Yankees Jordan Montgomery Out 6 To 8 Weeks: Fantasy impact
By Bill Pivetz
Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery will miss six to eight weeks. How do his fantasy owners replace his surprising production?
The Yankees have been on a hot streak over the last couple of weeks, winning nine of their last 10. They may lose a few more games over the next few weeks as they will be without pitcher Jordan Montgomery for six to eight weeks with a flexor strain.
Montgomery was getting some traction in ESPN leagues, owned in 34.2 percent of leagues as of this writing. He was already owned in 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues. Unfortunately, those owners that thought they found a sleeper star on the waivers will have to find another one.
Montgomery pitched only one inning in his Tuesday start before being removed from the game due to an elbow problem. An MRI revealed a flexor strain in his left arm and will be out six to eight weeks. He will not perform any baseball activities for the first two weeks, as tweeted by WFAN’s Sweeny Murti.
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This is a bigger blow to the Yankees rotation. Montgomery has come into his own this season and was becoming one of the team’s best pitchers. In six starts, he posted a 3.62 ERA, 1.354 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and a 2-0 record. He also increased his groundball rate and lowered his fly ball rate from last season
The Yankees aren’t without options, though. If you are in an AL-only or deep league, Domingo German is likely to take Montgomery’s next start. He’s owned in just 0.4 percent of ESPN leagues.
They also have prospects Chance Adams and Justus Sheffield. The former has struggled in Triple-A while the latter is shining in Double-A.
Looking outside of the Yankees organization, there are plenty of one-time waiver options to pick up. If you need a more long-term answer, Nick Kingham looks to have a spot in the Pirates rotation. Junior Guerra and Tyler Mahle are names I’ve mentioned before.
Going deeper, Caleb Smith of Miami and Marco Gonzalez in Seattle are two more pitchers worth adding.
Next: Should you add Tyler Mahle?
The starting pitching pool is draining very quickly. With more pitchers getting hurt and the rest struggling, fantasy owners are looking for a stopgap early in the season. Stash Montgomery, if you can, on your DL and pick up one of the names I mentioned. They aren’t Max Scherzer good but they’re good enough for a Montgomery replacement.