Jennifer Hilderbrand-USA TODAY Sports
It was only a matter of time before the Colorado Rockies‘ Troy Tulowitzki landed on the disabled list. The best shortstop in fantasy baseball left Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury. For those of us in a weekly league where your lineup locks before the first game on Monday, you loathe the Sunday injury. So what does Tulo’s latest injury mean in the short and long term for fantasy players?
It is being reported that Tulowitzki suffered a left shoulder strain. The odds are he will land on the disabled list, and you can bet the Rockies will be extra careful with their best player. In the short term, expect Tulo in the best case to miss only a few games this week. In the worst case, a long DL stint will occur, and any Tulowitzki owner from 2012 that avoided him for this season probably feels a lot smarter right now. In 2012 it seemed like Tulowitzki was scheduled to return from the DL every week, but of course he never did return.
If you are in a weekly league you are in luck as the first game starts Monday at 7:05 PM giving you enough time to pick up a replacement shortstop for the week. Of course most of the shortstops who are off to hot starts are most likely owned in many leagues. Here’s a list of three shortstops that are probably available in most leagues.
The Cincinnati Reds‘ Zack Cozart has missed some time due to minor injuries. He is not hitting for much average at .198 through 22 games, but he does have four home runs. He is probably available in most leagues.
The Atlanta Braves‘ Andrelton Simmons was a sleeper of many, but is off to a terrible start and has been cut in many leagues. Simmons is still a good bet to swipe some bases, and in the absence of Tulowitzki you could do worse for a replacement.
The Detroit Tigers‘ Jhonny Peralta is another shortstop that is probably available in most leagues. Peralta is off to a nice start and hits in one of the league’s best lineups. Peralta is hitting .310 with two home runs and is the best add out of this bunch as a replacement for Tulowitzki.
For more fantasy baseball rants and rumblings follow Brian Fischler on Twitter.
