The New York Yankees continue to find ways to win baseball games even as one player after another heads to the injured list. The concurrent themes were present this past weekend in a sweep of the beleaguered Boston Red Sox, even as several key hitters were injured. Powerful Edwin Encarnacion and underrated Aaron Hicks were the early weekend casualties and then, on Sunday Night Baseball, middle infielder Gleyber Torres suffered a core muscle injury and needed a hospital visit. That hardly sounds good, but as of now there is little clarity.
The Yankees knocked former Cy Young Award winner David Price out of the Sunday game in the third inning with a lineup concocted of Gio Urshela hitting cleanup, followed by Brett Gardner, Cameron Maybin, Mike Ford, Kyle Higashioka and Mike Tauchman. Are those fellows key players on your fantasy team? I think not, and then Torres left prematurely as well.
As Week 18 of 25 commences today, what should fantasy managers do about their Yankees, injured or not, for now and 2020? I am no Stephania Bell when it comes to injuries -- or anything else, really -- but here are some thoughts, in order of roster percentages.
Aaron Judge: Well,
Gleyber Torres: I do hope his injury is not severe, not a six-week oblique injury or something, so do not drop him yet. Prepare to bench him this week. Even though a high proportion of his numbers have come against awful Baltimore Orioles pitching (10 of his 23 home runs, and his batting average drops from .286 to .263 against all others), he is the No. 36 hitter on the full-season Player Rater. Since he still gets to see the Orioles 19 times each season -- he seems likely to miss this week's series -- let us say Round 5 makes sense in 2020.
Gary Sanchez: The No. 8 catcher on the Rater was at the top before his second-half slump and then his groin injury, but the team expects him back this weekend. His batting average, predictably, is a problem, but few question his power. I will not take a catcher early, but Sanchez should be the first off the 2020 draft board, in perhaps Round 6 or 7. I will rank him four or five rounds after that, though. Catchers!
Edwin Encarnacion: Curiously, the Yankees claim he might miss merely three weeks with a hairline fracture in his right wrist. That seems so generous. Look for Encarnacion in mid-September at best, and if you need the roster spot now, move him out, despite his season stats. We look ahead, not behind. As for 2020, the fellow always hits for power, and he did earn his first base eligibility, so let us say top 100.
DJ LeMahieu: Vote for him for AL MVP if you desire, but c'mon, really? Yes, LeMahieu could win the AL batting title, and he is the No. 14 hitter on the Rater, but have you seen the Mike Trout numbers? LeMahieu is No. 85 in Tristan H. Cockcroft's current rankings. Maybe he breaks into my overall top-50 next year. OK, probably, but not by much.
Giancarlo Stanton: More than 95% of his ESPN investors remain investors, which seems odd since Stanton has missed more than six weeks with a knee injury and has yet to resume baseball activities. It seems unlikely he plays this month. At this point, do the Yankees just get him ready for October with occasional September action? One home run in nine games is what he has delivered this season. Yes, he stayed healthy his final season in Miami and last year, but even an optimist would not gamble on Stanton playing more than 130 games in 2020. I will avoid. Let us say he falls to Round 4 or 5, but I think it is too generous. I would prefer LeMahieu.
Aaron Hicks: The first six Yankees mentioned are rostered in 95% of leagues or more. Hicks is at 74%. He has a right flexor strain in his throwing arm. He should return this month, but he is hitting .235 with one stolen base and, for this season, modest power. I would move on and call him a 17th-round selection, like this season.
Luke Voit: What a great story he is! Voit has legit power but also, unfortunately, a sports hernia, which could end his season. He might need surgery. Time to move on, and he likely goes only in the later rounds next season. I do not think Mike Ford can do what Voit did. If he did, then the Yankees are truly magicians.
Didi Gregorius: The shortstop missed half the season after Tommy John surgery and, other than a few notable offensive performances, has been relatively disappointing. He is the No. 25 shortstop on the 30-day Rater, which ain't great. At least he is healthy! With all these injuries, Gregorius moves up in the lineup, so perhaps he will really start hitting. For 2020, I would say the middle rounds at best makes sense.
Miguel Andujar: His season ended long ago after shoulder surgery, but yet he remains rostered in more leagues than Oscar Mercado, the awesome Cleveland Indians rookie. Assume nothing for 2020: Middle rounds at best.
Brett Gardner: He just came off the injured list, and he keeps doing the same things offensively that he has for years. It is not a good batting average, but enough power and speed to matter. Not a top-60 outfielder, but a decent fill-in. Undrafted next year.
Gio Urshela: He hit .225 with no power over his first three big league seasons. Then the Yankees get him for nothing, and he is a Gold Glover at third base hitting .314. And hitting cleanup! Urshela left the Sunday game with leg soreness, but assuming it is no big deal, he is a bit underrated in fantasy, perhaps the lone Yankees hitter earning the designation. Urshela is nestled between Max Muncy and Alex Bregman on the 30-day Rater, and ahead of LeMahieu.
Weekend takeaways
• Right-hander Aaron Sanchez and a few of his new Houston Astros pals combined to no-hit the truly awful Seattle Mariners this weekend, but what you really care about is whether Sanchez, who delivered a 6.07 ERA in Toronto, is now viable. Well, the schedule has him facing the Orioles this week, then the Athletics and Tigers. Sanchez adjusted his pitch repertoire to throw more curveballs, and now he is intriguing. Yeah, go for it. It's the Orioles!
• Still whining about Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and how all the fantasy analysts were wrong? Guerrero is the No. 10 hitter over the past 15 days, and No. 20 over the past 30 days, hitting .361 with 5 home runs and 24 RBIs over 21 post-break games. Third round next year and MVP candidate. Not joking, either.
• General observers seemed surprised the Phillies demoted longtime underachieving third baseman Maikel Franco, but look at the lowly numbers! Also, remove the intentional walks from early April when he batted just ahead of the pitchers. Also, can we get universal DH? Franco is inconsistent and cannot hit lefties. Farewell. Scott Kingery has slowed down his production, but this is an easy call.
• The Marlins will promote second baseman Isan Diaz, and I bet he soars to the most added list within days. Diaz hit .305 with 26 home runs and reasonable plate discipline at Triple-A New Orleans. The big league lineup is terrible, so he could hit in the middle of it.
• Just wondering if you are going to avoid Minnesota Twins DH Nelson Cruz in 2020 as well. You did this season. Cruz smacked three home runs on Saturday and has 30 home runs in a mere 83 games. Gimme a break! He could have hit 50 with health! I'll take him in the top 100 yet again.
Health report
• New York Mets second baseman Robinson Cano is headed to yet another injured list stint, this time with a hamstring strain. The Mets, firmly in the NL wild-card race, can move Jeff McNeil -- one of my favorite players -- to the keystone and give J.D. Davis more plate appearances, or play Adeiny Hechavarria more. I vote for Davis. It is a shame Dominic Smith and Brandon Nimmo are hurt -- and do not ask about Jed Lowrie. If you continue to wait for him, um, why?
• Colorado Rockies outfielder David Dahl suffered an ankle injury in the outfield, yet another serious injury to a player who could use more, um, breaks of the good kind. Dahl hits for power and average and at Coors Field, but I cannot say with confidence he returns this season. Raimel Tapia should play more, and perhaps rookie Yonathan Daza, hitting .364 at Triple-A Albuquerque, gets a real chance.
Closing time
• The Rockies finally gave in to public pressure, noticed how badly Wade Davis has pitched, and moved Scott Oberg into the closer role. See, now don't you feel better? Teams do eventually figure these things out. Oberg is not an elite strikeout artist, but he is pitching well, home and road. I stop short of naming him a top-10 closer the rest of season but rank him better than Hector Neris, Shane Greene and Carlos Martinez.
• Meanwhile, the Greene era has started nicely in Atlanta. It is almost as if someone on the ESPN Fantasy staff predicted the former Tigers closer would struggle in his new environment! Those in deeper formats might want to hold on to Luke Jackson.
W2W4
• Texas Rangers lefty Mike Minor faces resurgent Cleveland. Minor has struggled of late, as none of his five July outings was a quality start, but he remains the No. 21 starting pitcher on the full-season Rater. Is the magic gone? Perhaps it is time to move on, but I would like to wait a bit longer. He faces young right-hander Aaron Civale, whose minor league work reminded me of his teammate Shane Bieber.
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