Part of me worries an article like this tempts the fantasy baseball powers that be to do awful things to us. For instance, since last week’s writing, we’ve gotten ill news on Royce Lewis (torn ACL), Ozzie Albies (broken foot), and Walker Buehler (flexor strain). And there’s more. There’s always more. Hyun-Jin Ryu (elbow surgery) is done for the year, while Fernando Tatis Jr. (fractured wrist) still isn’t swinging a bat and has no timetable for his return. Stephen Strasburg came off this list and went back onto it. Edward Cabrera is already hurting. Yikes.
As a result, I’m nervous about getting into injuries again. But I’m going to stay the course and offer my top 10 players to stash right now in fantasy baseball. It’s a macro sort of approach. There’s no way to “one size fits all” something like this, not with so many different league styles and sizes. So I welcome your discourse. You can find me on the Twitter machine @HeathCapps.
After my top 10 stashes, I’ll get into the weeds with the top five to 20 or so at each position. No one wants to see a list of 20 injured catchers. No one wants to see a list of the top 20 healthy catchers. So trust the process, gamers.
Top 10 Players to Stash Right Now
1 Tim Anderson (SS – CWS)
2 Jacob deGrom (P – NYM)
3 Max Scherzer (P – NYM)
4 Brandon Woodruff (P – MIL)
5 Jeremy Pena (SS – HOU)
6 Kris Bryant (1B, 3B, OF – COL)
7 Eloy Jimenez (OF – CWS)
8 Wander Franco (SS – TB)
9 Fernando Tatis Jr. (SS, OF – SD)
10 Nathan Eovaldi (P – BOS)
Catcher
Tyler Stephenson
Danny Jansen
Mitch Garver
Yasmani Grandal
James McCann
Stephenson is in a league of his own here, though Jansen and Garver have been serviceable and will return sooner.
First Base
Kris Bryant
LaMonte Wade Jr.
Edwin Rios
Brad Miller
Miguel Sano
Yoshi Tsutsugo
With Brandon Belt reinstated, the first base pool of guys to stash is paper-thin. Bryant does qualify at 1B in Yahoo leagues, so there’s that.
Second Base
Brandon Lowe
Kolten Wong
Enrique Hernandez
Jean Segura
Ozzie Albies
Ramon Urias
Nick Madrigal
I wouldn’t be surprised if Albies didn’t return until the postseason.
Shortstop
Tim Anderson
Jeremy Pena
Wander Franco
Fernando Tatis Jr.
Joey Wendle
Ramon Urias
Third Base
Kris Bryant
Jeimer Candelario
Joey Wendle
Brian Anderson
Ramon Urias
Like first base, third base doesn’t have much enticing on the IL currently.
Outfield
Kris Bryant
Eloy Jimenez
Fernando Tatis Jr.
Brandon Lowe
Kyle Lewis
Seiya Suzuki
Edward Olivares
Mitch Haniger
Enrique Hernandez
Eddie Rosario
Edward Olivares is one of my favorite stashes right now.
Pitcher
Jacob deGrom
Max Scherzer
Brandon Woodruff
Nathan Eovaldi
Drew Rasmussen
Chris Sale
Andrew Heaney
Alex Cobb
Garrett Whitlock
Mike Clevinger
Bailey Ober
Anthony DeSclafani
Lance McCullers Jr.
Marcus Stroman
Edward Cabrera
Aroldis Chapman
Freddy Peralta
Jesus Luzardo
Walker Buehler
Jakob Junis
Nick Lodolo
Josh Winder
Jake Odorizzi
Stephen Strasburg
Steven Matz
Pitchers could go on forever, so let’s can it at 25. There’s a lot of uncertainty with some of these arms. I’m looking forward to seeing if Andrew Heaney can recapture his early-season form.
A lot goes into a list, so I hope someone enjoyed this and can benefit somehow. Reminder, find me on Twitter @HeathCapps to argue this over!
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