Devin Mesoraco Leaves Friday’s Game With Hamstring Strain

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Cincinnati Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco left last night’s game with a strained left hamstring in the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves.  The Reds would lost the game 5-4.  While the severity of the strain in unknown, you can bet Mesoraco will miss at least a week with this injury.

Mesoraco has been the best catcher in fantasy so far this year, posting a robust .477 average with three home runs and 13 RBI.  Brayan Pena will replace him for the Reds, and is worth a look if you need help at catcher.  In shallower leagues, you can do better than Pena, but deep league Mesoraco owners will want to pounce on Pena immediately.

Obviously, this will have a big fantasy impact on Mesoraco owners.  Here are some players worth picking up in the meantime.  The first group will cover standard 10 team leagues in roto or head-to-head formats.  All of these replacements are owned in 40-80 percent of leagues.  The second group will give recommendations for 12-16 team leagues.  These players are available in 10-40 percent of leagues.  The last group is for those hardcore deep leaguers such as myself.  This will be for 20 team leagues, leagues that start two catchers, or NL-only leagues.  These players are owned in no more than 10 percent of leagues.

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Standard League Pickups:

Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks: Montero has a nice .276 average with two homers and 13 RBI, and he catches more games than a lot of starting catchers in the league.  Montero doesn’t do any one thing great, but he is a solid all around player that won’t hurt your team.

Jason Castro, Astros: But Mike, didn’t you just tell us to drop Castro in standard leagues?  Yes.  Yes I did, but that was before the loss of Mesoraco.  His .217 average is nothing great, but he does have four home runs.  He is better than many options out there.

Salvador Perez, Royals: Many standard leaguers have kicked Perez to the curb already, so you Mesoraco owners need to pounce and hope for the best.  The Royals’ offense has finally started to come around, and Perez should as well.

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Moderate League Pickups:

Mike Zunino, Mariners: Remember all the fuss before Zunino was called up last year?  Yes, he has been somewhat of a disappointment so far at the major league level.  That doesn’t mean he should be as ignored as he is.  He is still hitting .254 with three homers and nine RBI.  Owners are throwing far worse out there on a daily basis.

Carlos Ruiz, Phillies: Ruiz has been a points league stud so far, and most of those translate well to roto and H2H leagues as well.  The one homer and six RBI line may scare you, but he has scored 15 runs already and is hitting .270.  That can still help your team while Mesoraco is out.

Yan Gomes, Indians: Cleveland thought enough of Gomes to move Carlos Santana to third base.  Gomes has responded with a .269 average, two homers and seven RBI.  You can do worse.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Deep League Pickups

Josmil Pinto, Twins: If your league counts OBP or walks, he should be picked up over most others on this list.  His .222 average is nothing special, but the four homers and 16 walks are very good.

Kurt Suzuki, Twins: How good are the Twins’ catching corps?  So good that they moved Joe Mauer to DH, and their idea of giving Pinto or Suzuki a day off means playing them at designated hitter.  Suzuki is the guy to target if you relied heavily on Mesoraco’s average.  Suzuki has only one home run, but he is hitting .310 on the year.

Wellington Castillo, Cubs: His numbers are almost identical to Mike Zunino (Castillo has one less run scored), but he is available in 99 percent of leagues.  He is worth an add in deeper leagues.

Dioner Navarro, Blue Jays: Navarro is another guy who has been more suited to points leagues, but his .288 average and 13 RBI translate well to any league.