Jake Roth, USA Today Sports
If you have Chase Headley on your fantasy baseball team, as I do, then you are certainly glad that he has returned to the San Diego Padres lineup. So are the Padres. They have missed his bat, as they have started the season off with a dismal 4-10 record. To put that into perspective, that record puts them in Miami Marlins and Houston Astros territory. Headley played four rehab games in the minors after recovering from his fractured thumb and has been declared ready to go.
In 2012, Headley sprang into the ranks of premier power hitters with a surprising 115 RBI and 31 HRs, and won a Silver Slugger award. The RBI total led the National League. In the previous three seasons combined, he had a total of 27 HRs for the Padres. Given the importance of the thumb in gripping the bat, it is reasonable to expect Headley to need some time to get his power stroke back.
In addition to his bat, the Padres certainly will welcome the 2012 Gold Glove winner back at third base. The four players who alternated to replace him made five errors in the first 14 games.
Headley’s return does have another interesting fantasy result. Jedd Gyorko, the Padre’s second round draft pick in 2010, has been alternating between 3B and 2B, which can be a tough act for a rookie to pull off. Now, he could become the everyday 2B, which might allow him to get a little more comfortable and improve his AVG from his current .244. With the injury to Aaron Hill and the poor starts by Danny Espinosa and Jason Kipnis, Gyorko might possibly become a player of interest and a hot trading chip at 2B.
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