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Follow Andy Schmidt as he and RotoBaller bring you the latest spring training news and fantasy baseball analysis about the Kansas City Royals, Mike Moustaks & Luke Hochevar.
The first week of spring training has been an eventful one in two major ways for the Kansas City Royals. There is the story about Mike Moustakas and his hot start at the plate, and pitcher Luke Hochevar is out for the season after hurting his elbow and needing Tommy John surgery. Here are the ramifications of both stories from a fantasy standpoint.
Mike Moustakas' Spring
Moustakas hit three home runs and 10 RBI through the first week. Fantasy owners need to be paying very close attention to what Moustakas is doing. He likely wasn’t going to be someone that owners were going to draft this season, especially considering his recent struggles. If he can continue to swing the bat the way he has early on, there may be something to work with in Moustakas. He is looking more and more like a player that owners should be targeting late in the draft right now. This situation could change at a moment’s notice, however, so it would be wise for owners to keep a close eye on how he does over the remaining weeks of spring training.
Luke Hochevar Needs Tommy John Surgery
The other major story revolves around Hochevar. He was looking to return to the starting rotation this season after pitching very well out of the bullpen in 2013, but he sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow this week, and now needs Tommy John surgery. This takes him out of consideration for draft day. He was someone who may have been worth stashing on the bench in a deep league, but that won’t be happening now. The injury does improve the stocks of pitchers like Wade Davis and Danny Duffy, though, each of whom could be worth taking a late-round chance on in a deep league. It is a major loss however for the Royals to not have Hochevar for the 2014 season.
There are many storylines to watch over the next three weeks before the Royals begin the regular season on March 31 in Detroit, and the progress of Moustakas and the injury to Hochevar could be make-or-break points for the 2014 season, so stay tuned.
