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The injury news has been rather grim of late.
Hyun-Jin Ryu is headed to the IL with an injury to the same groin that sidelined him for three and a half months last year. It's not nearly as severe this time and solves the Dodgers' problem of too many arms with Clayton Kershaw scheduled to return soon, but it's still not what Ryu owners want.
Then there's the damage dealt to the Rockies lineup, which recently lost spring standout Ryan McMahon to a strained elbow. Now the perpetually injured David Dahl is contending with what manager Bud Black called a "slight" core injury. He's not on the IL yet, but it seems like an inevitable outcome.
Still, those are minor injuries. The potential whopper Monday was the report of Luis Severino needing another MRI on his shoulder after feeling discomfort during a long-toss session. Yup, just like teammate Miguel Andujar, he'll be holding an IL spot hostage until we find out more. Right now, the diagnosis is inflammation in the rotator cuff, but if this latest test reveals a tear, all bets are off for 2019. Even in a best case, Severino is still weeks away from returning.
Of course, you have to stash a prospective ace like Severino if there's reasonable hope for a return. But by now, you may be feeling the strain of too many injury cases for too few spots. At some point, you have to draw a line just to have enough pieces to function.
These rankings will help you draw that line. They're designed with three basic questions in mind:
- How good is the player?
- What's the timetable?
- How likely is the injury to impact his performance?
In this instance, I would say the top nine are all must-stash regardless of whether your league offers IL spots. The timetables are short enough and the potential impact great enough. Probably, though, most Fantasy owners would find it worth their while to stash each of the top 19. Anyone beyond that is still advisable, of course, if you have the space to spare, but otherwise, it may be time to move on.
| 1 | 
Francisco Lindor
Cleveland Indians SS
|
| sprained ankle | |
| 2 | 
Trea Turner
Washington Nationals SS
|
| fractured finger | |
| 3 | 
Giancarlo Stanton
New York Yankees LF
|
| strained biceps | |
| 4 | 
Clayton Kershaw
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
|
| shoulder inflammation | |
| 5 | 
Luis Severino
New York Yankees SP
|
| rotator cuff inflammation | |
| 6 | 
Mike Clevinger
Cleveland Indians SP
|
| strained back | |
| 7 | 
Daniel Murphy
Colorado Rockies 1B
|
| fractured finger | |
| 8 | 
Mike Foltynewicz
Atlanta Braves SP
|
| elbow discomfort | |
| 9 | 
Aaron Hicks
New York Yankees CF
|
| back discomfort | |
| 10 | 
Scooter Gennett
Cincinnati Reds 2B
|
| strained groin | |
| 11 | 
Matt Olson
Oakland Athletics 1B
|
| fractured hand | |
| 12 | 
Miguel Andujar
New York Yankees 3B
|
| torn shoulder labrum | |
| 13 | 
Hyun-Jin Ryu
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
|
| strained groin | |
| 14 | 
Ryan McMahon
Colorado Rockies 1B
|
| strained elbow | |
| 15 | 
Gregory Polanco
Pittsburgh Pirates RF
|
| torn shoulder labrum | |
| 16 | 
Rich Hill
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
|
| sprained knee | |
| 17 | 
Didi Gregorius
New York Yankees SS
|
| Tommy John surgery | |
| 18 | 
Jeremy Jeffress
Milwaukee Brewers RP
|
| shoulder discomfort | |
| 19 | 
Shohei Ohtani
Los Angeles Angels SP
|
| Tommy John surgery | |
| 20 | 
Carlos Martinez
St. Louis Cardinals SP
|
| shoulder inflammation | |
| 21 | 
Jimmy Nelson
Milwaukee Brewers SP
|
| torn rotator cuff | |
| 22 | 
Justin Upton
Los Angeles Angels LF
|
| turf toe | |
| 23 | 
Jed Lowrie
New York Mets 3B
|
| sprained knee | |
| 24 | 
Alex Wood
Cincinnati Reds SP
|
| back discomfort | |
| 25 | 
Andrew Heaney
Los Angeles Angels SP
|
| elbow discomfort | |
| 26 | 
Miguel Sano
Minnesota Twins 3B
|
| heel laceration | |
| 27 | 
Hunter Strickland
Seattle Mariners RP
|
| strained lat | |
| 28 | 
Jake Lamb
Arizona Diamondbacks 1B
|
| strained quadriceps | |
| 29 | 
Joey Wendle
Tampa Bay Rays 2B
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 30 | 
Corey Dickerson
Pittsburgh Pirates LF
|
| strained shoulder | |
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