Fantasy Baseball's Injury Risks: Batters

Joe Mauer, C, Minnesota Twins

As great as he was last year, let’s not forget that he did miss the first month of the season with lower back issues. Mauer’s career high in games played is 146, and he has been under 140 in three of his five full seasons in the majors. 

He never seems to miss real long stretches of time (except in 2007, when he played just 109 games), but a series of back and knee injuries to a catcher is not something that makes me excited.

He is still very young and can likely deal with this, but as he gets older it will wear on his body. 

Carlos Pena, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays  

It seems that not only is first base the position with the most production, but they are the most healthy group as well, with Pena showing up on the list. It was two broken fingers that he had some offseason surgery on in 2009, but he also has played less than 140 games in the past two years. 

His batting average is more of a concern with Pena than his injury history, but you can expect to be without him for about a month at some point during the season. So, be sure you have a good option as a backup who will help your batting average and be a viable option when Pena goes on the shelf. 

Ian Kinsler, 2B, Texas Rangers

He is one of the more sought after players in fantasy drafts, and for good reason, but he has been in the league for four years now and he is yet to get through a full season.

He was able to play a career high 144 games last year, but a sports hernia ended his season in August in 2008, he had a foot injury that cost him over 30 games in 2007, and his rookie year he lost more than 40 games to a wrist injury. 

He was a 30/30 second baseman last year, which is totally enticing, but just know that there is risk involved with drafting him. 

Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Chicago Cubs

It was a dislocated shoulder that cost Ramirez half the season in 2009, but that was just one of a laundry list of maladies that have affected Aramis throughout his career. He has missed 30 or more games in three of his last five seasons, and, at 31-years-old, it is getting harder and harder for him to bounce back quickly from these injuries. 

Had he remained healthy he would have had 25+ homers for the seventh straight year, so even though there is risk he might be worth it anyway. 

Rafael Furcal, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers  

He was able to play most of the year in 2009, but he lost most of the season the previous year due to a back injury—which could have had an effect on his play last year, as he stole just 12 bases the whole year. 

Furcal had also missed 30 games in 2007, so it has been a rough stretch for him the past three years. Once one of the more feared speed players in the league, Furcal is now a 32- year-old with some injury issues and declining production. 

Josh Hamilton, OF, Texas Rangers

If it not for his checkered past, who knows how many All-Star appearances Hamilton would have already. His struggles with substance abuse are well documented, and could possibly be related to the intestinal issue he suffered in 2007, which cost him nearly half the year. 

2008 was his coming out party, but again last year he had an abdominal tear after crashing into the wall that robbed him of nearly half the season. 

Hamilton has become one of the poster boys for high risk/high reward players, as he is supremely talented, but seems to have a hard time staying on the field. 

Carlos Quentin, OF, Chicago White Sox  

Another guy who would be a no-brainer for the second round, at the latest, if he could stay healthy is Quentin. He fell out of favor with his first team in Arizona because of his lack of production after he suffered a partial tear of his labrum in his shoulder and never produced as expected. 

Quentin went on to great things for the White Sox, but his possible MVP season of 2008 ended early when he slammed his hand into his bat in frustration and fractured his wrist. 

2009 saw extended cold streaks for Quentin after he was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, which cost him a couple months of the year. He certainly has proved that he can be an elite hitter, but he can’t help your fantasy team from the DL.

Milton Bradley, OF, Seattle Mariners  

As if his hot-headed temper and yearly suspensions weren’t enough to make Bradley fall down draft boards, he usually also finds his way to the disabled list a couple of times a season as well. It has been a wide array of injuries for Bradley along the way, and he hasn’t played more than 126 games in the last three years. 

If he is anything more than your fifth outfielder, or a utility option, you are taking too much of a risk with this explosion waiting to happen. 

Travis Hafner, DH, Cleveland Indians

A few years ago he was hit on the hand with a pitch that ended his season early, but it has been the shoulder injuries of the past two years that has kept Hafner from producing the way that we had become accustomed to.

Pronk is a tough guy to pick because you don’t know how his shoulder will bounce back, and if he will have the ability to hit for a lot of power. 

In three years he has gone from a fifth or sixth round pick to a guy that has a real chance to go undrafted. He’s a guy that I wouldn’t mind taking a risk with towards the end of the draft, but, between only DH eligibility and the shoulder woes, I understand him not being picked. 

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