The New York Yankees will be just fine without first baseman Luke Voit for six weeks or so. How patient will you be with him in fantasy baseball? We are already seeing aggressive managers in ESPN standard leagues parting with Voit, who needs knee surgery to repair a partial meniscus tear, even though he literally led the sport in home runs last season. Yeah, fantasy managers can have short memories! Voit could miss more than six weeks, but still, this is someone I ranked as a sixth-round selection for good reason. Stick with him.
The Yankees retain plenty of lineup power, and the likely Voit replacement boasts some as well. Jay Bruce ranks fifth among active players with 318 home runs and, while he may not hit his weight in the short- or long-term, he may hit enough home runs to matter in deeper mixed leagues (and certainly the AL-only versions). Bruce has smacked 32 home runs since the start of 2019, although they came with a .212 average over 436 plate appearances. Of the 77 hitters to slug more blasts in that period, only Mitch Garver came to the plate fewer times.
Still, Voit's absence does place a bit more focus on other power hitters in the Yankees lineup, specifically shortstop Gleyber Torres, of whom much is expected. I was ranking Voit and Torres in roughly the same spot for fantasy and, frankly, had more concerns about the latter. Voit was sensational in 2020. Not only did he hit 22 home runs (three more than second place), but his .948 OPS ranked 16th. Torres hit just three home runs, with a .724 OPS. I used to pick on him because, aside from when he faced Baltimore Orioles pitching, his numbers were rather ordinary. Now others have noticed as well. The year ahead is big for Torres.
Anyway, so much of this weekend's news was about fringe players who did and did not make their respective rosters and I suppose Bruce is one of them. Good for him! I expected all nine Yankees in the projected Opening Day lineup to hit 20-plus home runs. Perhaps Bruce plays and ends up hitting for enough power to add another Yankee to the crew, either because Voit misses more time than expected or because, ahem, it seems unlikely the team's designated hitter (Giancarlo Stanton) will bat 500 times.
Here are 20 other names in the news, ever so briefly and alphabetically by section, after a busy transactions weekend.
Jazz Chisholm, 2B, Miami Marlins: I still have doubts that he can hit as high as .240 with his aggressive plate approach and strikeout rate, but he has won the starting job from Isan Diaz. There is potential here for home runs and stolen bases, perhaps 20 or more of both. This is a wise late-round gamble.
Zack Collins, DH, Chicago White Sox: I also have doubts about the White Sox moving top prospect Andrew Vaughn to left field to replace injured Eloy Jimenez, but doing so opens up the DH role for Collins, the former catcher who has power and draws walks. He is not eligible at catcher at ESPN Fantasy. By the way, this is going to hurt, but you should cut Jimenez in redraft formats. He is out at least five months.
Peter Fairbanks, RP, Tampa Bay Rays: Nick Anderson figures to miss at least half the season with an elbow injury, which means I can no longer steal Fairbanks in the final round of my drafts. Fairbanks should get some saves, along with Diego Castillo and, literally, pitchers you have never heard of.
Enrique Hernandez, 2B/OF, Boston Red Sox: This lineup really should do better than a fellow with a .313 career on-base percentage leading off, but apparently he won the role. He has 25-homer pop with regular playing time and, thanks to this odd decision and big bats behind him, he will score runs.
Ian Kennedy, RP, Texas Rangers: Mock all you like, but Kennedy was legitimately one of the top closers in fantasy during the second half of 2019, and the Rangers need a closer. It could also be Matt Bush, but I doubt it. I would not bother drafting/stashing the injured Jose Leclerc or Jonathan Hernandez.
Alejandro Kirk, C, Toronto Blue Jays: Kirk earned a roster spot and, while he may not play more than the more defensive-minded Danny Jansen, he figures to hit much better and become a potential top-20 fantasy catcher. The bar at that position is not high.
Kevin Newman, 2B/SS, Pittsburgh Pirates: The fact he is hitting a silly .714 (in 28 AB) this spring tells us nothing, really, except that he indeed had a good spring. It is hardly a harbinger of a batting title. Then again, he did hit .308 in 2019 with double-digit homers and steals. I may spend a top-200 mixed league pick to find out.
Adam Ottavino, RP, Boston Red Sox: Likely closer Matt Barnes tested positive for COVID-19, opening up the ninth-inning role to Ottavino, who may be an upgrade skills-wise. In other words, Ottavino may keep the role even when Barnes returns.
Eugenio Suarez, 3B, Cincinnati Reds: Suarez last played shortstop regularly in 2015 -- and he played it badly -- but it has not stopped the Reds from moving him back there so they can get rookie Jonathan India into the lineup. It's an odd move, but the added eligibility (after 10 games) will help fantasy managers. India boasts a 1.056 OPS this spring. If it is India or Chisholm as a final-round, middle-infield gamble, I think I'd still go with Jazz.
Taylor Trammell, OF, Seattle Mariners: The well-traveled prospect won a starting role that he may or may not be prepared for, but good for the Mariners. They will find out. Trammell should at least steal some bases. Jarred Kelenic could be only a few weeks behind, but his promotion is not contingent on Trammell's performance.
Rafael Dolis, RP, Toronto Blue Jays: Jordan Romano may have won the closer role anyway in place of injured Kirby Yates, but the fact that Dolis missed the past two weeks with back spasms made this an obvious decision.
Nico Hoerner, 2B/SS, Chicago Cubs: Not that anyone thought he would be an instant offensive power, but it is still surprising how the Cubs sent him down and gave the second base job to David Bote. This might be one of those "legal but immoral" two-week minor league stays just because of future roster control.
Spencer Howard, SP, Philadelphia Phillies: Fantasy managers continue coveting this intriguing prospect. Yet, even when he does get back to the majors, the organization has chosen an odd initial hybrid role for him, where he neither starts nor finishes games. This is not good for fantasy.
Carter Kieboom, 3B, Washington Nationals: He's still only 23 so give him time in NL-only formats. That said, he did not hit in 2020, or this spring. Now Josh Harrison is a starting infielder and Kieboom is back in the minors -- and not for roster-manipulation reasons, either. It's hard to believe.
Scott Kingery, 2B, Philadelphia Phillies: Speaking of which, we hope we will not soon be discussing Kieboom in the same way we now do Kingery. Never say never, but it sure looks as if Kingery will not reach the statistical heights we once thought he would. He did not make the Phillies roster. I fully admit that I thought Kingery, who I saw dominate the minors in 2017, would be awesome by now. Sad emoji.
Michael Lorenzen, RP, Cincinnati Reds: Fantasy managers flock his way not only for the potential wins and saves, but because he can really hit. Well, he will be doing nothing for the next few weeks as he deals with a shoulder strain. Lorenzen prepared for a starting role and perhaps he still gets that chance in mid-to-late April.
Miles Mikolas, SP, St. Louis Cardinals: I keep seeing fantasy managers draft him in mixed leagues, but the 2018 version who won 18 games (albeit with a poor K rate) still has shoulder soreness. He did not pitch in 2020. He will not pitch for a while in 2021, either.
Alec Mills, SP, Chicago Cubs: Two pitchers completed no-hitters in 2020. One was White Sox ace Lucas Giolito. We all love him. Mills was the other and he was a semi-popular, late-round pick. Now that the Cubs have buried Mills in a long-relief role (which is hardly permanent, but still speaks volumes), he will be popular no more.
Renato Nunez, 1B, Detroit Tigers: Nunez is another popular later-round pick because a mere 30 hitters eclipsed his 12 home runs in 2020. Unfortunately, he did not make Detroit's roster. He could still find work somewhere, but fantasy managers must move on. Move on from former Tigers closer Joe Jimenez, too, as he also did not make the roster.
Scott Oberg, RP, Colorado Rockies: The Daniel Bard non-believers kept flocking to Oberg for potential saves, but his career may now be over due to blood clots in his elbow. Mychal Givens and Yency Almonte may be next in line for saves if Bard falters. I think I will avoid those fellows.
