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Blue Jays Place Marcus Stroman on DL: Fantasy impact

By Bill Pivetz

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 02: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of the game on May 2, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 02: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of the game on May 2, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman was placed on the DL with shoulder fatigue. Should fantasy owners hold onto the struggling pitcher?

The Blue Jays are dealing with a lot right now. While they got third baseman Josh Donaldson back, the team will be without closer Roberto Osuna for an undisclosed amount of time and will not be without pitcher Marcus Stroman for a minimum of 10 days.

Stroman has been struggling to start the 2018 season. In seven starts, he has a 7.71 ERA, 1.714 WHIP, 7.7 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9. This comes off of a spectacular 2017 season where he finished eighth in AL Cy Young voting and won a Gold Glove.

Stroman has given up 32 runs and struck out 32 while walking 18 in just 37.1 innings this season. It doesn’t help that he’s faced the Yankees and Rangers twice, two of the top-10 scoring teams in the month of May.

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Stroman also lost over a mile per hour on his fastball from last season to this. According to MLB Trade Rumors, Toronto’s announcement of the injury did not include any timetable for his return nor “did it include a specific injury or indicate that any further testing, such as an MRI, is on the horizon.”

With that news and his performance to start the year, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Stroman is still rostered. Unless you’re in an AL-only or a deep 14-team league, he is worth dropping to the waiver wire. He lost 6.9 percent ownership in ESPN leagues and five percent in CBS Sports leagues.

If you need a pitcher to fill in his place, Caleb Smith has put together a nice string of starts. Domingo German has a nice matchup against Oakland coming up. Zach Eflin posted back-to-back quality start and can make it three in a row against the Mets on Saturday.

Stroman posted three good seasons between 2014 and 2017. He missed most of the 2015 season but made four starts at the end of the year. If he can get his shoulder back in order, whatever that entails, then he could finish strong in the second half. With the number of pitchers already hurt, it’s hard to keep another one on your team.

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Stroman is still among the league leaders in groundball rate at 60.5 percent. He just needs to limit the number of hits and walks he allows. That’s easier said than done but he’s done it before. Having a good defense behind him helps get batters out, too. Even when healthy, it’s hard to imagine keeping Stroman rostered. It all depends on how you and your league values him.

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