One of the things that's tough about Fantasy Baseball, at least relative to other Fantasy games, is that injuries are usually just bad news. In Fantasy Football, an injury typically means an opportunity for someone else to step into a larger role and become a Fantasy contributor, because football is inherently a zero-sum sport – every touch one player gets is, by definition, a touch another player doesn't get.
In baseball, it usually isn't that simple. I mean, sure, injuries will lead to an opportunity for someone to get more playing time, obviously. But where in football, opportunity is arguably the primary factor determining whether a player is Fantasy relevant, talent is much more important in baseball, and most teams just don't have capable replacements sitting around when injuries crop up.
So, let's hope the injuries Dylan Cease and Hunter Greene suffered on Wednesday aren't serious. The good news is, it seems like both have avoided a worst-case scenario – Cease's injury was reported as a cramp, which seems like a very minor issue, and good news all things considered. Greene's injury is less straightforward, but at least it was a groin injury and not something to his arm, which would be especially concerning given his history of shoulder and elbow issues.
Still, you can never be sure with pitching injuries. Cease's issue is especially frustrating because he was having his best start of the season, but manager Mike Schildt did tell reporters that the "training staff's not overly concerned." Greene also downplayed concerns about his injury, saying, "Hopefully I don't have to miss any starts." However, he did acknowledge that he'll have to have an MRI taken Thursday, so we won't know for sure until at least then.
For now, it's important to be proactive and try to identify some replacement options. Just in case the optimistic tone struck in the immediate aftermath of the injuries proves to be too rosy. Plus, even if these end up being relatively minor issues, you can never really know what, if any, downstream issues might crop up as a result of even a minor injury. Pitchers are creatures of habit, and even a relatively small issue could knock someone like Greene off track – which would be especially frustrating, given his apparent ace turn early this season.
With all that in mind, before we get to everything else you need to know about from Wednesday's action, let's quickly run through some replacement options at pitcher to consider adding. Just in case Greene or Cease have to miss some time.
Potential SP replacement options on waivers
Michael Wacha, Royals (69%) – Even before Wednesday's excellent start (against the White Sox), Wacha felt underrostered. He doesn't have huge upside, but he also hasn't had an ERA over 3.35 or a WHIP over 1.19 since 2021, and that's a useful pitcher even if he gives you well below a strikeout per inning.
Matthew Liberatore, Cardinals (65%) – Liberatore is off to an excellent start to the season thanks to a velocity bump and a new slider-first approach. But he had to tweak that approach against a righty-heavy Pirates lineup Tuesday and still pitched well. He looks like he might be living up to that former prospect hype.
Bubba Chandler, Pirates (73%) – If you're looking for immediate help, it won't come from Chandler. Though it might come, like, next week – the Pirates seem to be following the Paul Skenes model for Chandler's development, and Skenes debuted on May 11 last season. Chandler has seen a bump in the quality of his stuff this season and is unquestionably one of the most exciting pitching prospects in baseball these days.
Andrew Abbott, Reds (61%) – I find Abbott utterly confounding. Sometimes, he looks like a great strikeout pitcher with mediocre control; sometimes, he looks like a mediocre strikeout pitcher who gets by on limiting hard contact. He always gives up a lot of fly balls, which should doom him in Cincinnati. And yet, here he stands, nearly 300 innings into his MLB career with a 3.65 ERA, so he's doing something right, even if it usually isn't the same thing. I don't have a lot of faith in him (especially at home), but he keeps getting the job done.
Tyler Anderson, Angels (51%) – We know the deal with Anderson at this point: He gets the job done right up until the point when he doesn't. In 2024, he had a 2.97 ERA before the All-Star break and a 5.43 mark after. His margin for error is slim, but when he's executing well with his changeup, he can be a very useful Fantasy option.
Gunnar Hoglund, Athletics (44%) – Only three strikeouts in five innings in his second start is a bit disappointing, but the Mariners are a much tougher matchup than you might give them credit for, especially away from home, and there was still some good stuff going on under the hood for Hoglund Wednesday. He was given room to throw 99 pitches, which is no small thing in and of itself, and he got 13 whiffs, with his fastball/sweeper/changeup combo looking pretty solid in the early going. I don't think he's a difference-maker, but I like what we've seen from Hoglund this season, dating back to his time in the minors. The big problem with adding him: He gets the Dodgers next week.
Chase Petty, Reds (7%) – Petty's first major-league start was an outright disaster, as the Cardinals tagged him for nine runs over 2.1 innings last week. But he shrugged that one off, went back to Triple-A, and dominated, striking out eight over six innings of work with 14 swinging strikes. If Greene has to miss time, Petty seems like a good bet to get recalled, and I wouldn't hold that bad debut against him too much. He's still a solid pitching prospect.
Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (31%) – Kershaw has allowed just four runs in four starts on his rehab stint and might need just one more outing before he returns to the Dodgers. He's down to around 87-88 mph with his fastball and hasn't been getting many strikeouts, so my expectations aren't super high. But it's Clayton Kershaw, so he's earned at least some deference at this point in his career.
