseball career.

A-Rod's hip

The hip that's potentially forcing Alex Rodriguez out of the World Baseball Classic is not a new injury, according to Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

"Alex expressed a little stiffness. There was really no pain," Girardi said on Wednesday, a day after the 33-year-old slugger played for the Dominican Republic in a tuneup for the World Baseball Classic. "We just thought it was best because he had some minor issues last year with it. We'll have a better idea after today with what the course of plan is."

The team announced on Tuesday that Rodriguez would get his hip checked by Dr. Marc Phillipon in Vail, Colo., on Wednesday afternoon. An exam Saturday revealed a cyst in the hip.

"Whenever you have something going on, you're concerned," Girardi said. "The fact he didn't have a lot of pain is a little bit more comforting. He's been able to play, and play at a high level. It hasn't kept him from doing anything. It hasn't kept him from driving the baseball. That's the good thing."

At this point it sounds like the Yankees and Rodriguez are trying to stop the injury from becoming a bigger problem, but if the issue lingered through the offseason into the spring there might be more to it than needing rest.

Drabek back on track

Doug Drabek's son, Kyle, is attempting a comeback from major injury at the ripe old age of 20. The former first-round draft pick looks pretty good.