Ryan Zimmerman (3B—Nationals) The Nationals will be placing Ryan Zimmerman on the DL with an abdominal strain that will likely keep him out somewhere around three weeks. This is a big blow to the Nats and to fantasy rosters as they will lose one of their best players and a top five third baseman. Zimmerman had been off to a hot start hitting .357 with a .536 SLG despite only hitting 8.3% of balls for line drives. Although, he would have cooled off somewhat, Zimmerman is still good for 25+ home run season with a potential for 30 or more although this will now be difficult to obtain with the stint on the DL. Hold on to Zimmerman and keep him on your bench for now. More than likely the Nationals will split time at third between Jerry Hairston and Roger Bernadina who will provide significant drops in value over the talented Zimmerman.
Rafael Furcal (SS—Dodgers) The Dodger’s Rafael Furcal is headed to the DL after suffering a broken thumb when sliding into third base on Monday night. You just knew it was going to happen as Furcal can’t seem to stay off the DL for any length of time and is estimated to be out somewhere between four to six weeks. Furcal was off to a slow start prior to the injury batting just .192 with an OBP of .250 but he has the potential to be a force at shortstop when healthy. Fantasy owners will need to scramble for a replacement as utility infielder Jamey Carroll will probably back-fill Furcal in the interim which probably won’t excite too many people. We also may see prospect Ivan De Jesus in that role as he was recalled Tuesday. De Jesus would be a reach in N.L.-only leagues for owners who can be patient with him.
Hunter Pence (OF—Astros) Season to season, there are few players that seem to wind up with almost the exact same numbers as Hunter Pence. Pence has hit exactly 25 home runs the past three years in a row. He’s batted exactly .282 the past two seasons but was fairly close to that number in 2008 when he hit .269. You can count on him for around 15 stolen bases and around 80 to 90 RBI. This season, Pence is off to a good start hitting .293 going into Tuesday’s games with a .341 OBP. He went 3-for- Tuesday, raising his BA to .326. Pence has also improved upon his strikeouts from year to year showing a better than 3.5% improvement over the past three seasons with improved contract rates of over 4%. Although this year is young, Pence has been swinging and missing considerably more at a rate of almost 27%. This will probably even itself out as we have seen that Pence has put up reliable and consistent numbers year to year that make him a good third outfield option.
Ian Stewart (3B—Rockies) Fantasy owners have to be concerned about Ian Stewart even though the season is barely two weeks old. Having started the season with some illness and some stomach virus, you would think that he would start to get his bat going, but such is not the case. Stewart has just one hit on the season and even more disturbing is that he is loading up on strikeouts having whiffed more than 50% of the time. The Rockies have plenty of options at third base to replace Stewart if he continues to slide. Ty Wiggington and Jose Lopez are both viable options should Stewart continue to falter. It’s a shame because Stewart has got skills, good power and should hit for a decent average but his expanding strike zone, poor contact rate (75%) will test owners patience. With the Rockies winning, they can afford to be somewhat patient with him, but how long that will last remains to be seen before he loses significant playing time.
Jose Reyes (SS—Mets) Looking like a man on a quest for a big contract, Jose Reyes came into spring training looking lean, mean and ready for business. With an average of .340 and a .372 BHIP, he’s been having some very good success. So far this year he has cut down on his strikeouts (8.5%) and is making better contract (90.4%), but he has been hitting far too many fly balls (45%) for a guy who should be utilizing his speed more. Being a lead-off hitter and not being an on-base kind of player, it will be interesting to see if the Mets are willing to spend big money on him. If not, you can bet dollars to doughnuts that Reyes will be playing for some contending team before the year is out as the Mets will certainly not let Reyes go to free agency and get just draft picks in return. As long as Reyes remains healthy, expect good things from him this year.
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