Tigers: J.D. Martinez to Start Season on DL, Fantasy Impact
By Bill Pivetz
The Detroit Tigers will be without their star outfielder J.D. Martinez for at least a month. How far do you move him down in your rankings?
The Detroit Tigers, despite not being active this offseason, are still a competitive team in the American League Central. Things will be more difficult after Friday’s news. They will be without star outfielder J.D. Martinez for at least three weeks. How does this impact your fantasy rankings?
Jason Beck of MLB.com tweeted that Martinez has a sprain of the lisfranc ligament in right foot and will be out 3-4 weeks and in a walking boot for 7-10 days. Beck later clarified that he is shut down 3-4 weeks from baseball activities.
If we go with the four-week projection, that lands us around April 21, three weeks into the season. However, that’s when Martinez will be able to begin practicing again. I’d give him another week or two in the minors before joining his teammates in Detroit. That will put his return around the beginning of May.
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Since coming over to Detroit from Houston, Martinez’s fantasy value skyrocketed. His previous best was 2012 when he played in 113 games with 11 home runs and a .241 average. Now? He is a 20-home run, .285 hitter.
In 2015, he played in 158 games with 38 homers, 108 RBI and .282. Last season was a bit of a downer.
Martinez played in just 120 games but he still hit 22 home runs with a .307 average. He finished No. 134 overall on the ESPN Player Rater.
Entering this season, he was my No. 7 outfielder and No. 37 overall. Martinez had potential to hit another 25 home runs, 90 RBI and .290 if he played the full season.
This is why I don’t like drafting until the final week of Spring Training. Anything can and likely will happen. Now, if you drafted Martinez, you’re stuck using your DL spot on someone you were banking on to play 150 games and hit 30 home runs.
If you need a replacement for the first month, Mitch Haniger will likely be available in standard leagues. He has an ADP of 339.5. We’ve been pumping him up all offseason. In a loaded Seattle offseason, Haniger can have a great season. Randal Grichuk is another good option to replace the power, but he will hit just .245.
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We already have a few players missing significant time so Martinez’s is making drafts worse. Two of my top 28 outfielders will be out at least a month. Let’s hope this doesn’t affect Martinez all season or he could be my bust of the year.