Thank Cobb this injury wasn’t worse. After failing to stick the landing on his improvised triple lutz down the first base line, Bryce Harper owners ran to their bobble head and starting lineup figure shrines to pray to the old baseball Gods and the new (Praise Be to Frank Thomas.) Luckily, there was no knee meat damaged in the play which is good, but it is still looking like a mid-September return from a bone bruise in his knee. But Harper is just crazy and young enough to beat that time frame. Funnily enough, the first few suggestions when you start to type “bone bruise” into Google are “bone bruise knee,” “bone bruise heal time” and “bone bruise knee heal time.” Fantasy managers are so quick to become amateur physicians when their players go down. How you handle a Harper replacement could be key to you making & surviving your playoffs. Stash or Trash: Stash. Fill In: Say it with me now: “Goosfraba.” No one man can replace Harper. Now that that’s out of the way let’s see what we’re working with. You know who you should grab before it’s too late? Eddie Rosario (37%.) Since July 1st Rosario has a .333 average with 20 runs, 6 HR, 22 RBI and 3 SB — 5 of those HR have come in his last 8 games. Is this realistic? Not entirely. However, Rosario is only 25 and was a 20/20/.280 threat in his minor league days. Ride the hot hand here.
Michael Brantley, OF, Sprained Ankle
All things considered, this has been a successful season for Brantley considering he’s played more than the 11 games he played in 2016. And 9 HR, 11 SB and a .299 AVG really aren’t too far off from his career projections. This injury really hurts the Indians most as they are now having to go with three back-up outfielders in Abraham Almonte, Austin Jackson and Brandon Guyer. Stash or Trash: Stash for now. His average is helping his floor and the reports are that this is a mild sprain. Fill In: Jose Pirela (23.9%) won’t give you much in the way of peripheral numbers (he only has 8 HR and 3 SB on the season) but he’s kept up his .298 average and is locked in as the Padres #3 hitter. Like Brantley, his hit tool is keeping him from sinking your team.
Trevor Cahill, SP, Shoulder Impingement
Is there a Lemon Law in the MLB? In his 11 starts with the Padres at the beginning of this season Cahill had a 3.69 ERA. In his 3 starts since joining the Royals he has an 8.18 ERA. Stash or Trash: Trash. He missed almost two months with a different shoulder injury earlier this season and he just looks lost right now. Fill In: I have to dig deep for this replacement. Jake Junis (14.1%) has pitched well his last 2 starts. He’s gone 14 innings with only 8 baserunners and 3 ER. Junis is a former 29th round pick who hadn’t really figured out the whole pitching thing until this season when he pitched to a 2.92 ERA in 12 starts in the uber-hitter-friendly PCL league. There might just be something here for the 24-year old pitcher.
Willson Contreras, C, Strained Hamstring
As of June 14th Contreras was hitting a boring .239 with only 5 HR. Since, he’s been arguably the best hitting catcher in fantasy baseball hitting 16 HR with a .313 average. Stash or Trash: Hoo boy. As rough as this seems you might need to trash Willson. He’s shut down for two weeks and might not return for at least a month. You need playoff help now. Fill In: This might seem like a cop-out, but James McCann (36.1%) is going to be my catcher fill in choice for all three catcher injuries this week. There’s really just no one else. Since Alex Avila was traded to the Cubs, McCann has made 13 starts for the Tigers hitting .320 over that span. McCann has never shown a lot of HR power, but in 417 AAA at-bats in 2014 he did hit .295 with 34 doubles. Grab him before it’s too late.
Brian McCann, C, Knee Soreness
If his season ended today he would end up with the same average (.232) that he had in 2 of his last 3 seasons. At least he’s consistent. He was on pace to match last season’s 20 HR as well. Stash or Trash: He can return on August 24th, but right now there is no telling when he can come back. If you have a better option available you could trash McCann. Every game counts right now. Fill In: This might seem like a cop-out, but James McCann (36.1%) is going to be my catcher fill in choice for all three catcher injuries this week. There’s really just no one else. Since Alex Avila was traded to the Cubs, McCann has made 13 starts for the Tigers hitting .320 over that span. McCann has never shown a lot of HR power, but in 417 AAA at-bats in 2014 he did hit .295 with 34 doubles. Grab him before it’s too late.
Russell Martin, C, Strained Oblique
Oblique? Stick a fork in him: he’s done! If you haven’t had a player suffer an oblique injury yet — consider yourself lucky. Not only do they make a player miss a metric butt-load of games, they’re never the same upon their return. Stash or Trash: Trash. Fill In: This might seem like a cop-out, but James McCann (36.1%) is going to be my catcher fill in choice for all three catcher injuries this week. There’s really just no one else. Since Alex Avila was traded to the Cubs, McCann has made 13 starts for the Tigers hitting .320 over that span. McCann has never shown a lot of HR power, but in 417 AAA at-bats in 2014 he did hit .295 with 34 doubles. Grab him before it’s too late.
James Paxton, SP, Strained Pectoral
It’s safe to label Paxton as injury prone at this point. He might give you a full healthy Cy Young caliber season one year, but you’ll be unable to safely predict when it will occur. Every other year he’ll miss a decent amount of starts with a multitude of injuries. Stash or Trash: Stash. He’s expected to begin a rehab within the week which is good news. He might not return for about 2 weeks however — considering everything goes well. Fill In: Jerad Eickhoff (30.8%.) If it weren’t for injuries it would be interesting to see how good Eickhoff could’ve been this season. In his first 41 starts in 2015 and 2016 Eickhoff had a 3.44 ERA. Since returning from his DL stint on July 9th, he has made 7 starts and only allowed 14 ER. He’s notched 41 K’s in 39.2 innings in those 7 starts as well. The talent is there so ride him into your playoffs.
Gregory Polanco, OF, Strained Hamstring
Polanco is a lock to make every top-10 bust list at the end of this season. I really don’t think he’s been healthy since Spring Training. “Then why did you draft him Kerry?” Because I’m a fool on a fool’s journey who is a fantasy sports masochist. Stash or Trash: The show is over say goodbye. Trash! Fill In: Hunter Pence (16.5%) has hit well in his last 14 games. He’s hitting .327 in that time with 4 HR and 11 RBI. Pence has probably lost all your trust and respect this season, but if he’s replacing Polanco on your team you probably won’t even notice the difference!
CC Sabathia, SP, Knee Inflammation
After a 4.81 cumulative ERA stint from 2013-2015, his 3.91 in 2016 and 4.05 this year really aren’t bad as a back piece of your rotation. Don’t get it twisted, he’s strictly a spot starter against teams who stink against lefties, but after we were all considering his career over 2 years ago — this isn’t bad. Stash or Trash: All signs are pointing to CC starting against the Red Sox on Saturday. He has dominated the Sox in his 2 starts against them this year: 14 IP, 12 base runners, 0 ER! Stash. Fill In: If you only need 1 start until CC’s return you could take a chance on Edwin Jackson (10.8%.) Since joining the Nats he has a 3.30 ERA in 5 starts and has 27 strikeouts to only 11 walks. He’ll take on the Padres in his start on Thursday in San Diego which will help limit damage.
Masahiro Tanaka, SP, Shoulder Inflammation
On the other Yankee hand — we have ticking time-bomb Tanaka. His 2016 garnered him Cy Young consideration. His 2017 is garnering him AAA consideration. He’ll go from throwing a complete game shutout in Boston to allowing 8 ER in 1.2 IP against Houston 2 weeks later. From shutting the Rangers out over 8 innings to allowing 5 ER in 4.1 IP against the Brewers. He is consistently inconsistent. Stash or Trash: Stash. There is no structural damage — just fatigue. Maybe a week or two of rest can help Tanaka find his lost consistency. Fill In: Picking your battles with Jose Urena (34.3%) is a solid option. His next two opponents are the San Francisco Giants (27th in batting average against righties this year) and the Philadelphia Phillies (23rd in OBP against righties.) Take advantage of these spot starts.
Vince Velasquez, SP, Finger Discomfort
Velasquez must be hanging out with too many Philadelphians if he injured his middle finger due to overuse. Those hoping for a breakout season from Velasquez are going to have to wait until 2018. The 8.50 K/9 is pretty, but not when it is standing next to it’s 3 ugly cousins: a 4.25 BB/9, 1.9 HR/9 and 9.3 H/9. Stash or Trash: Trash. See ya next year VV! Fill In: Feel good story of the year Chad Bettis (5.4%) could be a good deep league fill in option. In his first start back, Bettis pitched 7 shutout innings in Colorado with 0 walks and only 2 K’s against the Braves. Bettis’s FIP last year was only a 4.26 which is a 0.53 difference from his 4.76 ERA. Surprisingly, Bettis had a higher ERA (5.06) away from Coors Field last year (4.44 at home.) Bettis has a tough match-up next against the team that has hit the 7th most HRs this year: the Brewers. Am I talking myself out of my own recommendation? Probably.
