Fantasy Fallout: Seeking Foresight on Logan Forsythe's Injury

Here are the fantasy repercussions of Tampa Bay Rays 2B Logan Forsythe being placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder injury. He's expected to miss up to four weeks.

Daily Fantasy

The Rays lost their leadoff man and one of their best hitters in Forsythe, who was slashing .308/.398/.523. With Tampa Bay already sitting near the basement in terms of offense, Forsythe's absence from the lineup suggests that the Rays' bats should be afterthoughts in daily fantasy formats.

The Rays prominent run producer, 3B Evan Longoria, will be the batter most affected by Forsythe's injury. Longoria drove in Forsythe six times this season which resulted in both of them becoming intriguing contrarian options as well as a cheap stack with the right matchup. Despite a decent start to 2016, Forsythe's fantasy value lies more within season-long leagues.

Season-Long Fantasy

Fantasy owners in redrafts may have elected to leave him alone this season, with the thought that last year's 17-homer 68-RBI campaign was likely an outlier. Some may have nabbed him as a late-round flier or off the waiver wire for position flexibility and runs scored.

Nonetheless, in standard formats and 10 team mixed-leagues, Forsythe has limited value. Prior to the injury, the Rays' table setter had significance in deeper leagues with 16 runs scored, four dingers and 12 RBIs. He's worth stashing on a DL slot, but not if it means dropping a player with a longer track record of success.

Tampa Bay's in-house options have little to offer, even in deep leagues. Utilityman Tim Beckham is likely to replace Forsythe, but lacks the desired pop Forsythe brought to the lineup. Outside of him, no one else in the Rays system should be on your radar.

Waiver Wire Targets

Remember, Forsythe's value is tied primarily to deep leagues. Here are some players that have equivalent upside with the same positional flexibility that can provide corresponding production.

• 2B/3B Brett Lawrie, Chicago White Sox: Lawrie is the most similar player to Forsythe and is available in most standard leagues. He has a 1.049 OPS over the past two weeks with four runs scored, six RBIs and one homer. If you're a Forsythe owner and Lawrie is available, nab him ASAP.

• 2B/3B Martin Prado, Miami Marlins: Prado has gone 10-for-23 over the past week and offers the same type of consistency that Forsythe brought in terms of a slashline, but Prado has failed to hit a home run thus far. His value is in batting average and the occasional run scored.

• 3B/SS Eduardo Nunez, Minnesota Twins: Nunez is having an outstanding season at the plate overall with a line of .323/.364/.641 in May. He doesn't offer much power though and with the Twins troublesome offense, his ceiling is capped.