The DL on the DL: Hitters That May Miss Time at the Beginning of the Season

Note: This is a repost of an article that ran on the 26th. The article got corrupted some how.

Yesterday, I looked at some pitchers that will be for sure be on the DL at the beginning of the season. Now here is a look at some hitters that might also start on the DL. All numbers are from Yahoo leagues.

Note: When filling in players for just a couple of weeks, I look for players that will not hurt my batting average and add a few counting stats in the mean time. If players have similar batting averages, look for one with home run or stolen base potential.

Russell Martin – Right Groin Pull – May look to be back by the start of the season. It looks likes right now that owners should not be worried and should only miss 2 weeks at a maximum. Some possible nice fillers for the week are John Baker (12% owned), A.J Pierzynski (53% owned) and Ramon Hernandez (4% owned).

Alex Gordon – Broken Right Thumb – It was report by the team yesterday that Alex will spend at least 2 weeks on the DL. Alex is only held in 47% of all leagues and looks to be a decent candidate to hide on the DL during until he returns. A decent replacement for Alex will be his replacement Alberto Callaspo (26% owned) and is also qualified at 2B.

Brian Roberts – Herniated Disk in Back – Brian is just beginning to test his back, but there is a good chance he will be on the DL to start the season. The backup choices in Baltimore don’t look great, so head to the waive wire for someone like Felipe Lopez (48% owned), Skip Schumaker (42%), Casey McGhee (32%) and Alberto Callaspo (26%). One other note about Roberts is that when he comes back, he might have lost some speed and may not steal as many bases he did previously.

Russell Branyan – Herniated Disk in Back – I loved Russell as a late round pick, but his back is acting up. There is a chance he will be back in a week or barely play a week all season. If Russell is your #1 first baseman, start looking for another. Some 1B that may be available Paul Konerko (50%), Chirs Davis (48% – I would get him even if you have a 1B, huge upside), Luke Scott (17%) and Connor Jackson (9% – another player with huge upside that should be on a bench). If you picked him up as a bench player, hide him on the DL.

Ian Kinsler – High Right Ankle Sprain – He started hitting off a tee on Monday, but should/could be back by opening day. Look to grab one of the guys mentioned to replace Roberts (Lopez, Schumaker, McGhee or Callaspo). Also, you may look at keeping one of the 2B as Kinsler has spent some time on the DL in each of the past 4 seasons.