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The MLB offseason and Spring training are officially over. The regular season is here, and with it comes the daily influx of baseball news that fantasy managers missed in the winter months. Lineup news, actual games happening, constant waiver wire moves, pitching assignments, and bullpen usage.
Baseball is back, and so too is fantasy baseball, with the draft season having just wrapped up, or otherwise being very close to being wrapped up. This column aims to cover any and all fantasy baseball news, big or small, and how it pertains to your fantasy team. Spring training or the regular season, it's covered here.
Has a player who's usually been hitting in the middle of a lineup suddenly batting eighth or ninth for an extended period? The fantasy implications will be covered here. The same goes for injuries and injured placements and whether or not you should consider picking up a player who was recently called up. Basically, any kernel of fantasy news and its relevance to fantasy managers could be covered here. Today, the news of the day is the fantasy impact of reported injuries to Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager and German Marquez.
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Fantasy Baseball Impact Of Corey Seager's Hamstring Injury
Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager was placed on the 10-day injured list by the Texas Rangers on Wednesday due to a “left strained hamstring” per a tweet from the American League West club’s official Twitter account.
According to a tweet from Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday, it’s reportedly “a Grade 2 hamstring strain, minimum 4-week timeline” for Seager.
Seager was off to a strong start at the plate for Texas this season, batting .359 with a .469 on-base percentage and a home run in his first 49 plate appearances for the Rangers.
Josh H. Smith, who started on Wednesday for Texas at shortstop, could potentially step into a larger role while Seager is on the injured list, although that's purely speculative. The 25-year-old has experience at second base, shortstop, third base, and in left field, but if he receives the lion's share of the starts at shortstop, the infielder could be worth a look for fantasy managers in deeper leagues where on-base percentage is part of the scoring.
The former Yankees prospect routinely logged double-digit walk rates in the minors and has only continued that in the Majors. Smith hit .197 with a .307 on-base percentage, two home runs, and four stolen bases in 253 plate appearances last season. His walk rate finished at 11.1%, the eighth-highest among all qualified rookies.
Entering play Wednesday, he was hitting .158 with a .407 on-base percentage in 27 plate appearances. His walk rate so far this season? That would be 14.8%.
What's more, the infielder hit second after Marcus Semien in the first game since Seager was placed on the injured list. If that trend continues, he’ll be well worth a look in deeper leagues with his ability to get on base and potentially see increased RBI and run-scoring opportunities hitting in the top half of a lineup that'll also include Semien, Nathaniel Lowe, Adolis Garcia, and Josh Jung.
Fantasy Baseball Impact Of German Marquez's Injury
Colorado Rockies starting pitcher is reportedly headed to the injured list due to forearm inflammation, per a tweet from The Gazette’s Danielle Allentuck on Wednesday. Allentuck tweeted the following:
On Wednesday, per a tweet from DNVR Sports’ Patrick Lyons, it's been reported that there are “three options to take German’s spot in the #Rockies rotation on Sunday or Monday: Noah Davis, Peter Lambert, and Karl Kauffmann.”
Of the trio, Lambert has the most experience at the Major League level, with 95 total innings coming in the 2019 and 2021 seasons. He owns a lifetime 7.48 ERA and a 6.07 FIP in those 95 innings of work, making 21 starts and registering 60 strikeouts compared to 38 walks.
Davis recently made his Major League in 2022, throwing just one inning in relief for the National League West club. Kauffmann has yet to pitch in the Majors.
Regardless of who takes Marquez’s spot in the rotation, fantasy managers are probably better off looking elsewhere for streaming options.
Lambert has pitched to a 6.23 ERA and a 4.60 FIP in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this season, allowing six hits, three earned runs, and three walks in 4.1 innings spread across two starts, striking out three batters in the process.
Meanwhile, Davis has logged a 4.26 ERA and a 6.59 FIP in 12.2 Triple-A innings spanning three starts this season. The right-hander has struck out six batters while allowing 14 hits, eight runs, six earned runs, seven walks, and a home run in those 12.2 innings. He’s also hit four batters.
Kauffmann has surrendered 17 hits, 10 earned runs, five walks, three hit batters, and a home run in 15 innings at Triple-A while striking out six batters. His ERA and FIP currently sit at 6.00 and 5.57 respectively.
They’re admittedly small sample sizes for all three pitchers in a decidedly hitter-friendly league. However, given the fact that Coors Field is also decidedly hitter-friendly, fantasy managers should probably look for other rotation replacements for Marquez.
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