Fantasy Fallout: A.J. Griffin enters as Colby Lewis exits

Here are the fantasy implications of Texas Rangers SP Colby Lewis being placed on the 15-day DL due to a strained lat muscle in his back:

Season-Long Fantasy Leagues

The 36-year-old Lewis had seen his ownership grow in recent weeks on the strength of several solid performances, including a near-no-hitter against the Athletics one start ago. While his peripheral stats show that he is perhaps lucky to hold a 6-1 record and a 3.21 ERA - Lewis has a career-high strand rate of 78.8 percent and a career-low K/9 rate of 5.60 - he was nevertheless a solid fantasy starter.

In leagues counting quality starts, he'll be especially missed, as Lewis had racked up 12 in 15 outings. With Lewis expected to miss at least two months, he can be safely dropped in all leagues. Owners looking for an in-house replacement from the 46-26 Rangers, the best team in the American League, can look to RHP A.J. Griffin, set to come off a DL stint of his own Friday.

The 28-year-old Griffin held a 3-0 record with a 3.21 ERA in six starts before hitting the DL with a shoulder injury. In 53 major league starts, Griffin has a 24-11 record and strikes out 7.49 batters per nine innings. Like Lewis, he's benefited from a slightly higher-than-average strand rate in his career and is somewhat homer-prone, but he should be serviceable in terms of wins and quality starts.

Waiver Wire Targets

Aside from Griffin, other realistically-available pitching targets include:

• Doug Fister, Astros: Owned in just over half of all fantasy leagues, Fister has recorded 11 quality starts in 14 outings, and he has won four straight decisions. There's a disparity between Fister's ERA (3.21) and FIP (4.57), but like Lewis, he's found a way to be a solid option.

• Tim Lincecum, Angels: The former Giant allowed just one earned run in six innings in his first start with the Angels last week. Over the past few seasons, his strikeout rate had been in rapid decline from where it was during his heyday as the Giants' ace, but perhaps Lincecum can recapture some of his old form in Anaheim.

• Bartolo Colon, Mets: The 43-year-old Colon is 6-3 with a 3.00 ERA through 14 starts. Despite not being much of a strikeout pitcher in the later stages of his career, Colon gets by with pinpoint command, walking just 1.44 batters per nine innings this season. After exiting his last start early with a thumb injury, he's expected to be ready in time for his next outing Sunday.