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Fantasy Baseball: Who Can Replace Ian Kennedy In Your Fantasy Rotation?

By Mike Marteny

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Ian Kennedy left his start in the third inning of Thursday’s game against the Giants. The news now is that Kennedy is likely headed to the disabled list with a hamstring strain. While this likely won’t be anything that keeps him out for months at a time, it is in his plant leg, so the situation bears monitoring.

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If you are like me, Kennedy was a nice pick in the middle rounds of drafts because of his potential for 200 strikeouts, a good home ballpark, and a solid ERA. This leaves us all with a hole to fill in the rotation. Where can we turn while Kennedy is out? Here are some fill-ins for Kennedy or Derek Holland. Holland left his Friday start in the first inning with tightness in his left (throwing) shoulder. There is no word on the severity of the injury, but anything with a throwing shoulder is a scary situation.

Holland and Kennedy were likely filling the same role in your fantasy rotation. They were solid veterans in the middle that wouldn’t hurt you anywhere. While these replacements won’t be as good (they weren’t drafted for a reason, you know), they can still give you good value while you wait for your regulars to return. For those of you in roto leagues, you may be better served to save the innings against your cap, and just stream starters when they play the Twins or Phillies. In head to head leagues though, you will likely need the replacement arms. All of these pitchers are owned in 50% or less of fantasy leagues, so they should be available in most standard and 12 team leagues.

C.J. Wilson, Angels: Wilson saw his ERA balloon to a lofty 4.51 last year, but his first 2015 start was a gem against the Mariners. He went eight shutout innings, only allowing two hits and a walk while striking out two. He is not going to hit 200 strikeouts again anytime soon, but his ERA and WHIP shouldn’t hurt if you use him wisely. His next start comes Sunday against the Royals. He is a great option in that one and moving forward.

Bartolo Colon, Mets: The ageless Colon was borderline dominant on Opening Day against the Nationals. He gets the Braves on Sunday, which looks like another great start for him. Roll with him til the wheels fall off!

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    • Henderson Alvarez, Marlins: Alvarez won’t get you the strikeouts that Holland or Kennedy would, but I am a fan of Alvarez. He rarely gets hit hard, and is good at inducing outs. He tied for the major league lead in shutouts last year. He pitched well against the Braves in his first start, and he has another great start on tap for Sunday against the Rays. Alvarez is a guy that you might not want to throw back when your regulars come back. He should be a big help to your ERA and WHIP. Especially if you were one of the unfortunate ones who owned Mat Latos in his Marlins debut.

    Trevor Bauer, Indians: Bauer has topped prospect lists for quite some time. He was brilliant in his first start against the Astros, striking out 11 in six innigs without allowing a run. Yes, we must temper our excitement because it was against the all-or-nothing Astros, but he could be an asset in favorable matchups. He has one of those in his next start against the White Sox.

    Tim Hudson, Giants: We add another ageless one to the list. Hudson was oustanding against the Padres on Thursday, and has a good one coming against the Rockies at home next week. The Rockies punished the Brewers in the first couple of games, but Hudson should still give you a good start. He doesn’t really strike anyone out anymore, but he can still help your ERA and WHIP.

    In other news, the Twins have placed Ricky Nolasco in the disabled list, although if you were desperate enough to use him, you are likely in an AL only league. I don’t even own Nolasco as a Twins fan in a league with 40 man rosters. It should go without saying that you would probably be better off streaming the entire season than rolling with Nolasco anyway. The intriguing piece to this puzzle will be who the Twins decide to call up. If it is Alex Meyer, he is worth a shot in deeper leagues.

    Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all of the latest pickups for you baseball teams!

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