Derek Dietrich should see an uptick in value follow Dee Gordon‘s suspension

The Miami Marlins rode an emotional roller coaster before boarding their flight from Los Angeles to Milwaukee on Thursday night. Fresh off a four-game sweep of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers, the Marlins found out that superstar second baseman Dee Gordon would miss the next 80 games. He was not injured, he simply made a stupid choice and got caught. The 2015 All-Star, Silver Slugger, Gold Glover, batting and stolen base champ tested positive for exogenous testosterone and clostebol. Of course, Gordon says he’s unaware of how the performance-enhancing drugs entered his body, as those caught often do. Still, the bottom line is this; he tested positive in Spring Training. He appealed the ruling of the suspension. He dropped the appeal last night and will begin serving his suspension immediately.

Needless to say, this makes Gordon useless in all fantasy leagues for the next 80 Marlins’ games. But what does it do to the rest of the Marlins’ roster? How does missing out on 80 games of the team’s leadoff hitter, the team’s sparkplug, affect the rest of the team’s players?

It depends. Like almost all things; it depends.

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Gaining Value

Derek Dietrich
The player looking to gain the most from Gordon’s suspension is Dietrich. A hot start combined with Martin Prado’s stint on the paternity list has given Dietrich a bit of playing time in 2016, and he’s responded with a .321/.406/.607 line in 32 plate appearances. He obviously won’t keep up that pace, but Dietrich is a solid hitter who could carve out some real fantasy value over the next 80 games. He has played third base, second base, first base, and left field as a Marlin, so depending on league rules, he may have eligibility in quite a few spots. Dietrich is a lefty hitter with power and pretty good on-base skills, buoyed by the fact that he is a baseball magnet and seemingly gets hit by a pitch in every game he plays. He has definite holes in his swing, though, and he will strike out a bit. He’s also been bad defensively in the past, which may get him taken out of games early. His defense has looked much better this season, but of course in a very small sample. It will be interesting to see if the Marlins move Martin Prado to second and play Dietrich at third or if they just slide Dietrich right into Gordon’s second base spot.

Martin Prado
Prado likely won’t gain or lose any day-to-day value from this news, as he’ll stay in the everyday lineup and continue batting second. He may, however, get some starts at second base, which would give him position eligibility at third base and second base. Players who can slot into a lineup at multiple positions are always welcome on fantasy rosters, so Prado might get a slight uptick in value.

Miguel Rojas
The decision for the Marlins will come down to Dietrich or Rojas, and a platoon situation seems the most likely, with Dietrich starting against righties and Rojas against lefties. Rojas is an exceptional fielder without much of a bat, basically an Adeiny Hechavarria who can play multiple positions. He will likely come into games that Dietrich starts in the late innings for defense and may get an at-bat that way as well. He isn’t likely to develop much fantasy value since his real value comes from his arm and his glove, but he could be someone to take a flier on in deep NL-only leagues.

Adeiny Hechavarria
The Marlins may choose to use Adeiny Hechavarria in the leadoff spot to replace Gordon. Hech and his career .291 OBP would be an absolutely terrible fit anywhere near the top of the lineup, but if it happens, it would boost his fantasy value significantly. Hech has been stuck hitting eighth, in front of the pitcher, so a move to leadoff in front of guys like Prado, Yelich, and Stanton would lead to better pitches to hit and more runs scored. He’d still be one of the last shortstops to come off a league’s waiver wire, but it would give him a boost and perhaps make him passable as a short-term fill-in.

Losing Value

Marlins’ Pitchers
Besides sparking the lineup from the leadoff spot and winning the batting title last season, Gordon also played excellent defense and won the Gold Glove. If the Marlins replace Gordon with Rojas, then it’ll be a wash, as Rojas may be even better than Gordon defensively. The more likely option, though, is Dietrich coming into an everyday role, either at second base or third base. As mentioned above, Dietrich has looked much better with the glove this season, but previous years tell us that he’s just not very good outside the batter’s box. The excellent double play combo of Hechavarria and Gordon is no more for 80 games, and that will surely take a toll on Marlins’ pitchers. Those who are worthy of fantasy roster spots — Jose Fernandez, Wei-Yin Chen, Adam Conley, A.J. Ramos, and (in holds leagues) Kyle Barraclough and David Phelps — may see a few more ground balls get through and a few more would-be double plays get just one out. Still, it’s not like the Marlins will be playing without a second baseman, so the drop in pitcher value should be pretty slight.

Changing Value

Christian Yelich
Yelich is another option for the leadoff spot. He has been excelling in the third spot of the batting order, so he might stay put while someone else leads off. If Yelich does move to the top of the order, however, his value would change a bit. It’s tough to say whether it will increase or decrease, but he’s likely to drive in fewer runs while scoring a few more. Overall, it shouldn’t make too big of a difference in Yelich’s numbers, but it’s something to consider.

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Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly will be releasing the first non-Dee lineup soon, but that first lineup is likely to be tinkered with throughout the first week or so before something sticks. Keep an eye on the moving parts like Hechavarria and Yelich, and keep an even closer eye on the new parts like Dietrich and Rojas.

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David A. Marcillo is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from David, check out his archive and follow him @DavidMarcillo77.