Fantasy Baseball 2019 Week 5 Injury Replacements

With all of these players injured, fantasy baseball owners are looking to find replacements to fill in.

As bad as it sounds, injuries are a part of fantasy baseball. Even if you draft the best possible team on paper, you need a little bit of luck for your players to avoid the injury bug. And unless you can predict injuries, there’s no way around it.

Trea Turner owners were on a high after the first week as he recorded four steals and two home runs. He hasn’t played since April 2. The same could be said for any fantasy owner who has a Yankees player on their roster. Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks. Any of them.

There were a few top names that are owned in a majority of leagues added to the IL this week. Some of the starting pitchers may miss only one or two starts. The hitters, on the other hand, will miss anywhere from one week to the rest of the season.

Let’s stop avoiding the inevitable. Here are the newly injured players their valuable replacements.

Fernando Tatis Jr., SD

The top Padres prospect has hit really well since joining the team. He has a .300 average with six home runs and 13 RBIs. His rookie season is on pause as he deals with a left hamstring strain.

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Tatis is eligible to return on May 10 but may need extra time to recover. In the team time, the Padres have two options at shortstop. They could use Greg Garcia at shortstop or move Manny Machado over and start Ty France at third base.

If you are looking for a replacement shortstop, Carter Kieboom is available but is in a bit of a slump.

A.J. Pollock, LAD

The Dodgers big offseason acquisition couldn’t keep off the IL. Pollock went for testing on his infected elbow and it was revealed he needs to have the growth plate and screws removed from his right elbow.

While it was not confirmed, Pollock will likely miss the rest of the season. If he’s not already added, Alex Verdugo is the top outfielder to add. He will get consistent playing time in one of the best lineups in the league.

Anthony Rendon, WSH

The Nationals did not do fantasy owners any favors by having Rendon play on April 26. He already missed four games and could have had his IL stint retroactivated to April 21, but those three at-bats must have been very important.

He missed three more games after that before landing on the IL on April 30. He’s eligible to return on May 7. The veteran is hitting at a high level with six home runs, 18 RBIs and a .353 average.

My top replacement option is Michael Chavis of Boston. He’s getting a lot of playing time at second base, but has third base eligibility. Chavis is hitting .381 with two homers and six RBI in his last seven games.

Chris Archer, PIT

Archer did not look good in his last start, allowing six runs in four innings. He was later placed on the IL with right thumb inflammation. Reports say his stay on the IL won’t last more than the minimum 10 days, so he’ll likely miss just two starts.

If you are looking for a replacement starter for those two weeks, Reynaldo Lopez has looked good recently and has a favorable start against Oakland coming up.

Jeurys Familia, NYM

The Mets set-up man landed on the IL with a sore shoulder. He’s given up four runs over his last 3.2 innings. An MRI taken Wednesday revealed a Bennett lesion (an issue similar to a bone spur), Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Familia received an injection Wednesday and will be out for at least 10 days. The Mets hope he’s ready when he’s eligible to come off the IL. The use of the word hope doesn’t give me much of it in terms of his recovery time.

A good replacement reliever is Blake Parker in Minnesota. He has six saves and two holds and is owned in less than 30 percent of ESPN leagues.

Carlos Rodon, CWS

Rodon was placed on the 10-day IL with left elbow inflammation. He’s had a decent amount of strikeouts this season, 46, but the walk rate is a bit too high.

The severity of the issue is unknown so he may be missing more than just the 10 days. If you’re in a deeper league with Rodon on your roster, I would look to drop him for someone else. Aaron Sanchez has looked good recently and maybe a change of scenery could help his value.

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The injuries are piling up after the first month of the season. If you manage what players are on your IL and who to add as fill-ins, you should be able to stay afloat until they return.

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Fantasy Baseball 2019 Week 5 Injury Recap

By Bill Pivetz | May 3, 2019