The Washington Nationals placed SP Stephen Strasburg on the 15-day disabled list, with right shoulder stiffness.
Well that was fast wasn’t it?
On July 27th, it was reported that Strasburg was dealing with shoulder inflammation and the issue basically continued to grow, causing him to miss his last start.
Miguel Batista filled in admirably, going five innings of solid play despite being primarily a bull pen arm.
Don’t get any ideas with Batista; he’ll continue to stay in the pen.
Strasburgh was basically cruising along with a 5-2 record, 2.32 ERA, 1.067 WHIP, a 75/15 K/BB ratio and a whopping 12.4 K/9 rate.
So now what?
While I admit it will be hard to replace a guy who throws an average of 12 freaking strikes a game for ten days—yes that’s right, tentatively he will be out for 10 days—there are a couple of options that could act as a temporary fix for your roster.
Let’s take a look.
Brett Myers – Astros: If you haven’t been paying attention, Myers has been quietly putting himself back into the fantasy radar over the course of his last four starts, going 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA and a 29/4 K/BB ratio, including a 12 K drubbing of the Chicago Cubs in his last outing.
Myers is averaging just around 40% in ownership; a number that has been slowly climbing in the past couple of weeks, so jump on his train now before he comes back down to earth. Myers will face the Cardinals and Brewers in his next two starts.
Brett Cecil – Blue Jays: Brett Cecil is such a curious guy who always seems to find his way back into fantasy talk from time to time, making him a perfect candidate for a temporary fill. Cecil’s last four starts have all been quality starts posting a 2.39 ERA and 14 SO in that time.
Not only is his average ownership low (30%) he gets the Indians in his next outing which makes him a very tasty waiver option.
Josh Tomlin – Indians: Speaking of the Indians, how many of you thought Josh Tomlin’s MLB debut against the Yanks was going to turn out horrible?
Well it didn’t, and the kid cruised past a formidable Yankee lineup winning the game with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.43 WHIP, while throwing 2 strikes.
The scouting report on this kid is he is a fearless fastball thrower who is capable of throwing strikes, but feeds mostly on a very deceptive cutter, which had a lot to do with the Yankees’ demise.
Again, you only need a temporary replacement for Strasburg, so Tomlin could be a perfect fit, and wind up being good trade bait in the end.
