Alfonso Soriano Injury And Other Injury Implications

by faketeams on Jun 12, 2008 9:02 AM EDT in Baseball

Over the past couple days, there have been a slew of significant injuries to fantasy studs - three 1st or 2nd round hitters and two top closers. This roster destruction creates opportunity. Here is a lst of those five along with where I see the fantasy opportunity.

C Victor Martinez Cleveland Indians - VMart injured his elbow to compound the lingering hamstring injury he suffered on Opening Day. Kelly Shoppach immediately becomes a John Buck-esque fantasy option - double digit pop with a .250ish AVG.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Kelly Shoppach	31	80	10	18	4	0	3	7	4	27	0	0	.225	.279	.387

OF Alfonso Soriano Chicago Cubs - Soriano is back on the D.L. with a broken hand. 2B Mark DeRosa moves to the OF. His near-.900 OPS means he is likely rostered in most leagues. 2B Mike Fontenot takes over for now. If the Cubs decide to recall Eric Patterson, and play him, he could be a sleeper for cheap steals.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Mark DeRosa	61	208	40	65	13	0	8	35	29	46	3	0	.313	.398	.490

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Mike Fontenot	51	88	16	21	7	0	2	12	12	16	2	0	.239	.337	.386

1B Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals - The season opened with fantasy players worrying about Pujols' elbow and now he has hit the D.L. with a strained calf. Joe Mather and Chris Duncan are the main beneficiaries. OF Ryan Ludwick is going to hit 3rd so he could see an uptick in RBIs if he continues to hit.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Chris Duncan	48	131	20	33	5	0	4	16	22	32	1	1	.252	.357	.382

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Joe Mather	12	34	5	7	1	0	1	3	6	8	0	0	.206	.325	.324

Closer J.J. Putz Seattle Mariners - Putz was pulled mid-inning with right elbow pain. Brandon Morrow took over and closed out the game. he is the leader for saves, but be wary. He had been shut down recently with a sore shoulder. I can see the M's utilizing a committee to close games if Putz is out for a significant amount of time.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2008 - Brandon Morrow	0-1	22	0	0	0	1	0	18.0	12	4	2	2	7	25	1.00	1.06

Closer Rafael Soriano Atlanta Braves - Want an idea of what the Mariners' save distribution could look like if Putz returns to the D.L.? Look at the Braves. Since Soriano went on the D.L. on April 7th, more than two months ago, Manny Acosta leads the Braves in Saves with three. Soriano returned from the D.L. two weeks ago, he notched two saves. Four other players have a save. Expect Mike Gonzalez to return from the D.L. and Tommy John surgery and immediately become the seventh Braves relieve rto notch a save.