Before the games even began Tuesday, the day was marred by a trio of top-100 players from draft day landing on the disabled list. Then a player having a better season than each Detroit Tigers first baseman Victor Martinez, Washington Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth and Colorado Rockies outfielder Corey Dickerson injured a knee while swinging and missing at a pitch. New York Yankees speedster Jacoby Ellsbury entered play as the No. 5 outfielder on the Player Rater, and soon after the Yankees lost in Washington the news arrived that he would indeed end up on the DL himself with a sprained knee, with the precise severity still unknown.
Of course, that’s the prime concern with Ellsbury in the first place, the risk of lost playing time due to some malady. He famously missed nearly all of 2010 and half of 2012, but through 37 games this season is hitting .324 with 14 stolen bases and 29 runs scored, and all of it looked legit thanks to a newfound walk rate like nothing we’d seen from him before, even in his monstrous 2011 season. Because Ellsbury is not hitting for a lick of power these days, it’s all about the batting average, steals, runs and, of course, the games played, and for the rest of the month and perhaps considerably more, there won’t be any games played.
The Yankees, meanwhile, are only well equipped to deal with an Ellsbury injury if you believe Chris Young, a three-time 20-homer, 20-steal guy -- but not since 2011 -- can return to past glory. Young has shown power so far, but he shouldn’t be used regularly against right-handed pitching, and he has yet to attempt a stolen base. It’s likely Brett Gardner and Young will handle the top two spots in the batting order, but I’d guard against everyone adding Young at once. Carlos Beltran has raised his paltry batting average during the past week, but his once-vibrant walk rate has cratered, he no longer steals bases and the 15 home runs he supplied a year ago appear to be a generous prediction in 2015. Slade Heathcott earned the promotion from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ahead of Ramon Flores, though neither is worth a look.
As for Martinez, Werth and Dickerson, nobody could call their individual absences for at least the next two weeks much of a surprise.
• Martinez was the topic in this space a day earlier, and now we await word on how much time he’ll miss. I maintain if it’s simply a few weeks, I don’t drop him. I secure him for the final four months. If he’s out a few months, then the assessment alters. Still, let’s remember Martinez was a top-10 overall player last season and the ability remains. It doesn’t appear any Tigers replacing Martinez’s at-bats are worth a look in standard leagues, as Tyler Collins was promoted from Triple-A Toledo, but we’ll probably just see Anthony Gose and Rajai Davis each play regularly, which means a few more stolen bases but little else.
• Werth has a wrist contusion and, similar to Martinez, is not remotely too old to help fantasy owners when healthy. Werth was a top-20 outfielder last season. We want him to recover and then thrive, which he should do. If choosing which one to stash, I take Martinez over Werth. The raw but toolsy Michael Taylor will handle left field, but whatever modest gains you get from his power and speed, he’ll cost in batting average.
• Dickerson has plantar fasciitis, and a few weeks off might not help him much. Hopefully he doesn’t need to miss considerably more time, but look at his stats -- he was still productive. Dickerson wasn’t much of an effective base stealer to start with (8-for-15 last season), but he’s still got Coors Field to hit in, so expect 120 valuable games here. The risk is that the last-place Rockies just shut him down later in the season, like in August, if the foot becomes a larger issue. Drew Stubbs should play regularly, and while he’s really struggling and his walk rate is hideous, the fine numbers from 2014, except in batting average, are reachable again.
• There was one other somewhat expected DL move later Tuesday, as San Diego Padres outfielder Wil Myers succumbed to his wrist injury. Myers hadn’t played in a week, and one wonders why the team didn’t make the move earlier. Will Venable can handle center field and had a really productive 2013, when he hit 22 home runs and stole 22 bases, and he comes recommended. He stole a base Tuesday night, too. Hopefully Myers isn't out long, as he was a nice power and speed combo who was scoring many runs.
If ranking all these injured fellows for the rest of the season, as of now I’d go Ellsbury, Dickerson, Martinez, Myers and Werth, but I’d try really hard to avoid cutting any of them. If you need an outfielder today, and using 50 percent availability in ESPN standard leagues as a baseline, for steals I’d go with: Delino DeShields Jr., Steven Souza Jr., Anthony Gose, Rajai Davis, Angel Pagan, Leonys Martin, Cameron Maybin, Juan Lagares, Odubel Herrera, Danny Santana and Peter Bourjos. For power I’d go with: David Peralta, Marlon Byrd, Yasmany Tomas, Andre Ethier, Josh Hamilton, Khris Davis, Colby Rasmus and Chris Young.
AL report: More injuries! Boston Red Sox sluggers Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval each left Tuesday’s game prematurely, the former with a leg injury on a slide and the latter with a knee bruise after being hit by a pitch. For now neither woe appears serious. At least they combined for four hits. Brock Holt stands to gain playing time if either has to miss time. … Texas Rangers outfielder Leonys Martin slugged a pinch-hit home run off Red Sox closer Koji Uehara, a telling note perhaps for each player. Martin is really struggling, dealing with a wrist injury, and might be in a platoon soon with DeShields. Martin needs to hit this week. Uehara allowed home run No. 2 on the young season. Last year, he permitted 10. It’s too many, though only injury is likely to cost him save chances. … Fine, I can see just like you that Baltimore Orioles surprise Jimmy Paredes just is not slowing down. He homered and knocked in four Tuesday. Perhaps he’ll even outdo Steve Pearce from 2014. By the way, Pearce had two hits for the second time in three games, which is hopefully a harbinger, but also played his 10th game at second base. Now he’s a middle infielder in ESPN leagues! But he has to hit, too. … I don’t trust Seattle Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker, and it’s tough to fathom who would. He was shelled again Tuesday, and his ERA, which improved in his past two outings, rose to 7.47. If he breaks out, it won’t be for my teams. … The Minnesota Twins lit up Pittsburgh Pirates lefty Francisco Liriano, but perhaps that should have been expected. The Twins entered the day third in on-base percentage against lefties and second in runs. Right-handed-hitting Brian Dozier and Trevor Plouffe homered. Try to avoid lefties against the Twins.
NL report: St. Louis Cardinals fill-in outfielders Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk combined for five hits and four RBIs in a rout of the New York Mets. While Grichuk has hit for power in the minors but doesn’t walk and will likely be used solely against left-handed pitching, the defensively proficient Bourjos brings stolen base potential. If choosing, in a deep league, I’d take Bourjos. … Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson spun a rather surprising eight-inning gem at the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, allowing one run on three hits. Nelson is more of a spot starter than someone to rely on at this point, but he next faces the San Francisco Giants, which is reasonable. … San Diego Padres right-hander James Shields sure is piling on the strikeouts, as he’s one behind Corey Kluber for the major league lead, but he also leads everyone with 14 home runs allowed in nine starts. It’s odd, because Shields has the aid of a pitcher’s park behind him. Shields was a fantasy ace in one season, back in 2011. Since then he’s been borderline top-20. We’d like him better with fewer strikeouts, fewer home runs and fewer runs allowed, and the 3.74 ERA you currently see might not get better. … Perhaps the new Arizona Diamondbacks closer is right-hander Enrique Burgos. His save Monday came in the 13th inning after others had pitched, but Tuesday his appearance came more conventionally. It’s worth noting, before Brad Ziegler owners look elsewhere, that Ziegler had thrown two innings Monday. Burgos does have a big strikeout rate, so add him just in case.