If you're a Giancarlo Stanton owner, chances are you're scrambling this weekend. The Miami Marlins slugger broke his left hand, and he's expected to be out 4-6 weeks. It's a long season, but surviving this stretch without Stanton could prove difficult for a lot of teams out there. Stanton was leading the league in homers (27) and RBI (67) before going down.
So what now? Replacing Stanton's power via free agency is going to be impossible, but there are a few candidates who can boost you in other categories.
Cubs CF Dexter Fowler is owned in just 22.6 percent of FOX Sports leagues, and he actually has more runs scored (48) than Stanton does this year. Fowler's 8 HR and 11 SB out of the leadoff spot can be useful, if you can stomach the .237 batting average.
Rays OF Steven Souza Jr. is a similar option with more power who is owned in just 26.3 percent.
If you're a Stanton owner, just try to stay afloat. If your lineup is already short on power, consider punting that for the next few weeks and loading up on runs and stolen bases, which are much easier to find in free agency.
If you're not a Stanton owner? Time to start sending out those trade offers to see if you can get an owner with an itchy trigger finger to panic.
In other news...
In more injured hand news, Twins prized rookie Byron Buxton is on the DL with a strained thumb and is slated to miss 4-6 weeks. You should cut bait, but keep him on your watch list for later in the season. Buxton has game-changing speed.
Don't look now, but Stephen Strasburg has pieced together two quality starts in a row. Maybe they should be taken with a grain of salt since they came against the Braves without Freddie Freeman and an awful Phillies team, but 9 strikeouts over 7 innings is certainly promising, regardless of the opponent. This was Strasburg's first start since April 19th (which was also against the Phillies) in which he went over 7 innings.
If you listen to John Halpin's Fantasy 15 podcast (you should be doing that), you'll know that he's been just waiting for Rangers rookie Chi Chi Gonzalez to come crashing back down to earth. It's starting to happen. Gonzalez now has 17 walks to 14 strikeouts on the season, which obviously is something you want no part of in fantasy leagues or DFS. Don't get suckered in by the super low ERA (2.59) like 21.3 percent of FOX Sports fantasy players have already.
I am buying on Ubaldo Jimenez, however. He pitched another gem this weekend against the Indians, going 8 scoreless innings with 7 strikeouts. Jimenez is owned in just 57 percent of FOX Sports leagues, and he's averaging more than a strikeout per inning with a solid 3.09 ERA.
The Braves were dealt another injury below, as rookie starter Williams Perez was sent to the DL with a foot contusion. Perez had been pretty useful in his first eight starts with a 2.31 ERA.
Grady Sizemore isn't quite done yet. After being cut by the Phillies (the Phillies!) earlier in the season, Sizemore has latched back on with the Rays. So far, so good for the former All-Star: Sizemore went 3-for-5 in his debut with Tampa Bay.
One former star who won't be making his way back to the bigs this season is Johan Santana. He had been trying to comeback with the Blue Jays, but a toe infection will have to curb that hope, at least for this year.
Andrew McCutchen and Robinson Cano both had injury scares Saturday. Cano looked like he was growing a second head after taking an errant throw to the dome, but the good news is that both returned to their respective lineups on Sunday.
Big time pitching prospect Steven Matz is making his big league debut for the Mets today. You'll have to check back with John Halpin for his final numbers, but I just saw him knock a two-run double in. The Mets' pitchers might be the Mets' best hitters.
Check back Monday for more Quick Hits!
