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Ben Rosener looks at the fantasy baseball impact of Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Taillon's reported groin injury and the New York Yankees signing Kole Calhoun to a minor league deal.
The MLB offseason and Spring training are officially over. The regular season is here, and with it comes the daily influx of baseball news that fantasy managers missed in the winter months. Lineup news, actual games happening, constant waiver wire moves, pitching assignments, and bullpen usage.
Baseball is back, and so too is fantasy baseball, with the draft season having just wrapped up, or otherwise being very close to being wrapped up. This column aims to cover any and all fantasy baseball news, big or small, and how it pertains to your fantasy team. Spring training or the regular season, it's covered here.
Has a player who's usually been hitting in the middle of a lineup suddenly batting eighth or ninth for an extended period? The fantasy implications will be covered here. The same goes for injuries and injured placements and whether or not you should consider picking up a player who was recently called up. Basically, any kernel of fantasy news and its relevance to fantasy managers could be covered here. Today, the news of the day is the fantasy impact of Jameson Taillon's reported injury and Kole Calhoun signing a minor league deal with the New York Yankees.
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Fantasy Baseball Impact Of Jameson Taillon's Reported Groin Injury
Chicago Cubs right-handed starter was reportedly placed on the 15-day injured list on Thursday, per a tweet from MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Per Bastian’s tweet, it’s due to a “’mild to moderate’ left groin strain.”
Cubs: RHP Jameson Taillon to 15-day IL with “mild to moderate” left groin strain. RHP Javier Assad will be recalled from @IowaCubs to start today vs. Dodgers.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) April 20, 2023
A free agent addition by the National League Central club this winter after spending the last two seasons in the American League East with the New York Yankees, Taillon has had a strong start to the season with the Cubs, pitching to a 4.50 ERA and a 1.89 FIP in 14 innings of work while striking out 16 batters and allowing just four walks.
According to Bastian’s tweet, it’ll reportedly be Javier Assad getting recalled from Triple-A and starting Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 25-year-old has appeared in two games for the Cubs so far this season, allowing six hits, six earned runs, and two walks in 4.1 innings while striking out five batters. Both of his appearances came as a relief pitcher, though he made a 2.2-inning start for Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate in Iowa this season.
Fantasy managers looking to replace Taillon’s production with streaming options in the rotation are probably best off looking elsewhere in the short term.
At the moment, it remains to be seen how long Assad will stick in the rotation, but after the Dodgers start – and assuming Chicago’s rotation continues without any changes or alterations after that, his next scheduled start would come against a San Diego Padres lineup that is now getting Fernando Tatis Jr. back.
Fantasy Baseball Impact Of Kole Calhoun Signing A Minor League Deal With The Yankees
Veteran outfielder Kole Calhoun has found a new team. The veteran outfielder signed a minor-league deal with the New York Yankees, per a tweet from the club’s official Twitter account on Thursday:
The New York Yankees today announced they have signed OF Kole Calhoun to a minor league contract.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 20, 2023
Calhoun will provide the Yankees with some veteran outfield depth. He hit .196 with a .257 on-base percentage, 12 home runs, and three stolen bases in 424 plate appearances last season for the Texas Rangers. Most recently, the 35-year-old enjoyed a productive Spring Training with the Seattle Mariners, logging a .286 average, a .342 on-base percentage, and a pair of doubles in 35 Cactus League plate appearances.
It’s entirely possible that Calhoun eventually breaks into the Yankees' outfield mix at some point, although that’s purely speculative. Besides Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Franchy Cordero, no other Yankees outfielder has posted a wRC+ north of 100 as of the beginning of play on Thursday. And while that’s not particularly relevant for fantasy purposes, it could be a factor in who New York decides to start.
Yankees Outfielders' 2023 wRC+ Numbers
- Aaron Judge: 76 PA, 167 wRC+
- Giancarlo Stanton: 54 PA, 136 wRC+
- Franchy Cordero: 42 PA, 107 wRC+
- Oswaldo Cabrera: 55 PA, 47 wRC+
- Aaron Hicks: 27 PA, 5 wRC+
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 26 PA, -48 wRC+
With Stanton going on the injured list in the last week, the Yankees might have even more plate appearances to go around, especially at designated hitter, which might help Calhoun in his return to the Majors.
If that’s the case, he could have some fantasy upside in deeper leagues in a decidedly fantasy-friendly situation in New York. The Yankees haven’t exactly been a prolific run-scoring outfit this year – as of the start of play Thursday, only eight teams had scored fewer runs than New York – but any player stepping into potential regular plate appearances alongside the likes of Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, and DJ LeMahieu is going to see opportunities to log some quality counting stat numbers.
Calhoun is certainly someone to keep an eye on in the coming weeks to see how he does at Triple-A with the Yankees. If he finds success there and joins the Major League roster, it's possible he could be a useful fantasy option with his ability to connect on home runs and chip in with a few stolen bases.
From 2014 to 2020, Calhoun hit 16 or more home runs every season, with at least four stolen bases in all but two of those campaigns.
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