“Time waits for no man,” goes the saying. Or the song lyric. That sentiment has been around longer than you might think. Anyway, as I said last week–we have to start being realistic about injury timelines.

The last day of the MLB regular season is October 5, 2022. The last full week of MLB action is September 26th through October 2nd. Basically, once October hits, the season is done. In short, you shouldn’t have too rosy of an outlook on a player if they’ve been shelved for a while now. That said, there is a decent bit of positive news for this week, so let’s get into it.

Top-10 Players to Stash Right Now

1. Max Fried (SP – ATL)
2. Mike Trout (OF – LAA)
3. Giancarlo Stanton (OF – NYY)
4. Dustin May (SP – LAD)
5. Wander Franco (3B, SS – TB)
6. Trevor Story (2B, SS – BOS)
7. Bryce Harper (OF – PHI)
8. Manuel Margot (OF – TB)
9. Jack Flaherty (SP – STL)
10. Luis Severino (SP – NYY)

Max Fried (concussion) could be activated as soon as today, or perhaps tomorrow. Dustin May is expected back this weekend. There is also positive news on Mike Trout, who is aiming for a Friday return. Luis Severino has been brought along slowly by New York, but this means you can be more aggressive with banking on him for September. He’s a great stash for five or so quality starts to finish out the regular season. That’s a quality stash in any league format, and there’s some decent likelihood he is languishing on waivers in shallow leagues.

Catcher

1. Elias Diaz (C – COL)
2. Omar Narvaez (C – MIL)
3. Ryan Jeffers (C – MIN)
4. Tyler Stephenson (C, 1B – CIN)

Diaz is a better commodity than Narvaez, but Narvaez is probably closer to returning. The other two probably won’t help much. Jeffers would split time if he returned by early or mid September, while Stephenson’s timeline is late September–assuming the Reds would want him to play in a handful of meaningless games.

First Base

1. Juan Yepez (1B, 3B, OF – STL)
2. Kris Bryant (1B, 3B, OF – COL)
3. Aledmys Diaz (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF – HOU)
4. Eduardo Escobar (1B, 2B, 3B – NYM)
5. Jace Peterson (1B, 2B, 3B, OF – MIL)
6. Mike Moustakas (1B, 3B, – CIN)

Juan Yepez is getting a little more time to rehab, but it sounds like an activation could come as soon as this weekend. Kris Bryant is barreling towards a lost season. He’s still in a walking boot and without a timeline to return. Tick, tock.

Second Base

1. Trevor Story (2B, SS – BOS)
2. Ozzie Albies (2B – ATL)
3 Luis Garcia (2B, SS – WAS)
4. Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B, SS – MIA)
5. Aledmys Diaz (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF – HOU)
6. Eduardo Escobar (1B, 2B, 3B – NYM)
7. Jace Peterson ((1B, 2B, 3B, OF – MIL)

Trevor Story is taking batting practice with Boston and is expected to return before the end of the month. The Red Sox (59-59) are still technically in contention for a wild card berth, and they have every reason to get Story back as soon as possible. Ozzie Albies is expected to begin taking batting practice next week, so it sounds like he could possibly help fantasy baseball teams for the final month of the season. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has not resumed baseball activities, and the Marlins will have little incentive to rush the star youngster back in a lost season.

Shortstop

1. Wander Franco (3B, SS – TB)
2. Trevor Story (2B, SS – BOS)
3. Luis Garcia (2B, SS – WAS)
4. Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B, SS – MIA)
5. Aledmys Diaz (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF – HOU)
6. Tim Anderson (SS – CWS)

Franco and Story sound like the guys who can actually help your fantasy team this year. Maybe Garcia as well, if you were reliant on him as a MI option in a deep league.

Third Base

1. Wander Franco (3B, SS – TB)
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes (3B – PIT)
3. Juan Yepez (1B, 3B, OF – STL)
4. Kris Bryant (1B, 3B, OF – COL)
5. Aledmys Diaz (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF – HOU)
6. Eduardo Escobar (1B, 2B, 3B – NYM)
7. Jace Peterson (1B, 2B, 3B, OF – MIL)
8. Mike Moustakas (1B, 3B – CIN)

It’s Franco and Hayes at the hot corner, and that’s about it. The Pirates are well out of contention, but it sounds like Hayes (back strain) just needs some extended rest and should return soon enough. Yepez is a solid stash, though there are some playing time concerns in St. Louis that await him.

Outfield

1. Mike Trout (OF – LAA)
2. Giancarlo Stanton (OF – NYY)
3. Bryce Harper (OF – PHI)
4. Manuel Margot (OF – TB)
5. Juan Yepez (1B, 3B, OF – STL)
6. Kole Calhoun (OF – TEX)
7. Avisail Garcia (OF – MIA)
8. Harrison Bader (OF – NYY)
9. Ramon Laureano (OF – OAK)
10. Kris Bryant (1B, 3B, OF – COL)
11. Jorge Soler (OF – MIA)
12. Aledmys Diaz (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF – HOU)
13. Jace Peterson (1B, 2B, 3B, OF – MIL)
14. Yonathan Daza (OF – COL)
15. Austin Meadows (OF – DET)

Giancarlo Stanton will begin a rehab assignment this weekend. Harrison Bader is “eyeing a September return,” so that’s not overly encouraging given how long he has been on the shelf. Manuel Margot, Juan Yepez, and Kole Calhoun sound like depth pieces who should be back in the Majors soon enough if it’s at-bats you’re looking for. Austin Meadows (Achilles) was pulled off of his latest rehab assignment. If you were holding Meadows anywhere, it’s past time to cut bait.

Pitcher

1. Max Fried (SP – ATL)
2. Dustin May (SP – LAD)
3. Jack Flaherty (SP – STL)
4. Luis Severino (SP – NYY)
5. David Bednar (RP – PIT)
6. Trevor Rogers (SP – MIA)
7. James Paxton (SP – BOS)
8. Clay Holmes (RP – NYY)
9. Carlos Carrasco (SP – NYM)
10. Mike Soroka (SP – ATL)
11. Jon Gray (SP – TEX)
12. Bailey Ober (SP – MIN)
13. MacKenzie Gore (SP – WAS)
14. Zach Eflin (SP – PHI)
15. Tyler Glasnow (SP – TB)
16. Clayton Kershaw (SP – LAD)
17. Tyler Wells (SP – BAL)
18. Brusdar Graterol (RP – LAD)
19. Michael Pineda (SP – DET)
20. Adrian Houser (SP – MIL)
21. Erick Fedde (SP – WAS)
22. Drew Smith (RP – NYM)
23. Wade Miley (SP – CHC)

It sounds like Clayton Kershaw has his sights set purely on October…he may not help your fantasy team anymore this season. Tyler Glasnow is throwing bullpens, which is exciting. In truth, though, it’s tough to bank on many arms outside of the top four listed here. I do like James Paxton as a stash, as I expect Boston to continue making a run at the postseason given that their roster is finally getting healthier.

What say you all? Who did I miss? Who are you stashing for the stretch run?

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