Fantasy Baseball Injury Analysis, Mar. 1, 2009

Ahhh, games are finally here and of course that means more people to follow.

Chris Carpenter only needed 19 pitches to go through two innings of work today.  This is a great sign and takes a lot of any of my worries away. My one concern would be how many innings he could go this season, but if he continues to progress well and can limit how many pitches he throws per game, he could be a very valuable sleeper this year.

Brad Hawpe’s hand will keep him out of the WBC after he was stepped on and required stitches. This will keep him out of action for a little over a week. This won’t be anything to worry about long term though and I fully expect him to hit his 25 HR this year.

Troy Percival has moved up his debut from Mar. 17 to Mar. 12 as his back is progressing faster than expected. He’s getting up there in age and even if his back is fine chances are he’ll hurt something else. He’ll end up closing games again for them, but I would stack him with Wheeler to ensure those saves.

Johan Santana’s elbow is giving him problems and he’s admitting that it may cost him the Opening Day.  He’s had bone chips removed several years back but reportedly this pain is located in his triceps.

This is a little concerning as he’s rehabbing from meniscus surgery and it makes me wonder how much his mechanics have changed. It seems as though they caught it early and are merely being extra cautious with their ace.

Regardless, I’m knocking him down a few notches in my draft. In the next week to 10 days, we should know whether or not he’ll make Opening Day.

Justin Duchscherer had a 20 pitch bullpen a few days back so his spring debut could be coming up within the next week. I would still stay away from him in your drafts because I feel that his hip and arm issues of the past will cause him to change his mechanics. 

When this happens, we all know what comes next and that’s almost always further injury. If for some reason he slips into the double digit rounds or if he’s under $10 in auction drafts.

Brandon Webb had to miss his start because of forearm tightness. In spring training, this alone isn’t something to worry about. As long as it doesn’t continue and there are no other problems in his arm during the spring, he should retain his draft value.