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Frank's top 25 injured players to stash for fantasy baseball as of Week 6 (2026). His top fantasy baseball injury stashes for IL spots and redraft leagues.
Welcome to our Injured Players to Stash for Fantasy Baseball series, heading into Week 6 of the 2026 MLB season. We're still relatively early in the season, but it's always a good idea to look for players to stash to help your rosters, as long as you have room. These players can make a major impact on your teams later in the year. Just think about Trevor Rogers with the Orioles last year.
In this column, we'll provide the top 25 injured MLB players rostered in less than 65% of Yahoo! leagues who are worth stashing. This is not a ranking of value. The players are listed in order of their roster percentage. This includes names such as Tatsuya Imai, Spencer Schwellenbach, and others. Consider this page as an updated look at where injured players stand in their return timetables.
I've gone through the waiver wire to find these potential values. With each player, it will include a projected return date as well. With that in mind, let's dive into the top 25 injured players to stash for Week 6 of the 2026 fantasy baseball season.
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Top Injured Players For Fantasy Baseball
| Player | Team | IL Type | Ros. % | Estimated Return |
| Carlos Estevez | Royals | IL15 (Foot) | 64% | Late-May |
| Hunter Greene | Reds | IL60 (Elbow) | 62% | Late-July |
| Tatsuya Imai | Astros | IL15 (Arm) | 48% | Late-May |
| Shane Bieber | Blue Jays | IL60 (Elbow) | 46% | Late-June |
| Casey Mize | Tigers | IL15 (Thigh) | 43% | Late-May |
| Jackson Holliday | Orioles | IL10 (Hand) | 43% | Late-May |
| Giancarlo Stanton | Yankees | IL10 (Calf) | 36% | Late-May |
| Corbin Burnes | Diamondbacks | IL60 (Wrist) | 35% | Early-August |
| Spencer Schwellenbach | Braves | IL60 (Elbow) | 33% | Late-August |
| Jared Jones | Pirates | IL60 (Elbow) | 31% | Early-June |
| Bryce Miller | Mariners | IL15 (Oblique) | 29% | Mid-May |
| Jorge Polanco | Mets | IL10 (Wrist) | 29% | Early-June |
| Alejandro Kirk | Blue Jays | IL10 (Thumb) | 28% | Mid-May |
| Addison Barger | Blue Jays | IL10 (Ankle) | 26% | Early-May |
| Joe Musgrove | Padres | IL15 (Elbow) | 24% | Early-July |
| Quinn Priester | Brewers | IL15 (Wrist) | 22% | Late-June |
| Jordan Westburg | Orioles | IL60 (Elbow) | 20% | Mid-August |
| Mick Abel | Twins | IL15 (Elbow) | 19% | Late-May |
| Yusei Kikuchi | Angels | IL15 (Shoulder) | 17% | Early-July |
| Kodai Senga | Mets | IL15 (Back) | 15% | Late-July |
| Max Muncy | Athletics | IL10 (Hand) | 14% | Early-June |
| Justin Steele | Cubs | IL60 (Elbow) | 13% | Early-August |
| Kirby Yates | Angels | IL15 (Knee) | 11% | Mid-May |
| Grayson Rodriguez | Angels | IL15 (Shoulder) | 11% | Mid-June |
| Kyle Teel | White Sox | IL10 (Hamstring) | 10% | Mid-May |
Fantasy Baseball Players To Monitor Closely
Carlos Estevez, RP, Kansas City Royals
Rostered: 64% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: Late May
We anticipate RHP Carlos Estévez will begin a rehab assignment tomorrow with Omaha (AAA).
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) May 4, 2026
Carlos Estevez had gotten off to a horrendous start to the season, allowing six earned runs in only 0.1 innings. The veteran reliever dealt with diminished velocity all year before heading to the injured list.
Estevez is now in the middle of a rehab assignment in the minors, so it will be interesting to monitor his performance to see if he shows any improvement, especially with velocity. This is especially important since Lucas Erceg, who took over the closer role from Estevez, has been largely inconsistent.
If Estevez has strong results in the minors, there's a chance that he can reclaim ninth-inning duties. After all, managers love relievers with closing experience and tend to defer to them when choosing their preferred option to shut it down in the ninth.
With that in mind, Estevez makes sense as a stash, but only if you have an IL spot.
Jared Jones, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Rostered: 31% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: Early June
Thinking about Jared Jones joining Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler in the 2nd half.
Pirates catching fire and making the playoffs.
It's happening.
— Frank Ammirante (@FAmmiranteTFJ) January 5, 2026
Jared Jones is probably the most interesting stash on this list. Remember that he put up a 26.2% strikeout rate and a 7.7% walk rate back in 2024 in what was his age-22 season. Now fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, we could see Jones make an impact once he's ready to return.
With so many injuries to pitchers, including Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet, having a flamethrower like Jones hitting his ceiling could be exactly what your fantasy baseball team needs.
What's great is that Jones displayed excellent velocity in his minor league rehab assignment, hitting 101.1 MPH. It's encouraging to see his velocity return post-surgery. But what's also great is that in this outing, Jones showed strong command, issuing zero walks in three scoreless innings, while striking out five.
Even though the Pirates are likely to take it slow with Jones, this is the kind of upside that shouldn't be understated, especially given the decimated pitching landscape right now. Jones is the one stash on this list whom I'm willing to hold even if I don't have a roster spot.
Jordan Westburg, 3B, Baltimore Orioles
Rostered: 20% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: Mid-August
More bad Orioles injury news:
Jordan Westburg is being shut down from throwing and is being reevaluated, manager Craig Albernaz said.
Westburg was feeling discomfort in his elbow as he progressed through his throwing program.
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) May 4, 2026
Jordan Westburg finds his way into this column because he recently had a setback. The talented third baseman experienced more elbow discomfort, so he's been completely shut down. Remember, Westburg decided to try rest and rehab instead of Tommy John surgery. Clearly, that isn't working.
What does that mean? Well, it feels like Tommy John is inevitable, which would put Westburg out for the season. This is a shame for one of my top targets at third base this year. Westburg had terrific per-plate-appearance numbers last year, homering 17 times in 352 plate appearances.
While it hasn't been confirmed that Westburg will get Tommy John, we're reading the tea leaves here. If the alternate solution doesn't work, you go back to the original one. It feels like both Westburg and the Orioles are prolonging the inevitable here.
That means it's hard to justify rostering Westburg right now, even if you have an IL spot. At best, we can expect a return shortly after the All-Star Break, but with how he was shut down from rehab, that feels extremely unlikely. Do you really want someone to occupy your IL spot all year, only to make a minor contribution in perhaps August or September? Not worth it to me, so pull the plug here.
Kodai Senga, SP, New York Mets
Rostered: 15% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: Late July
Kodai Senga started the year on a positive note, but then got rocked for three consecutive outings, where he allowed a combined 16 earned runs in 8.1 innings. After a poor outing vs. the Rockies, Senga landed on the IL with a back injury. It's unclear if this ailment was causing Senga to struggle on the mound, but perhaps there's a slight chance of that.
The Mets will likely be patient with Senga. For one, he wasn't pitching well anyway, so they have no incentive to rush him back. On top of that, Senga has been injury-prone throughout his career, so a tempered approach makes the most sense. Even more so, Christian Scott has some potential, so he can hold off Senga if he performs well.
Considering these circumstances, there's no point in stashing Senga right now, even if you have an IL spot. This is an injury-prone pitcher who was struggling and could find himself bumped from the rotation if his replacement exceeds expectations.
Justin Steele, SP, Chicago Cubs
Rostered: 13% Yahoo!
Estimated Return: Early August
Justin Steele is a talented pitcher with a strong track record, attempting to come back from Tommy John surgery. He hasn't pitched since early 2025, which made me hopeful that he can come back and make an impact at some point this year.
But the latest reports are discouraging, as Steele had a setback, which delays his return until after the All-Star break at the earliest.
Since he's coming back from Tommy John, we can expect the Cubs to be patient with Steele. That makes it not worth it to hold him in fantasy baseball, even if you have a roster spot or IL spot.
