New York Yankees 1B Luke Voit hit the injured list this weekend with a bone bruise in his left knee. This will be his third major absence of the season, and fantasy managers looking for outside approval to move on certainly have it from here. Voit led baseball with 22 home runs in the truncated 2020 season, and he sure looked legit in doing so. Unfortunately, he will likely enter August with all of three home runs in a mere 29 games over four months. It looks like this is a lost season for him and, as such, Voit is properly listed among the leaders on ESPN's most-dropped list.
Voit, 30, was a top-100 selection in early ESPN average live drafts, expected to provide power -- even though there was some risk attached. Perhaps few realized the biggest risk was going to be health. Voit started the season requiring surgery for a partial meniscus tear in his left knee, but he was supposed to return to full health in May. He supposedly did, yet before the month ended, he suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain. Now he is shelved again, his left knee again the problem. We can fairly call this a disturbing trend.
When a trusted hitter gets hurt in March or April, fantasy managers wait optimistically for a return to both health and production. When it happens multiple times and again in mid-July? That is quite a different story. Nobody doubts that Voit has power. Just look at the man -- muscles everywhere, and with a short, pull-oriented swing that clearly worked in 2020. Health is a skill, too, and sometimes players need a full off-season to return to normal physical comfort. It's fair to wonder if Voit can help either the Yankees or fantasy managers much over the final two months of the 2021 season.
Los Angeles Angels 3B Anthony Rendon is also on the injured list for the third time this season, his latest malady being a hamstring injury. The team claims that Rendon suffered a setback in his recovery and will not return to the field, in an active sense, until August. Rendon went in the third round of many drafts. He has been a productive player for years. Should we give up on him in fantasy as well? Well, to some degree, yes. ESPN fantasy managers are keeping him around (92.8% rostered, whereas Voit is already down to 76.3%), despite tepid production. This is also a lost season. I hate to type it, but it seems to be true.
Those with roster room to hold on to either Voit or Rendon have little reason to leave their IL spots blank, so go for it. At the same time, those thinking of trading for these fellows should think again. It hardly means you should ignore them in 2022 drafts, but for 2021, there is little reason to believe things will change come August. Yep, it stinks. We invested in March and the returns have been small. However, the original investments do not matter now. Boston Red Sox OF Jarren Duran is available in so many leagues. So is New York Mets 3B J.D. Davis, Milwaukee Brewers IF Luis Urias and Oakland Athletics 2B Jed Lowrie. These players can help you now.
Time to change your opinion
In addition to Voit and Rendon, here are some other hitters we liked on draft day that so many of us continue to roster. It may be time to rethink these decisions:
Keston Hiura, 1B/2B, Milwaukee Brewers: What an odd, frustrating season it has been for Hiura, who (as far as we know) has actually been healthy throughout all of it. Hiura, 24, hit .303 with 19 home runs over 84 games in 2019. He hit .212 in 2020, but most people ignored that. This was a future star! Today, in 55 games, he is hitting just .167 and the Brewers sat him all weekend at Cincinnati, using a combination of Jace Peterson and Rowdy Tellez at first base. That says a lot! We should have moved on from Hiura months ago.
Gavin Lux, 2B/SS, Los Angeles Dodgers: Not every young player in the Dodgers organization becomes a star. Lux strained a hamstring in Denver on Sunday and figures to miss time, perhaps a few weeks. It should not matter to fantasy managers, though. Lux is hitting a mere .227 with a high ground-ball percentage, showing few signs of blossoming into a coveted hitter. He has six home runs, but none over the past five weeks. As with Voit, Rendon and Hiura, this hardly means you should absolutely avoid him in 2022. For 2021, though, it is just not working out.
Cavan Biggio, 2B/3B, Toronto Blue Jays: This fellow we may want to avoid in future years, at least in roto leagues that discount walks. Biggio continues to be a disciplined hitter, but his exit velocity rates have underwhelmed and he was the best example of someone likely hurt by the new baseball, as his previous home runs tended to be wall scrapers. Biggio is a .236 hitter over 947 big-league plate appearances, with 30 home runs. He is an efficient, but not volume base stealer. The breakout may not be coming.
Mike Moustakas, 1B/2B/3B, Cincinnati Reds: A heel injury has dogged Moustakas for more than two months, and there is little end in sight for his absence. Perhaps he returns soon, but how long should a fantasy manager wait for a player that last hit better than .255 back in 2017? He has only four home runs in 104 PA this season and the Reds seem settled with Joey Votto, productive leadoff hitter Jonathan India, and Eugenio Suarez at the three positions Moustakas can play. They should not move Suarez to shortstop. Anyway, Moustakas may not even start if he were to return soon.