gerrit-cole.jpg
USATSI

 The ADP fallers section is mostly just a collection of the most high-profile injuries over the past week or so, though I did try to highlight a few fallers who aren't just dealing with injuries. 

Gerrit Cole, NYY, P -- Early-March: 15.85; Past week: 126.13

Cole has been shut down from throwing after receiving an official diagnosis of nerve inflammation and edema – a build-up of fluid in the body's tissues – and will be shut down from throwing for three to four weeks. Assuming all goes well in that time, Cole will begin the slow process of building back up, and will likely need six weeks to build up arm strength again, so we're looking at, in all likelihood, late-May return to action for Cole. Cole downplayed the injury when speaking to reporters about the diagnosis this week, but Cole is tumbling even farther in Fantasy drafts since the official diagnosis – his ADP since Friday is 171.4. I'm okay taking him there, but there's a realistic chance you don't get anything from him this season. I'd take Justin Verlander over him, personally. 

Taj Bradley, TB, P -- Early-March: 243.15; Past week: 354.98

This is another one where the "last week" ADP doesn't really tell the whole story, as Bradley was diagnosed with a strained pec last week and has fallen to 408.5 in ADP since. Bradley was an interesting post-hype sleeper, and while the hope is that this injury won't keep him out too long, if you don't have an IL spot to play with, it's gonna be tough to stash someone who is already kind of a long shot. 

Lars Nootbaar, STL, OF -- Early-March: 216.93; Past week: 309.1

Nootbaar is recovering from two non-displaced fractures in his ribcage, and as of now doesn't have a timetable for his return – the hope is the team will have a better idea by the end of this week. I'm not expecting him to be ready for Opening Day, but this is probably a nice buying opportunity for a guy who might be back in a few weeks if all goes well. 

Emmet Sheehan, LAD, P -- Early-March: 324.12; Past week: 440.95

Sheehan is opening the season on the IL, but there's a caveat there – the Dodgers are starting their season a week earlier than the rest of the league with their two-game series against the Padres. It's not clear if he will be ready for the domestic Opening Day next week, but Sheehan's injury (which has mostly been described as "general soreness") has never sounded too serious, so it might not be long. If I have a roster spot to play with, I'm definitely adding Sheehan, who should get an opportunity before long. 

Edward Cabrera, MIA, P -- Early-March: 288.74; Past week: 391.57

Of the Marlins projected Opening Day rotation, only Jesus Luzardo is going to be ready for the start of the season, and that's not even including ace Sandy Alcantara, who will miss this season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Cabrera, recovering from a shoulder issue, has already restarted his throwing this weekend, and if all goes well seemingly could be back in game action in just a couple of weeks. Cabrera has significant control issues to overcome even without the injury, but he also has a career 26.2% strikeout rate with terrific quality-of-contact results on balls in play. If he gets healthy, there's still enough upside here worth chasing in your reserve rounds. 

Gavin Williams, CLE, P -- Early-March: 163.34; Past week: 215.83

Williams is dealing with elbow soreness that will also land him on the IL to open the season, though MRI results showed no damage to the elbow, so hopefully this isn't a long-term thing. He'll likely begin throwing in the coming days, with mid-April seeming like a decent timetable to aim for. There's always risk when we're talking about pitcher injuries in spring, but I'm fine drafting Williams at his cost. I may avoid him in my remaining drafts just because I already drafted him multiple times before the injury. 

Brett Baty, NYM, 3B -- Early-March: 432.93; Past week: 555.35

Baty is having a rough spring, hitting .241/.290/.379, though I don't really think it makes sense to discount him much more than he was before this at this point. The Mets were linked to J.D. Davis when he was released by the Giants, but with him signing with the Athletics, it doesn't seem like there's much playing time risk here. Baty's spring struggles certainly don't help make the sleeper case for him, but we're still talking about a career .290/.390/.507 hitter in the minors who was a consensus top-35 prospect in baseball this time a year ago. This spring hasn't made me especially hopeful about Baty's chances of figuring it out, but I'm certainly not giving up hope either. 

Robert Stephenson, LAA, P -- Early-March: 335.86; Past week: 430.33

When Stephenson was being drafted ahead of Carlos Estevez back in February, he was being drafted too early. Now? I thought his price was fine even before it dropped another 95 spots. He's dealing with a shoulder issue that has kept him out of spring action, and the lingering nature of that shoulder discomfort is certainly a concern. But Stephenson had 77 strikeouts in 52.1 innings last season (and was even better after getting to the Rays), and if he can get healthy and repeat that, I bet there's going to be a stretch where he's getting saves for the Angels. In deeper leagues – and especially holds-plus-saves leagues – Stephenson remains a fine reserve-round pick. 

Nathaniel Lowe, TEX, 1B -- Early-March: 225.12; Past week: 285.89

This is another one where, I think the price prior to his injury was probably enough of a discount that I'm still drafting him if I have an IL spot to play with. Lowe was a big disappointment last season, but he still had 82 RBI and 89 runs thanks to that Rangers lineup, and it wasn't unreasonable to expect improvement on Lowe's 17 homers. The oblique injury is certainly a complicating factor, but Lowe should be a solid starter for your corner infield spot at what is, frankly, a gigantic discount at this cost. 

Jarred Kelenic, ATL, OF – Early-March: 208.58; Past week: 241.68

The case for Kelenic is similar to Baty, except his struggles have already seemingly cost him an everyday role. Kelenic is 3 for 41 37 this spring, and the Braves just signed Adam Duvall with the express purpose of serving as Kelenic's platoon partner. It's a weird fit – Kelenic was actually better against lefties last season and his underlying data didn't suggest he was a righty-crusher just waiting to be unleashed – and I think it's more suggestive of the Braves' lack of faith in Kelenic. He's still an okay late-round sleeper target, but I really can't bring myself to get excited about this discount. 

Junior Caminero, TB, 3B -- Early-March: 260.88; Past week: 314.39

Caminero was sent to minor-league camp this week, and it didn't come as much of a surprise. The Rays almost never call their top prospects up for good without significant success at Triple-A, and Caminero hasn't played there. It's possible he stays down until June and even a 314.4 ADP ends up being a tough price to pay. But seeing as they've already started the clock for Caminero in the majors with his cup of coffee last season, they might only need to see a couple of great weeks from him to give him the call. Camerino could be a Yordan Alvarez-esque rookie impact maker, and he's only going to cost you a bench spot for the final 10 days of draft season.