Wednesday wasn't the worst day of injury news we've had this season, which is mostly a testament to how tough this season has been for injuries, because it was a bad one. Before we get to Wednesday's waiver-wire targets and performance standouts, let's begin with a quick recap of the injury news you need to know about from yesterday:
- Blake Snell was placed on the IL with a moderate left adductor strain. Manager Bob Melvin said Snell could miss beyond the minimum 15 days, which is pretty tough news given Snell's poor start to the season. I'm still optimistic we'll see a must-start version of Snell at some point, but that's a lot harder to project when he isn't actually healthy.
- Cody Bellinger was placed on the IL with multiple rib fractures, which led to Pete Crow-Armstrong's promotion. I've got thoughts on Crow-Armstrong's Fantasy appeal below, but his upside makes him work chasing in Roto leagues, even after he struggled in his first taste of the majors last season.
- Lane Thomas was placed on the IL with a Grade 2 MCL sprain, and while he doesn't have a timeline to return, I'd be surprised if he was back within a month, given the severity of the injury. The Nationals did not take the opportunity to call top prospect James Wood up, which isn't a surprise; I think we won't see him until June at the earliest, though I'll admit, I hold that opinion loosely.
- Brayan Bello was placed on the IL with right lat tightness. The team is optimistic he'll be ready to return after the minimum 15 days.
- Corey Seager was removed after taking a pitch off his shin. He's off to a slow start, batting .256 with just 1 HR, .661 OPS, but I have little concern he'll get going, assuming this isn't a serious injury; we have no reason to think it is at this point.
- Merrill Kelly, who was placed on the IL earlier in the week, is expected to miss at least one month with a teres major strain in his right shoulder.
- Zack Gelof was scratched due to left oblique soreness and is likely bound for the IL. Oblique injuries have a tendency to linger, so this one might be more than just the 10-day minimum stay.
- Gavin Williams will receive an injection and be shut down for seven days after feeling right elbow discomfort Wednesday. I dropped him outside of my top 300 in the overall rankings after this setback. Anything we get from Williams is a bonus at this point, and I'm ready to drop him in leagues without an IL spot.
We've had a ton of injuries to deal with in Fantasy this season, and while things slowed down for a few days, Wednesday made up for lost time in a big way. We have no choice but to keep marching forward, and in the rest of today's newsletter, we've got some waiver-wire replacement targets to consider, plus all the rest of the news and performances you need to know about from Wednesday.
Wednesday's top waiver targets
Andy Pages, OF, Dodgers (42%) – The Dodgers teed off on the Nationals Tuesday, and Pages got in on the action down at the bottom of the order, going 3 for 5 with a homer and a double. He has homered twice in his past three games and is 7 for 27 with a .903 OPS since getting the call last week. There's some swing-and-miss in his game, but he's also playing everyday and showing the power we hoped he would – and, with an 85th percentile sprint speed, more speed than I was expecting. I'm not sure he needs to be rostered in three-OF leagues, but Pages should probably be rostered everywhere else at this point.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs (26%) – Here's hoping this time goes a bit better for Crow-Armstrong, after he was 0 for 14 with seven strikeouts in a cup of coffee last season. That's too small a sample size to draw anything from, but he's also struggled at Triple-A to open this season, striking out 29% of the time and hitting .203/.241/.392. When he's going well, Crow-Armstrong is an intriguing potential Fantasy option, even if much of his real-life appeal as a top-20 prospect comes from his elite center field defense. He's playing 126 games between Double-A and Triple-A, and he has 22 homers and 42 steals, so it's easy to see the upside for Fantasy. Whether he'll make enough contact in the majors to live up to that upside is a different question, but if Pages isn't available, Crow-Armstrong is an interesting bench bat flier.
J.D. Martinez, DH, Mets (57%) – I'll admit, Martinez suffering a back injury immediately after he started ramping up for the season didn't make me feel great about his chances of having another big season. But I'm not going to hold it against him too much because of how good he was last season, when he hit .271/.321/.572 in 113 games with the Dodgers. He's healthy now and expected to make his debut for the Mets Friday, and while he might not play every single day immediately, there's still plenty of room for him to be a difference maker in Fantasy once he's ready to go.
Hunter Goodman, OF, Rockies (4%) – It's the Rockies, so we can't be sure they're going to develop him or play him even if he does play well. But Goodman looks pretty dang interesting right now. He's hit .329/.380/.781 in 35 career games at Triple-A, and while that's a small sample size, he is a career .381/.352/.582 hitter in his minor-league career, so I'm not sure we should totally discount it, especially since he'll be playing half his games in Coor Fields. There's the Rockies of it all, but if he gets the opportunity, Goodman could be a legitimately useful Fantasy option, and I hope they do give him that opportunity.
Hector Neris, RP, Cubs (29%) – Neris worked the ninth with a two-run lead Tuesday, and though he gave up a solo homer, he did successfully convert his second save of the season. That came with former closer Adbert Alzolay working parts of the sixth and seventh innings, while Mark Leiter worked the eighth. So, it certainly looks like Neris is going to be the closer at least for the immediate future for the Cubs. That's what we expected after Alzolay was removed from the role, but this was confirmation.
Wilyer Abreu, OF, Red Sox (28%) – I wrote about Abreu as a waiver-wire target yesterday, so of course he had to go out and go 4 for 5 with a couple of doubles Wednesday night against the Guardians. He's hitting .322 with a .954 OPS for the season, and while there's little in his minor-league track record to support that kind of production, he does have 22 homers and eight steals in 86 career games at Triple-A, and now has four homers and seven steals while hitting .318 at the major-league level in 48 games. He probably needs to be added in all category-based leagues just in case this is even a little bit real.
