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Dan Stephens looks at big fantasy baseball stories from the ninth week of the 2024 MLB season: Ronald Acuna's knee injury, Edwin Diaz's struggles, and the Yankees' successes
Welcome to another fresh week of fantasy baseball. With waivers run and lineups locked, it is time to take a break from the micromanagement of your rosters and catch up on the news from the week that passed. Every Monday I post a roundup of some of the bigger stories and trends from around the league. Hopefully, this column helps steer you out of the tunnel vision that can come with the grind of micromanaging your fantasy baseball team(s).
The biggest story of the week didn’t get past anyone. Ronald Acuna Jr.’s season came to an early end after a devastating injury during Sunday’s action. Looking back further, Edwin Diaz has been driving fantasy managers batty for a couple of weeks now. His recent struggles have forced the Mets to remove him from his role, at least temporarily. Meanwhile, the neighboring Yankees have been on a roll on the field and had some developments on the injury front worthy of note.
Fantasy baseball revolves around an expansive league with a six-month-long season. Sometimes the news is too big to avoid but it is easy for stories to get lost in the shuffle, especially if they don’t directly relate to players we roster or actively follow. To stay on top of the latest action, bookmark our fantasy baseball news feed, download our mobile app, and check back for the next installment of the Stories of the Week every Monday.
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Ronald Acuna Jr.
Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sunday afternoon. Acuna was teasing out a lead from second base, trying to sneak to third after witnessing a pattern of slow throws back to the pitcher. Just as he was bolting Acuna realized the moment wasn’t right, slammed on the brakes, and tried bolting back to second but went down in a heap instead.
Ronald Acuña Jr. has left today’s game after a non-contact injury on the basepaths
(via @BravesOnBally)
pic.twitter.com/2MEPS7U9OR— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 26, 2024
The 26-year-old’s left knee buckled on the quick stop and turn, and by day’s end word was out that he suffered a complete tear of the ACL. This is the second time Acuna has had a season cut short due to the injury. His 2021 campaign was cut short when he tore his right ACL halfway through the season. Acuna finishes the season with 38 runs scored, four home runs, 15 RBI, 16 steals, and a .246 batting average.
Fantasy Impact: Fantasy managers who were rostering Acuna are reeling right now. Truthfully, his performance so far was short of expectations but his potential as a league-winner never disappeared. He still had a big impact in the runs and stolen bases categories as he is currently tied for the sixth-most runs scored and fourth-most stolen bases in all of MLB.
As to the practical matter of filling out the now gaping hole in Atlanta’s lineup, Adam Duvall is likely to see a generous boost in opportunities. Most of his career has been spent in left field but his 143 games in right make him the Brave with the most experience at the position. The Braves will need to add to their outfield depth and could bring back Forrest Wall, who is hitting .306 with 23 runs and six stolen bases through 30 games with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.
Edwin Diaz
After missing 2023 due to injury, fantasy managers were eager to have Edwin Diaz back in action this year. His track record as a high-strikeout closer and the memory of his dominant 2022 season made him one of the first closers off draft boards in 2024. Diaz didn’t blow anyone out of the water in his return, but as April wound down he had a modest four saves to go with 14 strikeouts and a 0.93 ERA through 9 2/3 innings.
Things took a turn in his last appearance in April. On April 29, Diaz took the loss in a non-save situation after serving up a go-ahead home run to Christopher Morel. Since then, things have been going downhill. Diaz has blown four save chances in May and his last successful conversion was on May 6. His ERA has swelled to 5.40 and his WHIP is now up to 1.25.
The last week or so has been disastrous. On Saturday, May 18, Diaz could record just a single out and gave up four runs before being removed. The reliever’s role was then declared “fluid” by manager Carlos Mendoza. Diaz was given a few days off and next appeared on May 24, pitching the seventh and earning his second hold of the year. With his confidence restored, he was tapped the next day for a save opportunity. Unfortunately, Diaz allowed a leadoff single (followed by a stolen base) which was driven home two batters later to tie the score (the Mets eventually lost in extra innings).
Edwin Díaz blows his third consecutive save chance as LaMonte Wade Jr. ties it in the 9th
(via @SFGiants)pic.twitter.com/fymQU60xdw
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 25, 2024
Fantasy Impact: Despite the struggles in the first half of May, Carlos Mendoza was resolute in keeping Diaz in the closer role. After the four-run meltdown last weekend, the skipper’s hand was forced into shuffling things around. The latest fumble by Diaz will prolong the Mets’ closer-by-committee experience where Adam Ottavino and Reed Garrett will be in the mix. Garrett recently suffered a five-run meltdown of his own but is mowing down batters with a 37.7 K%.
While the Mets sort this out, I'll be feeling out Diaz owners in my leagues to see if any of them are ready to bail. Despite his struggles this year, Diaz is still striking out opponents at a 35.3% clip and has a 27.1 K-BB%. Even after his most recent failure, Mendoza still referred to Diaz as the team's closer. While I won't bet on a return to the dominance of 2022, I'll see what it will take to catch those ratios falling as Diaz works out of his funk, not to mention the saves and strikeouts that would ensue.
New York Yankees
Things have been much rosier for the other New York club. The Yankees lost their last game of the week but had won each of the previous four and are now 11-3 in the last two weeks. Aaron Judge had a four-game home run streak this week also, bringing his season total to 17 which ties him with Kyle Tucker and Gunnar Henderson for the league lead.
Aaron Judge in his last 115 plate appearances is batting .393 with a .518 on-base percentage and a .955 slugging percentage and this is just completely ridiculous.pic.twitter.com/fcLE6sRiPX
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 26, 2024
Another Yankee is still in the midst of his own streak. Anthony Volpe singled on Sunday to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. In the last week, he recorded 10 hits in 27 at-bats, scored seven runs, and stole two bags. With their offense now firing on all cylinders the Yankees now own a +92 run differential, just one off of MLB's best mark held by the Phillies.
On the injury front, the Yankees lost utility man Jon Berti (calf) to the 10-day injured list after he strained a calf on Friday night. DJ LeMahieu (foot) was moved to the 60-day IL himself, though the move was only procedural to allow for other roster moves. It was announced earlier in the week that LeMahieu will soon be activated from the IL as soon as May 28.
Taking a longer view of things, Gerrit Cole (elbow) checked a couple more boxes on his path back to the mound. On May 21, he threw a 20-pitch session to teammates and on May 25 he threw two full innings against minor leaguers at the Yankees’ development complex in Tampa. And Jasson Dominguez continued his rehab assignment while working back from Tommy John surgery. The Martian has gone 11-for-35 at the plate so far and on Saturday night he hit his first home run since 2023.
Fantasy Impact: Aaron Judge is back on track. Hitting .197 as recently as May 2, Judge has gone on a tear, owning a .413 batting average and 1.1545 OPS since then. Echoes of the spring training report that managing the pain stemming from last year’s toe injury will be an ongoing battle were rattling around in my head during Judge’s cold April, but those lingering concerns have been put to rest.
Volpe’s sophomore campaign is off to a fine start, with 36 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, and a .282 batting average. Even with LeMahieu’s imminent return, manager Aaron Boone has gone on the record to say that Volpe will continue leading off for the Yankees. That announcement was music to the ears of any Volpe holders who have benefitted from him hitting in front of Judge and Juan Soto.
Aaron Boone: Anthony Volpe to remain in leadoff spot when DJ LeMahieu returns, according to @M_Marakovits pic.twitter.com/BpUZc7aH7U
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) May 26, 2024
LeMahieu's return likely pushes Oswaldo Cabrera out of a regular role. Cabrera was among the hottest hitters in baseball at the start of the season but cooled significantly since mid-April, inviting the platoon with Berti. Cole is optimistic that he will join the Yankees’ rotation in June, though the team is not likely going to rush back their 33-year-old ace. Dominguez will soon be eligible for activation, though the Yankees’ outfield and designated hitter roles seem spoken for as of late. In other words, once declared healthy he may not see an immediate promotion to the parent club, though he is certainly worth stashing in leagues with IL slots.
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