Fantasy Baseball Reset: Injury News, Position Battles, Studs And Duds In Week 5
Another week, another disaster for the New York Mets.
After losing ace Noah Syndergaard for what could be three months due to a lat strain, the Mets endured a PR debacle with another starting pitcher, Matt Harvey, who failed to report to work over the weekend and got himself suspended.
Fortunately for you, you play fantasy baseball, where you can add and drop players on a whim and don’t have to worry about a media circus like the one in New York. So, who stood out in the week that was? Let’s have a look in our fantasy baseball reset for Week 5.
STUD OF THE WEEK
Billy Hamilton, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Hamilton’s value is in his wheels, and he didn’t disappoint last week with six steals in seven games. But the speedster put a whole lot of icing on that cake with his bat, smacking 11 hits in that span — three of them triples — while racking up eight RBIs and 11 runs scored. That’s a great sign for a guy who had been slumping at the plate in April.
DUD OF THE WEEK
Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Chicago Cubs
Rizzo has struggled to hit for average this season, but last week saw his power dry up, as well. The elite first baseman has just three hits in his last 29 at-bats and has tallied one RBI in his last eight games. He’s also racking up the strikeouts, ending the week with five punch-outs in a two-game span. Not ideal.
INJURIES TO MONITOR
Ryan Braun, OF, Milwaukee Brewers (right forearm strain, day-to-day)
Fantasy owners have reason to be frustrated with Braun, who’s listed as day-to-day but has missed Milwaukee’s last six games. The good news is that an MRI revealed only a slight strain, and it’s possible he could return Tuesday.
Waiver wire replacement options: Aaron Hicks, Marwin Gonzalez
Zach Britton, RP, Baltimore Orioles (left forearm strain, 10-day disabled list)
The news isn’t as good for Britton, who hit the DL Saturday for the second time in as many weeks. The stud closer clearly came back from his initial injury too soon, meaning you can expect him to take a little more time in his latest disabled list stint. If you own Britton, park him in your DL spot and go find a replacement closer — interim Baltimore closer Brad Brach is a good place to start.
Waiver wire replacement options: Brad Brach, Bud Norris
Brian Dozier, 2B, Minnesota Twins (sprained left ankle, day-to-day)
Dozier rolled his ankle pretty good in Friday’s loss to the Boston Red Sox and has missed the Twins’ last two games. An X-ray showed no structural damage, though, and the hope is that he’ll return sometime early this week. You probably can wait this one out.
Waiver wire replacement options: Marwin Gonzalez, Josh Harrison
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH
Detroit Tigers closer
Is this finally the end of the line for Francisco Rodriguez? The man they call K-Rod has allowed at least one earned run in eight of his 13 appearances this season and has surrendered five runs in his last two outings. We don’t care what your pedigree is: those numbers call for a changing of the guard. The Tigers aren’t flush with stud relievers, but left-hander Justin Wilson has been Detroit’s best bullpen option to date and *should* get first dibs. A potential trade also might be in order. Whatever the case, Rodriguez owners might want to start looking elsewhere.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
