Oblique? More like nooooooblique! Seems like it is a mild one so he has that going for Jonathan Schoop, 2B, (strained oblique). Which is goodblique. Orioles are hoping for a minimum stay, but I think it’ll be similar to Christian Yelich where they hold him out for 15-20 days instead of just the minimum 10. Stash or Trash: Stash. Fill In: Howie Kendrick (14.5%.) Nobody wants to play Howie Kendrick — we all just somehow end up with him on our team at some point throughout the year when our players get hurt. (Which always coincides with that two game a month hot streak Kendrick always has.) The conversation we usually have with ourselves when it comes time to add Kendrick typically ends with “I guess I’ll grab Howie Kendrick to replace ____” Here’s the same old song and dance you hear about Kendrick every year: he’s hit safely in every game he’s played this season except one. He’ll accidentally hit 1-2 HRs right before you pick him up, but then won’t hit 1-2 more until right after you drop him two weeks later. Howie-ver, he won’t hurt your AVG/OBP and could provide a HR and a nice handful of runs in the Nats lineup until Schoop comes back. Then you can pass him back to the waivers until someone else needs him.
Elvis Andrus, SS, Fractured Right Elbow
The scientific is an “olecranon fracture” in his right elbow. What’s olecranon? Nothing! What’s olecranon with you?! I hate myself. No surgery: huzzah! 6-8 weeks recovery: crappah! Stash or Trash: Stash. Andrus was likely taken within the first 75 picks of your draft so don’t quit on him so quickly. Even though I did tell you I’d rather have Marcus Semien! Fill In: Marcus Semien (26%.) Yea I said it! This is just me petty Patty, but I still like Semien more at his value than Andrus regardless of injury. Semien’s .260 average and .691 OPS don’t look like much YET, but he’s reached base in every single game so far this year. Full stop! And if Jonah Hill has taught me anything it’s that skinny can’t fix ugly. Also that getting on base is the most important thing in baseball.
Josh Donaldson, 3B, Tired Shoulder
Is this just what you’re going to be now? The injured guy who we all mistakenly covet. When Rotoworld says “It’s unclear how long he’ll be out” there’s nothing you can do but spit on the ground when you say his name. This injury has been hanging around since spring so something bigger is probably going on here. Stash or Trash: Stash. He was one of your first two picks — dropping him isn’t an option just yet. Fill In: Christian Villanueva (21.6%.) Alright, let me get this guy out of the way. Yes, I picked this guy up in my main league. No, I’m not 100% sold on him. Yes, if you’re in my league and reading this he is available for a trade, but I won’t accept anything less than your best player. Here’s my issue: OPS vs lefties: 1.940! OPS vs righties: .746. However, according to Roster Resource, his NL West opponents starting rotations are currently 50% lefties. There are 4 lefties in the Dodgers rotation alone! (Only 22% lefty in the rest of the National League though…) I think the struggle against righties so far this year are a case of small-samplitis. His last year in triple-A (2017) he had a .923 OPS vs righties. If Villanueva can start hitting righties just as hard as he’s been killing lefties — we might have a league winner on our hands!
Josh Harrison, 3B/2B, Broken Bone in Hand
Jose Urena might’ve just saved me from myself! I was about to make a trade offer for Josh Harrison since I was feeling his on base skills atop the Pirates line-up. Then, Urena plunked him on his hand on Sunday and Harrison will be out for at least 6 weeks. Stash or Trash: Stash. Harrison will be out until early June (May 27th would be exactly 6 weeks) but he’s still worth holding on to. Fill In: Ketel Marte (11.1%.) Another guy who I was thinking about trading for is having a pretty solid season so far despite the goose egg in steals and HRs. Ketel has reached base in 12 straight games and has been hitting second in the line-up in all 12 of those games. Marte might not reach double-digits in HRs, but has a trio of 20 steal seasons in the minors that I think he can tap into this year.
Kevin Kiermaier, OF, Torn Thumb Ligament
Did you know that Kiermaier is a cousin of Grady Sizemore? If you answered yes, you’re a lying liar who lies. But they do seem to have a lot in common, huh? Both flashed 20 HR/20 SB potential with electrifying defense in the outfield. Both will break your heart when you draft them and will be out of the league in four years due to injuries. Stash or Trash: You can safely trash him. This is copy/pasted from the past few years. Fill In: Mallex Smith (15.1%.) Don’t look too far for Kiermaier’s replacement. Mallex will be taking Kiermaier’s ABs and has turned it on over his last 7 games. He’s hitting .536 with five runs and two stolen bases. That stolen base total should be jumping up with regular playing time.
Kendrys Morales, DH, Strained Hamstring
This injury is about a week old unfortunately, but last week it seemed like he was going to avoid the disabled list. Now, the time frame says two weeks. Stash or Trash: Eh. Trash. Get you a position player in your UTIL spot who will treat you right. Fill In: ANY player at all?? Luis Valbuena (18.7%.) I don’t know what’s gotten into the career .229 hitter, but he’s killing it so far in the first few weeks of the season. He’s hitting .291 which would be a new career high by over 30 points. Sorry to break your hearts, but he won’t keep this up. But you should ride the snake while you can!
Taijuan Walker, SP, Damage to Ulnar Collateral Ligament
Avast! Tommy John is looking to claim his next soul! Stash or Trash: stash until Thursday morning — when they’ll announce Taijuan is Tai-done for the year. Then, trash. Replacement: Tyson Ross (4.8%.) Fair warning: this ain’t your Daddy’s Tyson Ross! He’s pitched 6 innings in all three starts this year and has performed pretty well in all three. He has two quality starts to show for it and honestly, Tyson Ross holding the Houston Astros to 4 ERs in 6 innings should count as a quality start. He’s got a 14:4 K/BB rate which is nice and has been limiting the damage his opponents have done with the bat too (.257 BAA.)
As always, if you’ve got league specific questions — leave a comment!
