Fantasy Baseball Injury Stashes: Max Scherzer, Framber Valdez, Gerrit Cole, Justin Steele

It’s incredibly important to monitor the fantasy baseball waiver wire for players to stash. While this can include prospects, injured players nearing return can also provide a ton of value and boost your fantasy team’s prospects. Let’s dive into this week’s fantasy baseball injury stash rankings and determine who is worth those precious injured list (IL) spots.

2024 Fantasy Baseball Injury Stashes

Justin Steele (SP – CHC)

Justin Steele pulled his hamstring in his opening start and continues to make progress. There haven’t been many updates but Craig Counsell said he expects Steele to return sometime in May. He looked incredible before that debut and shouldn’t need much time to get healthy after recovering from this hammy issue since it’s not an arm injury.

Framber Valdez (SP – HOU)

Here’s another ace that went down this week. We haven’t had much clarity in this situation, but Houston sent Framber Valdez to the IL with elbow inflammation. The good news is that Houston is downplaying the issue, saying he could be back soon. This is a situation we need to monitor.

Max Scherzer (SP – TEX)

Fantasy managers were skeptical about drafting Max Scherzer but he’s making significant progress in his recovery. The former Cy Young winner is expected to throw live batting practice next week and could be sent on a rehab assignment shortly after that. A veteran like this won’t need much time when he gets to that point in the rehabilitation process, making him a good bet to return sometime next month.

Gerrit Cole (SP – NYY)

Gerrit Cole just started throwing this week, the first of many steps to a full recovery. It’s a good start, though, with Cole on the 60-day IL. That means he can’t return until the end of May. A June return would be all fantasy managers could’ve hoped for after the initial diagnosis.