This was one of those weeks where we had more players land on the injured list (IL) than come off of it. That’s one of the strangest things I’ve noticed about this article because it feels like we trade off every week. We’re certainly hoping that’ll be the case next week because many of these guys are projected to return sometime in the next week. That’s what we love to hear as fantasy managers, but we have to anticipate injuries to keep flowing in.
With that in mind, let’s dive into this week’s fantasy baseball injury updates and rankings.
- Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Trade Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Start/Sit Lineup Advice
- Rest-of-Season Rankings
- Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Baseball Injury Stashes (Week 10)
Here are fantasy baseball injury updates for ailing pitchers.
Pitchers to Stash Right Now
This is the final week Evan Phillips will be in this article. The elite closer has been participating in rehab games in his recovery from a hamstring strain and is projected to be back with the Dodgers by Friday.
Bobby Miller has been on a rehab assignment with Phillips, and it’ll be nice for L.A. to get some reinforcements. The starter is further behind than Phillips, throwing 55 pitches across three innings in his most recent rehab start. He’s projected to throw at least four innings in his next start this weekend and will probably need one more rehab start after that.
Gerrit Cole is about to start the most important step of his lengthy rehabilitation. The Cy Young winner is finally about to start a rehab assignment next week, facing live hitters multiple times this week. Since this stud missed the opening two months with an elbow issue, look for him to make at least a few rehab starts to build up his pitch count. A June return is looking likely, though.
Zach Eflin has played catch twice this week and is expected to throw a bullpen session today. He was put on the IL on May 19 with a back issue and could be back next week if Tampa decides to forgo a rehab assignment. We expect Eflin to only need one before he is ready to return to the Rays rotation.
Max Scherzer appeared as though he’d be back by now when he had a rehab start on April 25, but he’s been stalled since then. The veteran suffered a thumb injury in that start and had to restart his program. After some rest, Scherzer threw a “full” bullpen session on Wednesday. It’s unclear what that means, but it’s an encouraging step before an inevitable rehab start in the coming weeks. A June return is still possible, but we need to hear more over the coming days.
Edwin Diaz is the most recent addition to the IL, suffering a shoulder impingement on Wednesday. The closer was struggling mightily before that move to the IL, so it might be a good time to get him right. We haven’t had any updates since this just happened, but a minimum stay on the IL seems unlikely, given how bad the Mets have been.
This is our first time putting Jacob deGrom in this section, and that’s an exciting development. This is the best pitcher in baseball, but he’s missed the first two months after Tommy John surgery in June of last year. He’s still not expected to be back until July at the earliest, but this guy can be the best pitcher in fantasy for the final two months if he makes a full recovery. Jacob deGrom has been throwing recently and just rejoined the team for a more extensive rehab.
Jeffrey Springs made his first rehab start on Saturday but suffered a lat strain in that game. We’re happy it wasn’t his elbow because Tampa says his removal was precautionary. That can happen in rehab but it’ll extend his absence a bit. He needs at least 3-5 more rehab starts before being ready because he is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery from last April.
Jon Gray was quietly one of the best pitchers in the American League before landing on the IL with a groin strain. We’re always more encouraged to hear pitchers suffer leg injuries than arm ailments because those absences are shorter. He could come off the IL when he’s first eligible, which would be next week. He needs an extensive bullpen session sometime this weekend if that’s going to happen, so look out for that.
Gavin Williams is inching closer to a return, making his first rehab start today. He hasn’t started a game in three months due to elbow discomfort, so it’ll likely take a few starts for him to be ready to return to Cleveland’s rotation.
On the Border Fantasy Baseball Injury Pitcher Stashes
Kodai Senga, Merrill Kelly, Cristian Javier, Devin Williams, Clayton Kershaw, Eduardo Rodriguez, Luis Garcia
Hitters to Stash Right Now
Here are fantasy baseball injury updates for hitters on the mend.
This is an exciting development. Luis Robert hasn’t played since the opening week after a severe hip injury, but he finally started a rehab assignment this week. He homered in his first game at Rookie Ball and then homered in his first game at Triple-A. This is one of the best players in fantasy, and he should be able to return to the White Sox by the time next week’s article is published.
Trea Turner was ahead of schedule when he did some sprinting on Saturday and could run the bases in the coming days. He’ll also need some batting and fielding before embarking on a rehab assignment. They said he’d be out six weeks at the beginning of May, but he could beat that timetable if this progression continues.
There was some thought Max Muncy would return when first eligible, but the slugger is still feeling his oblique. That’s a bad sign, with L.A. saying he’ll rest for at least another week before starting to swing a bat. The Dodgers want to be cautious with their third baseman, so don’t expect him back for a few weeks.
Nolan Jones was playing rehab games to correct his back issue but suffered a knee injury on that assignment. The good news is that it wasn’t severe, and Jones is expected to resume his rehab assignment this weekend. If everything goes well, Jones could be back with the Rockies sometime next week.
Royce Lewis suffered a quad strain on Opening Day and has finally progressed to rehab games. Getting to this point was a lengthy process, but Lewis is staring at the finish line by playing his first two games this weekend. Minnesota is taking things slow with their stud, and it’ll likely be at least a week of rehab games before he’s ready to return to the Twinkies. If this goes as we hope, he could return by our next article.
Tyler O’Neill landed on the IL on Wednesday and is dealing with some knee soreness. We’re still awaiting more conclusive results, but the slugger was fortunate to see just inflation on the initial MRI. Undergoing additional testing is not a term we like to hear, but he retroactively started his IL stint on Monday and could be back next week if O’Neill is cleared of anything serious. This is a situation we need to wait and see.
The future Hall-of-Famer had meniscus surgery the opening week of May and is making steady progress in his recovery. Mike Trout has been working out on an elliptical and is projected to hit a treadmill in the coming days. There are many steps until he’s ready to return, but the slugger could be back in a month if he stays the course and everything goes perfectly.
Rhys Hoskins suffered a hammy strain two weeks ago and was projected to miss 2-to-4 weeks when it happened. The first baseman resumed running drills this week and could return next week if he doesn’t suffer a setback. It sounds like Milwaukee believes he doesn’t need a rehab assignment, which is what we saw from Christian Yelich earlier in the year.
Josh Lowe just returned from an oblique strain and re-injured it last week. That earned him a spot back on the IL, but Lowe says he isn’t worried. He resumed baseball activities on Tuesday and got in a full workout. That’s a massive update, but pushing him again would be silly after that setback. Lowe could be back next week, but this is a situation we need to monitor.
Francisco Alvarez is about to beat his timetable. He is set to start a rehab assignment today. That’s a quick recovery from thumb surgery, but if his hand checks out after a few rehab outings, Alvarez could be behind the plate for the Mets next week.
On the Border Fantasy Baseball Injury Hitter Stashes
Xander Bogaerts, Evan Carter, Steven Kwan, Kerry Carpenter, Masataka Yoshida, Triston Casas, Matt McLain, Willson Contreras, Tommy Edman, TJ Friedl, Jasson Dominguez, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jung Hoo Lee, Michael Conforto, Christian Encarnacion-Strand
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Joel Bartilotta is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Joel, check out his archive and follow him @Bartilottajoel.