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.

Wade Davis (RP-CHC)

Injury – He suffered from a right forearm injury which landed him on the disabled list on multiple occasions in 2016.

2016 Season – Davis had a 2-1 record with a 1.87 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 27 saves and 47 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.

Reason For Optimism  

  • Davis managed to avoid any serious long-term injury by resting his injured forearm and still put up dominant numbers despite the forearm issues.
  • He is in a great position closing for the Cubs who should win close to 100 games this year and could approach 50 saves if he remains healthy.
  • Despite a rocky start to his spring training, he has plenty of time to work out the kinks and be ready for Opening Day.

Reason For Concern

  • Forearm issues are typically a pre-cursor for needing Tommy John surgery so he will need to be closely watched throughout the season.
  • While his numbers in 2016 were spectacular, they still regressed from his dominant 2015 as his ERA increased by almost one full run.
  • The Cubs will likely be cautious with Davis which means he may not pitch in back to back games until he proves he can remain healthy.

2017 OUTLOOK – Davis was simply a throw-in in a trade from Tampa Bay a couple years ago and emerged as one of the most dominant relief pitchers in baseball in 2015.  He was a key part of the Royals championship team and now finds himself on another championship-caliber team with the defending champs.  Under normal circumstances he would be one of the top two or three closers drafted, but there are red flags linked to him due to his multiple stints on the disabled list in 2016 with forearm issues.  His draft value has slid a bit due to these concerns, but he is still an upper echelon closer and will provide dominant statistics in four of the five Roto categories.  It would be wise to draft a second top tier closer to complement him just in case the injury rears its ugly head again this season.  Don’t overspend on him too much, but salivate at the prospect of him closing games for a team that is likely going to win more games than anyone else in 2017.

 

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).