Zack Greinke to Miss Start of Season – Fantasy Baseball Top 30 SP Fallout

According to Ken Rosenthal via Twitter, “MRI on Greinke revealed one bruised rib and one hairline fracture. Bone will take four to six weeks to heal”.

Mlb.com has also posted an article (click here to view), clarifying things a little bit:

“Greinke, the team’s biggest offseason addition and likely Opening Day starter, had made two Cactus League starts with sore ribs before undergoing an MRI scan on Monday that revealed a minor fracture of his seventh rib and a bone bruise on his eighth rib. The normal recovery time is four to six weeks from the time of injury, Brewers head physician William Raasch said, meaning Greinke is already about two weeks into the healing process.”

That puts him out for about another two to four weeks.  When you work in time on the mound (since he will miss the remainder of Spring Training) to get into game shape, it would appear that he is going to miss anywhere from the first two to four weeks of the season. 

It’s a huge hit to his potential value, there’s no question about that, but it doesn’t mean that he should be ignored completely on draft day. 

With the move to the NL he still has the potential to post gaudy numbers when he does take the mound.  The problem is, we don’t know exactly how long he is going to be out, and the uncertainty just further hurts his perceived value on draft day. 

For now I have to assume the worst, meaning his projected innings drops to around 180.  Hopefully he's able to return sooner, however.

Let’s take a look at how far he drops in the rankings (these will again be re-evaluated as more information becomes available):

1. Roy Halladay – Philadelphia Phillies
2. Felix Hernandez – Seattle Mariners
3. Tim Lincecum – San Francisco Giants
4. Jon Lester – Boston Red Sox
5. CC Sabathia – New York Yankees
6. Cliff Lee – Philadelphia Phillies
7. Clayton Kershaw – Los Angeles Dodgers
8. Jered Weaver – Los Angeles Angels
9. Justin Verlander – Detroit Tigers
10. Ubaldo Jimenez – Colorado Rockies
11. Josh Johnson – Florida Marlins
12. Francisco Liriano – Minnesota Twins
13. Chris Carpenter – St. Louis Cardinals
14. Yovani Gallardo – Milwaukee Brewers
15. Cole Hamels – Philadelphia Phillies
16. Clay Buccholz – Boston Red Sox
17. Mat Latos – San Diego Padres
18. Tommy Hanson – Atlanta Braves
19. Dan Haren – Los Angeles Angels
20. Roy Oswalt – Philadelphia Phillies
21. Zack Greinke – Milwaukee Brewers
22. Colby Lewis – Texas Rangers
23. David Price – Tampa Bay Rays
24. Ricky Nolasco – Florida Marlins
25. Brett Anderson – Oakland Athletics
26. Matt Cain – San Francisco Giants
27. Max Scherzer – Detroit Tigers
28. Matt Garza – Chicago Cubs
29. Josh Beckett – Boston Red Sox
30. Chad Billingsley – Los Angeles Dodgers

What are your thoughts on the rankings?  Who’s too high?  Who’s too low?

**** Make sure to order your copy of the Rotoprofessor 2011 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide, selling for just $5, by clicking here. ****

Make sure to check out our 2011 rankings:

• Top 15 Catchers
• Top 15 First Basemen
• Top 15 Second Basemen
• Top 15 Third Basemen
• Top 15 Shortstops
• Top 30 Outfielders
• Top 15 Closers

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM