When is Chas McCormick Coming Back? Fantasy Baseball Injury Return Update

May 14, 2024

When is Chas McCormick coming back? Is Chas McCormick on a rehab assignment? Read about Chas McCormick's return date and fantasy baseball injury updates for 2024.

Houston Astros outfielder Chas McCormick was one of the hidden gems of the 2023 fantasy baseball season. At 28 years old, McCormick broke out with a .273 average with 22 home runs and 19 stolen bases alongside an .842 OPS across 115 games and 457 trips to the plate, good for a 133 wRC+ that sat 33% above the league average.

Unfortunately, it's been a major struggle for McCormick in his young season as he hit .236 without a homer alongside a pair of stolen bases and a .603 OPS across 21 games and 83 trips to the plate before hitting the injured list with a hamstring issue in late April. Of course, fantasy managers who bought in on last year's breakout have been wildly disappointed by his production in a small sample to begin the season.

Despite a tough start, there is always a chance for a post-IL bounceback. Let's dive into McCormick's status and see what fantasy managers could expect when he returns to game action.

Chas McCormick Update for Fantasy Baseball

After participating in his first rehab game at designated hitter on Sunday with Triple-A Sugar Land, McCormick is set to play his next two rehab games at Double-A Corpus Christi and will play the outfield in both contests, according to MLB.com.

Chas McCormick said his hamstring felt good during his five ABs at DH on Sunday at Triple-A and he will play the next two games in the outfield for Double-A Corpus Christi at San Antonio.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 13, 2024

"I feel really good," McCormick said. "I could stick in the ground and use my hamstring when I'm swinging, and that's really important. I hit a couple of balls hard and I was happy with my swing. I still feel like I need to play a couple of more games, work on some things and know where I'm at. The outfield tomorrow will be a good test."

It appears current and prospective fantasy managers can expect an imminent return for the Astros outfielder.

Chas McCormick Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Clearly, it's been a grim start to the season for McCormick. While his power has more or less been there since Day 1 in the big leagues, it was interesting to see him swipe 19 bases across 115 games in 2023 after stealing just eight bases across 227 games in his first two MLB campaigns. He showed some speed in the minors but didn't rack up eye-popping stolen base numbers. His sprint speed ranked in the league's 72nd percentile, according to Statcast.

A late bloomer, McCormick firmly remains on the fantasy radar. He has posted a barrel rate of at least 10.2% in each of his first three MLB seasons and even with a lack of hard-hit balls, he makes up for it with home-run power and speed. He is worth a speculative add in deeper formats given what he has shown to this point in his career with the hope that he can get back close to where he was a season ago.

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