It's only right that our first Worryometer Wednesday comes on the day we find out Fernando Tatis has a slight tear in his shoulder. This instantly becomes the biggest risk-reward scenario in Fantasy Baseball. There's a chance Tatis returns in two weeks and is that top-five hitter we all expected him to be. On the other hand, this injury could linger all year and you wind up getting nothing from your first-round pick. As you'll learn, I'm a little more pessimistic than Chris Towers on the situation.
Every team but the Indians and Royals was in action Tuesday so there was no shortage of action. We had aces who looked like aces and even a three-homer game by Ryan McMahon! What matters more for us is that Nate Lowe also had a multi-homer game and is rostered in just 41% of CBS leagues. If you're in need of power, a first baseman or a utility bat, he's your guy. Outside of Tatis, find out who else made it onto our first Worryometer of the season below and on the podcast.
And of course, you can subscribe to make sure you get the latest episodes of Fantasy Baseball Today right when they drop on Apple and Spotify.
Tatis injury update
Padres SS Fernando Tatis left Monday's game after suffering a left shoulder subluxation, and we now know he has a slight tear in his left shoulder. We also know that he will be placed on the IL. However, the silver lining here is that the Padres GM confirmed they'll try the rest and rehab route with the expectation that Tatis will return in 10 days.
As I said on Fantasy Baseball Today, if Tatis returns in as few as 10 days, I will eat my hat! I won't actually take it that far, but I have no faith Tatis will return in 10 days.
Chris is a little more optimistic that Tatis can come back in a short time period and play with a brace based on players who have played through this injury and maintained a high level of play before -- specifically, Hanley Ramirez, who returned from it in five days.
Ha-seong Kim is 37% rostered. He started at shortstop and batted seventh for the Padres on Tuesday. He's someone to keep on your radar if you're in need of MI help.
More news and notes
- Dodgers OF Cody Bellinger did not play on Tuesday night after taking a spike to his lower-calf area in Monday's series opener against the Athletics. He underwent tests on the injury on Tuesday. According to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, these tests showed no structural damage or fractures to his lower left leg. However, Bellinger has already been ruled out for Wednesday and Roberts would not rule out an IL stint.
- Mariners SP James Paxton started screaming up draft boards over the final week after a dominant spring, but his bad injury luck continues. Paxton left his 2021 debut start after just 24 pitches with left elbow discomfort. Paxton looked visibly angry when he was forced to leave the game. Since Paxton was limited to just five starts in 2020 due to elbow (flexor tendon) issues, it's possible he could be in for a long IL stint.
- We finally found out who is out for the Nationals after their COVID-19 issues: 1B Josh Bell, OF Kyle Schwarber, 2B Josh Harrison, C Yan Gomes, C Alex Avila, SP Patrick Corbin, SP Jon Lester and RP Brad Hand.
- Diamondbacks SP Zac Gallen is scheduled to pitch Wednesday at the D-Backs' alternate site. He threw a 60-pitch simulated game over the weekend, so it sounds like he might be getting close. If you can still acquire on the cheap, I think you should.
- Marlins updates: SP Elieser Hernandez was sent for an MRI on his right biceps. 1B Garrett Cooper was activated off the COVID IL.
- Athletics 1B Matt Olson was out of the lineup Tuesday as he's dealing with a knee contusion he suffered sliding for a catch. An MRI showed no structural damage.
- Brewers OF Lorenzo Cain is day-to-day with an oblique issue. He was dealing with a quad injury during spring training.
- The Rays placed OF Kevin Kiermaier on the 10-day injured list with a left quad strain. This helps OF Manuel Margot stay in the lineup everyday -- he's currently 51% rostered and has five hits in his first four games -- plus he has seven games next week. Margot had 12 steals last year in 47 games.
- Diamondbacks RP Joakim Soria was placed on the 10-day IL with that left calf strain. Chris Devenski and Kevin Ginkel will likely man the back-end of Arizona's bullpen.
- Blue Jays C Danny Jansen was out with a sore knee Tuesday. C Alejandro Kirk started in his place.
- Giants 2B Tommy La Stella was scratched from the lineup Tuesday due to upper back tightness.
- The Yankees acquired 2B Rougned Odor from the Rangers, who will pay the remaining $27 million on his contract. The Yankees sent two prospects in return.
- Red Sox SP Eduardo Rodriguez is expected to start against the Orioles later this week.
Fantasy Baseball Today Newsletter
Your Cheat Code To Fantasy Baseball
You're destined to gain an edge over your friends with advice from the award-winning FBT crew.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
Tuesday's OMGG player
Chris Towers' pick: Marlins SP Sandy Alcantara
Alcantara continued his torrid start to the season by looking really good again in his second start despite it ending in a loss to St. Louis. Alcantara racked up 10 strikeouts in 6 innings and allowed three runs (two earned) in a start that was more dominant than the final stat line shows. At one point, he struck out six batters in a row. The Cardinals hit just one ball out of the infield. He had 14 swinging strikes on 93 pitches and was working up in the zone with his four-seamer. He's averaging 97.9 MPH with his fastball and his slider averaged 2 MPH more than he did last year. It really looks like he has figured it out and turned into the ace pitcher he had the potential to become.
My pick: Rangers 1B Nate Lowe
Lowe went 2 for 3, including two home runs for a total of four RBI on Tuesday night vs. the Blue Jays. He now has a league-leading 14 RBI through just 21 at bats with a 1.266 OPS. The 25-year-old has three home runs on the year and he is still just 41% rostered on CBS. I'm ready to move him up to 17th on my 1B ranks ahead of Andrew Vaughn.
Worryometer Wednesday
Is it time to start getting worried about players off to a freezing cold start? Let's dive into some of the coldest players in the game right now and where we stand. For those who don't remember the Worryometer from last year, we'll name a player and then throw out a number on a 1-10 scale that reflects how worried we are about said player. The higher the number, the more worried we are!
White Sox 1B Andrew Vaughn
Vaughn is 0 for 9 with five strikeouts and one walk. He hit a double today at 105 MPH off the bat, but Chris is putting a 3 on his Worryometer for Vaughn simply because he is not playing enough right now.
Brewers 1B/2B Keston Hiura
After a putrid 2020 season from a batting average standpoint, Hiura has started 2021 going 0 for 15 with eight strikeouts and a 31% swinging strike rate. Hiura, who was held out of the lineup on Tuesday, is seeing a lot of breaking/off-speed stuff early on that he is struggling mightily with. Chris is putting a 6 or 7 on his Worryometer because Hiura looks lost right now as a hitter. This is the exact opposite of what we needed to see after 2020.
Braves 2B Ozzie Albies
Albies is now 0 for 16 with three strikeouts, but his expected batting average was .363 entering Tuesday. Chris is dropping a 0 here on his Worryometer. He has put 13 balls in play and has gotten very unlucky so far. There's nothing to worry about here.
Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers
Devers started the season 1 for 15 with four strikeouts before going 2 for 5 with an RBI on Tuesday night. However, he is typically a slow starter: He has a .715 OPS for his career in April, by far his lowest of any month. Chris is putting a 0 on his Worryometer because Devers is typically a slow starter.
Indians SS Andres Gimenez
Chris had concerns about Gimenez as a hitter to start the season and now has a 5 on his Worryometer. I agree with Chris -- but if anyone drops him in a Roto or categories league you should pounce because there is still a chance he can steal 25 bases this season.
Nationals SP Max Scherzer
Scherzer allowed four home runs (but only one total hit allowed otherwise) in six innings on Tuesday and the velocity was fine (at about what it was last season). All of his secondary pitches looked great. He finished with 91 pitches and basically only four of them were bad, so Chris has a 0 on his Worryometer with Scherzer, a pitcher who entered 2021 as his SP4.
Padres SP Chris Paddack
Chris has a 4 on his Worryometer because Paddack still doesn't feature a third pitch -- he doesn't have a feel for his curveball. The talk this offseason was that he had figured out his issues from 2020 and was ready to get back to 2019, but if he continues to struggle this way, that Worryometer will keep going up.
Athletics SP Frankie Montas
Chris has a 3 or 4 on Montas. He's less worried about him than Paddack because of the cost. The stakes are lower, but the biggest issue in his first start was that he was struggling to locate his splitter and slider. On the positive side, his velocity and spin rates were up. Don't drop him now.
Bullpen updates
Atlanta Braves: Will Smith entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied. He allowed a single, HBP and RBI single to Juan Soto. Smith takes the loss in this one but should still be the front runner for the job.
Detroit Tigers: Bryan Garcia pitched in the fifth inning Tuesday. Gregory Soto pitched in the ninth and 10th innings with the game tied at the time. He escaped some major trouble in that 10th inning with the runner that starts on second base rule. Soto wound up with the win.
Houston Astros: Ryan Pressley pitched the eighth and ninth and wound up with the win.
Los Angeles Angels: It was not the best start for one of my favorite relief pitcher targets this draft season in Raisel Iglesias. He entered with the game tied and allowed two runs on three hits. He is so bad in non-save opportunities (3.38 ERA) for whatever reason despite having a 2.44 career ERA in save situations. There is nothing to worry about here job security wise.
St. Louis Cardinals: Alex Reyes picks up his second save after recording four outs with one strikeout. Giovanny Gallegos pitched in the seventh. Reyes is still only 55% rostered!
Tampa Bay Rays: Diego Castillo allowed a game-tying home run to Christian Vazquez on an 0-2 pitch in the ninth. Castillo does look like the guy though ... for now. Peter Fairbanks recorded the four outs leading up to the ninth.
Texas Rangers: Ian Kennedy had a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save with the Rangers up three runs. Matt Bush allowed a run in the eighth. Kennedy is still only 33% rostered.
