Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2012: 5 Injury-Prone Hitters to Avoid

Eric Chavez was once a premier offensive third baseman until a string of injuries halted his success. Chavez has played in just 212 games over the last five seasons.

Injuries hamper fantasy baseball teams every season, and this year will be no different.

Here are five injury-prone hitters to leave off your fantasy team. 

Chipper Jones

No disrespect to one of the best switch-hitters of all time, but Larry Wayne Jones Jr. is turning 40 years old in less than a month and has to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus.

Chipper tore the meniscus in his other knee last summer.

With two surgically repaired knees, Jones may not be able to play more than 100 games this season. While he'll surely put up consistently solid and productive numbers, other third basemen will be available who will be healthier and tally better stats. 

Kendrys Morales

Poor Kendrys Morales. After having one of the best seasons among MLB first basemen in 2009, he broke his leg while celebrating a walk-off homer at home plate in 2010 and missed the next 273 games.

He was off to a great start when said injury occurred, and chances are he'll play well again this season if he can stay healthy.

The best bet with Morales is to draft him in a late round or hope he goes undrafted and wait a month or so while keeping an eye on his performance.

Carlos Beltran

Carlos Beltran can still play. The five-tool player was once highly sought after and extremely valuable.

Beltran is now 34 and has played in fewer than 100 games in three of the last four seasons. When healthy, he can still put up monster numbers (.300, 22 HR, 84 RBI in 2011), but his recent injury history suggests he's a risk and should be picked up only through waivers.

Justin Morneau

Once one of the scariest power hitters in the league, Twins slugger Justin Morneau has played in 150 games in the span of two seasons, and it's unclear when he will return to his old self.

Like the other players on this list, Morneau is dangerous when healthy, but injuries have plagued him lately. Until things change, he should be cautiously added to your roster.

Grady Sizemore

Cleveland center fielder Grady Sizemore was once a player on the rise and an All-Star. In the last two years he's played a total of 104 games with 10 home runs, 45 RBI, four stolen bases and a .220 batting average.

It's a shame to see such a promising young talent struggle through injuries like Sizemore has, but there are plenty of other viable outfielders who should be considered long before Sizemore until he proves he's fully recovered.