Here is a look at a few player owned in under 50% of all leagues in ESPN on the DL soon and could make an impact, good and bad, on your fantasy team.

Brandon Webb (Shoulder) 4.3% owned – Today, Brandon is making a rehab in AA. I usually advise picking up a player if you happen to have an open slot DL. In Brandon’s case, don’t waste one. There are better players available on the DL right now that should be picked up. The big concern with Brandon is his fastball, more specifically, a lack of one. He previously threw a fastball around 88 MPH. Current reports put Brandon’s fastball at 4 MPH slower or about 84 MPH. Even if he gets his curve ball back to where it was previously, a 84 MPH fast ball will probably not cut it in the majors.

Brandon McCarthy (Shoulder) 2.7% owned – Brandon has had shoulder problems in the past. He said he used to pitch through the discomfort he felt in his shoulder. He decided not to pitch through the pain this time and hopes to return sooner from the DL. His time table for returning has not been set yet, but before going on the DL, he was putting up some decent numbers. He had a K/BB of 3.7 and an ERA 3.57. His ERA could have actually been a little inflated since he had a FIP of 2.42 and a slightly high BABIP of 0.319. He could be a nice addition to a pitching staff when he returns. An owner should wait until he is for sure coming back and throwing before picking him up.

Travis Hafner (oblique) 23.8% owned – He is being dropped quite a bit in leagues. I know he only has DH intelligibility and at least 3 weeks from returning, but he is hitting 0.345 with 5 home runs. He definitely belongs on some owner’s DL or bench. A no brainer.

Derrek Lee (Oblique) 33.4% owned – Derrek begins baseball activities today and is able to come off the DL on Wednesday. It may be a few days later as he may need a little more rehab. He is not the ideal 1B candidate, but he has hitting for some power this season (4 home runs). I fully expect him to be owned in AL only and most deeper leagues due to a lack of options. In shallower leagues, I would expect there to be better players available than this declining vet when he returns.

Every year a dozen or so MLB pitchers need to have TJS (Tommy John surgery) done on their elbows. Today I will look at 3 of those pitchers (Joe Nathan, Jordan Zimmermann and Edinson Volquez) that had the surgery in 2009 or 2010 with 2011 being their first full season back. Also, I will look at some general TJS information and how it applies to the 3 pitchers.

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Twice in the last week I was asked if the concussion that David Wright received on August 15, 2009 from a Matt Cain fastball was the cause of his recent drop in production. I decided see what if anything has changed in David Wright from before getting hit in the head and after.

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Today let’s take a look at 3 pitchers that expect to make a start sometime this week after returning from the DL. With all three pitchers, it may be advisable to sit them for their first game back in order to see where each one’s fastball stands and to make sure that they don’t immediately re-injure themselves.

All the percentages owned are from ESPN.

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While productivity can be limited for backstops, they also run the greatest risk for injury and before you know it, you’ve lost your guy and find yourself staring at the waiver wire wondering which set of scraps looks the meatiest.  Today we’re going to look at the latest catcher injuries and who the guys are that will get the playing time moving forward. Read the rest of this entry »

For the next few weeks, I will be looking at a players who had injuries in 2010 and how they are performing in 2011. I plan on looking at pitchers that came back from Tommy John for next week, but please let me know of any previously injured players you want examined.

Adrian Gonzalez (shoulder): Adrian was one a great acquisitions for the Boston Red Sox this off season. He came in and played 1B thereby allowing Kevin Youkilis to stay in the lineup and play 3B. So far this season, Gonzalez’s production has not been good, especially when looking at his power.

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Today I am going to look at three 2B who had injury problems in previous seasons and see how they are doing in 2011.

Rickie Weeks – Besides missing just one day last week due to a finger injury, it has been almost 1.5 years since Rickie has missed a day due to an injury. Before 2010, he was a walking injury as seen by this list of time lost from 2006 to 2009:

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Due to an injury to a Phillies’s closer, Ryan Madson will take over the 9th inning duties until further notice. No, really, Ryan Madson is getting opportunities to close games again.

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Today, I am going to look at some players that are on the DL and being dropped at a high rate (all numbers are from ESPN).

Angel Pagan (oblique) – 51.0% owned, down 45.5% – Owners are dumping Pagan at a pretty alarming rate. Owners know they aren’t paying for power with him, they are hoping for a player that steals a few bases (4 in 2011) and hits for decent average. The average has been a disaster this year at 0.159, which is being fueled by his 0.164 BABIP. Normally his BABIP is around 0.300, so the batting average should improve substantially. He has been moved around the lineup quite a bit, mainly hitting in the 2nd, 5th or 6th spots. He will have chances to score and drive in a few runs. He is expected to be back from the DL after his 15 days are up on April 30th. He looks to be a perfect player for a team needing SB or AVG help.

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Franklin Gutierrez – 22.5% owned – Stomach Virus – Franklin was scratched from a AAA start on Friday for more tests on his stomach. The cause of the ailments has not been found and the effects seem to show up every few days. If/when he returns seems up in the air. The one aspect to remember is that he may get back to the Mariners rather quickly once the cause of the discomfort has been found. I really don’t blame anyone for not picking him up due to the unknown nature of the injury, but once he gets it resolved, I see him getting back to the majors rapidly.

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