Jonathan Mayo has reported in his blog and Baseball America has confirmed with two scouts that Fresno State junior righthander Tanner Scheppers has a stress fracture in his shoulder and will not be able to throw for six weeks. This is obviously a significant blow to the draft stock of a player who had a strong chance to go in the top 10 picks in June, not to mention a crippling blow to Fresno State’s postseason aspirations.

Yesterday, Fresno State assistant coach Matt Curtis said he expected Scheppers to pitch this weekend, but that’s obviously not going to happen now. In the first BA mock draft schedule to be posted online tomorrow, Scheppers was slated to go ninth overall to the Nationals, so this injury throws the first round into some disarray. There are just five college starting pitchers who are regarded as sure-fire first-round picks, so Scheppers going down figures to boost Tulane righthander Shooter Hunt’s chances to go in the top 10 and help Eastern Kentucky lefthander Christian Friedrich sneak up close to the top 10. It also could impact the back half of the first round, where clubs might reach for a college pitcher like California’s Tyson Ross if they don’t feel comfortable taking a risk on Scheppers. Whoever does land Scheppers will get a high-upside talent at a spot in the draft that would have seemed very unlikely up until this week.

In other news, Michigan righthander/DH Zach Putnam is in the lineup as the No. 4 hitter today against Northwestern, but his start has been pushed back to the first game of Friday’s doubleheader. Putnam  has lost 20 pounds while battling a viral infection but was able to eat solid food today for the first time in 10 days. The Wolverines plan to bring Putnam back slowly–he’s scheduled to throw five innings Friday. Fortunately, Michigan has a bye on Day One of the Big Ten tournament next Wednesday, so Putnam will get an extra day to build up his strength.