2014 Fantasy Baseball: The Fix DL Report – Week One
Welcome to the first weekly Fix DL Report. Each week I (@Rich_Migs) will cover significant fantasy baseball injuries. As the season continues, the report will address some of the most recent injuries and their fantasy implications.
For this specific DL report, we are going to start from the beginning of the off-season, which means there is a lot to cover. This report may be a little more extensive than the ones that will be occurring in the future.
OUT FOR THE SEASON: Patrick Corbin, Brandon Beachy, Kris Medlen, Jarrod Parker, Cory Luebke, Bruce Rondon
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Bobby Parnell, Omar Infante
- Parnell’s velocity is not all the way back. In yesterday’s game, his fastball was between 88 and 94, while sitting mostly at 89 to 91. It looks like fantasy managers should start stashing Mets’ relievers (i.e. Jose Valverde).
- Infante is dealing with bone spurs in his right elbow and feels it in his swing and as he throws. Infante was looking like a decent value at middle infield for deep leagues, but that elbow gives reason to worry.
Let’s take a look at some of the key fantasy players on the disabled list entering week one.
Week One:
Pitchers |
Injury |
Expected Return |
Fantasy Implications |
Mike Minor (SP) |
Shoulder | Late April | Considering all the injuries the Braves have suffered, Mike Minor’s situation doesn’t seem all that bad. He has started throwing in games and should be back by the end of April (barring any setbacks). |
Aroldis Chapman (RP) |
Head/Face | Mid-to-Late May | Chapman is recovering from a scary injury. In the meantime, it looks like JJ Hoover will get the first shot at holding down the Red’s closer job. |
Mat Latos (SP) |
Knee | Mid April | Latos is still working his way back from knee surgery, but the Reds expect him to be fine. |
Josh Johnson (SP) |
Strained Forearm | Early May | Another day, another injury for Josh Johnson. The talent right-hander is again having trouble staying healthy, giving an opportunity for 23-year-old Robbie Erlin to make an impression. Erlin has good control and showed some strikeout ability in the minors. He is worth a look in most formats. |
A.J. Griffin (SP) |
Elbow | Early May | Initially, Griffin’s injury seemed worse. His velocity was down during the Spring, but the hope is he can get healthy again and be a useful mix-leagued pitcher. Jesse Chavez and Tommy Milone have taken the place of Parker and Griffin in the rotation and both can be viable streaming options. |
Cole Hamels (SP) |
Shoulder | Early May | Hamels has been throwing and has stated he feels good. He still needs to build arm strength, but if he has no setbacks, he should be back at some point in May. |
Clayton Kershaw (SP) |
Back | Mid April | The inflammation Kershaw is dealing with is closer to his shoulder than some may care to admit. The good news is, it seems like Kershaw and the Dodgers dodged a bullet (sadly, an unintended pun). |
Yu Darvish (SP) |
Neck | Mid April | Darvish’s MRI came back clean and it sounds like the neck injury is getting better. That is good news for Yu, the Rangers, and fantasy owners alike. |
Doug Fister (SP) |
Lat Strain | As late as Early May | Fister struggled through elbow inflammation during the Spring and then went down with a lat strain. His timetable is more wait and see, but in the meantime, Taylor Jordan and Tanner Roark will try to impress and become intriguing stream and deep league options. |
Hisashi Iwakuma (SP) |
Finger | Late April | Iwakuma is making steady progress and should be ready to join the Mariners rotation at the end of April. |
Casey Janssen (RP) |
Abdominal Strain | Late April | Janssen has been on thin ice between his shoulder, declining stuff, and now abdominal strain. But despite the lack of traditional closer stuff, Janssen has been the man shutting the door the past two seasons. Now, Sergio Santos will fill in and it could be one of those situations where the guy to start the season keeps the job all year. |
Jesse Crain (RP) |
Shoulder | Mid April | If and when Crain gets healthy, he could take a hold of Houston’s closer role. |
Others on the DL: Matt Harrison (Back, mid-April), Derek Holland (Knee, late-July), Jeremy Hellickson (Elbow, early-June), Jonathan Neise (Elbow, early-April), Josh Beckett (Thumb, early-April), Chad Billingsley (Elbow, early-to-late May), Taijuan Walker (Shoulder, late-April).
Hitters |
Injury |
Expected Return |
Fantasy Implications |
Manny Machado (3B) |
Knee | Mid-to-Late April | Machado is still working his way back from knee surgery, and outside of some scar tissue, everything seems to be going okay. The DL stint may have indirectly opened the door for 2B Jonathan Schoop, as fellow second baseman Ryan Flaherty will be handling 3B duties. Schoop has a chance to prove he deserves to remain in the bigs. He can certainly be fantasy relevant this season. |
Shane Victorino (OF) |
Hamstring | Mid-to-Late April | Jackie Bradley Jr. has new life to make an impression. All the while Grady Sizemore’s comeback attempt includes a day one dinger. Victorino isn’t a spring chicken, but owners have no choice but to hope the outfielder can keep it together for at least one more season. |
Gordon Beckham (2B) |
Oblique | Early April | This is a little less about Beckham and more about Marcus Semien. Semien has a chance to show his worth at second base and if he does, should be able to claim the third base position. In truth, Semien should already be considered the everyday third baseman when Beckham returns, but Robin Ventura is still a bit disoriented from Nolan Ryan’s headlock, so that is no sure thing (sorry, that’s anger due to Ventura not naming Nate Jones his closer). |
Devin Mesoraco (C) |
Oblique | Mid April | It sounds like Mesoraco has avoided a long DL stint. If someone happened to drop the young catcher in two-catcher formats, he is certainly worth a look. There is some pop in that bat. |
Wilson Ramos (C) |
Broken Hand | Mid-to-Late May | Ramos’s bad luck continues. Seriously, the guy has great luck in that he is a major league baseball player, but has undergone some really zany situations in his young life. |
Michael Bourn (OF) |
Hamstring | Early April | Not the kind of start bounce-back hopeful owners wanted, but the latest reports say Bourn could be back as soon as Saturday. While Bourn is out, it looks like Nyger Morgan will get a chance for some at-bats. |
Carlos Quentin (OF) |
Knee | Mid-to-Late April | Quentin just can’t shake the knee issues. When healthy, he’s a significant contributor in HR, OBP, and SLG. Tommy Medica will start in the outfield for the injured Quentin, and he has the ability to provide some nice power of his own. |
Matt Kemp (OF) |
Ankle | Early April | Kemp declares himself 100% healthy and owners can only hope. The Dodgers crowded outfield will likely be sorted out through rest days between Kemp and Carl Crawford, while Andre Ethier sits against lefties (or at least he should). |
Geovany Soto (C) |
Knee | Late June | Soto has a torn lateral meniscus that required surgery. J.P. Arencibia will have a chance to start every day and his power makes him an option in two-catcher leagues. |
Jose Reyes (SS) |
Hamstring | To be Determined | Reyes has been placed on the DL and is set to get an MRI. Fantasy owners have every right to be concerned. Even when Reyes returns, his 40+ stolen base days seem to be coming to a close. |
Jose Iglesias (SS) |
Shin | Likely Out for the Season | Stephen Drew has to sign with a team eventually, right? But in the meantime, the loss of Iglesias and his fantastic glove put a slight dent into 2014 projections of the entire Tigers’ pitching staff. |
Others on the DL: Rafael Furcal (Hamstring, early-to-mid-April), Mark Ellis (Knee, early-to-late-April).
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