When assessing the future stats of a player, it’s imperative to consider player health when speculating on playing time. After all, getting onto the field and being given a chance to succeed only happens if the player is healthy enough. That’s why looking at a player’s track record of health gives credence to whether someone is worth drafting. A fantasy team could have all the talent in the world, but if they’re on your Injured List or bench, they lose a ton of value.
We are moving toward draft season, and all eyes will be on the top players at each position. Knowing of any inherent risk to drafting someone can help teams in the long run. That’s why today will be a part of positional examinations of injury risk. I will be going through the Injury History of the top players at every position and making notes of their healthy or troubled pasts. Seeing trends in their health could help determine any future problems.
The players listed below will be separated into one of three categories: red light, yellow light, green light. The timeframe that will be examined will primarily be from 2021 to 2023, though looking into the distant past might also take place.
Red Light: any players listed here have an extensive and/or concerning injury history that seems likely to come into play in the future. The potential for injury outweighs their production on the field and their selection could lead to roster problems down the line. The reoccurrence of a particular injury or multiple injuries also creates the need for a red light. Fantasy owners should be wary of drafting these players because the risk for injury is high.
Yellow Light: any players listed here have had their injury problems before, but they’re not necessarily prone to injury. These players here have situations to monitor, especially during the off-season and Spring Training, but it’s not necessarily as bleak as it could be. The types of injuries could also be freakish or due to bad luck with events leading to it being out of the ordinary. Fantasy owners should be aware of the injury history, but know the possibility for health is there too.
Green Light: any players listed here have had minimal problems and their future doesn’t appear to be in any jeopardy. There is nothing from their past that would indicate an injury-prone future. While injuries could happen at any time, there are no red flags in this player’s history to suggest it will lead to another one. Fantasy owners can feel safe in drafting these players.
Injury Risk at Second Base for 2024 Fantasy Baseball Drafts
Things to remember:
- The players listed are in the general order of how they’re being drafted.
- The level of confidence has to do with their health and nothing to do with their abilities on the field.
1. Mookie Betts – Los Angeles Dodgers
Betts will be the team’s primary second baseman in 2024. Despite having played in 412 games over the last three seasons, he has a bevy of ailments from which to speak. His 2021 season was filled with injuries all over his body that culminated in long-term hip problems. The past two years have seen him return to a healthier version of himself. Entering his age 31 season at second base, there is a small fear of wear and tear, but he remains one of the best players in the game. Draft with confidence.
2. Ozzie Albies – Atlanta Braves
Albies had a healthy 2023 season, which was a welcome site after an abysmal one the year prior. While he missed a lot of time in 2022 due to two separate fractures, the way they happened is quite concerning. While many fractures happen because of getting hit by a pitch, his fractures both happened due to awkward ways of playing. His fractured foot took place because of an awkward swing and his fractured pinky because of a slide. He bounced back with a full season a year later, but we can’t forget his 2022 season. Draft with attention.
3. Marcus Semien – Texas Rangers
Semien has turned into one of the most reliable and durable second basemen in all of baseball. His last trip to the Injured List took place almost a decade ago. Since the start of the 2018 season, he has missed four games throughout all of the 162-game seasons. Lock him in for a full season barring any unforeseen circumstances. Draft with confidence.
4. José Altuve – Houston Astros
Altuve’s injuries tell the story of someone who plays the game hard as one of the game’s smallest players. He’s suffered oblique and heel injuries from swinging and sliding, but luckily none of them have been too serious. His fractured thumb came as the result of getting hit by a pitch, which is bad luck. He’s a stud when he plays and will be in the lineup daily. Draft with confidence.
5. Matt McLain – Cincinnati Reds
McLain was called up to the Reds in May and played almost every day until his season-ending injury. He is expected to be fully healthy for Spring Training and will likely be the team’s everyday second baseman. Draft with confidence.
6. Nico Hoerner – Chicago Cubs
Hoerner has been a mainstay in the Cubs’ lineup for three years now, but his injury history is quite extensive. In fact, over the last three seasons, he has been on the Injured List seven times for five different body parts. While none have lasted much longer than the minimum, it’s still noteworthy in that there’s a decent chance it will happen again in 2024. Draft with attention.
7. Ha-Seong Kim – San Diego Padres
Kim has yet to be placed on the Injured List over his three seasons as a Padres player. Two of his injuries this year (knee and shoulder) were both thought to have been more serious than they ended up being. Perhaps that’s a testament to his strength and durability. Draft with confidence.
8. Gleyber Torres – New York Yankees
Torres’ injury history has a clogged-up 2021 season where he suffered two major injuries. Since then, he’s been a fixture in the Yankees’ lineup and has seen everyday at-bats. He finished the year fourth in plate appearances among all second basemen. Draft with confidence.
9. Bryson Stott – Philadelphia Phillies
Stott has remained healthy over his two years at the big-league level. He should be a fixture in the team’s lineup next season and play every day. Draft with confidence.
10. Andrés Giménez – Cleveland Guardians
Giménez has remained healthy over the past three seasons and has received almost every day at-bats in the process. His only real injury took place at the end of the shortened season with an oblique injury, but it’s by no means concerning. Draft with confidence.
11. Ketel Marte – Arizona Diamondbacks
Marte just finished his 2023 with his highest number of plate appearances since the 2019 season. The times in between those two seasons were injury-riddled with multiple hamstring ailments. He was able to break out this season partly because he was able to remain healthy. There is no guarantee that this will happen again, as he is someone to monitor for injuries. Draft with attention.
12. Zack Gelof – Oakland Athletics
Gelof has nothing in his Major or Minor League Injury History to consider going forward. His minor-league numbers show a career-high of 440 plate appearances which suggests that he should be able to withstand the vigors of a full-season in the big leagues. Draft with confidence.
13. Thairo Estrada – San Francisco Giants
Estrada had a rough 2023 season that left him with only 120 games played. He suffered a sprained left wrist and a fractured left hand that hindered any progression he was hoping to make this season. His two seasons before this were littered with minor injuries that don’t leave a cause for concern going forward. Draft with confidence.
14. Tommy Edman – St. Louis Cardinals
Edman has been relatively healthy throughout his short career. It’s quite encouraging because he plays all around the diamond almost every day. He’s been “penciled in” as the team’s primary outfielder next season. His only stint on the Injured List was due to wrist inflammation that hindered his play for weeks before heading to the Injured List. Upon his return, he hit well for power and average. It was revealed recently that in October, Edman opted for surgery to help repair this wrist. He is fully expected to be ready for Spring Training. Draft with attention.
15. Luis Arráez – Miami Marlins
Arráez’s achievements on the field are even more impressive due to the amount of time he’s missed over the years. Since the start of the 2021 season, he has been placed on the Injured List five times. He’s also missed plenty of time with DTD situations that have caused some uncertainty. The concerning part here is the fact that a lot of his injuries are lower-body related. Whether it’s his knees, ankles, or hamstring, he finds a way to injure himself. It’s never anything major, but just enough to frustrate fantasy owners who are looking for stability. Draft with attention.
16. Nolan Gorman – St. Louis Cardinals
Gorman has been playing for just two years now, and he’s been to the Injured List twice. The encouraging nature of these trips is the hope that the problem is fixed. He missed time due to a lower back injury that seemingly bothered him all season. He finished the year early due to some hamstring tightness, but the hope is that he was shut down because of the Cardinals’ overall team struggles all season. The belief is that a full offseason to recuperate will be enough to get a full season out of him in 2024. Draft with confidence.
17. Jonathan India – Cincinnati Reds
India has missed significant time over the past three seasons. He has eclipsed 500 plate appearances just once and has had a ton of lower-body injuries. His past two seasons have seen his production dip all over the board, and one has to wonder if he’s just playing through injuries at this point. He remains talented enough to draft, but a strong consideration for playing time needs to be remembered. Draft with caution.
18. Edouard Julien – Minnesota Twins
Julien remained healthy over his first season in the major leagues. He was used strategically as part of a platoon and rarely hit against left-handed pitching. It remains to be seen how he will be used in 2024 and if an uptick in playing time adds to the wear and tear of a full season where he gets more than 408 plate appearances. Draft with confidence.
19. Ryan McMahon – Colorado Rockies
McMahon is as steady as they come when it comes to health. He has played in 456 games over the last three seasons and is a fixture for the Rockies. What he does on the field while playing half of his games at Coors Field is another story altogether. Draft with confidence.
20. Brandon Drury – Los Angeles Angels
Drury has been able to show somewhat of a resurgence in his career after hitting the age of 30. He has two consecutive seasons of production where he was able to accumulate close to 500 plate appearances in both years. He did miss time due to a bruised right shoulder but worked hard to return slightly earlier than expected. Draft with confidence.
21. Whit Merrifield – Free Agent
Merrifield has shown a propensity to remain healthy and on the field. He had a stretch from 2019 – 2021 where he didn’t miss a single game. Since then, he has yet to top 600 plate appearances. That said, it’s been his diminishing play and team depth that has resulted in a drop in playing time. Draft with confidence.
22. Gavin Lux – Los Angeles Dodgers
Lux missed the entire 2023 season with a torn ACL and LCL after injuring himself in Spring Training. He has been working diligently since then to return. Manager Dave Roberts has been outwardly pleased with his recovery process and he is fully expected to be ready for Spring Training. There’s no word yet on how his workload will managed or how his recovery on the field will be. He could start slow out of the gate. He will be the team’s shortstop, so add that eligibility to his resume for 2024. Draft with attention.
23. Brandon Lowe – Tampa Bay Rays
Lowe has been on the Rays since 2018, yet he has compiled only 2016 plate appearances over his career. What’s even more worrisome is that 615 of those came in the one season where he broke out and stayed healthy. He has been placed on the 10-day Injured List six times in his career, and in three of those instances, he has been transferred over to the 60-day Injured List. His biggest injury, that to his lower back, has been a recurring one over the last two seasons since its inception in 2022. He has yet to prove that he is durable enough to warrant a full-time role. He’s switched positions and he’s still been injured. These are big red flags. Draft with caution.
24. Jorge Polanco – Minnesota Twins
Polanco broke out in 2019 and again in 2021, which were coincidentally the last years he remained relatively healthy. Since then, he’s suffered five lower body injuries, most of which have lasted longer than ten days and have reoccurred. In fact, because of these injuries, many of his 2021 season stats look better than his 2022 and 2023 stats combined. He’s great when he’s healthy, but it’s too hard to predict if and when that can happen. Draft with caution.
25. Luis Rengifo – Los Angeles Angels
Rengifo showed some consistency in 2023, by posting almost identical numbers to his 2022 season. This showed some promise for growth that ended too quickly last September. He ruptured his biceps tendon and missed the final month of the season. He is expected to be ready for Spring Training. Draft with confidence.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.