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Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Adalberto Mondesi, Jack Flaherty, John Means (2021)

Fantasy Baseball Injury Report: Adalberto Mondesi, Jack Flaherty, John Means (2021)

Week nine of the fantasy season was the best so far for injuries. The biggest names were guys like Adalberto Mondesi, John Means, and Jack Flaherty – good players, certainly, but not first-round talents.

There are several players — J.D. Martinez, Nelson Cruz, Javier Baez, Tyler Naquin, Max Muncy, Jonathan Villar, Yadier Molina — battling day-to-day-type injuries, so I’ll include them here. Fantasy managers need to stay up-to-date with these developing situations.

Players Injured: John Means, Michael Fulmer, Spencer Turnbull, Adalberto Mondesi, Cody Poteet, Elieser Hernandez, Kolton Wong, Evan Longoria, Logan Webb, Jack Flaherty

Potential Benefactors: Gregory Soto, Jose Cisnero, Dean Kremer, Matt Manning, Nicky Lopez, Daniel Castano, Braxton Garrett, Luis Urias, Wilmer Flores, Anthony Banda, Matt Frisbee, Sam Long

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Injury Roundup

John Means (SP – BAL)
John Means (shoulder) went on the IL after failing to get through an inning in his most recent start. Fantasy managers don’t have a timetable on Means’ return because the Orioles haven’t released the results from his recent MRI. Shoulder injuries are not what you want when you’re a pitcher. I think Means will be out for at least a month, which is a shame because he’s been one of the best pitchers in fantasy this season. When he comes back, it would be wise for managers to shop him because his .192 BABIP and 100% LOB% this season are unsustainable, and there’s negative regression due to his ERA.

Michael Fulmer (RP – DET)
Michael Fulmer (shoulder) hadn’t appeared in a game since May 30th before going on the IL on Sunday. The Tigers had been obfuscating the seriousness of Fulmer’s injury, stating that he’d been on a “load management break,” there is no timetable for his return and the finer details of the damage are unknown. Gregory Soto is first-in-line for saves while Fulmer is out, but Jose Cisnero picked up a save on Saturday so that it could be a committee.

Spencer Turnbull (SP – DET)
Spencer Turnbull (forearm) went to the IL on Saturday after exiting Friday’s start early with the injury. Forearm injuries can indicate structural damage in other places in the arm. The exact injury here is unknown, so it’s impossible to say when Turnbull will be ready to pitch again. He had a 2.88 ERA in 50 innings before the injury. The Tigers haven’t announced a replacement, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they call up top prospect Matt Manning for the honor of replacing Turnbull in the rotation.

Adalberto Mondesi (SS – KC)
Easy come easy go. Mondesi (hamstring) played in seven games before going back on the IL. He was injured on Monday during the game against the Pirates and didn’t recover fast enough, so the Royals put him on the IL. There’s no replacing his stolen base potential, but at least managers haven’t been relying on them this season because he’s injured so often. It’s encouraging that the injury was initially day-to-day, but there’s no timetable for his return. Nicky Lopez is the shortstop with Mondesi out.

Cody Poteet (SP – MIA)
Cody Poteet (knee) left Friday’s start against the Pirates early and was subsequently placed on the IL by the Marlins. MCL sprains can take anywhere from two-to-six weeks to heal and even longer for Grade-two or Grade-three sprains. Daniel Castano or another prospect could replace Poteet because the Marlins rotation suffered an injury to Elieser Hernandez this week.

Elieser Hernandez (SP – MIA)
It’s hard to say who has worse luck – Hernandez (quadriceps) or the aforementioned, Adalberto Mondesi. Elieser Hernandez was pitching in his second game this season when he injured his quad running the bases. It’s a nasty strain, and the Marlins expect to be without him for a while, hence his 60-day IL designation. He won’t be eligible to return until August. Managers in redraft leagues can let go, as he’s not worth holding onto as we enter the summer. Braxton Garrett could get the call to fill in for Hernandez.

Kolten Wong (2B – MIL)
Kolten Wong (oblique) left Thursday’s game early and went on the IL with an oblique injury for the second time this season. He has four homers, five steals, and a .280 batting average in 161 at-bats this season, so managers will have a hard time finding a well-rounded fill-in while he’s out. There’s no timetable for his return. Luis Urias moves into the starting line-up to fill in for the injured Wong.

Evan Longoria (3B – SF)
Evan Longoria (shoulder) injured his shoulder in a collision with Brandon Crawford and will be out four-to-six weeks with the sprain. Longoria was having a renaissance season, slashing .280/.376/.516 with the Statcast profile to back it up. Fantasy managers should try and hold onto Longoria rather than drop him, but if he has a setback, that changes. Wilmer Flores will get more at-bats because of Longoria’s injury.

Logan Webb (SP – SF)
Logan Webb (shoulder) had been solid this season with a 3.86 ERA and a 3.00 xFIP in 49 innings. It’s the second time this season that his shoulder has bothered him, but the exact details haven’t been released by the Giants, so a timetable for return is unknown. Perhaps quick-rising Sam Long will get a start while Webb is out, or it could be Anthony Banda or Matt Frisbee. It’s hard to say since the Giants recently DFA’d Scott Kazmir, and he’d been the sixth starter this season.

Jack Flaherty (SP – STL)
Jack Flaherty (oblique), tied for the Major League lead in wins, went on the IL on Tuesday with a strained oblique. The Cardinals disclosed that this is a severe strain, and those can take three-four months to heal and sometimes require surgery. I’d expect Flaherty out for at least six weeks. The Cardinal rotation is short-handed with three injured starters, so they might try stretching out Daniel Ponce de Leon or bring up somebody from Triple-A to fill in.

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Lucas Babits-Feinerman is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Lucas, check out his archive and follow him @WSonFirst.

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