MLB Fantasy Injury Impact for Week 2

MLB Fantasy Injury Impact for Week 2

A lot if injuries happened in Week #1 that will effect Week #2 of the Fantasy Baseball season.  Here is a look at the most notable ones:

1. [the_ad id=”567″]Trea Turner, Washington Nationals – 23-year old righty swinging SS Trea Turner burst onto the scene last year for the Nationals!  He played in 73 games for the Nationals last year and he was 105 of 307 (.342 avg., .937 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 13 homers, 40 RBI, and 33 stolen bases.  The blend of speed and power he displayed last year had a lot of fantasy GM’s taking him in the first round of drafts and bidding high on him in auctions.  He is off to a slow start this year.  He has played in 5 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is only 3 for 19 (.158 avg., .368 OPS) without a run scored or a RBI, but he does have 3 steals.  It’s early, so the slow start shouldn’t scare anyone off, but his strained right hamstring should bother fantasy general managers.  The Nationals are saying it’s minor, but you never can be sure about a hamstring strain.
2. Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees – 24-year old righty swinging catcher Gary Sanchez burst onto the scene late last year and he carried the Yankees’ offense!  He played in 53 games for the Yankees last year and he was 60 for 201 (.299 avg., 1.032 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 20 homers, 42 RBI and 1 stolen base.  Sanchez was one of the first catchers coming off the board in drafts and he was paid top dollar for in auctions.  Sanchez has gotten off to a slow start this year for the Yankees.  He has played in 5 games so far this year for the Yankees and he is only 3 for 20 (.150 avg., .490 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 2 RBI.  The Yankees have placed Sanchez on the 10-day DL with a strained right biceps, but he’s going to likely miss more than 10 days as the injury is to his throwing arm.  The Yankees will likely turn to 28-year old righty swinging Austin Romine to start until Sanchez is ready to return to action.  Nothing to see here, as Romine is a career .221 hitter with no power or speed.  The Yankees have called up 26-year old righty swinging catcher Kyle Higashioka to replace Sanchez on the active roster.  He played in 102 games last year combined in AA+AAA-ball last year for the Yankees and he was 102 of 370 (.276 avg., .847 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 21 homers and 81 RBI.  If the Yankees start playing Higashioka a lot, he could be someone to pick up for the short term.
3. [the_ad id=”384″]Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays – 31-righty swinging 3B Josh Donaldson re-aggravated a calf injury that kept him out of the early part of spring training yesterday at Tropicana Field.  Fantasy owners are holding their breath and hoping that he will be available to return to action this Tuesday, but it’s iffy.  Donaldson was taken very high in drafts and he cost big bucks in auctions, so it’s imperative for his owners that he doesn’t miss a lot of time.  He played in a combined 313 games in 2015 and 2016 for the Jays in which he was 348 of 1,197 (.291 avg., .946 OPS) with 244 runs scored, 78 homers, 222 RBI, and 13 stolen bases.  He was the A.L. MVP in 2015 and he won Silver Slugger Awards in his first two years with the Jays.  He was off to a good start for the Jays this year.  He has played in 6 games for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 8 for 23 (.348 avg., 1.097 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBI.
4. Rich Hill, Los Angeles Dodgers – When the Dodgers re-signed 37-year old lefty starting pitcher Rich Hill to a 3-year, $48 million dollar deal over the winter, it had be shaking my head in disbelief.  Not because he isn’t a good pitcher, but more so because of his advanced age and injury history.  Hill is already on the 10-day disabled list as he developed a blister in his first start of the season.  He was the winning pitcher, as he worked 5 solid innings allowing only 1 earned run and 5 base runners.  Hill got the big contract because of how he pitched in 2016 and the fact that the Dodgers traded three good prospects to the A’s for him and Josh Reddick last July.  Hill pitched in 20 games (all starts) for the A’s and Dodgers last year in which he was 12-5 with a 2.12 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  In the leagues I took Hill in, I made sure I picked an extra starting pitcher just in case he broke down.  In the short term, you could add his replacement, Alex Wood.  26-year old lefty Alex Wood has started 77 games so far in his Major League career and he is 24-28 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.
5. Greg Bird, New York Yankees – 24-year old lefty swinging Greg Bird had an awesome spring and it won him the starting 1B job to start the 2017 season for the Yankees.  Bird missed last year due to shoulder surgery, but boy did he look good in his first taste of the show in 2015.  He played in 46 games for the Yankees in 2015 and he was 41 of 157 (.261 avg., .871 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 11 homers and 31 RBI.  He was off to a slow start in 2017 before being slowed down by a bruised ankle.  He has played in 4 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 1 for 16 (.063 avg., .292 OPS) without a run scored, homer or RBI.  The Yankees must not have been convinced that Bird was ready for prime time, as they signed 30-year old righty swinging Chris Carter during the off-season.  Carter led the National League in homers with the Milwaukee Brewers when he blasted 41 of them last year.  He also led the N.L. in whiffs last year (206) and he only had a .222 batting average. Bird is out right now with a bruised ankle.  If Bird doesn’t start to hit when he returns to action, it might be time to add Carter to your roster.
6. [the_ad id=”693″]Garrett Richards, Los Angeles Angels – Garrett Richards was a big time starting pitcher for the Angels in 2014 and 2015.  He pitched in 58 games (all starts) in 2014 and 2015 for the Angels and he was 28-16 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.  But last year he hurt his elbow after 6 starts and was told that he required Tommy John surgery.  But, instead, he decided to rest and have an alternative kind of therapy.  It seemed to work as he was back to throwing in the high 90’s in spring training.  He was looking good in his first start against the A’s this year, working 4 2/3 shutout innings allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk while whiffing 4 batters.  Then he was removed for a strained right biceps.  The Angels have their fingers crossed and hope he will only have to miss a start or two.  32-year old righty Yusmeiro Petit or 27-year old righty Alex Meyer (if they call him up) will get the first shot to replace Richards in the starting rotation.  Petit has started 58 games so far in his Major League career and he is 16-24 with a 4.95 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.  Meyer came to the Angels last year in a deal with the Twins.  Meyer pitched in 5 games (all starts) for the Angels last year and he was 1-2 with a 4.57 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.
7. Trevor Cahill, San Diego Padres – 29-year old righty starting pitcher Trevor Cahill was a good little lottery ticket to take at the end of drafts and auctions.  After all, he was coming off a solid year as a reliever with the Cubs and he was returning to the rotation for a Padres’ team that plays half of their games in one of the best pitching parks (Petco Park) in all of baseball.  Cahill pitched in 50 games (1 start) for the Cubs last year and he was 4-4 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.  He was the losing pitcher in his Padres’ debut, but it was far from awful as he gave up 2 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings while allowing 5 hits, 3 walks and striking out 7 batters.  He has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a strained lower back.  26-year old righty Jarred Cosart is his likely replacement in the rotation, but you don’t want him anywhere near your team!  He has pitched in 1 game out of the pen for the Padres this year and he worked only 2/3 of an inning in which he gave up 1 hit, 3 walks, and 2 earned runs!  Cosart pitched in 13 games (all starts) for the Marlins and Padres last year in which he was a combined 0-4 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP.