Baseball fans already had enough to complain about in South Beach. The owner is an embarrassment to both their city and the National Pastime, and the team was stripped of any legitimate major league talent between the All-Star break of 2012 and the off-season. All of that money the City of Miami donated via a tax measure to build what is still one of the ugliest stadiums in all of baseball, now sits empty. The sounds of crickets are louder than that of cheering, or in Miami’s case, jeering fans.
Monday night, the Miami Marlins‘ lost their superstar.
Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton pulled a hamstring during the Marlins’ extra-inning affair with the New York Mets. Miami placed their slugger on the 15-day disabled list, and as any fantasy owner knows, hamstring injuries can linger. What do you do in the meantime? Let’s look at a couple of options that are readily available in most public standard fantasy baseball leagues:
Nate McLouth, OF, Baltimore Orioles: Currently owned in about 1% of leagues the oft-injured McLouth has been a favorite of fantasy owners over the last handful of years, because when he’s hot, he is scorching hot. He quickly gets picked up in leagues far and wide, and when he goes cold, owners cut him loose just as quickly. Over the last seven days, McLouth is raking at the clip of .545, with a bomb, six runs batted in, and four stolen bases. If he is still available in in free agency PICK HIM UP NOW! In ESPN standard leagues,
Garrett Jones, OF/1B, Pittsburgh Pirates: Owned in about 56% of standard leagues, Jones is also a streaky hitter who happens to be hot right now, and is multi-position eligible. Over Jones’ last seven, he is hitting .389 with one home run, four driven in, and has scored four runs. He provides a cheap power source that any owner should be able to pick up and dump throughout the season as needed.
Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals came out of Monday night’s game with tightness in his right forearm. Any issue with his pitching arm is cause for concern. He had “Tommy John Surgery” less than three years ago and was on an innings limit as he recovered, which many fans believe directly impacted the Nats’ run to World Series glory in 2012. Strasburg is listed as day-to-day, but, “Aren’t we all?” If Strasburg doesn’t feel better over the next couple of days, expect a DL-stint and be cautious. Starting pitching is plentiful, and you have a couple of really nice options.
Patrick Corbin, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks: Rather than looking at his last seven, since pitchers go every five days, we’ll broaden the window to fifteen days. Corbin has posted three quality starts, one win, nineteen strikeouts against only three free passes. His 2.14 earned run average shows he is a quality, low cost starter. Corbin is owned in just over 23% of standard leagues.
Tony Cingrani, RP, Cincinnati Reds:“How is a reliever going to help me replace Strasburg?” No worries, Cingrani is indeed listed as a reliever, but has taken several turns through the rotation and is a strikeout machine. He was brought up to the big club to replace the injured Johnny Cueto, and he’s pitched so well, it appears he is going to stick while fellow starter Mike Leake is most likely headed to either the bullpen or will get sent down upon Cueto’s return. Cingrani over his last fifteen, has posted three wins, an astounding twenty-eight strikeout, with only four walks. He has swung and miss stuff, and his 1.50 E.R.A. Translates into huge point gains every time he takes the mound. He isn’t a pick up and dump type of player. He’s a great plug in for the Strasburg injury, but he should be on your roster as long as he continues to pitch this well.
As more impact injuries occur during the week, return with viable options to keep fantasy baseball team in the thick of the pennant race!