A huge blow for fantasy owners as 2014 AL OPS leader, Victor Martinez, will undergo left knee surgery. A press release from the Tigers confirms that Martinez will have surgery next Tuesday with Dr. James Andrews. More information will be released on Martinez’s recovery time after the surgery. He tore his medical meniscus in his left knee last week. The potential recovery time for this injury is six weeks before resuming baseball activities. He tore his ACL in the same knee in January 2012.
Fantasy Impact
This is a massive piece of news for fantasy owners looking at Martinez, as well as other top Tigers hitters like Ian Kinsler and Miguel Cabrera. Martinez was a superstar last season, as his .974 OPS paced the American League, and he finished second in the MVP race. A huge caution for those that may draft Martinez and keep him on the DL is that Martinez had his worst season since 2008 after recovering from knee surgery in 2013, as he posted only a .785 OPS. By far, 2014 was the banner season of Martinez’s career, and the Tigers were looking to get rebound seasons from Cabrera and Kinsler on top of continued production from Martinez. Cabrera was projected as a mid-to-late first-round pick and Kinsler was a fifth- or sixth-round pick. With Martinez missing what should be significant time, each player’s draft projections could drop up to a round.
