Cardinals: Fantasy Outlook after Losing Alex Reyes

By Bill Pivetz | Feb 21, 2017

Sep 29, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Alex Reyes (61) celebrates after getting the final out of the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cardinals announced last Wednesday that their young starting pitcher Alex Reyes will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2017 season.

The St. Louis Cardinals hopes of taking back the National League Central might have just been crushed. The team announced that 22-year-old pitcher Alex Reyes will miss the whole 2017 season after electing to undergo Tommy John surgery. With the rotation looking a little bleak, what is the fantasy impact of the injury?

Reyes first showed signed of trouble on Feb. 10 when he reported pain. He was then under evaluation on Tuesday before it was revealed that he had a full tear of his ulnar collateral ligament. He will likely be back on the mound in early 2018. But the focus is on this season.

The Cardinals rotation features Carlos Martinez, Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, and Mike Leake. I talked about each of their values in my Cardinals preview piece here. I have all but Leake ranked in my top 300. The fifth rotation spot has yet to be determined.

More from Fantasy Baseball

St. Louis has some in-house options to replace Reyes. Michael Wacha, Luke Weaver, and former closer Trevor Rosenthal will all be looked at during Spring Training. The only one I would feel good about drafting would be Rosenthal. The downside is that it’s been a few seasons since he started a game.

The only one I would feel good about drafting would be Rosenthal. The downside is that it’s been a few seasons since he started a game.

Looking at the free agent market, there are a couple of veteran options the Cardinals could sign. Doug Fister, Colby Lewis, and Jake Peavy are available. With the struggles all three have had in the past, it would be a big risk to draft any of them for your team.

Reyes’ time in the majors was short, but he made an impact. In 46 innings, he posted a 1.57 ERA, 1.217 WHIP, 52 strikeouts, 23 walks, and a 4-1 record. There were glaring improvements he needed to make, like limiting hits and walks, but Reyes didn’t allow many of them to score.

Next: Is 2017 the season for James Paxton?

I didn’t have Reyes ranked in my top 300 only because the sample size was too small. If he pitched at least 100 innings, then this would be a different story. One site had him at No. 111 while another ranked him at No. 192. His ADP was 147.0. This was a big hit to an arguably shallow starting pitching position.

Home/Fantasy Baseball