Top 25 Injured Players to Stash: Fantasy Baseball Week 20

Welcome back RotoBallers to another weekly edition of the Injured Players to Stash for Fantasy Baseball series, as we prepare for Week 20 of the 2024 MLB season. Today we list the top 25 high-profile injured MLB players who are worthy of a continued spot on your roster while imploring you to pick up lesser-rostered players who could help you, like Triston Casas and Tommy Edman.

When productive players are injured, some fantasy folks will be forced to dump them to the waiver wire, depending on league rules and context. This represents an opportunity for you, especially if you have room on your bench to stash an injured hitter or pitcher cheaply now before they come back on the radar.

We look to Yahoo for the roster percentages and will highlight five key players nearing a return who could be under the radar right now. Below is my list of 25 players who are injured, and have their status and injuries listed to keep handy for you.

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Top-25 Injured Players for Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy Baseball Players to Monitor Closely

Triston Casas, 1B - Boston Red Sox

Rostered: 69% Yahoo
Estimated Return: Early August 

Despite the missed time, I am still very high on Casas. He is beginning a rehab assignment this week and could be back in the next week or ten days. Casas had a bizarre injury for a baseball player: a rib strain with torn cartilage. He has been out since late April, and a return to the Red Sox soon would buffet their playoff hopes. They have been treading water with guys like Dom Smith and Romy Gonzalez (who has been hot since the All-Star break), but a return to form by Casas would give them a huge power boost in the middle of their lineup.

Casas is hitting .244 with six home runs and 10 RBI. The time to roster him if you need help at first base is immediately. Casas is just scratching the surface of his vast potential and should give you a power bat the rest of the way. If you are not using Baseball Savant's new bat tracking graphs, I show you one below that charts Casas' bat speed plotted against the league average. Take a look below.

Fernando Tatis Jr., - San Diego Padres

Rostered: 99% Yahoo
Estimated Return: mid-August 

Fantasy players do not drop guys like Tatis Jr. But if you have held on to him this long, keep holding. He could be a difference-maker down the stretch for both your team and his team, the San Diego Padres, who are fighting for their playoff lives. The team desperately needs him, but his return from a quadriceps injury is taking longer than anticipated. Part of the reason for that is that the superstar had been playing hurt for some time, likely exacerbating the injury.

His latest MRI at the end of last week showed healing and a subsiding of swelling, but now the question is how quickly he can ramp up without pain or re-injury. The best timeline right now is a mid-Ausguet return for Tatis Jr. He is hitting .279 with 14 home runs, 36 RBI, eight stolen bases and 50 runs scored for the Padres this season.

Jacob deGrom - Texas Rangers

Rostered: 60% Yahoo
Estimated Return: Late August?

We learned last weekend that deGrom is progressing well in his rehabilitation from Tommy John last June. He has thrown two successful bullpen sessions without pain which is a key step in his recovery. The velocity is climbing, and he is slated to face live hitters on this current road trip after throwing two more bullpen sessions. I know what you are thinking and I feel that: the guy cannot stay healthy; he's had 15, 11, and 6 starts in the last three seasons. But if the Rangers peak at the right time, they could have their ace back for meaningful games in the last six weeks of the season. In case you need a reminder of deGrom's ridiculousness, see his K% chart listed below. That should be enticing enough for you to add him now.

Tommy Edman, 2B/SS/OF - Los Angeles Dodgers

Rostered: 27% Yahoo
Estimated Return: Early August

The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Edman on Monday in a three-way trade with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox. Edman has yet to play this season due to wrist and ankle issues, but the Dodgers seem to feel he is close to being available to play. He will be a jack-of-all-trades for them, with the ability to play second base, shortstop, third base, and all three outfield positions as well. Edman's calling cards are good contact rates, speed, and Gold Glove defense.

Edman has stolen at least 27 bases in each of the last three seasons with batting averages in the .260 range. With the injuries to Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas, Edman figures to see daily playing time when he is ready.

Kerry Carpenter, OF - Detroit Tigers 

Rostered: 39% Yahoo
Estimated Return: Mid-August (estimated)

Carpenter has been out since May with a lumber spine stress fracture. He had a setback when running at the end of June, and the Tigers have been quiet on the plan for him.  Rumor has it that he was hoping to get out on a rehab assignment by the end of July, but we are at that point in time now.  Carpenter excels at getting on base, with an xwOBA of .380 before the injury. He also hits for a good batting average (.283 through 163 plate appearances) and power (eight home runs after hitting 20 last season). If he makes it back and is healthy, Carpenter can be a cheap source of home runs and batting average for you. If you can stash him, do so; I have him on multiple teams, hoping for a return.

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