The first full week of the 2017 regular season was an exciting slate of games, filled with mammoth home runs, stellar pitching performances from aces Noah Syndergaard, Jake Arrieta, and Chris Sale, and impressive starts from otherwise unknown players like Manuel Margot, Jeremy Hazelbaker, and Brandon Drury.
Unfortunately for fantasy owners, the week was littered with injuries to top tier players like catcher Gary Sanchez and shortstop Trea Turner. The following injury report will provide insight on all of the major fantasy-relevant injuries for week one.
Get free start/sit and waiver wire advice for your fantasy team 
One of the key cogs of the Baby Bomber resurgence in the Big Apple was placed on the 10-day DL on Saturday after leaving in the fifth inning of the Yankees’ game against the Orioles with a strained right biceps. Sanchez fouled off a 3-2 pitch from Baltimore pitcher Kevin Gausman and was taken out of the game after showing significant discomfort attempting a practice swing before the next pitch.
Sanchez, a 24-year-old native of Santo Domingo, DM, vaulted into fantasy baseball prominence with a 20 home run, 1.032 OPS performance in just 201 at-bats in 2016. A biceps strain to the throwing arm to a catcher could be a lingering issue for Sanchez, especially considering the violent, mighty swing he employs at the dish.
As of today’s date, Sanchez is going to receive rest and could just miss the 10-day scheduled stint on the disabled list. But as Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com wrote: “It could be more, much more. Sanchez could be done for a while, which might be long enough to take much of the Yankees’ postseason hope with it.”
Turner’s legs and his ability to steal bases are one of the big reasons why the 23-year-old speedster was an early-round pick in fantasy drafts this season. It goes without saying that a hamstring injury to a base-stealing threat like Turner would be a significant cause for concern for the Washington Nationals and fantasy owners.
But according to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Nationals don’t believe Turner will miss more than a couple of days after “dodging a bullet” on Turner’s injury. The Nationals training staff believe that there is not significant damage to Turner’s hamstring, leaving the 2016 Rookie of the Year runner-up with a few days of rest as the best course of action.
Stop me if you have heard this one before. Rich Hill, the immensely talented starting pitcher for the Dodgers who has been hampered by injuries over the course of his 12-year MLB career, was placed on the 10-day DL with a blister on his throwing hand.
Hill missed nearly a month of action last year with a blister injury as a member of the Oakland Athletics before his trade to the Dodgers. Despite his long history of injuries, including blisters, the Dodgers signed the 37-year-old to a lucrative three-year contract over the offseason.
With the new 10-DL rules, Hill is set to return to the Dodgers on April 15th after missing his scheduled start in the rotation, with Alex Wood likely to start in Hill’s stead.
In keeping with the theme of Southern California pitchers with extensive injury histories, Garrett Richards left his start against the Oakland A’s early with right biceps tightness. Richards, a 28-year-old fireballer, missed a majority of last season with a torn UCL. Instead of opting for the conventional Tommy John surgery, Richards received stem cell injections to allow his body to repair the damage without the lengthy post-surgery recovery time.
Richards and the team sound pretty optimistic, claiming that the move to the DL was precautionary and Richards plans on making his scheduled start next Sunday.
Piscotty suffered multiple injuries in one of the most improbable innings in baseball history, after getting hit three separate times in the arm and head while making his way around the bases. The starting outfielder for the Cardinals was able to return from those injuries earlier in the week but then missed the weekend games with a knee injury sustained while sliding into a base against the Reds on Friday.
The injury does not appear to be serious, and Piscotty should be considered day-to-day. Matt Adams started in left field in Piscotty’s absence and will likely continue to do so until Piscotty can return to the field.
According to Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kemp will be out of the starting lineup until Tuesday after sustaining a hamstring strain making a diving catch against Josh Harrison on Friday.
The injury is considered day-to-day, and the veteran outfielder was available for pinch-hit duties on Sunday. But this injury should be monitored with a bit more focus because Kemp is 32 years old and has an extensive history of hamstring issues, including missing nearly two months of the 2012 season.
Sleeper first baseman candidate Greg Bird is off to a dreadful start of the season, going 1-16 in his first week as the starting first baseman for the Bronx Bombers. His poor play might be attributed to a sore right foot and ankle from an injury he sustained fouling a ball off his foot on March 30th.
X-rays were negative and the team considers Bird day-to-day. Bird missed the final two games of the week and could be sidelined for the start of the Yankees home opener against the Rays.
It would not be surprising to see owners give up on Bird, considering the poor start and the fact that the first base position is fairly deep. If you play in a deep league and can roster him for a few weeks, I recommend taking a flyer on Bird as the talent is there and he will bounce back from this injury to be fantasy relevant.
Updating Existing Injuries
Jason Kipnis (2B – CLE): Shoulder Inflammation
Kipnis participated in batting practice on April 7 and will likely start a rehab assignment on April 9th. Mid-to-late April return for Kipnis is likely, barring any setbacks in his rehab.
Steven Matz (SP – NYM): Elbow Inflammation
Received PRP injection in throwing elbow. Will be reevaluated in a few weeks. Likely out to Mid-May.
David Price (SP – BOS): Elbow, Forearm Soreness
Price is making progress and expected throw bullpen session on Monday.
Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Google Play | TuneIn | RSS
Andrew Swanson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive or follow him @andyswansonESPN.
