Welcome back to the next edition of the fantasy baseball injury report where we take a look at players who suffered significant injuries in 2016 and have red flags all over them heading into the 2017 season.  These are impact fantasy players who may see their draft value slip so they can provide great value if you are patient enough to grab them when the time is right in a draft.  So without further ado, here is the next installment of the MLB pre-season walking wounded.

Kyle Schwarber (OF-CHC)

Injury He suffered a knee injury during the first week of the 2016 season requiring surgery and which cost him the rest of the year until he returned during the playoffs.

2016 Season – The young slugger only played in two games going 0-fot-4 with one walk and two strikeouts before being shut down.  He returned for the World Series and hit .412 with two RBI, two runs scored and one stolen base.

Reason For Optimism  

  • Schwarber was able to return during the 2016 post-season so he enters spring training already ahead of the game.
  • The Cubs view him as a third string catcher which should hopefully get him enough games behind the plate to qualify again at the position.
  • With Dexter Fowler now in St. Louis and Jorge Soler in Kansas City, the Cubs logjam in the outfield has been significant cleared which will allow Schwarber ample opportunity to play every day.

Reason For Concern

  • It is no secret that Schwarber is a defensive liability so Joe Maddon could limit his playing time if his defense becomes problematic.
  • Schwarber was injured while playing defense in the outfield and is susceptible to suffering the same fate due to his limited defensive skills.
  • We forget how young and inexperienced Schwarber is so he will have to prove he can hit left-handed pitching in order to really establish himself as an offensive force.

 

2017 OUTLOOK Fantasy GMs will be salivating at the thought of Schwarber qualifying as a catcher at some point because of the tremendous power he can provide.  His injury last year put a damper on many GMs’ rosters so people may be a little hesitant to buy in again at the same price this year.  Schwarber will get every opportunity to play every day until he proves he cannot.  He will be hitting in a loaded lineup and should easily reach 30 home runs if he can stay healthy and prove he can handle left-handed pitching.  If we believe Joe Maddon that the Cubs view him as a third-string catcher and plan on using him sporadically behind the plate, then it will be interesting to see how GMs strategize in drafting Schwarber in terms of over-reaching for him.  He will certainly be a viable source of power but we must temper expectations slightly since he did miss most of the 2016 season and is still a young hitter learning to make adjustments. 

Michael A. Stein, Esq. is the Chief Justice of Fantasy Judgment, the industry's premier dispute resolution service, and co-host of the Fantasy Alarm Podcast.  You can contact him at michael.stein@fantasyjudgment.com or on Facebook and Twitter (@FantasyJudgment),