LOGIN
keelinbillue

Ambulance Chasers: Hamstring Has Me Stanton On One Leg

June 28, 2024 | 2024 Fantasy Baseball | 2 Comments

by:

Good morrow, Razzballers!

First, I’m so sorry for this title.

Second, it’s another week of big name injuries, but the injuries this week are a little less serious than last week. There were some hamstring injuries and a few regular names returning (Stanton, Lodolo, Woo).

One notable injury is Fernando Tatís Jr.‘s femoral stress fracture (crack in the femur often caused by overuse according to Dr. Google). He has shared he will be out until after the All-Star game, if not longer.

Tatís Jr.’s injury highlights our proximity to the dog days of summer. The 60-day IL turns into “See you next year!” and rosters are tested.

For now, let’s enjoy this relatively light week.

Notable Injuries

AL East

Giancarlo Stanton (OF, NYY), hamstring: Stanton strained his hamstring while running the bases during the June 22 Yankees vs. Braves game. Stanton will be out for about 4 weeks. Currently, the Yankees have Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, and Trent Grisham in the outfield. Trent Grisham should be readily available in your league and would be a decent pick-up. He has been showy in his last 9 AB with 2 HR and 3 RBIs.

This would be another place where Isiah Kiner-Falefa could be an asset to rosters that are down Stanton. In his last 22 AB, IKF hit 2 HR, but his BABIP continues to be quite high. Maybe we’ll see him on the IL soon too as he got HBP three times in one game.

AL West

Bryan Woo (SP, SEA), hamstring: It’s been a roller coaster lately for Bryan Woo. Woo returns to Ambulance Chasers this week with a strained hamstring and will be out for a couple or more weeks. He is eligible to return July 10, but his return could be a little later in July. Reliever Collin Snider was recalled from the minors.

In terms of a potential replacement, Boston’s Zack Kelly continues to make a case for himself. In his last 11.7 IP, he threw 12.3 K/9 with 2.3 BB/9 (0.77 ERA, 1.06 FIP).

 

NL Central

TJ Friedl (OF, CIN), hamstring: Frequent IL visitor Friedl visits the IL with a strained right hamstring. He is eligible to return July 4, but he probably won’t be (seems like mid-late July is more likely).

Houston Astro Chas McCormick could be useful here. He had a slower start to the season but has been heating up lately (.364/.364/.909 with 2 HR, 4 RBIs, and 2 SB in his last 11 AB).

Nick Lodolo (SP, CIN), finger: Big loss for Cincinnati as Nick Lodolo joins the IL with a left index finger blister. He is eligible to return July 9. The blister was not broken which means Lodolo might not need as much time on the IL.

In the interim, it’s no big secret that Kyle Hendricks has had a rough season, but he has been working to reverse that lately. In his last 12.7 IP, Hendricks has 8.5 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 with a 1.61 FIP.

NL East

Starling Marte (OF, NYM), knee: Marte will be out at least four weeks with a right knee bone bruise. He is spending the first two weeks of his time out resting with no baseball activity.

Check out Marte’s teammate Harrison Bader who is only 20% rostered in RCL leagues. Bader has 2 HR and 3 RBIs in his last 17 AB. In that same time he is slashing .353/.389/.882. For the season, he has a 113 wRC+.

NL West

Gabriel Moreno (C, ARI), thumb: Moreno will be out until at least July 2 with a sprained thumb he sustained while making a catch during a June 21 game.  Moreno has a history of situational thumb injuries including a 2021 fracture. Luckily, Torey Lovullo shared he expects Moreno will only stay the 10-day minimum on the IL.

In the interim, check out San Diego’s Kyle Higashioka. Higashioka is only 6% rostered in RCL leagues. In his last 16 AB, Higashioka is hitting 0.375/0.444/1.000 with 3 HR and 10 RBIs

Fernando Tatís Jr. (OF, SDP), leg: Tatís will be out for some time with a femoral stress reaction. He shared with the media that he is aiming to be back after the All-Star Game, but beyond that note, the timeline is uncertain.

Milwaukee’s Blake Perkins could be an option here. His trajectory over the last 30 days is similar to Tatís’s: 0.280/0.333/0.413, with a recent hot streak. Perkins has a 1.6 fWAR but a 97 wRC+. Need SBs? Perkins has 13 this season.

Injury Updates

Here are a few speedy injury updates for this week. If I missed someone, hit me up in the comments.

  • Kerry Carpenter (OF, DET), back: targeting a mid-July return that could extend to the trade deadline.
  • Evan Carter (OF, TEX), back: should be back in 1-2 weeks per Bruce Bochy.
  • Triston Casas (1B, BOS), ribs: started swinging again but no timeline confirmed by Alex Cora.
  • Yu Darvish (SP, SDP), groin: return delayed because of elbow inflammation; no updated timeline for return given yet.
  • Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1B, CIN), wrist: out for the season.
  • Zac Gallen (SP, ARI), hamstring: may return today.
  • Yimi García (RP, TOR), elbow: long-tossing from 120 feet per Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic.
  • Robert Gasser (SP, MIL), elbow: Tommy John surgery; out for the season.
  • Vaughn Grissom (2B/SS, BOS), hamstring:  not cleared for rehab per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic.
  • Eloy Jiménez (DH, CWS), hamstring: tweaked his hamstring his first game back but returned to lineup.
  • Josh Jung (3B, TEX), wrist: slowed down in rehab with wrist inflammation.
  • Dean Kremer (SP, BAL), triceps: rehab assignment.
  • Max Muncy (3B, LAD), oblique: may resume swinging this week per Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group.
  • Lars Nootbaar (OF, STL), oblique: rehab assignment.
  • Robbie Ray (SP, SFG), elbow: rehab assignment.
  • Jordan Romano (RP, TOR), elbow: resumed throwing program and may return in early July.
  • Blake Snell (SP, SFG), groin: rehab assignment but has shared with the media that he feels the Giants are pushing him to come back faster than he would like; sounds like a recipe for success!
  • Jeffrey Springs (SP, TBR), elbow: rehab assignment.
  • Kodai Senga (SP, NYM), shoulder: may begin rehab assignment next week.
  • Alek Thomas (OF, ARI), hamstring: returned to rehab assignment and may be back in the lineup next week.
  • Kyle Tucker (OF, HOU), shin: may begin baseball activities this weekend.
  • Justin Verlander (SP, HOU), neck: what has been called “neck soreness” continues to prevent Verlander from throwing at all.
  • Gavin Williams (SP, CLE), elbow: still in rehab assignment and may be back in the lineup next week.
  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto (SP, LAD), shoulder: recovering well but not throwing yet per Dave Roberts.

That’s it for Ambulance Chasers this week. For those who observe, have a pleasant American flag holiday.

Join me over on  Twitter and BlueSky for more exploits. Some rants. Some animal pics.

Copyright 2007-2025 Razzball LLC. All rights reserved.
Razzball.com and the Razzball logo units are copyright Razzball LLC.