Fantasy Baseball Injury Rankings: Top 50 IL stashes with Oneil Cruz and Jose Ramirez suffering a hand fracture
There can be no silver lining for those who lost Jose Ramirez to a fractured hamate bone over the weekend. Their first-round pick is now out for more than a month, and no matter how shallow the league, there's no accounting for that loss.
Worse yet, the injury comes only two weeks after consensus best player in Fantasy Aaron Judge was lost to a stress fracture in his rib and a week after Ronald Acuna's hamstring put him out of commission again. Between those three and Oneil Cruz (fractured hand), the IL is as abounding in star power as it's been all year.
Those of us who've managed to dodge those bullets can indeed see a silver lining, though, and it's that Hunter Brown is at long last set to return from a shoulder strain Tuesday. The undisputed Fantasy ace made only two starts before landing on the IL in early April.
Cal Raleigh (strained oblique), meanwhile, is also expected back Tuesday, as are Yainer Diaz (strained oblique), J.P. Crawford (bruised hand) and Kodai Senga (lumbar spine inflammation). Those players obviously command varying degrees of interest, with only Raleigh being an absolute must across the board, but my point in mentioning them is that it doesn't make sense to rank them here since they'll be active by the time you can actually do anything about it. I'm going to put Casey Mize (strained adductor) in the same category even though he's not being activated until Wednesday. He would have already come off the IL Sunday if not for a rainout, so the chances of the Tigers pulling back on him seem remote.
I'll remind you once again that the order here is more about how impactful the player will be when healthy than how close he is to returning, though both factors carry some weight.
Too valuable to drop, period
1
Elly De La Cruz
Cincinnati Reds SS
strained hamstring - testing himself on the bases early this week to determine if he's ready for a rehab assignment2
Ronald Acuna Jr.
Atlanta Braves RF
strained hamstring - has already missed about a week with an injury that cost him two weeks earlier this year; should return in late June3
Aaron Judge
New York Yankees RF
stress fracture in rib - about two weeks into an injury that will be reassessed in 4-6 weeks4
Jose Ramirez
Cleveland Guardians 3B
fractured hamate bone - expected to miss 5-7 weeks, which puts him out until the second half5
Francisco Lindor
New York Mets SS
strained calf - has been playing in simulated games as he nears a rehab assignment, could return before the end of June6
Oneil Cruz
Pittsburgh Pirates CF
fractured hand - fractures are non-displaced, which will hopefully put him on the closer end of the 4-to-6 week timetable7
Max Fried
New York Yankees SP
bone bruise in elbow - ready to resume throwing off a mound; first session will be "touch and feel" as he progresses toward rehab assignment8
Hunter Greene
Cincinnati Reds SP
bone spurs in elbow - will begin rehab assignment Thursday, may need a month to build up but should return before All-Star break9
Tyler Glasnow
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
back spasms - still no word on when he'll resume throwing following an injury that seemed minor at first; out until the All-Star break at least10
Garrett Crochet
Boston Red Sox RP
strained lat - mixed messages about injury, from it being "a lot worse" than first reported to it being asymptomatic; should return in second half11
Munetaka Murakami
Chicago White Sox 1B
strained hamstring - about three weeks into 4-to-6-week timetable, so we should hear talk of him resuming running soon12
Corey Seager
Texas Rangers SS
concussion - generally banged up after home plate collision, seemed like he might avoid the IL at first so may require only the minimum seven days13
Konnor Griffin
Pittsburgh Pirates SS
flexor strain - has been throwing at team's spring training complex, could return before the end of the month14
Ryan Helsley
Baltimore Orioles RP
elbow inflammation - has looked good in two rehab appearances, so you can expect him back at some point this week15
Edwin Diaz
Los Angeles Dodgers RP
loose bodies in elbow - will throw first bullpen session this week, trending toward returning right around the All-Star break16
Blake Snell
Los Angeles Dodgers SP
loose bodies in elbow - began playing catch over a week ago; had same less-invasive procedure as Tarik Skubal and now nearly a month into recovery17
Teoscar Hernandez
Los Angeles Dodgers LF
strained hamstring - resuming baseball activities this week and could go on rehab assignment this weekend, expected to beat initial one-month timetable18
Eury Perez
Miami Marlins SP
adductor strain - initial timetable was eight weeks, but he's set to begin rehab assignment Thursday after missing only three
Also really difficult to drop
19
Brent Rooker
Athletics DH
bone bruise in knee - cortisone shot will hopefully speed up recovery, allowing him to return when first eligible20
Brandon Woodruff
Milwaukee Brewers SP
shoulder inflammation - scheduled fo