Fantasy Fallout: Souza's Injury Opens Door For DFS Bargains in Tampa's Outfield

Here are the fantasy implications following the Tampa Bay Rays placing OF Steven Souza Jr. on the 15-day disabled list with a strained hip.

Daily Fantasy

Souza slashed a solid .255/.315/.443 with 10 home runs over 232 plate appearances while batting in the middle or just below it in Tampa Bay's batting order. He developed into a decent streamer against left-handers while not costing an absurd amount most of the time.

Considering the carnival of horrors that is the Rays outfield, Souza joins erstwhile starters Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Guyer on the DL. Since the Rays recalled SP Blake Snell to fill the void, the Rays appear to be standing pat with the reserves, for now.

This means more consistent at-bats for Mikie Mahtook and Jaff Decker while possibly removing the platoon leash on Corey Dickerson, who has struggled mightily against lefties. Dickerson's power (12 HRs) will continue to inflate his DFS salary in general. Mahtook isn't the DFS bargain he was a year ago, but could still be a solid matchup-based flier if he can raise his .203 OBP.

Decker, once he becomes more readily available in DFS, might be the bargain basement play. His upside is limited, but he managed to stroke five homers in 232 plate appearances while stealing 13 bases at Triple-A this season. With OF Desmond Jennings struggling and nursing quadriceps soreness, Decker may see more starts.

Season Long Fantasy

Souza is owned in roughly half of all fantasy leagues. A decent source of power, he still should have been little more than a depth player to fill in for injuries or when others had days off. Stash him if you have a free DL-slot, but don't lose sleep if you have to drop him. There is a solid chance he'll still be there when he's healthy once again.

Dickerson, of the teammates mentioned above, is the best candidate to take Souza's place as a fantasy bench bat. Even if he does start playing more against lefties, he shouldn't be started. His .156 average against southpaws this season is simply too horrendous. Against RHP, however, he is a decent option as all 12 of his homers have come from the right-side of the plate.

Chances are Souza's injury isn't a team-breaker, and if it is, his owners have more pressing roster concerns. If other owners do cut him, he's worth a pick-up to stash until he's healthy. With Kiermaier out for a while and Guyer's recovery slowed, the fantasy options in Tampa's outfield are limited at best.

Waiver Wire Targets

Prior to injury, Souza himself was a solid temporary replacement. Here are three players owned in even fewer leagues:

• IF/OF Steve Pearce, Tampa Bay Rays: Pearce has greater versatility and has maintained his playing time with the return of 2B Logan Forsythe. He's hit for a much better batting average than Souza and his nine home runs over 60 fewer plate appearances is also impressive. As long as he starts, he should be owned.

• OF Trayce Thompson, Los Angeles Dodgers: Thompson has 10 long balls in only 175 plate appearances, though his .258 batting average is not as appealing as Pearce's. Thompson will steal the occasional base and hits in a more potent lineup, which could result in more runs scored and more RBIs going forward.

• OF Jayson Werth, Washington Nationals: The Crotchety Werth is fairly streaky, but he's getting plenty of opportunities to score runs batting second, ahead of Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy. He's third on the Nationals in RBIs and fourth in both runs scored and home runs. He is available in most standard leagues and should be picked up.