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Yankees: The injury bug strikes again, fantasy impact

By Bill Pivetz

Mar 30, 2016; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Dustin Fowler (95) is congratulated after scoring during the eighth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2016; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Dustin Fowler (95) is congratulated after scoring during the eighth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Yankees have been decimated by injuries over the last couple of weeks. With Dustin Fowler being the newest one, how does that impact fantasy?

It feels like I’ve written about nothing but injuries this season. The New York Yankees have had their fair share of them over the last two weeks. As a result, the front office called up top prospect Dustin Fowler.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned as he was carted off the field before he got his first at-bat. With some of their stars on the DL, what is the fantasy impact of the shallow depth chart?

Fowler was brought up after the recent injury to Aaron Hicks. The Yankees did get back Jacoby Ellsbury, but he was out with a concussion and he hasn’t hit well all season. The team has a few outfield prospects but Fowler was putting up great numbers at every level.

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He hit .281 with 12 home runs, 88 RBI and 25 steals in 132 Double-A games in 2016. This season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Fowler hit .293/.329/.542 with 13 homers, 43 RBI, 13 steals (in 18 attempts) and a 63:15 K:BB ratio.

With the Yankees competing but not going all in, the fans and fantasy owners are excited to see these young talents in the major leagues.

Outside of Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, none of them have panned out so far whether it was because of injury or just bad performance. Luckily, there is still plenty of time to sort that out.

Fowler sustained the injury when running full-speed into the right-field retaining wall in an effort to catch a foul ball. The injury will require six months of recovery. At just 22 years old, he will miss the rest of the season and rehab in preparation for 2018 Spring Training.

This is just the most recent injury to a string of injuries the Yankees have faced all season. Greg Bird was transferred to the 60-day DL with an ankle injury. Starlin Castro, Matt Holliday and another top prospect Tyler Austin were all placed on the 10-day DL over the last few days.

Tyler Wade and Miguel Andujar were both called up, but the latter was quickly sent down. MLB.com writer Bryan Hoch tweeted that Joe Girardi said Andujar was sent down to receive constant playing time at third. Despite Chase Headley not hitting well, he is still the starting third baseman.

Judge, Ellsbury and Brett Gardner make up the current Yankees outfield starters. With no other outfielders on the active roster, we could see the MLB debut of Clint Frazier soon. However, he is just hitting .257 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI in 272 Triple-A at-bats.

Next: Trea Turner Breaks Wrist: Fantasy impact

The Yankees aren’t the only team to deal with this many injuries but the significance of the injuries to some of their top hitters and prospects is high. They had a lot of holes to fill in the starting rotation already but these recent injuries make things even more difficult for them. The future is still bright for the Baby Bombers, but the present is hurting.

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