Fantasy Baseball: Ranking the top 30 DL stashes with Madison Bumgarner, Carlos Martinez, Yadier Molina returning

Madison Bumgarner, Carlos Martinez and Yadier Molina are all set to come off the DL Tuesday, which frees up space in Scott White's DL stash rankings.

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At long last, Madison Bumgarner is back.

Out since breaking the pinky finger on his pitching hand late in spring training, the former World Series MVP will make his season debut Tuesday against the Diamondbacks. And he's not alone. 

Carlos Martinez, out since early May with a strained lat, and Yadier Molina, out just as long after a nightmare foul tip forced him to the operating table, are also set to return Tuesday. Here we are.

So while there's value in showing where those practically healthy players would rank alongside the still-injured, helping you calibrate just how much timetable factors into the discussion (they'd be third, fifth and 18th, respectively), there's even more value in adding three new names to the back of the list — ones who you'll actually have a chance to slot into an IR spot. You won't find Bumgarner, Martinez or Molina on this list, in other words, and by the time you look at it, they may not qualify anyway.

But what determines the order for the players I do include? Here are the guidelines, in order of priority:

1. How good is the player?
   
2. What's his timetable?
   
3. How likely is his injury to impact his performance?
   

Unfortunately, we've seen a lot of good players with shortish timetables go on the DL recently, from Mookie Betts to Rhys Hoskins to Brandon Belt, and with former standouts like Adam Eaton, Carlos Rodon and Zach Britton gearing up to return from longer absences, your IR may be spilling onto your bench at this point. Frankly, I'm not sure any of the top 21 should be unowned in leagues of any real size, and dropping any of the top 12 even in the shallowest leagues is unthinkable.

But it's either make the tough decision now, or make it a week or two from now, when many of these guys are back. In most cases, you'd rather play short-handed than give up a rest-of-season asset.

Top DL stashes

1	Mookie Betts Boston Red Sox RF
strained abdominal
2	Noah Syndergaard New York Mets SP
strained finger
3	Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers SP
strained back
4	Rhys Hoskins Philadelphia Phillies LF
fractured jaw
5	A.J. Pollock Arizona Diamondbacks CF
fractured thumb
6	Yu Darvish Chicago Cubs SP
triceps tendinitis
7	Chris Archer Tampa Bay Rays SP
strained abdominal
8	Robbie Ray Arizona Diamondbacks SP
strained oblique
9	Josh Donaldson Toronto Blue Jays 3B
strained calf
10	Elvis Andrus Texas Rangers SS
fractured elbow
11	Wil Myers San Diego Padres RF
strained oblique
12	Brandon Belt San Francisco Giants 1B
appendicitis
13	Adam Eaton Washington Nationals CF
ankle surgery
14	Ronald Acuna Atlanta Braves LF
sprained knee
15	Daniel Murphy Washington Nationals 2B
knee surgery
16	Yoenis Cespedes New York Mets LF
strained hip flexor
17	Kenta Maeda Los Angeles Dodgers SP
strained hip
18	Mike Soroka Atlanta Braves SP
shoulder inflammation
19	Carlos Rodon Chicago White Sox SP
shoulder surgery
20	Johnny Cueto San Francisco Giants SP
sprained elbow
21	Zach Britton Baltimore Orioles RP
ruptured Achilles
22	Julio Teheran Atlanta Braves SP
bruised thumb
23	Alex Reyes St. Louis Cardinals SP
strained lat
24	Eric Thames Milwaukee Brewers 1B
thumb surgery
25	Brian McCann Houston Astros C
sore knee
26	Paul DeJong St. Louis Cardinals SS
fractured hand
27	Rich Hill Los Angeles Dodgers SP
blister
28	Joey Lucchesi San Diego Padres SP
strained hip
29	Jeff Samardzija San Francisco Giants SP
shoulder inflammation
30	Marcus Stroman Toronto Blue Jays SP
shoulder fatigue