Fantasy Baseball: Replacement Options For Bryce Harper

Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

As Matt Shetler reported, Washington Nationals’ outfielder Bryce Harper was placed on the 15 day disabled list.  This has huge fantasy repercussions, as Harper is one of the top players among fantasy outfielders.  Harper was just starting to pull out of his early season slump.  He had a .289 average with a homer, nine RBI, and a stolen base.  Denard Span and Nate McLouth will likely see an uptick in playing time for the Nationals, but you don’t have to settle for one of them.

I will give you a list of players who should be able to help you out over the next couple of weeks while Harper is out.  The first list will be for those of you that play in standard 10 to 12 team leagues that start three outfield slots.  These players are available in 10-50 percent of leagues.  The second list of players will be for those of you that play in leagues that start five outfielders, or 16 team leagues.  These players will be available in 50-80 percent of leagues.  The last list will be for those of you in deep leagues, such as ones that have 20 or more teams, or NL-only leagues.  These players will be available in 80-100 percent of leagues.  Obviously, you won’t find anyone with the upside of Harper, but you can find an adequate replacement for the next couple of weeks.

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Standard League Pickups:

Mike Morse, Giants: Morse has had a nice start to the season, but it has gone relatively unnoticed.  Morse is hitting a surprising .288 with 6 home runs and 17 RBI.  He is more than a capable replacement for Harper right now.

Rajai Davis, Tigers: Davis is hitting an impressive .353 with two homers, nine RBI, eight steals, and 13 runs scored.  As long as he stays healthy, he is definitely worth starting.

Chris Colabello, Twins: Collabello is second only to Giancarlo Stanton in RBI among outfielders with 27.  He only has two home runs, but the .308 average is very nice.  He is definitely an adequate replacement for Harper.

Marcell Ozuna, Marlins: More and more people took my advice to pick up Ozuna, but he is still available in almost all standard leagues.  Ozuna has cooled off some, but he still has a nice .307 average with three homers and 11 RBI.

Angel Pagan, Giants: Pagan is still hitting .337 with a homer and four steals.  There is value here, even in standard leagues.

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Moderate League Pickups:

Dayan Viciedo, White Sox: Yes, he only has one home run, but he is leading the American League with a .368 average.  It’s worth taking a chance that he will stay hot enough while Harper is out.

David Murphy, Indians: Murphy has a .286 average with two homers and 17 RBI, and is playing nearly every day in the Cleveland outfield.  He is performing well enough to play in your moderate-sized league outfield as well.

Josh Reddick, Athletics: Reddick is starting to heat up, with half of his last six starts resulting in multi-hit efforts.  He is available in a lot of leagues right now.  It might be worth picking him up in the short term to see if he can keep it up.

Matt Joyce, Rays: He clobbers right handed pitching, but he does have the slight misfortune of being in a straight platoon.  That said, in leagues with daily lineup changes, he is definitely worth trotting out there against all right-handers.

Nick Castellanos, Tigers: The rookie is now starting to come around, having a hit in eight of his last 11 games, with two home runs in that span.  He is also eligible at third base, which can give you some nice position flexibility.

Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Deep League Pickups:

A.J. Pollock, Diamondbacks: Pollock finally looks healthy, and could be a sneaky add in your deep league.  He has hit in three straight since returning from a neck injury.  He has decent power, and should hit for a decent average.  In deep leagues, you probably can’t do any better on your waiver wire.

Garrett Jones, Marlins: The .233 average is uninspiring, but he does have four homers and 11 RBI, and seems to be a staple in the better-than-expected Marlins lineup.

Lucas Duda, Mets: Duda has first base all to himself with Ike Davis in Pittsburgh, but he is still eligible in the outfield, so you can plug his four homers and 12 RBI in there.

Sam Fuld, Twins: He will provide extra value in 10×10 leagues.  He has been a doubles machine since being picked up by the Twins.  With the struggles of Aaron Hicks, Fuld will continue to play until he gives the Twins a reason not to play him.  That doesn’t appear to be coming anytime soon.

Junior Lake, Cubs: With Justin Ruggiano landing on the DL, Lake should finally get a daily run in the lineup for two weeks.  He has two homers and three steals so far, so if you can stomach the lower than average batting average, he could provide some nice counting stats for your team.

Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for the latest fantasy advice and who to pick up when injuries strike your lineup!