Fantasy Fallout: Deja Choo - Rangers OF Hits DL Days After Return from Injury
Here are the fantasy repercussions of Texas Rangers OF Shin-soo Choo again finding himself on the DL, this time with a hamstring injury.
Season-long Fantasy Leagues
After being sidelined with a calf injury since early April, Choo came off the disabled list Friday, where he promptly strained his hamstring in his first game back. On Monday, he was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to May 21.
Owners with an injured reserve slot can once again stash Choo, whose season thus far has been a write-off. In 2015, Choo stayed healthy, playing in 149 games and recording 22 home runs and 82 RBIs to go with a .276 average and .375 OBP. While it may be tempting to cut bait with the oft-injured Korean, his skill set makes him difficult to release outright.
With Choo's absence depriving the team of a leadoff option, the duty will likely fall to 2B Rougned Odor, at least until he finally begins serving a suspension for having punched Blue Jays OF Jose Bautista. That task enhances Odor's fantasy worth, though he's only reaching base at a .292 clip.
The .348 OBP of rookie OF Nomar Mazara ranks as the best of all the team's active players, and he has typically resided in the second spot in order. Perhaps he could move up a place once Odor hits the sidelines. Other table-setting options include SS Elvis Andrus (.340 OBP) or OF Ian Desmond (.333 OBP).
Daily Fantasy
Choo's hamstring strain (as well as the toe injury to reserve OF Drew Stubbs, who was also placed on the 15-day DL Monday) opened the door for the promotion of two prospects, OF/3B Joey Gallo and OF Jared Hoying.
Gallo is easily the better known of the two, thanks to his brief MLB stint in 2015. The 6-foot-5 slugger homered six times in 36 games, while striking out an absurd 46.3 per cent of the time. Even if Gallo can improve his abysmal K rate, he's likely not much more than a boom-or-bust power threat. Already listed on some DFS sites, he's surprisingly among the pricier options at his positions despite having not played a game with the Rangers this season.
The 27-year-old Hoying also offers power potential, having hit 26 and 23 home runs, respectively, in his last two seasons in Triple-A. He was batting .319 with seven long balls at the time of his call-up, and it's a possibility he's initially priced near the minimum on some DFS sites when he's ultimately included.
Both Gallo and Hoying are left-handed hitters, allowing them to feature against the majority of right-handed pitchers. As neither one will likely assume a regular, everyday role, they're both best suited for occasional DFS use, rather than season-long deployment.