Good morning! Today’s fantasy baseball injury report will go over 7 players and their current situations. I will identify who replaces each player within the depth chart and give you a blurb on their fantasy potential.
Batters: Ronald Acuna Jr, Jorge Polanco, Josh Donaldson
Pitchers: Joe Ryan, Joe Kelly, Jonathan Loaisiga, Anthony Bender
Batters
Atlanta Braves: Ronald Acuna Jr. (RF) - The star outfielder was out of the lineup yesterday against the Phillies due to a quad strain and may miss more time as the week goes on. Orlando Arcia was inserted into the outfield in the place of Acuna and has done well in his limited looks this season. Arcia has posted a .341 average through 41 at bats, drawing six walks along the way. He has hit .244 over his career in just short of 600 games.
Minnesota Twins: Jorge Polanco (SS/2B) - After missing a couple games this week against the Tigers, it was revealed that Polanco is dealing with an ankle injury at this time. Nick Gordon has outplayed Jose Miranda thus far and should get a look at 2B if Polanco misses more time. Gordon has hit .250 in 84 at bats, offering little in speed/power thus far.
New York Yankees: Josh Donaldson (3B/DH) - I assumed when I saw Donaldson was out of the lineup that it was due to his suspension. Come to find out, Donaldson was placed on the COVID list earlier this week. As I said yesterday, Marwin Gonzalez is the top utility option now with LeMahieu out. Gonzalez can start at 3B, going at a .213 rate through 47 at bats. He’s hit .255 over his career in 1074 games.
Pitchers
Chicago White Sox: Joe Kelly (RP) - The veteran reliever was pulled from the mound yesterday against the Red Sox after two outs due to a hamstring issue. This was his first action in three days. Matt Foster has the best rates out of the relievers in the White Sox bullpen at the moment. He’s sitting on a WHIP of 1.09, and an ERA under three.
Miami Marlins: Anthony Bender (RP) - Although it’s been a week since he last pitched, Bender was placed on the IL yesterday with a back issue. Anthony Bass leads the way in the bullpen in my opinion as far as “underrated” options are concerned. Bass has posted an ERA of 1.53, WHIP of .91 and a K/9 over 9.5 through 17.2 innings.
Minnesota Twins: Joe Ryan (SP) - Scratched prior to his start today, Ryan was placed on the COVID list yesterday and will be unavailable against the Royals. The team decided to go with Devin Smeltzer from AAA to pitch in his place. Smeltzer is the top healthy option for the team to pitch, and he’s done well through 10.1 innings of MLB action this season. However, Smeltzer is not blowing the doors off of anybody with strike outs. He has two Ks in total across the two starts he’s had. In 80 innings of MLB experience across his career, he’s posted a K/9 of 6.53.
New York Yankees: Jonathan Loaisiga (RP) - The struggling reliever was placed on the IL yesterday with a shoulder injury. This comes a few days after his last outing against the White Sox where he gave up 4 runs and registered only two outs. Although Wandy Peralta may not be striking many people out, his ERA and WHIP have been fantastic across 15 innings pitched this season.